Muhammad Ali: 'The Greatest of All Time'

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R.I.P Muhammad Ali,  January 17, 1942 -  June 3, 2016

  

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[buxom9sorceress]

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Following the Manila bout, Ali fought Jean-Pierre Coopman, Jimmy Young, and Richard Dunn, winning the last by knockout.
Later in 1976, he participated in an exhibition bout in Tokyo against Japanese professional wrestler and martial artist Antonio Inoki (Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki).[60] Though the fight was a publicity stunt, Inoki's kicks caused bruises, two blood clots and an infection in Ali's legs.[60] The fight was ultimately declared a draw.[60]
He fought Ken Norton for the third time at Yankee Stadium in September 1976, where Ali won by a heavily contested decision, which was loudly booed by the audience. He reacted to the fallout of this by announcing a brief retirement to practice his faith in Islam, having converted to Sunni Islam after falling out with the Nation of Islam the previous year.[61]


After winning against Alfredo Evangelista in May 1977, Ali struggled in his next fight against Earnie Shavers that September, who pummeled him a few times with punches to the head. Ali won the fight by another unanimous decision, but the bout caused his longtime doctor Ferdie Pacheco to quit after he was rebuffed for telling Ali he should retire. Pacheco was quoted as saying, "the New York State Athletic Commission gave me a report that showed Ali's kidneys were falling apart. I wrote to Angelo Dundee, Ali's trainer, his wife and Ali himself. I got nothing back in response. That's when I decided enough is enough."[34]


Following this win, on July 27, 1979, Ali announced his retirement from boxing. His retirement was short-lived, however; Ali announced his comeback to face Larry Holmes for the WBC belt in an attempt to win the heavyweight championship an unprecedented fourth time. The fight was largely motivated by Ali's need for money. Boxing writer Richie Giachetti said, "Larry didn't want to fight Ali. He knew Ali had nothing left; he knew it would be a horror."


It was around this time that Ali started struggling with vocal stutters and trembling hands.[62] The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) ordered that he undergo a complete physical in Las Vegas before being allowed to fight again. Ali chose instead to check into the Mayo Clinic, who declared him fit to fight. Their opinion was accepted by the NAC on July 31, 1980, paving the way for Ali's return to the ring.[63]

The fight took place on October 2, 1980, in Las Vegas, with Holmes easily dominating Ali, who was weakened from thyroid medication he had taken to lose weight. Giachetti called the fight "awful... the worst sports event I ever had to cover". Actor Sylvester Stallone at ringside said it was like watching an autopsy on a man who is still alive.[34] Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee finally stopped the fight in the eleventh round, the only fight Ali lost by knockout. The Holmes fight is said to have contributed to Ali's Parkinson's syndrome.[64] Despite pleas to definitively retire, Ali fought one last time on December 11, 1981 in Nassau against Trevor Berbick, losing a ten-round decision

Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's syndrome in 1984, a disease that commonly results from head trauma from activities such as boxing.
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>> Clay was a great entertainer, and very tough clever boxer.
But his super-arogance caused his own downfall.
And the folks closest to him failed to protect him from the severe medical trauma of his later fights.
He was 1 of the greatest boxers.
But at the end he was possibly 1 of the greatest fools who ever boxed?

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I don't know much about Ali, as I never followed sports and my intake of what happens on the American continent is fairly limited to selected headlines.
But I got to say, that the spirit of this person reaches far and wide, through every photo, every clip and every article that I've seen.
Fool or not, he had the kind of burn of life and passion, head-strongness and urge to make a difference for the better, that I wish all humankind had.

[valeriaspirit]

Jun 6, 2016 3:11:11 GMT -5 @venaala said:

I don't know much about Ali, as I never followed sports and my intake of what happens on the American continent is fairly limited to selected headlines.
But I got to say, that the spirit of this person reaches far and wide, through every photo, every clip and every article that I've seen.
Fool or not, he had the kind of burn of life and passion, head-strongness and urge to make a difference for the better, that I wish all humankind had.

Hi, Venaala -

I was a teenager during the 1960's and remember Ali's shenanigans pretty clearly - and that's what a  lot of his sayings and behavior were in the years after he became a phenom after winning gold at the Mexico (?) Olympics. He was entertaining, and there is no doubt that he was smart, but he made a practice of hurling demeaning personal insults at his opponents. I remember in particular he called Joe Frazier a "gorilla," among other things, and Larry Holmes, who eventually won the Heavyweight championship (from Ali?) "peanut," because of the shape of his head. Now neither of them was probably of the intellectual brilliance of Ali, but they were both highly regarded in their home communities, the people who knew them best. Holmes had been a sparring partner for Ali before he made it big in the boxing ring. Anyway, I heard over the weekend that a few years ago, Ali wrote out a sort of apology/explanation for what he had said about Frazier, saying that it was all done because he was trying to sell more tickets to the fights, but apparently Frazier adamantly refused to accept his conciliatory words. My belief is that if a white guy had said what Ali said about those fighters, he would have been called a racist. So while the phrase "catching lightning in a bottle" seems to me to be apropos to describe Ali's unique qualities, he also had large personal flaws, which I think it is important to remember.

BTW, I also recall at the time he said that his name Cassius Clay was one that had been handed down in his family, but he knew nothing about the original Cassius Clay. Turns out he was Henry Clay's cousin (and a white guy), and a truly flamboyant character in his own right. Henry Clay was a very prominent figure in Kentucky of the day and a statesman, although he never succeeded in becoming President of the US. I believe there is a good possibility that Ali was actually a direct descendant of that original Cassius Clay. It's a pity, in a way, that he abandoned that name; it is more distinctive than the name Muhammad Ali, imho.

Here is the URL for the Wikipedia page for the original Cassius Clay: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassius_Marcellus_Clay_(politician)

Valeria Spirit