[OP]
Contributor
The "Great One" is gone.
I still remember the coverage of the Liston/Clay fight as he taunted Liston.
They would report on the radio that Clay had once again appeared outside Liston's house in the middle of the night, shouting and calling Liston all sorts of names.
The man was a true craftsman!
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon
Contributor
"He floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee... He calls to the other guy, I'm Ali - catch me if you can."
Rest in peace Champ. We'll miss you.
Contributor
Most disliked him in the beginning,then everybody loved him. He didn't change. We did. Difficult feat. He loved kids and there are many stories of his attention toward a child or two while being interviewed. I chuckle every time I think of him bringing that big trophy over to his corner...before the fight!
Moderator
Few men are true to their convictions as Ali. He was a giant and I see no others on the horizon. We have lost a great American and a great world ambassador.
Mike Null
St. Louis Laser, Inc.
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Member
Not everybody. I still have no love for arrogance.
Originally Posted by Mel Fulks
Contributor
My father boxed a little and was an avid boxing fan. He detested Ali and his boxing style. He ranted about his refusing to be inducted into the Army due to religious beliefs after being drafted. Yet, when I got drafted, the same father told me that it was an unpopular, unnecessary war and advised me to enlist in the Navy. I followed his advice. Give Ali, the credit due. He was willing to pay the penalties to stand behind his religious convictions. In fact, he lost his license to box at his very prime. People willing to pay any and all penalties to stand by their beliefs have a rare courage, then and now. There are a lot of empty loudmouths who talk the talk but few really walk the walk. He walked tall.
Arrogant youths are nothing new. They weren't new in the early 60's, they aren't new today. When he backed up his arrogant, outrageous predictions with knockouts, he proved his steel.
I argued many hours about Ali with the father who I loved, respected and lost in 1972. I still believe there is nothing intelligent about standing directly in front of another man, chest to chest and trading punches. There is a difference between a fighter and a boxer. Ali was a boxer, an intelligent boxer.
Later he suffered with Parkinson's and did so with a grace from which many could learn.
Hanging on a wall in our family room 10' from me is a 36"x30" oil portrait of Ali. In the view of this portrait, the viewer is on the mat, looking up at Ali standing, gloves ever ready, in the neutral corner.
This nation lost a true national treasure. He was an international ambassador for this country, his religion, his race and humanity.
RIP Muhammad Ali
Last edited by Ken Fitzgerald; 06-04-2016 at 2:01 PM.
Ken
So much to learn, so little time.....
Contributor
He lost me when he refused the draft. Even Elvis served.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Contributor
Mike, that's understandable. I had pretty much forgotten all that. But he lost what was probably his peak 3 and 1/2 years of his career and was eventually upheld. So now I think of it as a stand for principle.
Contributor
Ken,good job on that obit. I'm thinking you had written, polished occasionaly , and filed ready to go to print!
Contributor
My belief is that his refusal was upheld because they didn't want the negative publicity of prosecuting Ali. It was easier to just make it go away. Anyone else, not so famous, would have wound up in jail. And Ali would certainly not have been sent to Vietnam. He would have been treated like Elvis - he probably could have even trained for, and fought, professional fights while in the military.
He was just too arrogant to serve in the military. He was not going to have other people telling him what to do.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Contributor
Mike, I knew a number of people that were conscientious objectors. Still thought they were good folk. In fact, the character traits that made them conscientious objectors were probably some of the same traits that made them stand-up citizens.
Comments made here are my own and, according to my children, do not reflect the opinions of any other person... anywhere, anytime.
Contributor
Thanks...it didn't happen. Just off the cuff.
Ken
So much to learn, so little time.....
Contributor
You're correct. Sincere conscientious objectors deserve our respect. But as you probably know, during the Vietnam period, a lot of people "discovered" they were conscientious objectors. And conscientious objection (for the draft) meant that you objected to all war (not just to the Vietnam War), and that it was a sincere and long-held belief.
Getting a deferment based on conscientious objector status was difficult and required showing that you had a background of that belief, not that you just came by it when you got your 1A status. If you were a Quaker, or a few other groups, that was easy.
Other groups that objected to war, such as the Amish, did civilian service as hospital orderlies instead of military service.
I never heard the exact reason for Ali's refusal to serve, but there was certainly nothing in his background that would indicate a long history of objection to war. The only comment I ever heard him make about his refusal was "Ain't no Vietcong ever called me {the N word}" which would have indicated an objection to serving in Vietnam, and not a general objection to war.
Mike
[I doubt if any of those 58,000+ people whose names are on that memorial in Washington, DC had been personally insulted by the Vietnamese before they served (and died).]
Last edited by Mike Henderson; 06-04-2016 at 6:37 PM.
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Moderator
When we were kings was a great documentary. Ali's genius was his interaction with people not his boxing. He made me simultaneously cringe and love him.
At one point in time he was the most recognized image on the planet. Years after he stopped boxing.
Nice tribute Ken.
Member
Great post Ken,couldn't have said it better myself.
RIP Ali.
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