Muhammad Ali turns 70 today. I watched a TV documentary about him last night, a documentary that looked at his relationship with the United Kingdom, or more accurately his relationship with the people of the United Kingdom. Being someone who was slightly too young to see him perform in the ring, apart from his penultimate fight with Larry Holmes, I was still mesmerised by what Ali was. Watching videos is great, and believe me I’ve watched many Ali fights over and over again, but being around and experiencing the event as it happens is where that magic link is made to a persona by the people.
I mean, pretty much everyone loved Ali. He had a tongue-in-cheek approach to many of his pre-fight press conferences. Whilst he absolutely, undoubtedly believed he was the Greatest he still played the game with a humour with which the watching throng could not fail to be enthralled. He was a staggering showman who could, even years after retiring, draw the kind of crowds that brought cities to a stand still.
I went on a short family holiday last August, to a beautiful pine lodge nestled in the countryside between the ancient English cities of Bath and Wells. My host, a great guy by the name of Chris, was a bit of a boxing fan. When I say a boxing fan he was actually fully committed to the wonderfully arduous and challenging sport of Rugby Union, but like many he would watch fights and thoroughly enjoyed what he watched. But, Chris was a rugby man through and through, having done battle on the rugby field for more than few years to say the least , a factor that no doubt contributed to his wonderfully relaxed and friendly manner.
Anyway, Chris and I got onto the subject of our favourite boxers. “So Fran, who’s your favourite boxer of all time?” After a short but sincere pause, I responded with an innocent “Probably Duran, or Hagler. It’s a tough call because I admire both guys for different reasons.” Chris looked back at me, a little quizzical, almost confused. As if the answer that I gave was the answer to a totally different question. Being so involved in the sport of boxing for so long, my response was based upon skills, tactics, longevity etc. But, greater forces were at work here.
I quickly turned the question back on Chris, “What about you Chris, which boxer beats all for you?” Without a second of hesitation Chris responded with the answer that I obviously should have given, “Ali.” Chris just loved Ali. And let’s face it, he’s not alone. Ali wasn’t so much a boxer as a world-changing, lifetime event. He transcended the sport in every way. Chris had been captured by the magic of Ali the very moment the watched the Ring Wizard work his magic through the TV when he was but a little boy.
“I’ve something I want to show you Fran.” Chris took me through to his house and into a room at the back, a beautiful room with a snooker table and massive TV; a room for the boys to get together, drink and watch sports, probably Rugby mostly, but big fights always welcome. In the corner of the room was what Chris called the ‘Ali Bar’. Chris had spent years gathering together pictures, drawings, books, ticket stubs and all kind of wonderful Ali memorabilia. Ali had so captured the imagination of Chris when he was a youngster watching those incredible events of the 60s and 70s that his influence would never leave him. I was quite blown away and hastily got Chris’s permission to take a few quick photographs.
Seeing what Chris had done really brought home to me what Muhammad Ali was and the power of the mystique that he brought to the world. To call him simply a ‘great boxer’ does not even come close to what the man actually signified. He brought the world the kind magic that no other sportsman has ever or will ever bring again. He was a fighter who was more concerned about bringing a message of peace. He showed the kind of courage in his convictions that all of us should try to keep at the forefront of our minds. He approached his sport with brilliance and lit up the world with his vibrancy, transforming boxing along the way.
I realised something in Ali’s Bar that day. Muhammad Ali is most definitely in my top 5 boxers of all time, without a shadow of a doubt. But I think that the title of ‘The Greatest’ is bigger than boxing, or any sport for that matter. I think that Muhammad Ali is the Greatest man ever to box. This is a much greater honour than simply being the best boxer ever. Duran, Hagler, Robinson, Louis all did amazing things in the sport of boxing. There was just one problem for Chris and millions of others, they weren’t Muhammad Ali.
Happy Birthday Ali.
Twitter
Facebook
Youtube
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello Fran,
thank you for the sweet column and the links.
