R.I.P. Muhammad Ali

I was born in 1974 so most of what I know about Muhammad Ali as a boxer was through watching old tapes...his fights against "Smokin" Joe Frazier and George Foreman were legendary...I was actually good friends with the nephew of who he said ws the hardest punch he ever took..from Ernie Shavers..anyway rest in peace champ

One of my favorite Ali fights was against Chuck Wepner who unexpectedly went all 15 rounds with Ali. But of course you have the Thrilla in Manila, and the Rumble in the Jungle which are absolute classics. Ali is my all time favorite. He was just such a smooth operator. His punches were so pretty that they didn't look like they were being thrown all that hard, he was light on his feet and had amazing stamina. I loved watching him not only physically dominate some of his opponents, but also psychologically dominate them. Ali understood the power of getting into an opponent's head and he was the all-time greatest at doing so. He was also the best trash talker sports has ever seen IMO, and one of those rare fighters that could say he was going to do something, and then carry it out. A lot of people liked Tyson, or Lennox Lewis, or George Foreman, or Holyfield... But in my book Ali was and always will be the greatest boxer to have ever lived.

It's just so sad that he's gone, and it's even more sad what boxing has turned into today.

Other athletes (Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan) have dominated their sports as Ali did boxing, but I can think of none who became such a major figure (in a good or bad way depending what your politics were in the 60s ) in the larger society of their times

RIP

Muhammad Ali: Boxing legend, activist and 'The Greatest' to a world of fans

His hands and his mouth were furiously fast. His skill as a boxer made him "The Greatest" in his mind and in the minds of many others.

He antagonized opponents with his taunts, amused reporters with his boasts and angered government officials with his anti-war speeches. At the same time, he goaded a stubborn, hard-nosed society with his stinging jabs against pervasive racism.

Since the mid-1960s, he was one of the most famous faces on Earth, and even though his appearances in recent years were few, the name Muhammad Ali still sparked smiles all around the globe.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/04/world/muhammad-ali-obituary/index.html

rarely is there an athlete who is so widely regarded as the greatest in their sport, Ali was one of them