Muhammad Ali, 'The Greatest of All Time', Dead at 74

NBC News ^ | 4 June 16 | NBC News staff

[SkyPilot]

Muhammad Ali, the silver-tongued boxer and civil rights champion who famously proclaimed himself "The Greatest" and then spent a lifetime living up to the billing, is dead.

Ali died Friday at a Phoenix-area hospital, where he had spent the past few days being treated for respiratory complications, a family spokesman confirmed to NBC News. He was 74.

After a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74. The three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening," Bob Gunnell, a family spokesman, told NBC News.

[Hot Tabasco]

I hated the Cosell crap

Cosell's real name was Cohen...........

[Nucluside]

Rock on, RPL!!

[CIB-173RDABN]

You, as I, have a right to our opinion.

As I look back over my 69 years I have found my views on many things have changed. My world is no longer black and white (no pun intended)but full of greys.

Forgiveness is as much for ones self as the ones we forgive.

In this case the man did not do me any harm and so it is presumptuous of me to “forgive” him or any of the other thousands of young people that choose a different path then I did. I no longer hold any animosity towards any of them.

There is one exception however, Jane Fonda gone way beyond protesting the war. In my eyes she was a traitor and should have been tried as such. I have vowed to piss on her grave but I am afraid that line will be very long indeed.

This is of course one persons opinion and is not meant as criticism in any way.

[Chainmail]

You’re fortunate to have developed that magnamity. I haven’t.

I was fully aware that we were fully involved in a difficult fight and there were long periods where we lost people every day, day after day. When I came home, I saw lots of able-bodied males wandering around enjoying the carefree life and I was deeply resentful.

I volunteered for another tour and was badly hurt. I lost even more friends over there while our countrymen made up even more excuses.

Mohammed Ali gave the wrong example to the men of our generation and I will always denounce him and all the others who let us bear that burden by ourselves.

[harpu]

You said; "Now IS the time to say exactly what Ali was—a media created fraud."

NOW, show some class and suspend yourself from the Forum until you're ready to act like an adult.

[CommerceComet]

Thanks. Those were interesting videos. I loved the scientific street fighter one. When opponents of Roberto Duran were asked post-fight about him, two themes seemed to commonly arise. First, every punch he threw, no matter how insignificant looking it was, hurt. Second, Duran was really hard to hit. This video shows why. As a master of strategic positioning, Duran was always on balance to get maximum leverage on his punches while being in position which made it hard for his opponent to counter-punch.

[ganeemead]

I watched one of Duran's first fights to be televised in the states and Howard Cossell and Jerry Quarry were announcing and Quarry was a sort of a major student of the fight game. Howard asked him something like "Jerry, obviously what we're seeing here is special but how special exactly?" and I'll never forget Jerry's answer.

He said that you could almost always look at a fighter's face and tell what he did for a living and that it was very rare but every once in a while you'd get a sort of a dance master like Ray Robinson, Willie Pep, or Ali who boxed for a living and never got hit much and it didn't show on their faces, but that Duran was even rarer than that. He said that Duran was the rarest bird in the entire fight game, basically a guy who moved forward and threw heavy punches and STILL never got hit with anything solid and he said that you didn't even need the fingers of one hand to count all of those that there had ever been.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

"No. The ones who paid “a heavy price” have their names engraved on a black wall and those like me who have had pain every day for nearly 50 years." Without denying the price paid to serve, I also won't deny the price paid by those who did not run away to Canada, but paid the consequence here. Different price. "Mohammed Ali betrayed all of us by failing to serve our country. His example could have inspired and supported our efforts in a difficult long-distance war but he chose to provide the opposite." He betrayed no one. He considered it an unjust war. You can disagree, if you wish. To each their own. "I have not forgiven and will not forgive people who benefitted from our country’s opportunities but welshed on our country’s responsibilities. My heroes are the young men who fought, not the turds who stayed home." I don't think anyone who made their own choice cares about your forgiveness - nor desires it. As such, it is a burden you alone will carry. My heroes are those who follow their convictions in the face of contrived wars. To each their own.

[MarvinStinson]

Your swallowing the news media bilge on Ali, presented by writers who never had a fight with their own sisters and are scampering to keep their own jobs by parroting the left wing line, shows how gullible you are.

[SkyPilot]

And he was a coward. He would fight for his own self-interest, but not for the freedom of others. Every single punch he threw and every victory he had in the ring was as nothing compared to the deeds of those who went and fought in his place. It is a sign of a sick culture that he is so lionized. And he played a major role in making that culture sick.

Well stated.

[SkyPilot]

Howard Cosell and him. Lol.

[Iscool]

I always wondered what a boxing match would look like if both boxers "boxed" like Ali. I don't think that a single blow would have been thrown. Both would just dance around and stay away from each other.

LOL...

[SkyPilot]

In the move “The Paper Chase” a guy at Harvard says his IQ is 190. I thought it was not possible, but it is. I met a guy who had that IQ. He was amazing.

[Chainmail]

Cowardice is easily justified - and our freedom will not survive excuses.
Any war young Americans are suffering and dying in is our war. No amount of excuses will change that fact.

[Duchess47]

I’ll bet he was. Great experience for you. I’ve met some people, one kid at the library in particular, that I’ve wondered about.

I always suspected he was a genius hiding in skateboarder clothing. :)

[Neoliberalnot]

He was a decent boxer but not the best. He did get the best media promotionals, I will give him that. I did agree with his views on interracial marriage. He was a muslim and that fact puts him low on the list of the civilized.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“Any war young Americans are suffering and dying in is our war. No amount of excuses will change that fact.”

The fact that our young Americans are serving honorably is a different issue than whether the war is honorable - or whether the piece of crap leaders just wanted to use them as an instrument of failed policy.

[Chainmail]

Typical Lefty answer. You don’t have serve and risk your life with everyone else because “you don’t approve of the war”.

The BS flag is on the field.

[Neoliberalnot]

Agreed. Smokin Joe beat him like a borrowed mule and still was told Clay won.

[Neoliberalnot]

How many times did we watch him cower and cover in the corner for 12 of 15 rounds and then still win the fight on a decision???””

For the last 5 years of his career. It was pathetic and shocking to see he was still awarded the win. He was also allowed to hang on his opponents head constantly.