Muhammad Ali- "The Greatest" on life support. Appreciation thread

Donald Trump wrote:

He is a Muslim. Good riddance.

Just like we taught you

He died!

legendary talent and personality. Sad to see the "sport" of boxing shorten a life that if healthier could have contributed more to the world.

Born in the 856 wrote:

Born in 856 wrote:

RIP

The lowest of trolls, the handle stealer.

Exactly!

pert wrote:

legendary talent and personality. Sad to see the "sport" of boxing shorten a life that if healthier could have contributed more to the world.

But the sport of boxing was the very reason why he had the platform to use his personality to contribute to the world.

Do you think he could have done even greater things without boxing?

A great boxer. The greatest? Not by a long way.

Disrespected opponents in a childish, malicious way

Protested against the Vietnam war. Fair enough - but that hardly puts him in Nobel Peace Prize territory.

Sincerely, RIP, though; but the whole "the greatest man I ever met" stuff seems so overblown.

RIP Big Guy

http://www.bossroyal.com/bosses/never-seen-photos-muhammed-ali/

"I run on the road long before I dance under the lights.."Ali

never understood the hype wrote:

A great boxer. The greatest? Not by a long way.

Disrespected opponents in a childish, malicious way

Protested against the Vietnam war. Fair enough - but that hardly puts him in Nobel Peace Prize territory.

Sincerely, RIP, though; but the whole "the greatest man I ever met" stuff seems so overblown.

A reference to disrespect in a childish and malicious fashion on this board?

Please.

I've never been real impressed by Ali - poor sportsmanship, not very smart, bad family life, hurt by his sport. Very poor sportsmanship.

I recognize that he was a voice against racial discrimination so those are points in his favor, but as an athlete? Pretty low on my list of people I admire.

I would have preferred that the sport of boxing didn't shorten the health of his life. Some boxer come out of the sport less affected, thereby able to contribute more to the world

agip wrote:

I've never been real impressed by Ali - poor sportsmanship, not very smart, bad family life, hurt by his sport. Very poor sportsmanship.

I recognize that he was a voice against racial discrimination so those are points in his favor, but as an athlete? Pretty low on my list of people I admire.

Agree, and he also referred to his greatest opponent as an "uncle Tom", Ali never apologized and Joe never forgave him for saying it.

agip wrote:

I've never been real impressed by Ali - poor sportsmanship, not very smart, bad family life, hurt by his sport. Very poor sportsmanship.

I recognize that he was a voice against racial discrimination so those are points in his favor, but as an athlete? Pretty low on my list of people I admire.

Interesting to hear Muhammad Ali’s take on the race relations.

Were he a white athlete making similar comments it would have been a career ending interview.

Incidentally, he always seemed to be oblivious to the fact that he could claim he was so ‘pretty’ compared to the likes of Frazier and Liston - was the fact he had some white (Irish) blood from his ancestry in his genes.

ttc wrote:

fisky wrote:

On March 8, 1971, I watched Ali fight Fraser in "The Fight of the Century." We drove to Mobile, Alabama to watch it on a giant screen set up in some city coliseum. The crowd was electric. Ali lost, but it was an epic battle. Frazier hit Ali as hard as I'd ever seen and Ali still stayed up. What a fight!

Since Ali is in the late stages of Parkinson's disease, this is probably the end for the man who self-proclaimed, "I am the greatest!"

Yes, he was.

Ali was pure scum.

He was a draft dodger & had an affair on his 2nd wife. No race excuse here on the draft- Ali was beloved when he dodged.

With no justification, he called Frazier an Uncle Tom- the worst thing a black man can call another.

Ali was certainly The Greatest. On this there can be no debate.

And he was so much more of a man than you that you not only look like an insect in comparison but your ability to comprehend the man's greatness aligns precisely with the cognitive abilities of said insect.

uhhhduuhhh wrote:

Draft dodger.

Technically, he didn't 'dodge' the draft.

never understood the hype wrote:

A great boxer. The greatest? Not by a long way.

Disrespected opponents in a childish, malicious way

Protested against the Vietnam war. Fair enough - but that hardly puts him in Nobel Peace Prize territory.

Sincerely, RIP, though; but the whole "the greatest man I ever met" stuff seems so overblown.

When Muhammad Ali said he was the Greatest, it was as a boxer; he wasn’t speaking about himself as a person or his moral convictions. In my mind, there is very little doubt about his status as an athlete, USA National Amateur Champ, Olympic Gold Medalist, 3 time Heavy Weight Champ, etc. Ali never dodged anyone, he fought Foreman knowing his last couple opponents ended up in the hospital and Holmes in the twilight of his career when everyone said he shouldn’t. Even when his skills had obviously deteriorated, he continued to fight the toughest opponents. There are clearly a couple fighters with better numbers, but in today’s era, there are multiple divisions and the number one fighter gets to pick and choose his opponent. For most of Ali’s era, there was only one division and the number one ranked fighter usually fought the number two ranked fighter. Ali came to prominence as professional by convincingly beating Sonny Liston, who was a dominant and intimidating fighter considered by many at that time to be the best heavy weight of all-time. In the first fight against Liston, Ali –or Clay at that time beat Liston to the point where he couldn’t answer the bell in the 7th round. Sports Illustrated named the first Clay–Liston fight as the fourth greatest sports moment of the twentieth century, little did Sports Illustrated know, Muhammad Ali was just getting started.

In today’s era, if you are big, strong and athletic, chances are you’re an NFL tight end or an NBA forward. In Ali’s era, there was no greater status as an athlete than being called the Heavyweight Champion of the World. If you are under age 40, it’s difficult to understand how big a deal a Heavyweight Championship fight was, up until the 1980s, it was bigger than the Superbowl.

...Muhammad Ali was the Greatest

ali took a courageous stand during the war. at the peak of his career, he was willing to face jail for his convictions.

what did michael jordan do with his stature? became a shoe salesman.

Agree......................... wrote:

agip wrote:

I've never been real impressed by Ali - poor sportsmanship, not very smart, bad family life, hurt by his sport. Very poor sportsmanship.

I recognize that he was a voice against racial discrimination so those are points in his favor, but as an athlete? Pretty low on my list of people I admire.

Agree, and he also referred to his greatest opponent as an "uncle Tom", Ali never apologized and Joe never forgave him for saying it.

Do you know who gave Ali the nickname, "The Greatest"?

Yes you are right. Ali did. He constantly referred to himself as the greatest. He was the Trump of the boxing world.

ali bumaye wrote:

ali took a courageous stand during the war. at the peak of his career, he was willing to face jail for his convictions.

what did michael jordan do with his stature? became a shoe salesman.

He was rich and he didn't spend one day in jail but lived in a cushy home. He didn't have to risk his life or bear the terrible conditions of war.

So please stop with the Ali was brave. HE WAS NOT BRAVE!