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Boxing Legend Muhammed Ali passes away at age 74

The second half of his life proved to be a struggle. RIP.
 
Dreadful news.

I love my boxing - I'm going to the world heavyweight title bout in Manchester in five weeks.

Ali, Frazier and Norton all dead? Horrible.
 
can i ask what ali's best fight was from a technical pov? might go watch it on youtube since i have nothing to do right now.
 
Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un.

Just read 3-4 hours ago that he was in critical condition at a Phoenix hospital IIRC, and was thinking come on man you can do this. Even saw a meme on facebook with the tropic thunder gif where RDJr goes "Survive!!"

True legend, and arguably the greatest sportsman to have ever lived. RIP.
 
That's another piece of my childhood gone.

I knew a fella who sparred with him. I asked what made him The Greatest? My friend fought ten professional fights, he was a fast heavyweight similar in style to Ali. He said that Ali seemed to be reading his mind - he was half a second quicker in thought, so that whatever my friend tried Ali moved out of the way.

I think he had some sort of extra-sensory awareness. Another friend asked him how he was so successful. "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" sighed the great boxer. My friend understood the stinging part but was curious about the floating. Ali replied that his mind rose up out of his body so that he could see the ring from all angles at once and knew what punch was coming....
 
Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajioon.

Rest in Peace,Legend.

The word legend sometimes gets thrown about unnecessarily,but for M.Ali it was an understatement.
 
anuk said:
can i ask what ali's best fight was from a technical pov? might go watch it on youtube since i have nothing to do right now.
Click to expand...

Fights against Sonny liston if you want to see peak Ali with hand speed and footwork or Rumble in the Jungle for a tactically better fight against a younger stronger opponent in Foreman.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Fights against Sonny liston if you want to see peak Ali with hand speed and footwork or Rumble in the Jungle for a tactically better fight against a younger stronger opponent in Foreman.
Click to expand...

cheers nikhil. finally somebody who knows enough to answer me :narine

i might skip on the rumble in the jungle since he was already quite old by then and i have seen the 'when we were kings' doco which pretty much covered that whole fight pretty well.
 
Robert said:
That's another piece of my childhood gone.

I knew a fella who sparred with him. I asked what made him The Greatest? My friend fought ten professional fights, he was a fast heavyweight similar in style to Ali. He said that Ali seemed to be reading his mind - he was half a second quicker in thought, so that whatever my friend tried Ali moved out of the way.

I think he had some sort of extra-sensory awareness. Another friend asked him how he was so successful. "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" sighed the great boxer. My friend understood the stinging part but was curious about the floating. Ali replied that his mind rose up out of his body so that he could see the ring from all angles at once and knew what punch was coming....
Click to expand...

I loved Ali, but it is interesting how damaged he was by his segregated childhood. (My aunt used to own a supermarket in a deprived black quarter of Louisville).

Try watching this painful car crash interview with Parky.


The very sad truth of the matter is that Parkinson comes out as a decent, colour-blind man. While Mohammad Ali comes out as a product of the evil, racist society in which he grew up.
 
One of the true sporting greats. A hero of mine.

RIP Legend.
 
RIP. Nobody had the charisma, the personality or gift of the gab like him. An iconic figure who transcended sport.
 
Innâ lillahi wa innâ ilayhi râji'ûn.

May Allâh bring him into His Paradise.
 
The most charismatic boxer of all time without a doubt. Perhaps, the most charismatic athlete/sporting icon as well.

RIP.
 
Muhammad Ali passes away!!

Muhammad Ali is no more with us.. A true sporting legend my prayers with his family and friends.. May god bless his soul..
 
The Greatest sportsman of all time, no doubt about it. His impact was as big off the ring as it was on it.

Good bye Legend.

RIP Muhammmed Ali.
 
RIP to a true legend!

"Don't count the days, make the days count"
 
Not a huge fan of social media quotes as they can be hackneyed and corny. But Muhammad Ali's are too good not to quote !

“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called ***** people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?

No, I am not going ten thousand miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end. I have been warned that to take such a stand would put my prestige in jeopardy and could cause me to lose millions of dollars which should accrue to me as the champion."
 
Very sad news. He was such an inspiration. He made boxing, but it wasn't just for his boxing that made him stand-out, but who he was as a human-being. He was a true legend; A true Muslim.
 
With Warwickshire and England's batsman Dennis Amiss and fast bowler Bob Willis.....
image.jpg
 
Muhammad Ali with Garry Sobers.

152626.jpg
 
Muhammad Ali with Pak actor Sultan Rahi (the one in my avatar)

ee32bd40c07b4bbaf6a09c072028f9f1.jpg
 
Sad loss for people of all colours & creed. Truly inspirational & no doubt greatest athlete of all time . May God reward him .
 
