Muhammad Ali, RIP.

[indianafrank]

Not surprised at the toll taken by a career at this, as I can attest firsthand. Why I didn't leave with others after the first session, I have no idea. Delusional I guess.

I hit the canvas a lot.
I started boxing at the age of 12. My father boxed in the Marines, and then became a sparring partner for some of the boxers I mentioned in my earlier post. Mostly though he sparred for the DeJohn brothers. He used to get his ass kicked for .50 a round. So, that's how I got started.
I boxed in clubs and high school, and in the Air Force. Then I just trained and worked out until about 5 years ago. I had to stop using the heavy bag cause of back issues.
I was at the Floyd Patterson - Johansson fight at Yankee stadium in 1959. I was 12 years old and remember it like it was yesterday. I also traveled to see many of Carmen Basilio's fights. I have about 400 old 8 and 16 mm fight films. Joe Louis, Patterson, Robinson, Basilio, Marciano, Max Baer, Dempsey, Schmeling, Willie Pepp, Archie Moore.

 

[mso489]

indiana', sounds like you had some actual chops, and a world of boxing contacts. I don't think most of the hollering crowd knows how much intelligence is required. You have to be able to pour on energy, absorb pain, and think smart. 'Had a friend in the Navy who'd done some amateur boxing, and he said after his first few wins, he realized, if he felt this bad after he won, how would it feel to lose. I think he's still an engineer with Shell Oil, or retired.

 

[indianafrank]

I don't think most of the hollering crowd knows how much intelligence is required

Well stated! And that is one big reason why Ali did well. He was smart. "Rope a dope." Covering his face with both gloves and letting opponents punch themselves out was his trademark.
I was a dumb boxer. And the more I was hit in the head and knocked down, the dumber I became. That's why today, :| I have no clue...

 

[jefff]

When I was a young man, many of my friends took Karate and tae Kwan do. But every time I saw 2 men fight it looked like boxing. So I took up boxing.
You can know all the moves there are to know but until you've been hit in the face you don't know squat. Boxing teaches you to persevere.
Every body has a plan unlike you punch them in the head.
I had a wonderfully misspent youth.

 

[pipestud]

ABC's 20/20 did their entire show last night in tribute to Ali. It reminded me of so many courageous things he did outside of the ring. Example; he absolutely loved boxing and the fame it brought him, yet at the height of his career he chose to risk going to prison, being stripped of his title and (until the Supreme Court stepped in), was not allowed to practice his profession because of his personal beliefs and convictions regarding induction into the military service. He even foresaw what the "majority" of congress concluded later on, that our participation in Vietnam was not the smartest thing this country ever did. Another thing that I admired about him outside of his boxing skills was his love for all of humankind, and the dignified way he handled his Parkinson's Disease in later life. He was a man who earned respect for walking the talk - and boy, could he ever talk. (-:
And yes, I am a military veteran... and I am one who thinks Muhammed Ali was a GREAT human being and a GREAT American. I loved the guy.
Pipestud

 

[jerwynn]

I really want to thank mso489 for posting the link to the new yorker article/bio/retrospective... it was an über-thoughtful, intelligent, and comprehensive look at Ali... and all the many and various dimensions of his life. I remember at times being supremely irritated and annoyed by Ali way back in the day... but then time passing, life, evolution, and social change or at least illumination, like every human being, Ali turned out to be a complex picture and his whole life becoming way more than the sum of any of its individual parts. And so it goes.

 

[jefff]

Wether you agreed or disagreed with him he at least had the courage of his convictions.

 

[indianafrank]

I really want to thank mso489 for posting the link to the new yorker article/bio/retrospective... it was an über-thoughtful, intelligent, and comprehensive look at Ali...

Yes, thank you mso. And I agree, Ali was a complicated individual. But don't we all seem complicated to some, in one way or another? It's what makes life interesting. What a boring world this would be if everyone walked around wearing the same persona. Contrast in life is what makes life an adventure. We learn from the differences of what's right and wrong, hot from cold, good from bad, love and hate, a bully and a hero, this job from that job, etc, etc, etc... From knowing what we don't like we can change to the things we do like. And everyone we meet should be a learning experience for us.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I thought Ali was fantastc and the outpouring of grief over his passing is well-deserved. Let's face it, he is the most famous American athlete in history, with instant name recognition around the globe. He was a legend.
And how many men have fought Superman and lived to tell the tale?

 

[pipestud]

Great picture, Peck! Would have been a great fight, for sure!
Pipestud

 

[ssjones]

I'm not a fan of Ali. My 50 year old father missed a year of my young life slogging thru the jungle in Vietnam while Clay decided he was more privileged than my father and he didn't need to serve. No ill will, I'm just not a fan.

 

[jvnshr]

The list of fallen giants and heroes for 2016 keeps growing. Yet another great is gone.

I cannot agree more. RIP Muhammad Ali.

 

[rx2man]

Re: Ali's military service....Ali would have never served in a combat role, he would have done the Elvis. He knew this and STILL did what he thought was right. He lost everything for his principles. I think that is the big difference between a draft dodger and Ali.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/muhammad-ali-risked-it-all-when-he-opposed-the-vietnam-war_us_5751e545e4b0c3752dcda4ca
"he was given opportunities to recant, apologize and join the military in an entertainment capacity — to perform for the troops and cameras and show off his own signature persona. He declined, and some of his allies turned against him."

 

[cigrmaster]

R.I P to the greatest.
Sorry to disagree with some of you vets but if I was a black man in the 60's and saw how my race was being treated, I would not have fought in that war. Now WWII is a different story, that war was for our freedom.

 

[instymp]

RX +1, but when he was younger he was a cocky SOB, but the best! Disagreed with his rhetoric but no taking away from his skill set. Later in his life, truly an admirable person.

RIP

 

[rx2man]

@ instymp, I was born in 71 and Ali would have stood out today. I cant imagine what it was like for some parts of the country in the 60's to have a black man on TV talking like he did. My father was born in 39 and was in the Army from 63-66. He respected Ali for standing up for what he believed in and accepting the consequences for it. Even more so considering Ali would have simply been entertaining the troops and would not have been in a combat role. He still stood for his beliefs.
Now Hanoi Jane was someone dad despised. Going to North Vietnam crossed the line.