"Ali was the greatest of all time!" - Darren Maule
If any other boxer
had accomplished just one or two of the feats that Mohammad Ali had, they would
easily have legendary status.
When one man does so much to change our thinking, feelings, and beliefs in and out of the ring, that man should be called the boxer, if not the athlete, of the century.
I would like to list a few things that make Muhammad Ali greater than we might remember.
His surprise defeat of Sonny Liston to become World Heavyweight champion was superhuman, both mentally and physically. Liston was the scariest man at the time and heavyweight champion. He was a known gangster and even fired off shots once with Ali in the room. Imagine facing Al Capone in a pitbull's body. Then there was the controversy of Ali fighting blind for two rounds, and still winning!
Ali's jaw was broken by Norton and he came back to knock him out.
He was old and slow when he took on the biggest beast of a fighter in George Foreman and in order to win abandoned the quick feet, bob-and-weave, and renamed a tactic called the rope-a-dope where he let George knock himself out in the epic 'Rumble in the Jungle'.
The Thriller in Manilla was worse. He went 12 rounds against his career nemesis Joe Frazier in 38 degree Celsius heat. (Joe couldn't continue the fight).
All this in the ring while fighting American racism, the government for not going to Vietnam, and an angry evangelical mob who couldn't reconcile his conversion to Islam.
All this while churning out rap rhymes that inspired the likes of Tupac Shakur.
So, you'll excuse me if I say and feel that the man Muhammad Ali was and is the greatest of all time.
Rest in peace, Champ.