Gone but not forgotten is Muhammad ‘The Greatest’ Ali who would have celebrated his 83rd birthday today if he were still alive.
Ali was more than the greatest heavyweight champion, winning the world title a record three times! He was a great humanitarian.
Ali has done more for boxing than anyone could ever imagine. From the 1960 Olympic light heavyweight gold medalist in Rome, Italy, to winning the title on February 25, 1964, undefeated in his twentieth fight, stopping the most feared fighter in the world in Sonny Liston, 35-1 with 26 knockouts after six rounds with Liston claiming a shoulder injury refusing to come off the chair. The battle was tied at the time: 57-57, 59-56 and 56-58.
After falling off the canvas in his previous round against British and Commonwealth champion Henry Cooper, 27-8-1, Ali’s trainer, Angelo Dundee, was said to have cut Ali’s glove to give him time to regenerate. Ali finished Cooper at 2:15 of the next round at Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom.
Before that was one of his closest fights to date, defeating Doug Jones, 21-3-1, 8-1 and 5-4 twice in rounds in Madison Square Garden, New York. When I met Ali at his home in Cherry Hill, New Jersey in 1973, as he appeared from another room, I foolishly asked, “When are you giving Doug Jones a rematch?” He then invited me back to where he was.
It would be another four years when I sat next to Ali at his Deer Lake, PA, camp and didn’t learn my lesson and said, “Why are you fighting all these bums?” Even as an Army vet, I had all the respect in the world for him.
When he refused to join the army in the 60s, he made up for it and years later brought back 15 American hostages from Iraq.
He finished his career in December 1981 with a 56-5 record with 37 knockouts. Only stopped by Larry ‘The Easton Assassin’ Holmes in his penultimate fight. By then, his cut man, Ferdie Pacheco, had left the corner, claiming he was medically unfit to continue. Dr. Nardiello of the New York commission said, “Ali’s kidneys fell apart.” This was after his fight with Earnie Shavers, 54-5-1, who won in September 1977 at Madison Square Garden.
Ali lost to 1976 Olympic Gold Medalist Leon Spinks, 6-0-1, by split decision. “Of all the fights I’ve lost in boxing, losing to (Leon) Spinks hurt the most. I didn’t train properly. He did in the rematch and regained the title in front of over 60,000 fans at the Superdome in New Orleans, LA. It would be his last victory.
A week ago was the birthday of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, who in Las Vegas gave Ali a long silk white robe with “People’s Choice” on the back. Ali said, “It should have said People’s Champ on the back.” Two years before the death of Elvis, he contacted Ali because he wanted to visit him at the Deer Lake camp, because he did not want anyone to know about his arrival to have the time together. As he left, Ali said: “Elvis Presley was the most humble person I have ever met. What a nice guy.”
“I beat him for six rounds; in the seventh, when I hit him in the side, he fell on my ear and said that’s all you got, George?” Ali won the title for the third time, defeating champion ‘Big’ George Foreman 40-0 in Zaire, Africa. Foreman added, “he was bigger than boxing!”
“Iron,” Mike Tyson once said, “Cus (D’Amato, his trainer) and Ali had the same birthday.” He first met Ali when he was in a reform school with Ali visiting. After Ali’s defeat to Holmes, he said, “I’m going to get him for you!”
It was January 22, 1988 at the Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. At first place, future President Donald J. Trump was next to Ali. When he was introduced in the ring, Ali tapped their gloves from Holmes and went to Tyson and whispered in his ear, which was later said by Tyson, “Kick his ass for me!” At 2:55 of the fourth round, for the third time, Holmes was knocked out on his back!
Ali died in June 2016 at the age of 74.