Many millions of Muhammad Ali fans all over the world have a certain fight they remember as a child. There exists a certain feeling they get which is attached to the memories and innocence of childhood.
For me personally, it was the live showing of "Rumble In The Jungle,"on ABC Television's Wide World Of Sports. Ali regained his title on October 30, 1974 by defeating champion George Foreman in their bout in Kinshasa, Zaire.
This was the first boxing match I had ever witnessed at that point, and it left an indelible impression on me.
As an 11-year-old boy I was a amazed to see the great Muhammad Ali performing what is often imitated but never duplicated, the scientific tactic known only as "rope a dope."
I became a life-long fan of boxing and Muhammad Ali on that day.
The greatest Ali fight, in my opinion (in terms of a master performance) was at the Houston Astrodome in November of 1966. Ali fought Cleveland Williams in front of an indoor record 35,460 fight fans.
A year and a half before the fight Williams had been shot in the stomach by a Texas policeman.
As a result Williams went into the fight missing one kidney and 10 feet of his intestines.
Williams was tough as nails and Ali put on the performance of a life time, he threw accurate pinpoint punches while moving constantly, like an evasive whirlwind.
Ali beat Williams in three rounds in what is for some people, including the great Mike Tyson, is a favorite Muhammad Ali performance of all time.
Muhammad Ali defeated almost every top heavyweight in his era, which has been called the golden age of heavyweight boxing,by historian and boxing aficionado Bert Sugar.
Ali was named "Fighter of the Year" by Ring Magazine more times than any other fighter, and was involved in more Ring Magazine "Fight of the Year" bouts than any other fighter.
Ali was a masterful self-promoter, and his psychological tactics before, during, and after fights became legendary.
His theory was to train hard before the fight to prepare himself mentally and physically. The mental aspect was always more important to him than the physical aspect.
One of his most famous quotes states that the fight is won or lost long before he enters the ring, out there behind the lines, the key is in the preparation and road work.
It was his amazing ring intelligence and athletic boxing skill, however, that enabled him to scale the heights and remain at the top of the food chain of all heavyweight champions for so many years.
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about 1 month ago
A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he'll never crow. I have seen the light and I'm crowing.
Muhammad Ali
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