Muhammad Ali turns 70: Still the Greatest

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http://www1.skysports.com/boxing/news/11067/7436657/Still-the-Greatest

Nice article there and lots of coverage around the webs. Thought I would take the opportunity to put a thread up about one of the (if not THE) most iconic sporting figures, and amazing humans, of this era.

Happy 70th Ali! Godwilling your older years will be kind to you through your difficult struggle with Parkinsons.

Ameen (Amen).

Edit: More linkage (some of these quotes are bringing me close to tears) -

Lennox Lewis on attending his birthday party

He showed that you do not have to be a puppet, that you can be yourself and stand up tall and proud for your beliefs.
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Some quotes: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/17012012/58/muhammad-ali-70-best-quotes.html

Better quotes: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/16146367.stm

Other people on Ali: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/16289663.stm

"He destroyed a generation of fighters by boxing with his hands down. Everyone who did that got creamed but Ali was so quick he could get away with it." Angelo Dundee.

"Boxing had robbed him of middle age. He was an old man at 41." American sportswriter Dave Kindred on Ali's struggles with Parkinson's syndrome.

"He was the greatest figure in my professional life. There was nobody remotely like him." Hugh McIlvanney.

"I don't call him the best boxer of all time, but he's the greatest human being I ever met." George Foreman.
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On his trainer: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/boxi...lis-trainer-reflects-on-the-legend/52568286/1

"We're like family," Dundee said. "We've always been family and we're always going to be family. He'll say, 'Angie, I want to come and train. That's what I miss the most. Being in the gym. Working up a sweat.'
"I'll say, 'Me, too, kid. Me, too. We can't do that. But what I can do is make sure you know that I love you.'
....
"His ability to maintain an active lifestyle and persevere shows tremendous resilience in the face of what is a degenerative brain disease," said Dr. David Houghton, an assistant professor at the University of Louisville who is co-director of the division of movement disorders and department of neurology.
....
"Because of all the things Ali did and said, some people thought he was just this big blowhard and they wanted to see him get his comeuppance," Nack said. "But what you should never forget is he backed it up. He was really a great fighter. He understood how to sell tickets, but even more than that, he understood how to fight. He was never afraid."
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http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/...e_lessons_to_remember/srvc=home&position=also

When the courts wrongly ruled his refusal to submit to the draft was illegal he didn’t run to Canada or Europe. He stood and fought back without complaint, losing nearly four years of his prime and a fortune in the process. That stance was what made my dad reconsider his notion of Ali
....
Today, as his 70th year dawns gray and cold, it has become too much for some to bear watching him tottering along, his wife Lonnie’s arm steadying him as he moves. Yet as age and disease attack him that seems to be his last message to us all.

The last lesson of the great lion of my time is to stand tall even when you are broken. Relent not from what you believe, even when the fight seems hopeless. Do not complain that the road is rocky for did you think it unfair when it was smooth? And, perhaps most of all, do not ask, “Why me?” because the answer really is, “Why not me?”
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Happy bday to the greatest boxer that ever stepped in the ring...the guy is a legend and sadly the heavyweight division hasnt been the same without him.

Sad that hes suffering from parkinsons so is a shadow of his former self but despite all that hes still an amazing human being.
 
Hard to think of another sportsman thats transcended so many borders. Happy Birthday Ali, try and keep well...

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
cheets64 said:
Great boxer but some of the ways he spoke about other boxers was disgusting.
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Because showmanship and showbiz revenues are drummed up by both boxers talking in a civil manner to each other over a cup of tea?

Get over yourself! Also, supply a quote that made you disgusted if you feel that strongly about it. At least that way we can judge what constitutes a "disgusting" comment when made by 2 men who are about to pound the living daylights out of each other.
 
ps3ud0 said:
Hard to think of another sportsman thats transcended so many borders.
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As well as creating his fair share. He ranted about white people more times that I've had hot dinners, and was basically a knobhead that could hit people well. Clinton only loved him for political reasons.
 
Robbie G said:
As well as creating his fair share. He ranted about white people more times that I've had hot dinners, and was basically a knobhead that could hit people well. Clinton only loved him for political reasons.
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BRRING BRRING! The 60s are calling. They would like to administer a history lesson or two.
 
The man in his prime was a racist, sexist coward who turned on friends in a heartbeat. Not a trait I admire in others, he was also a cheat.

As a man fighting Parkinsons though, I fully admire his battle.
 
dannyjo22 said:
The man in his prime was a racist, sexist coward who turned on friends in a heartbeat. Not a trait I admire in others, he was also a cheat.

As a man fighting Parkinsons though, I fully admire his battle.
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This, the same man that said a black man should never be president because of the white man, but claimed he was the greatest!

I remember learning about his name Cassius Clay then his new name.

Good boxer, yeah, the greatest rubbish.

Like comparing Tyson and Ali, you cant do it, completely different times, training and setups.


but Tyson could punch, sweet jesus
 
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