It is difficult to tell the last time when most of us thought of Muhammad Ali. It could have been months or even years. Now that he has passed away, those of us who grew up when he was punching opponents out of the ring, will feel a sense of loss. Ali was, without doubt, the greatest boxer of his times. And he shaped those times with his exploits in the ring and out of it. He was loud, menacing and ruthless when in the ring. But he was also a man of principle who refused to take the draft and fight in Vietnam because, as he said, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong.” He stood by his beliefs and was jailed for three years, when he was at his peak. His stance earned him respect and made him an enemy of the government. His conversion to Islam took America by storm at a time when very little was known about the religion. He floated through controversy and even reveled in it. He turned every fight into a spectacle. He threw jibes at his opponents long before the fight had begun and when the time came to enter the ring he seemed to have a physiological edge over them. He was theatrical and funny.
Muhammed Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, shot to fame in 1960 when he won the gold at the Rome Olympics. In 1964 he defeated the formidable Sonny Liston to claim the world title. He mesmerised crowds with is loud boasts, shuffling footwork and speed, to become the boxer who floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee. His trilogy fights against Joe Frazier, another great fighter of his time are considered, even today, the most brutal form of combat in the ring. Frazier won the first, but Ali came back to win the second. Ali had a way of labelling his fights to the delight of the crowd and his supporters and his third bout against Frazier, which was dubbed, ‘Thrilla in Manila’ was in Ali’s words, “the closest thing to dying”. The fight left both fighters mentally and physically wrecked. But despite this, Ali stopped giant George Foreman in what became known as ‘Rumble in the Jungle’. He went on to win the title for a third time from Leon Spinks to become the first boxer to accomplish this feat. But his last two fights are best forgotten.
Ali did not confine controversy and conflict to the ring. He let it pervade his personal life where it would be difficult for him to claim success of any kind. The Greatest was husband to four women and a father nine times. His bedroom dalliances were a cause for heartburn and unhappiness and it was only after he married Yolanda Lonnie Williams in 1986 that he settled down. The fights with his spouses and girlfriends are a part of the legend, which America and the world chose to either ignore or take in their stride as human shortcomings.
On how he wanted to be remembered, Ali said, "I would like to be remembered as a man who won the heavyweight title three times, who was humorous and who treated everyone right….And if all that's too much, then I guess I'd settle for being remembered only as a great boxer who became a leader and a champion of his people. And I wouldn't even mind if folks forgot how pretty I was."
That, pretty much, defines Muhammed Ali.
