On the 17th January Muhammad Ali reachs the age of 70.
Over the years, dislike or love him, you could not ignore him.
On the 17th January Muhammad Ali reachs the age of 70.
Over the years, dislike or love him, you could not ignore him.
Gotta love him, what charisma
Watching the footage of Ali in full poet mode always gives me a laugh, the mans a real broke the mould character.
He was beautiful when he was young. Made me weep to see him after he got Parkinson's.
Happy birthday, champ! One day after mine! It was sad to see him deteriorate, but he hung in there, and kept on battling the disease. A great boxer!
^ happy belated to you both.
Ali was a classy boxer. Compare and contrast to Tyson.
^Not belated, but thanks. Another week!
Voted the greatest sportsman of the 20th Century i believe and shares his birthday (17th January) with my own.
At 70 he's a tad older but having grown up in the same era i recall most of his fights and pre-match wind-ups. One of the great characters (if not 'THE GREATEST' character) of the fine art of boxing.
^And a happy early birthday to you both!
Cheers DK, just wish that i could have shared a birthday cake with the great man during his peak years, the cheeky young rascal that he was.
Fond memories of him still and always some reminiscing of his younger days to engage friends with both here and the UK.
Looking at him at Joe Frazier's funeral, it's hard to see him making 71. But there hasn't been as charismatic a heavyweight champion since, and I doubt there ever will be.
Are there people that disliked him?Originally Posted by MANICHAEAN
He was, and always will be, The Greatest.
^There were and still are people who hate him. He name was Cassius Clay, converted to Islam, changed his name to Mohammad Ali, and was a draft dodger in the 1960's.
He said things like this:
"No, I am not going 10,000 miles to help murder, kill, and burn other people to simply help continue the domination of white slavemasters over dark people the world over. This is the day and age when such evil injustice must come to an end."
He made heaps of people angry.
^On the other hand, he went to jail for his convictions, rather than running off to Canada like the rich white kids.
^ Right. I should have said he was a conscientious objector, not a draft dodger.
I think Tyson in his prime would have knocked him out.
No way, he was too fast. The fastest heavyweight I have ever seen: with his hands, his feet and his reactions. I'm not sure if you ever saw the interview with Ali & Frazier when Tyson appeared unbeatable. Parkinson, I think it was asked Ali how he reckoned Tyson. Ali replied that he did not rate him.
Parkinson asked how he would have fought Tyson.
Ali replied, "I would have played with him for six rounds and then stuck him."
Brash? No. His ability and pride would have carried him through.
Ali was only 21 at the time, and Tyson was never anything more than a magnificent clubbing beast, so you might be right about Tyson doing him when he was young.
But the best Tyson ever had to offer against the best Ali had to offer?
Not a fucking chance in hell.
The next post may be brought to you by my little bitch Spamdreth
Actually, he never spent any time in jail (he was convicted of avoiding the draft in 1967 but was out on appeal the entire time afterward until his conviction was reversed in 1971 by the supreme court)- he did lose his title and his license was suspended for (I believe) three years.Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton
There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.
HST
From disgrace to amazing grace?
^^I stand corrected.
Ali is one of the main reasons why sports stars get paid so much these days.
Not many people he paved the way for have 1/1000th the charisma, bravery, honesty or talent that Ali has / had.
Related: The docu film "Fighting Ali" is one of the best boxing-related films I've seen.
Typical of Blue
What happened in the next round Blue, the 5th ?
Clay posed for pictures, held up his hand with five fingers outstretched to remind the crowd of his prediction that he would win in the fifth.
The crowd booed; Cooper left to a round of applause. Back in his dressing room, Clay talked of how near he had been to defeat several times.
In victory, Cass the Gas became a gracious young man. He had nothing but praise for Cooper's gameness and the power of his punching.
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