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The Greatest Has Gone


murray street

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Absolutely the greatest. As a boxer, a man and super entertainer. What a tragedy that parkinson's disease stole him away from us years ago. I couldn't bear to watch the shadow of the man he used to be when he appeared in public. Sonny Liston was a great name too. RIP Muhammad Ali.

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His importance transcended the sport he excelled in. A very influential world figure. I have zero interest in boxing, absolutely zero... but he was a legend. I remember Michael Parkinson's interviews, the famous photos with the Beatles, the iconic photo of him towering above a vanquished opponent, his conversion to Islam, refusing to fight in Vietnam, his civil rights importance... A legendary figure, no doubt about it.

RIP.

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Yes a True legend, and also outside the ring was morally a GIANT, at a time of massive social unrest he stood and stuck to his principles and beliefs.

To be WC champion when they only had one title- 3 times is still unbelievable

Like Mandela a loss to humanity

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A former workmate of mine was a young store boy in a newly refurbished Co-op in Birmingham where Ali was booked to do the honours on grand opening day.

Such was the size and excitement of the crowd they had to whisk him out the back through the stores where my mate grabbed the only piece of writing material to hand to get the great man's autograph. I bet there aren't to many framed autographs of his moniker on a torn outer from a kellogs cornflakes box?

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Watched a clip during a tribute show where his (I think) second wife was standing beside him and a journalist tried to ask her a question. Ali jumped in to say 'she don't talk too much, in fact she talks when I say so'. OK, so it was a different time where the world was a different place. Still, bit of a cnut was old Ali, no? Racks up to the fight in Manilla with his bit of totty on his arm with the wife at home seeing her husband swanning around with a dolly burd he's shagging on his arm like it's no big deal?

Bit of a cnut right enough. Like Tiger Woods. Cheating lowlife cnut.

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Watched a clip during a tribute show where his (I think) second wife was standing beside him and a journalist tried to ask her a question. Ali jumped in to say 'she don't talk too much, in fact she talks when I say so'. OK, so it was a different time where the world was a different place. Still, bit of a cnut was old Ali, no? Racks up to the fight in Manilla with his bit of totty on his arm with the wife at home seeing her husband swanning around with a dolly burd he's shagging on his arm like it's no big deal?

The HBO documentary on the Manilla fight with Joe Frazier had much on on the other side of Ali. The Nation of Islam "white people are devils" and "blacks and whites should be segregated" stuff is quite well-known, but the really personal and racist attacks on Frazier (for unknown reasons) were a real eye-opener for me.

Frazier had helped him get his licence back when he'd been banned for not going to Vietnam, even gave Ali money. When he was back though it was really grim what he did to Frazier; called him a gorilla and an Uncle Tom, said he was the wrong type of Negro, Frazier's family home had to be protected because Ali stirred up so much resentment, his son was his beaten up at school.

After Manilla he tried to apologise to Frazier via his son and media, but not to his face. Frazier pretty much didn't forgive until he died.

Edited to add, as you say, was also mentioned in the documentary what a womaniser he was. His wife was so enraged by him flaunting his teenage mistress to the world's media that she got on a plane immediately to Manilla. I think she was wife 3 of 5 or something like that.

Edited by Julian Banjos
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