Muhammad Ali

A half century ago, the world was being dazzled, baffled and entertained by a heavyweight champion who fought like no heavyweight before him. Muhammad Ali, aged 24 and approaching his absolute peak, had won the crown a couple of years earlier and he had made the title retentions he registered since shocking the greatly feared Sonny Liston look almost easy.

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Today, June 3rd, marks the first anniversary of the death of the one and only Muhammad Ali; without a single doubt the most famous boxer of all time. The tributes continue to come in thick and fast for the three time world heavyweight champion who would have been 75 today had he not lost his long and extremely brave battle with Parkinson’s.

The books continue to roll in, too – even though, as has been pointed out by more than a few boxing aficionados, there surely cannot be anything to write about Ali that hasn’t already been written. We’ve had “The Real Story,” with Ali’s autobiography, released way back in 1975, we’ve had another endorsed account of Ali’s life, with the 1991 effort by Thomas Hauser, and we’ve had hundreds, if not thousands of Ali books since.

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A half century ago (March 22, 1967) the greatest heavyweight champion boxer in the sport’s long history was, quite disgracefully, stripped of his world title. Even worse, Muhammad Ali – who was still unashamedly being called Cassius Clay by certain people who basically knew no better – was refused the right to box, to earn a living.

It was the height of America’s most unpopular (some would say needless) war, and Ali, having been ordered to fight in Vietnam, refused and was almost universally vilified as a result. Called a traitor and other things, Ali had been transformed from a jovial, entertaining star fighter to a cowardly non-fighter. It would be years, almost four, before Ali would be exonerated and referred to by his real name by all.

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As surely any boxing fan knows, the great, the incomparable, the immortal Muhammad Ali would have celebrated his 75th birthday today, January 17, 2017. Sadly, as everyone does know, The Greatest left us in June of last year. What Ali left behind is far, far more than a legacy as the finest heavyweight boxer of all time.

Ali meant so much to so many people; from a political standpoint, to a sporting standpoint, to a racial standpoint and more. George Foreman perhaps said it best years ago, when he said that everybody, from any walk of life, was “lifted up a notch” when they met Ali. But speaking from a boxing standpoint only, Ali thrilled fans and gave a piece of himself in a manner that will never be repeated.

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