TM2YC said:
Most focus on Ali as Icon, but he was an incredible prize fighter.
The first fight I saw of his was with Henry Cooper. Everyone in the room was for Cooper (I suspect because he was white), except for me because I loved then Cassius Clay's brashness and outrageous comments.
It was an especially bloody match, but Clay had the force of destiny behind him.
For about almost decade, I was pissed off at him, until I grasped he was right, I was wrong.
A lot of people were wrong.
Hindsight, eh?
Sports pages used to be filled with boxing stats. Win-Loss. Height - Weight - Reach. And lots of photos. It's barely covered now.
I've heard comments of how Ali elevated the sport to global interest and fame, yet how he also, perhaps damaged it.
The toll he absorbed was catastrophic.
And perhaps as we progress down the road, we love our taste for blood sports.
Ali - R.I.P.