armed forces – due to personal and religious beliefs – subsequently earned him a three-year ban from boxing, robbing him of his peak years as a professional fighter. In 1967, Ali’s refusal to be inducted into the U.S. But comparing boxers across different eras and weight classes is a fruitless exercise. Many boxing fans and journalists might tell you Ali isn’t the best boxer in history – that honor often goes to Sugar Ray Robinson. “The fact that he believed so strongly about that, shows he wasn’t only the greatest in the ring, he was the greatest outside of the ring as well.” “At the time it was a very unpopular decision, he lost an amazing amount of his fan base, the American media turned on him but he stuck by it and years later people look back and think what an amazing stand. “His personal and religious beliefs were so strong that he lost three and a half of his best years because of a decision he made not to go to Vietnam. “Every fiber of his being was great,” said David Haye, a fellow former heavyweight world champion. Funeral, procession planned in Louisville.While mourning is inevitable when someone of Ali’s stature passes away, it also has served as an opportunity to celebrate his life. “He passed away, but the memory of Muhammad Ali and his accomplishments we will never forget.” Pacquiao said Ali’s death, at the age of 74, following years of ill health was “a big loss for boxing,” but that his legend would live on. “We all know what he has done and accomplished. “I always admired him and I always thought ‘This is my inspiration, why I am here in boxing.’ “Muhammad Ali, when I started boxing, was one of my inspirations,” Manny Pacquiao, another of boxing’s all-time greats, told CNN after Ali’s death was announced.
It says a lot about him that many sporting icons look up to Ali in much the same way as his hordes of “ordinary” fans. His charisma, charm, quick wit and ability to turn a phrase were just some of the qualities that made him a truly global icon. It’s easy to say – but much harder to convince millions of people around the world that you’re right.Ī conversation about Muhammad Ali could go on for hours before even beginning to touch on the sporting legacy he left in the ring.
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