One thing that I really thought was interesting was a quote from Ali's best friend, photographer Howard Bingham. "Even the people who don't like Ali like Ali." That about sums up Ali after all these years. With the stigma of the Vietnam War and his conversion to Islam not only forgotten, but revealed as positive tests of character, Muhammad Ali has become an international symbol of peace and the goodness of the human race. Surprising, given that he shone as the biggest star of the most violent sport.
Ali was more than just a hero in the ring, he was a hero to people of all colors all over the world. Even some 40 years after he initially won the title against Liston and in his current debilitated state, the love and aura of hope that he emitted continues to reverberate through out the world abroad. It's impossible to hate Ali, because even the somewhat malicious things he perpetrated were done with a secret smile of sorts, and it was easy to forgive him for saying/doing things that others would be vilified for. In journalism, it's hard to be objective about him as a fighter, because in reality he was much more than a fighter. He was as much a public figure and domestic diplomat as any other entity in modern history. He was bigger than boxing; he dwarfed life.
There has never been a greater star in boxing, and not too many outside of the ring either. Although human, Muhammad Ali stands in a class of his own and is beyond the constraints of modern perception.
Ali was more than just a hero in the ring, he was a hero to people of all colors all over the world. Even some 40 years after he initially won the title against Liston and in his current debilitated state, the love and aura of hope that he emitted continues to reverberate through out the world abroad. It's impossible to hate Ali, because even the somewhat malicious things he perpetrated were done with a secret smile of sorts, and it was easy to forgive him for saying/doing things that others would be vilified for. In journalism, it's hard to be objective about him as a fighter, because in reality he was much more than a fighter. He was as much a public figure and domestic diplomat as any other entity in modern history. He was bigger than boxing; he dwarfed life.
There has never been a greater star in boxing, and not too many outside of the ring either. Although human, Muhammad Ali stands in a class of his own and is beyond the constraints of modern perception.
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