Classic Forums Opinion on Muhammad Ali as a boxer, and a person.

As a person he was a absolute twat,

A boxer, well, he was a unbelievable one.

Sadly many of his traits as a person didn't match his talent in the ring.

 

I haven't seen the heavyweight who I think would beat the mid to late 60's version of Ali. Great fighter.

Perception is reality, so I don't think you can discount the fact that he stood for something for a large segment of a generation of people. He's no God though and there is a flip side to him highlighted by his bull**** treatment of Frazier.

 

Ali as a fighter is top 12 all-time.

Ali as a man, religion excluded (I always lose a little respect for anyone with a strong faith, the evidence suggests, there is a minimal chance of a god), seems to be a fine spokesman and symbol for the sport, a great icon.

 

Best Heavy of all time.

As a person I think he would rub me up the wrong way...

 

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I do not think many here would say Ali was not a great boxer. He was. Ali was blazing fast, athelitic, could take it to the head or body, had the heart of a champion, and a keen mind in the ring. As Ali aged, he evolved his style from a boxer, to more of a counter puncher -clincher.

Ali as a person is a bit of a mixed bag. While I understand he was a product of the 60's, the young Clay said some racy things and joined a group that wanted 20% of America to itself.

I think part of Ali's anti-Vietnam draft status is misunderstood. Upon further review, the group he joined was against it, so he was told to be against it. I really do not buy the anti-violence message as the main reason why Ali refused the draft as the group he joined was at times violent. Ali was a fighter.

Outside of the ring, Ali promoted boxing to another level. Sometimes he was brutally honest after defeat, which is something most fighters are not.

 

i think Ali was against being drafted whatever the muslims thought. Everyone has flaws. Get over it.

 

I don't think he was as bad as lots here are making out. He was sharp-tongued with a cruel wit. A lot of his personality was similar to John Lennon's I think. Sceptical and often unwelcoming to outsiders but loved by those close to him. He did have flaws, plenty of them and he was a bit misguided as a kid perhaps, but as mature man and father, I don't see much bad in him.

 

The reason you see such varied reactions is because Ali became, to many, more of a symbol than a man. Those who were sympathetic to it loved him, and those who weren't, despised him. So, Ali's started getting judged back then less on Ali the man, but on Ali the idea. Current opinions are just as varied and different because most people, once decided, didn't care to change their mind completely to the other camp.

Like alot of symbolic figures, the truth is always somewhere in the middle. Though I think Ali tends to get slightly overrated in general (same with any transcendent sports figure) and I didn't personally like some of the ways he's handled himself (I can honestly say I'm not much of a fan, but I'm no hater, either), I don't have any problem whatsoever with people who are huge fans of him because he's done enough good things and helped boxing tremendously, too. I'm naturally wary of anyone who gets the kind of "hero" treatment Ali has, but it's not necessarily a bad thing if young people take the good of him and use that as motivation. If someone sees things he's done wrong, they can just a soon use that as a template for what not to do and benefit from that, too- in essence, learning from his mistakes.

Because so much of Ali's myth is how someone were to interpret it, I'd say if you were an Ali fan before, there's no reason not to be now. Just realize that behind most legends there's a man, and nobody's as perfect as press clippings might have you believe. Put someone on a lofty enough perch, and there's nowhere to go but down.

 

Very well put.

 

You've won me over, sweet talker.

 

Ali's personality was one of a kind.

Ali visited a nursing home with Gene Kilroy. He went into a room and seen an old man with no teeth in bed. He was wrapped in a diaper. One of the nurses went over to the man and asked him, 'do you know who this is?' The man looked up and said 'Oh my God, it's Joe Louis. All my life I've wanted to meet you, Joe.' And Ali hugged the man and said, 'Thats right, I'm Joe Louis.' He then hugged the man and said, 'God bless you'.

Ali said to Kilroy after leaving the room, 'All his life that man has wanted to meet Joe Louis. Who knows how much longer he's gonna live. But now he can die happy, knowing that he's met his hero.' "

 

i read a book by alis daughter which had his poems and good deeds he did after reading thsat he seems like a really kind guy who liked to entertain people hence the brash personalioty

 

Yes, Conteh's post had a new twist that brings both perceptions down to earth.

The words on Sonny Liston's grave are just as appropriate for Ali. It's as simple as that. I don't appreciate the status he is afforded by the American Left because like most of their viewpoints, it's rooted more in emotion than it is on rationality. I will say this -the level of fame he earned is probably outdone by one other man in the 20th century -Elvis.

Elvis was not able to cope with that kind of fame and fortune (wink). He self-destructed. Nor was Michael Jackson -who deteriorated into a perversion. Ali became a better man as time went on... probably at least partly because of Parkinson's syndrome which is humbling and ironic considering who he was. Ali, an obviously religious man who has long since embraced Islam (and forsaken the *******ized version of it), also sees God's hand in his illness because it is both humbling and ironic. And so his persona is kind and charitable and ...humble -which is a pretty reliable indicator of sincere religious devotion. Ali seems to have become a better man as he aged and embraced his religion with a bit more understanding.

(TBooze, did he become less intelligent as a result? What is perspective if not rooted in reason?)

 

Wait and see the mourning worldwide when he goes. It will massive. Ali is easily one of the most famous figures on the planet. I think I'll be choking the tears.