It must be for his contribution as the originator of “trash-talking” and bragadoccio which plague all sports today.
Isn’t that the truth? I think Ali did quite a lot to remove the aspect of gentlemanly competition from professional sports.
I never cared much for the guy either. In addition to the offputting self-promotion and the radicalism, I thought that the way he treated Joe Frazier, a basically decent guy, was beyond disgraceful.