RIP Muhammad Ali

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Mark_Henderson said:
Holmes was pretty damn good. His rep just suffers because he had no good competitors and he came during the lull between Ali and Tyson.
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That's about right. Larry Holmes had two other problems besides that: one, he was generally a whiny prick and he also just kicked the shit out of Ali when he was over the hill yet still hugely popular. I think most people wanted Ali to shut him up, but the opposite happened. Holmes just toyed with him from what I remember and it was pretty sad.

Holmes was a very good fighter, but was never the people's champ.
 
Hawg73 said:
That's about right. Larry Holmes had two other problems besides that: one, he was generally a whiny prick and he also just kicked the shit out of Ali when he was over the hill yet still hugely popular. I think most people wanted Ali to shut him up, but the opposite happened. Holmes just toyed with him from what I remember and it was pretty sad.

Holmes was a very good fighter, but was never the people's champ.
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no that is how I remember it too. He was a good boxer but who did he beat that was in their prime?
 
Roberto71 said:
Don King really is a vile individual isn't he

After the Holmes fight when Ali took a pounding, Don King came and saw Ali in hospital after the fight. He still owed the Ali camp $1m but he showed up with $50,000 in cash. To Ali lying in his hospital bed it looked like a lot of money so he signed a waiver forfeiting the remaining $950k.

Every fighter that King represented seemed to end up despising him and suing him for millions. Holmes, Tyson, Lewis and many more.

Tyson sued him for 100 million saying King cheated him out of millions. And said this about him.
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I think Tyson gave Don King a beatdown on the street in LA or Las Vegas. King screwed over George Foreman too. Foreman doesn't make excuses about it now, but back in the day he said that he thought someone had drugged his water during the Ali fight in Zaire. That probably didn't happen, but when Don King is running the show, who knows?
 
mikiemo83 said:
no that is how I remember it too. He was a good boxer but who did he beat that was in their prime?
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He held the title for 7 years, it's not his fault if the contenders weren't memorable. When I think of someone being overrated who didn't beat quality opponents, I think more of Tyson, though his knockouts were the most fun to watch.
 
Legendary sports icon. He was Sports Entertainment.

There was no bigger event than fight night at my uncles house. Total mayhem & pandemonium. Rows of kids in front of the TV screaming and throwing punches in the air. He was the original "must see TV".

RIP Ali.
 
Ali is remembered as this lovable man because we remember the old man with Parkinson's.

Truth is he was not a nice man in reality and once again we are cherry picking our memories. I am too young to remember the blue eyed white man comment and other stuff, just the boxer and the 1977 movie "the Greatest".

He was the greatest boxer, a middleweight in speed but power of as heavyweight.

so yes it is always nice to remember the good, but we seem to be idolizing the myth not the man.
 
mikiemo83 said:
Ali is remembered as this lovable man because we remember the old man with Parkinson's.

Truth is he was not a nice man in reality and once again we are cherry picking our memories. I am too young to remember the blue eyed white man comment and other stuff, just the boxer and the 1977 movie "the Greatest".

He was the greatest boxer, a middleweight in speed but power of as heavyweight.

so yes it is always nice to remember the good, but we seem to be idolizing the myth not the man.
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Don't think he was either completely lovable or not nice. He had flaws and some great personal qualities. The racial comments were parroted directly from Nation of Islam - a wacky group that kind of used him for their own ends. He was gullible with that, but at the same time principled and outspoken in the way he refused the draft (when he just would have had to do PR appearances in uniform) and was willing to take the consequences.

He kind of mixed the NOI's race theories into his playful banter and I don't think meant it hatefully. He talked a lot about Jews and Zionists running the world (because that's what NOI says), but he loved Howard Cossell and a number of Jews. Later in life, he apologized for a lot of the things he said and admitted that they were just part of the banter - he did a ton of clownig.
 
Mark_Henderson said:
Don't think he was either completely lovable or not nice. He had flaws and some great personal qualities. The racial comments were parroted directly from Nation of Islam - a wacky group that kind of used him for their own ends. He was gullible with that, but at the same time principled and outspoken in the way he refused the draft (when he just would have had to do PR appearances in uniform) and was willing to take the consequences.

He kind of mixed the NOI's race theories into his playful banter and I don't think meant it hatefully. He talked a lot about Jews and Zionists running the world (because that's what NOI says), but he loved Howard Cossell and a number of Jews. Later in life, he apologized for a lot of the things he said and admitted that they were just part of the banter - he did a ton of clownig.
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Basically agree that he had flaws and wasn't all he's being cracked up to be in some respects. But I go along pretty much with the notion of remembering, in death all the better parts of a man's life. What I do hate is that everyone is hitching their wagon to this star. Get up on your soapbox and see how wonderful the respects that you pay
can be perceived to be. They'll show your deep and compassionate words on TV. Find a way to make his passing to be about you. Especially you politicians.


Anyway, I'm Ali'd out, and the Funeral is yet to come.

Sincere RIP, but I'm done.

Tim.
 
Among the Patriots/Red Sox memorabilia displayed in my sports room, there are three 'oddball' additions: Walter Payton, Secretariat, and Muhammad Ali.
 
Listening to Sirius XM this morning - I heard that people need tickets to get into the funeral. Someone joked that there are scalpers already demanding top dollar.

:shrug_n:
 
Ali was the only person to call himself, "The Greatest", and get away with it.

That's how good he was.
 
dchester said:
Ali was the only person to call himself, "The Greatest", and get away with it.

That's how good he was.
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Ali could have gotten away with the "Announcement" or the Crap Bron Bron pulled in Miami at the press conference.


He was the Greatest Heavyweight Boxer I have watched.
 
dchester said:
Ali was the only person to call himself, "The Greatest", and get away with it.

That's how good he was.
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Yes he was. I am lucky to be of an age where I could follow his career. He was amazing and entertaining.
 
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