Muhammad Ali.
With the sad news of one of the greatest icons in sporting history passing away, the BBColumn pays tribute to a man many people say was the greatest boxer of all time Muhammad Ali.
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American boxer. He became one of the most famous boxers in the world with his "rope-a-dope" technique. He was also well known for his clever rhymes. In 1999, Ali was named "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated magazine. He won the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship three times. Ali also won an Olympic gold medal for boxing during the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy.
Ali was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He was named after his
father, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr. Ali changed his name after converting to Islam in 1965. Because of his Islamic beliefs, Ali would not fight in the Vietnam War when the army tried drafting him. This made him an international figure around the world. Ali retired from boxing in 1981. In the early 1980s, it was found out that Ali had Parkinson's syndrome. He became well known for his social work and charity.
Muhammad Ali married four times. He had seven daughters and two sons. One of his sons was adopted by him.
On December 20, 2014, Ali was hospitalized for a mild case of pneumonia. Ali was once again hospitalized on January 15, 2015 for a urinary tract infection after being found unresponsive at a guest house in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was released the next day.
On June 3, 2016, Ali died from septic shock due to respiratory problems at a Scottsdale, Arizona hospital, aged 74.
Info from Wikipedia.
Dexter’s Thoughts
Leaving religion and politics out of it Ali was one of the greatest boxers with out a doubt in my mind, only the great Rocky Marciano could arguably be classed greater. Ali was a inspiration to me from a early age, me and my brothers used to watch his fights when we were kids late at night on a black and white TV and we all loved his swagger and style. He is one of my hero’s in the world of boxing and I have always tried to emulate his style in the ring with good movement and fast hands, and a lot of talking to his opponents while in the ring. He was just a great all round entertainer in or out of the ring and he could sell a fight with his quick and brash talking. Ali in my opinion took boxing to another level, even if you had never seen a boxing match you knew who Muhammad Ali was. I did see him in the flesh once in 1984 in
Hockley Birmingham, I was 13 years old when the great one came to open the centre in Hockley that wore his name (spelled incorrectly). The Muhammad Ali centre was opened in 1984 and the crowds that came to see Ali were amazing,
I saw him from quite a distance away but with all the cheering and admiration the crowds showed him you knew you were in the presents of a great person. Unfortunately the centre has been derelict for many years and was used as a drugs den until it was burnt out by vandals. It now sits there boarded up and covered in graffiti which is a sad site for a building that was named after one of the greatest boxers of all time. I honestly think and I have thought this for a very long time that Birmingham council should get off there arses and repair the building and use it as a multi sports centre keeping the great mans name, and hopefully building sports men and women for the further and maybe inspiring some young people to put down their ps4s and Xbox 1’s and do some kind of sport.
RIP Muhammad Ali 1942-2016.
