RIP Muhammad Ali

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Probably one of the greatest athletes ever across all sports. Only seen highlights of him fighting but my dad would always say how he was one of the quickest athletes he's ever seen.

[tower912]

His interactions with Howard Cosell were legendary.     More appreciated for his political activism now than in his youth.   RIP. 

[MU82]

This news obviously isn't stunning, as Ali had been in declining health for years, but it's still a punch to the gut when an all-time icon dies.

One of my saddest sports memories is that of the 1980 Ali-Holmes fight. Ali was on the cover of SI looking trim and athletic, and the hype led my friends and I to trudge to the Arena and pay $20 to watch the fight on close-caption. Twenty bucks was a TON of money for a college kid 36 years ago! We were so psyched. But Ali, who was 38, looked 10 years older than that. And even though the in-his-prime Holmes obviously took pity on his former mentor, Ali's corner stopped the beating after 10 rounds. It was a terrible way for a champion to go out.

For those who haven't already seen When We Were Kings, the 1996 documentary about the Ali-Foreman fight, find it and watch it. There have been dozens of fine boxing films, and that's one of the best.

[ChicosBailBonds]

GOAT


<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/WVNFycGb8_c" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/WVNFycGb8_c</a>

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Here's a very high quality video of a full Ali fight when he was still really young. Man did he just mentally antagonize his opponents.

https://youtu.be/efBcVKmbLs8

[rocket surgeon]

rip cassius clay.  he competed when boxing was for real and had an international following.  probably one of the last of the few who made boxing the sport it WAS.  of course there are some behind the scenes things that occurred that many are not privy to, but CC rose above those and delivered quite a polarizing personality

[warriorchick]

rip cassius clay.  he competed when boxing was for real and had an international following.  probably one of the last of the few who made boxing the sport it WAS.  of course there are some behind the scenes things that occurred that many are not privy to, but CC rose above those and delivered quite a polarizing personality

Cassius Clay died 50 years ago.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

It strikes me how young he was to have been in the spotlight so long.  Obviously he had the effects of Parkinson's in '96 at the olympics but I can't believe he was only 54 then.  RIP

[GGGG]

Cassius Clay died 50 years ago.

Yeah why call him by his former name?

[ATL MU Warrior]

Yeah why call him by his former name?

I think that answer is fairly obvious

[real chili 83]

His interactions with Howard Cosell were legendary.   RIP.

Simply priceless.

[Herman Cain]

 He ranks among the all time great athletes. He had two distinct phases of his career. In the first he truly "floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee". Then he had the controversial layoff for 3 years due to refusal to serve in the military,“I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong,”  was his famous quote.    When he came back he relied on brains and tactics. What was amazing to me was how long he was at the top of the  boxing game.

I remember meeting him a couple of times. The first  at LaGuardia Airport in the early 80s at LGA airport with his wife at the time Veronica. He was in the American Airlines cab line like a common person, he had some financial difficulties and no longer had his entourage. I saw him about 15 years later at the American Airlines admirals club at LAX airport.  The early stages of the Parkinson's had clearly set in.

In the days prior to cable, internet, cell phones etc, he may have been the most visible person in the whole world.   Although he was not universally loved at the time.  The interviews with Howard Cosell were legendary. Funny and Quick witted.  He truly had a sharp mind.

[MU82]

rip cassius clay.  he competed when boxing was for real and had an international following.  probably one of the last of the few who made boxing the sport it WAS.  of course there are some behind the scenes things that occurred that many are not privy to, but CC rose above those and delivered quite a polarizing personality

Yes, rocket, Cassius sure was one articulate colored man. Very unthreatening. Not at all like that uppity n-----, Ali.

[GooooMarquette]

GOAT

Yep, and it isn't even close.  RIP.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Yes, rocket, Cassius sure was one articulate colored man. Very unthreatening. Not at all like that uppity n-----, Ali.

Pathetic on your part.  Way to make it political....again.

Just pathetic.

[warriorchick]

Pathetic on your part.  Way to make it political....again.

Just pathetic.

Naw, Rocket started it.  He knew what he was doing.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Naw, Rocket started it.  He knew what he was doing.

MU82's language was not only not necessary, it was political in nature.  It was pathetic.

[GooooMarquette]

Rocket fired the initial shot, 82 fired back.  Disappointed in both.

We lost a true sports icon - his color or religion don't belong in this thread.  RIP Muhammad Ali.

[warriorchick]

Love this photo.  Love the story behind it even more.  Neil Leifer, the young photographer, had gotten there early to get set up in the place he wanted to be.  However, he got kicked out of it by a senior Sports Illustrated photographer who was given first dibs on whatever spot he wanted.  In the end, he wound up shooting one of the most famous sports photos of all time.  And the guy who kicked him out of his original position?  It's the guy you see between Ali's legs.



Even more remarkable is that back then,  action color photography required a lot of additional lighting that took time between shots to recharge. Unlike the black and white photographers there, he had one chance to get this picture.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

rip cassius clay.  he competed when boxing was for real and had an international following.  probably one of the last of the few who made boxing the sport it WAS.  of course there are some behind the scenes things that occurred that many are not privy to, but CC rose above those and delivered quite a polarizing personality

Don't you remember what he did to Ernie Terell when he called him Cassius Clay?

WHAT'S MY NAME!?

[GGGG]

Don't you remember what he did to Ernie Terell when he called him Cassius Clay?

WHAT'S MY NAME!?

Thank you.  I was trying to remember who that was.  Newspapers when he was sent to jail continued to call him Clay even though he had legally changed his name at the time.  It was an insult with bigoted overtones. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

Don't you remember what he did to Ernie Terell when he called him Cassius Clay?

WHAT'S MY NAME!?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/ernie-terrell-boxer-who-won-a-world-title-but-suffered-a-savage-beating-after-inadvertently-calling-9947176.html

[GGGG]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/ernie-terrell-boxer-who-won-a-world-title-but-suffered-a-savage-beating-after-inadvertently-calling-9947176.html

So Terrell wasn't doing it on purpose.  Others were.

[ChicosBailBonds]

So Terrell wasn't doing it on purpose.  Others were.

You may want to read the article again

[ChicosBailBonds]