Cheers Tom, and you’re welcome
I mean, i do not expect ANYBODY to be patron saint of ANYTHING. I love watching gamboas and maywathers performing their outstanding skills but…it is a bit more difficult for me to admire their personalities…
So, happy birthday Ali:)
Sorry but he is tarnished by how he treated Joe Frazier;and how he blew off training prior to his fight against him in Manila. Jack Johnson,Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano,in that order. Yes he was an outstanding boxer,but too full of himself to be called the greatest. Besides Rocky was wise enough to retire undefeated;and without Parkinsons disease. Johnson fought under very brutal conditions and faced a harsher,racist environment.
EXCELLENT article Fran!
I have my home gym set up with various pics of “the Greatest” and other great fighters. I use it as a form of motivation and inspiration. From Ali as a 12 year old, posed in a fighters stance, to one of him on his butt after Frazier knocked him down; to Bruce Lee, Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Mike Tyson and Sugar Ray Robinson.
I have tickets and pics from Ali’s Liston and Foreman fights, as well as an excellent quality large colour pic of him and Norton in the ring.
My absolute favourite pic however, is a black and white sepia like one of Ali and Frazier as senior citizens, they are side by side and wearing boxing robes, both of them looking ‘eye of the tiger’, stone-faced, straight into the camera.
That pic , imo, is worth more than 100 thousand words, because the look in their eyes tells the full story of their battles, both in the ring and in life.
It is quite touching to see, because it shows that even the strongest men can be ravaged by time and although they may not have always gotten along well with each other and appear to be half the men they used to be, there is a grudging respect that they have for each other and their respective fighting spirits.
fity, I agree absolutely that Ali’s treatment of Joe Frazier was terribly unfair and in fact disloyal. Frazier had lobbied sanctioning bodies and politicians throughout Ali’s exile to have Ali’s license reinstated and certainly did not deserve that kind of treatment that was meated out to him by Ali. However, no one said heroes have to be perfect, and people happily overlook shortcomings when it comes to idol worship.
Jack Johnson. Now there was a fighter and there was a story. A uniquely brave (and fun-loving) man who made a stand against an extremely brutal system of organised racism.
Great comment fity
Thanks Paul
Really well made point. It’s that peculiarity that is entwined in boxing. How two guys can unleash hell on each other but having at least a level of respect that can go beyond friendship. What Frazier and Ali had was quite unique in the sport. Joe being the working-man’s fighter. No nonsense, tough, relentless. Ali having the cinematic shine. Having read an lot about their relationship and how it developed (or deteriorated depending on your view point). Unprecedented really. It would be lovely to think that they were friends in the end, but having watched a documentary last year it was clear that Joe was deeply hurt and upset by how the relationship soured, even 30 years later. There you go. I think Joe may have respected Ali as a fighter, not sure he respected him as a man though.
Cheers Paul, nice of you to post.
Jack Johnson deserves loads of respect. No doubt. But you won’t get so many cool posters of him:). But seriously, good point made by Fran. Heroes needn’t be perfect. What, in my eyes, makes Ali a hero is his effort to take part in a wider collective struggle and his will to sacrifice his immediate interests for the case.
And I had better go and do some workout now:)
By the way Paul, I noticed that you had been offering some defence of the MyBoxingCoach approach on another website, a website that shall remain nameless
Thank you for that, very much appreciated mate.
Yes Fran, that site is no longer on my radar. My Boxing Coach.com is the most ‘REAL DEAL’ website imo, as I and many others can certainly appreciate, that this is a boxing website made for contenders – not pretenders.
hi Fran,
you mentioned Ali is in your top 5 boxers of all time.
i remember as a young boy sat watching the Ali vs Frazier fights
in the early 70′s with my dad,we were both cheering for smokin’ joe,
it wasnt till a later in life that i began to realize that in the ring Ali
was a genius,i think it was just all the bragging and talking that me &
me dad didnt like about him.anyway you mentioned top 5 boxers,
heres my top 5(they might not be the best but they’re my fav’s)
5.Khaosai Galaxy
4.Marvelous Marvin Hagler
3.Mike Tyson
2.Dwight Braxton(Muhammad Qawi)
my number 1.Roberto Duran
who’s in your top 5 Fran?