Boxing icon/legend passed away on Friday at the age of 74 in an Arizona Hospital after succumbing to septic shock during which blood pressure plummets leading to organ failure. Many family members including his daughter Hana Ali were at his bedside praying for the fallen boxing champion as life slipped away from him.
Muhammad Ali was born under the name Cassius Marcellus Clay on January 17th, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. He would eventually change his name to Muhammad Ali after converting to Sunni Islam in 1975. Due to his religious and political beliefs he refused to be constricted into the United States Army because of his opposition to the war in Vietnam. As a result of his willful failure to defend the country in which he earned his lavish living in addition to carving out a near legendary status for himself he was rightfully stripped of his boxing title and brought up and convicted on charges of draft evasion. In 1971 after a successful appeal to the United States Supreme Court his conviction was overturned allowing Ali to return to the sport of boxing after a four-year hiatus.
Ali’s legal battles to avoid registering for the draft made him a folk hero amongst those who also sought to avoid fighting for the country that gave them their freedom and liberty. Ali claimed he should be exempted from the draft on the basis that he was a conscientious objector and as such did not believe in war but prior to being barred from boxing had no qualms with using his fists to pound his foes until they could not fight no more after being pummeled by Ali’s devastating punches that often opened up blood gashes in his opponents. War is unfortunate but sometimes necessary. Back then the law was once you reached the age of 18 you must register for the draft regardless of your beliefs. If you broker the law you were rightfully punished by our government. Muhammad Ali had no right to try to skirt the law so he could continue his career that consisted of beating up other fighters while being paid handsomely for it as many young men laid down their lives for their country.
Billed as the “Fight Of The Century” a monumental bout between two undefeated heavyweights Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. The match was broadcasted to 35 foreign countries with promoters being granted 760 press passes. The pre-fight hype saw Ali belittle his opponent as being “too dumb to be champ” in addition to repeatedly referring to Joe Frazier as an Uncle Tom. Dave Wolf, who worked in Frazier’s camp, recalled, Ali was saying that the only people who were rooting for Frazier to win the fight were “white people in suits, Alabama Sheriffs, and members of The Klu Klux Klan” who were a notoriously white supremacist organizations who resorted to cross burnings and other assorted acts of racially inspired hatred to get their messages of hate across.
As for the fight itself it more than lived up to the hype of its name as the two fighters slugged it out with each repeatedly scoring. In the early rounds Ali played to the crowd repeatedly shaking his head no after he was hit. In the later rounds of the fight Ali would retreat to the ropes, that was when he premiered his “rope-a-dope” strategy. In the final round of the bout Frazier knocked Ali down with a vicious left hook that was described by the referee of the fight Arthur Mercante as hitting a man as hard as he can be hit. The ever resilient Ali was back on his feet in three seconds. Nevertheless, Ali lost the fight by unanimous decision-making this the first loss of what would turn out to be an illustrious career.
The stage was set in Zaire on October 30th, 1974 for title fight between Ali and George Foreman that was promoted as “The Rumble In The Jungle.” George Foreman had earned the reputation as being one of the hardest punchers in the heavyweight division. Midway through the 8th round of the fight that few people, including Howard Cosell a long-time supporter. thought he would win when Foreman began to tire Ali dropped a by then exhausted Foreman via combination at center ring. By virtue of the knockout Ali regained his title since Foreman devastated Joe Frazier in their title fight that led up to this match.
Ali would fight for the last time on December 11, 1981 against an opponent by the name of Trevor Berbick, losing a ten round decision having previously lost after being knocked out by Larry Holmes in Las Vegas in 1980. The bout with Holmes was said to have contributed to the onset of Parkinson’s syndrome that he was formally diagnosed with in 1984. The loss to Berbick brought an end to the career to the greatest heavyweight boxer and perhaps the greatest boxer that ever lived.
To the shock of many Muhammad Ali announced his support for the reelection of United States President Ronald Regan telling reporters his decision was based on his factual assessment that Regan was keeping G-d in our schools. It was three years prior to that when Ali made the national news by successfully convincing a man to come down from the 9th floor ledge of a building he was about to jump off of. Ali had added new chapters to his life’s book.
On November 19th, 2005 which was Ali’s 19th wedding anniversary the $60 million dollar non-profit Muhammad Ali center opened in downtown Louisville, Kentucky where in addition to boxing memorabilia, the center focused on themes of peace, social responsibility, respect and personal growth that were highlights of Ali’s later years. 2007 saw Ali receive an honorary doctorate of humanities that was presented to him by Princeton University at their 260th graduation ceremony. President George W. Bush presented Muhammad Ali with the prestigious Presidential Citizens Medal. Later that November he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Despite the controversy that followed him Ali was a beloved entertainer as TV Cameras were his best friends. His amazing gift or rhyming words will not be forgotten as they inspired many others to write.
Who will step forward to arrange and promote Ali vs. Frazier as they match up against each other in that big boxing ring in the sky? This event will only be viewed by a select few people.
