Muhammad Ali had his “Anchor Punch.” Bruce Lee had his one-inch punch.
Ali had his “Shuffle.” Lee had lethal power in both feet.
And, yes, some fight fans have even debated, and did debate back in the early 1970s, over who would have won if these two iconic figures had met in a bout. Maybe the idea of Ali and Lee(who passed away, shockingly, in 1973) fighting isn’t all that crazy.
It was a truly landmark event not only in boxing, but in the careers of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, in black music and in the career of the man behind it all, Don King. It was “The Rumble in The Jungle” of 1974 and, in honour of The Greatest, who as we all know passed away in June of this year, promoter extraordinaire King is planning a sequel, a “Rumble in The Jungle II” as it were.
A huge party was taking place last night in Las Vegas, as the iconic and quite beautiful hotel Caesars Palace celebrated its 50th birthday. The hotel, one of the oldest in Las Vegas, opened its doors on August 5, 1966 and a weekend-long series of celebrations came to and end with a stunning fireworks display last night. Fight fans of course used to regularly pack out Caesars Palace when the biggest fights, the most special fights, took place there.
Throughout its history, Caesars Palace played host to, amongst many others, the following unforgettable boxing nights and fights: George Foreman-Ron Lyle, Larry Holmes-Ken Norton, Sugar Ray Leonard-Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns.
Being too young (unfortunately) to have seen the great – The Greatest – Muhammad Ali fight live, even on TV, the first indelible memory I have of the immortal legend occurred twenty years ago today. Ali, by this time ravaged by Parkinson’s, quite simply made around half the world’s population shed a tear as he bravely forced his almost uncontrollable arms to assist him in accepting one of the finest honours that can be bestowed upon any athlete: that of lighting the Olympic Torch in the opening ceremony of the planet’s most-watched sporting celebration.
Big George Foreman, with the passing of the great (or greatest) Muhammad Ali, has become the oldest living former world heavyweight champion, and the 67-year-old legend sure has a number of tales to tell. Foreman has literally seen it all, done it all, and lived to tell the story of it all. George has had some quite amazing life, no doubt. But despite all he has witnessed, the incomparable Ali still leaves George somewhat mystified and in awe.
These past two weeks have seen Foreman share with us all his memories of Ali, and George has paid great tributes to the former three-time king. One of the more interesting things Foreman had to say about his one-time archenemy came on the latest episode of Jim Lampley’s The Fight Game. Foreman spoke of an unexpected phone-call from Ali, “in the late ’70’s.”
It might seem an odd choice as it is certainly no Ali book that either celebrates or holds up The Greatest’s legend as a God-like figure who is deservedly idolised the world over, but Mark Kram’s superb book, Ghosts of Manila has been paid another visit during this, the time of Ali”s passing. The sad news has upset millions, and by way of tribute a far less scrutinising book would make far more a palatable read for the Ali worshippers (including me).
On the evening of Friday, June 3rd, the world lost something it has never seen the likes of, and may never see the likes of again when larger-than-life icon Muhammad Ali succumbed to long time illness at age 74. When you look back at the life and journey of Muhammad Ali, present were many tales of everything from the good, the bad, and the ugly. In the lives of all the ‘greats’, there’s always one pivotal moment that seemed to be the catalyst in bringing them to a stage in which they’d one day fully conquer. For Michael Jordan, it was being cut on the varsity basketball team.
Whether or not you agreed with the man himself when he made his bold claim of being The Greatest, and whether or not you agree with those fans and experts who say heavyweight legend Muhammad Ali deserves to go down in history as the best fighter of all time, it has to be agreed how the world lost a very special boxer, athlete and human being on June 3rd when the three-time king passed away.
The Ali family announces that Muhammad Ali’s funeral service will be streamed to the public outside The O2 in London – home of the I Am The Greatest exhibition – on Friday 10 June from 7pm UK time. The service will also be streamed live on AliCenter.org.
Muhammad Ali is one of the most recognisable and influential sports figures of the 20th Century. His achievements both in the ring and through his dedicated humanitarian efforts around the world solidified him as one of the most respected and trailblazing figures in modern history.
By Peter Fury: We, like everyone else, got news of Muhammad Ali’s passing on Saturday morning. It hit us hard. The man was a living legend.
It’s always sad to lose a great champion and they don’t come much greater than Muhammad Ali. It was a sad day for everybody in boxing and everybody in the world.
As a little lad growing up, we always used to watch Ali on the TV or listen to his fights on the radio. He was a big part of our lives and a great ambassador for the sport; us young kids definitely looked up to him.