Utuh Paloi Banjar Blog

Is Muhammad Ali really the greatest?

Why should I dwell on this subject knowing that countless books and articles have been written about this man whose claim to ‘float like a butterfly, sting like a bee’ had never been successfully imitated.

Why Should I? A recent article in a sports column of a local newspaper implied that Muhammad Ali was once sent to jail for refusing induction into the US armed forces. What a pitiful presentation of facts. If a writer of a sports column who should be knowledgeable could mislead readers, most of them are as ignorant as the writer himself, what then can we expect from the young generations who have not seen how this fleet footed genius with lightning fast hands once mesmerised the world.

How do we perceive greatness in boxing? Is it a fighter’s ability to knock out opponents with merely a hammer like jab, left hook, right cross or uppercut or just with a powerful swing of the arm reminiscence of George Foreman and Mike Tyson. Should that be the criteria, why these fighters are never considered great.

Let’s travel down memory lane going back to the era of champions prior to the emergence of Cassius Clay/ Muhammad Ali. Heavyweight boxing was dying a slow death as attendances in the boxing arena kept dwindling. The boxing fraternity with the help of the print and electronic media were trying their utmost to woo spectators to return and yet the seats remain barren. How could the broody Sonny Liston, a fighter who could demolish his opponents in one or two rounds, be able to persuade the paying public to watch just a few minutes of one sided fight. Or Floyd Patterson with his ‘peek-a-boo’ style or Ingemar Johansson who at best could be graded as ‘modestly talented’ be able to revive the ailing sport! The writing on the wall was crystal clear.

February 25, 1964 was the day of reckoning. Had Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) lost his fight with Sonny Liston, the reigning World Heavyweight champion then, heavyweight boxing will, most likely, go down that dark alley of anonymity. A seven to one underdog, Ali did not only changed the outlook of boxing on that fateful night, but created a fervour that reverberated throughout his entire career. In one dazzling night, Ali had changed boxing from two dull looking fighters standing toe to toe in the middle of the ring outslugging one another to two contrasting individuals with one fighter standing virtually still and the other, i.e. Ali, circling around throwing lightning fast jabs and combinations.

Past champions, after winning title fights will reluctantly face the media for scrutiny. Not Ali. No fighter before Ali, even if they were underrated, had the balls to tell the media to “eat your words”. As though to add insult to injury, he shouted at the stunned journalists not to ever again rate him as underdog. Initially, there were resentment but as Ali continued to prove that his ability matches his antics, the press world accepted him like no other fighter before and since.

Ali’s uncanny ability to entrap the media soon made him the most recognisable face the world over. No boxer, not even sportsmen, before and after have ever been readily accepted by leaders of foreign countries from prime ministers, presidents and kings and made him their guests. Young and old, children and adults from every corner of the world, even from the most remote jungle of Borneo have at least heard his name even if they have never seen him on TV or newspapers.

How many mortals can claim such recognition?

Boxing aside, isn’t he the greatest sportsman that ever walked the planet ?

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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 26th, 2009 at 5:35 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.