I used to love watching him when I was a kid at primary school, never really thought of him as a boxer then, more a 'funny man'. And to illustrate how times have changed, I mind having to make a 'Cassius Clay' out of an egg box at school, maybe around Primary Three when we got art. It was just a crude caricature of a black man we were guided to make, with big eyes, big nose holes and big lips, then we were told to paint it black.

Imagine that today.

But also at primary, as insults, we used to use adapted phrases we'd heard Cassius utter, like 'this school's too small for me', 'I'm going to beat you and give you to the zoo' or the obvious 'I am the greatest!'

Clever man though, in later life I thought back and reckon this was his best quote, after refusing to be drafted to the US forces:

"I an't got no quarrel with the Vietcong. No Vietcong ever called me a nigger". 
 

I lived in London in the very early 1970s when he was making a televised comeback against a guy called Oscar something.  I had just got  colour TV and invited some mates around to watch the fight. There we were, scattered round the lounge with an abundance of beer and baccy, all hyped up, the missus and bairns banished to their bedrooms.

The referee called the fighters together, they went back to their corners, "ding ding"......and central London had a power cut! Fecking raging.....

Last edited by Leedsy2 (04/6/2016 11:33 am)

A true icon of boxing who's personality,celebrity and status transcended the sport and made him a global superstar and one of the most recognisable faces on the planet.

My Granda was a boxer and for him Ali was indeed 'The Greatest'.

As someone who himself is now a big boxing fan i feel it is tinged with sadness that such a great man stayed in the game too long and lost those 3 fights after his 'comeback'.

Rocky Marciano and Joe Calzage remained undefeated and had the perfect careers because they got out at the right time.

Ali too should have been bestowed with that feather to his cap but money and (or more likely) a bit of vanity got in the way.

Even the brightest stars one day fade,alas.

Sleep well Champ.

motherwellarab wrote:

sad news rip champ i never saw him fight so need to take my dads word for it that he was the best boxer of all time, best boxer i have saw in my lifetime was probably mike tyson before his prison sentence as after he got out he had lost that killer instinct  

 
Still had his rapier wit though.