Is Muhammed Ali histories most distorted sportsman??

Ali is a cultural icon. He transcends boxing and sport as a historical icon whose immense life crossed paths with most major events and people of his time. He is the most recognizable face and personality in the world.

He's also one of the top 3 greatest of all time. Louis SRR Ali

So he had flaws as a person? We whoopty ****ing do, i challenge anyone here to living a sage lifestyle. considering nothing is a secret when you're in the spotlight I'd say he's done fairly well.

 

The fictional Rocky character contributed more to that city than Frazier ever did.Those are the cold hard facts.

 

Good point. It's not like people hated Dempsey for dodging WWI military service or anything.

 

It should be noted that Dempsey was excoriated in the press for not fighting in WWI; and this was a selling point in his fight with Capantier, a WWJ vet who was received several medals for valor displayed in the field of combat.

Eventually he became a beloved figure, but he wasn't at that particular point.

 

Why would a man of Irish descent fight in a war in support of the British Empire? I wouldn't.

Ali had an Irish grandad so he'd have skipped on that one , too! :yep

 

:smoke The right place at the right time . The copied act from GORGEOUS GEORGE the wrestler and you have the completion of the legend . The whole 70"s boxing scene has been iconized and its total bull**** !:deal But still an awsome character who will stand the test of time with his iconic stand against the goverment and absoilutly terrific interviews and a cast ( like COSEL ) who where fabulous supporting characters .

 

Yes. He is the greatest boxer of all time, greatest heavyweight of all time and the Greatest. He beat every type of fighter in his day and defeated everyone in the heavyweight division across two separate eras including the vaunted Seventies which saw the strongest heavyweight division of all time with a murderer's row of champions from Joe Frazier to Ken Norton, George Foreman, Jimmy Ellis, and top boxers such as Ron Lyle, Jerry Quarry, Jimmy Young and the man many called the hardest puncher of all time Earnie Shavers. He was the first and ONLY man to win the legitimate lineal heavyweight title three times. Ali may have lost later in his career but he was never once knocked out for a count of ten. Greatest chin of all time. Best jab in any division. Most brialliant mind for in-ring strategy. The Greatest. Ali. The End.

 

Muhammad Ali is the greatest. And another thing for sure --- You are King of the Assholes.

 

his psyche that drove him onto his heights is questionable today, with his views on women and his obvious racist views (tbf that one was a response to the evils that white america put on him).

 

****

 

Ali is the man! **** these jealous haters.

 

The answer is in the question.

You ask about him as a sportsman. What does his personal life have to do with him as a sportsman? What in the sporting arena detracts from his legacy? He fought them all and pretty much beat them all. He made the world heavyweight championship a WORLD title, fighting all over the world and against contenders from all over the world.

He gave up three years of his prime for what he believed in and STILL came back to dominate the most competitive era of heavyweight boxing ever.

Let us contrast him to Jack Dempsey (who married a prostitute and made her keep working to support him, cheated on his wife, dodged military service -- but somehow these things don't get brought up in discussion of his life as a sportsman). Dempsey:

1) Sat on the heavyweight title for 3 years without defending it not out of principle, but simply because he wanted to go Hollywood -- have his cake and eat it too.

2) Famously spoke as if he weren't a racist, and said "Nobody owes anybody a living, but everybody deserves a chance" -- but discriminated against black challengers by refusing to give them a chance even when they had earned title shots.

3) If you believe his manager, bludgeoned Jess Willard with loaded, cast-like hand wraps.

4) Had to be helped back into the ring (illegally) by sports writers (who were his personal cheerleaders) to avoid being counted out against Firpo -- a joke of a challenger with no real credentials (like many of Jack's other opponents).

5) Allegedly took a dive against Fireman Flynn, and had such shady things going as having his own promoter -- Tex Rickard -- serve as a judge in his title-winning effort against Willard.

Some of this is without dispute, some is debatable. But I sure don't see thread after thread on this forum questioning Dempsey's legacy or "sportsmanship" like I do Ali's. I don't see conspiracy theories surrounding Dempsey's career like I do Ali's, and there is much more smoke surrounding Dempsey's background, character and life in the ring than their is Ali.

So I would say Jack Dempsey is more history's most distorted sportsman than Ali is.

 

Ali was without a doubt the greatest of all time because of what he did in the ring. He revolutionized the way HW boxers were supposed to fight.

As far as his out of the ring personality, I don't believe that men like Ali could be racists. He may have had militant views, especially since joining the Nation of Islam of it's more a result of being a black man in that era of America. It was more reactionary than saying anti white things because it was inherit in him.

Some took it on their backs, others fought against it in any way they could and Ali was one of them. He refused to go to war for a country that treated him and his people in an unjust way, and refused to accept what was supposed to be written for him as a black man in that time.

Ali was a great man in and outside the ring, he made mistakes like everyone but that comes with being human and especially having the fame and money he had.

Ali is truly the greatest of all time and probably the most famous athlete not named Pele' in the history of human kind.

 

I assume you read my other posts explaining that I don't put any value in people calling him a draft dodger. It's just a term people use to discredit him.

 

well said!

If you don´t understand how great Ali was, you don´t know boxing. These so called champions today would not even be good enough to carry his gymbag.
He is, without any doubt, the greatest of all time.
Thank you Mr Ali for all those great fights you gave us.