Legends Muhammad Ali with MGR (proto Rajinikanth) and a random black boxer.

CkFptVIVAAA7og5.jpg
 
Last edited:
Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajioon.

May Allah grant him heaven on judgement day. Ameen.
 
Was very sad to wake up with such news. :(

Truly was an embodiement of the greatest sportsman to ever wander this planet. RIP.
 
Junaids said:
I loved Ali, but it is interesting how damaged he was by his segregated childhood. (My aunt used to own a supermarket in a deprived black quarter of Louisville).

Try watching this painful car crash interview with Parky.


The very sad truth of the matter is that Parkinson comes out as a decent, colour-blind man. While Mohammad Ali comes out as a product of the evil, racist society in which he grew up.
Click to expand...
Yea I'd read about and seen a couple of clips like these where in his youth he seemes to have held reverse racist views of sorts but that did change as he grew and evolved as a person, around after the time when he came out of the Nation of Islam nonsense and embraced orthodox Islamic values. There's another clip on YouTube of him in older life rejecting the previously held anti-white views, it's with the same interviewer. Too lazy to look for it now.
 
RIP Muhammad Ali.

Best Muslim sportsman in history.

Huge daylight between him and next best (Zidane)
 
The Muhammad Ali euphoria when it was truly happening was way before I was born so for me to have ended up seeing him as the greatest sportsman and entertainer of all times happened in quite a strange way. I grew up in a Muslim background and I'd notice all the time he was universally admired and harped on all the time about. A part of me did wonder if all the hype and like came mostly out of him embracing Islam, particularly amongst us Pakistanis, and those who cared zilch about the sport of boxing itself, myself having a passing interest in it, so out of curiosity I started reading up about him, watching documentaries, clips and archives of him on YouTube, and it wasn't long until I was just captivated by his personality and got hooked on to watching whatever I could find of him. The utter disregard for the boxing orthodoxy, norms and conventions, the inventive and innovative boxing style and philosophy that he exhibited in the form of the then never before seen lightning quick heavyweight boxer that opponents just couldn't lay a hand on, arms held low down for a lower centre of gravity to enhance the body balance needed in his unique moving style, retreats made in straight lines, the adaptability shown at the twilight of his career in being able to completely change all of that and rely on the then not yet demonstrated extreme endurance to tactfully overcome the younger, stronger fighters and trump all the odds heavily stacked against him, as they were even at the dawn of his career to begin with. I didn't have to be big on the sport of boxing itself to be able to see the sheer genius and revelation that he truly was to the sport.

And yet, he was so much more than a boxer I realized, the sheer disregard for norms and conventions and the rebellious nature wasn't limited to boxing alone, but extended to the social and culture aspects of his life - Exemplified by the courageous stand on his principles in the refusal to join the Vietnam war, at the cost of the loss of sporting years at his very peak (could possibly have been forever) and the fortunes that were there to be made. More than his boxing achievements, the thing that got me on to watching more and more of him was really the captivity of his personality, the wit, humor, the charm that I saw in clips of his interviews. And it was obvious by then why such universal admiration there was for the man. He was an all round package, an electrifying sportsman, a charismatic, witty entertainer and person, a respectable social justice and human rights advocate and a political activist. An all round inspiration. The greatest sportsman of all times indeed for me.
 
Perhaps the most iconic athlete of all time

RIP Legend

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
 
:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/emY_vv6VAIg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
One of the greatest (if not greatest) role models of our generation.

RIP.
 
RIP,sir.a perfect role model especiallh for those suffering oppression of any any sort.never compromised on his principles whatever the circumstances.
 
I was devastated when I heard this tragic news. Ali is what you call a true legend. He is the GOAT. May you rest in peace my angel and God bless your soul.
 
Suleiman said:
But wasn't Williams coming back from a serious injury in that fight? Something related to a gunshot wound IIRC.
Click to expand...

Yes, but the poster asked from for his best technical performance. Ali scaled greater heights and we never saw him at his absolute peak because he was stripped of the title just as he was reaching it but this was as close to an Ali masterclass we ever got a chance to witness.

Rumour has it that Ali knew Williams was on the slide and was worried he might hurt him. He was advised that if you want to do him a favour, take him out early.

That's what he did.

I think Ali got caught with only two punches in the three rounds the fight lasted.
 
RIP. He was old and frail but I still can't believe it.

Ali was a household name among every one of my generation and I wasn't even born until 20 years after his retirement. That alone shows how far his name resonated beyond boxing. I'm glad his best moments can still be seen today.


This is one of the best tributes I've ever seen.


miandadrules said:
His biography by Thomas Hauser is a good place to start.
Click to expand...

Great read. I've also heard Approaching Ali is meant to be really good if you're interested in his life in the latter years.
 
I remember growing up to my dad watching his videos and going to friends of families houses and his fights being on screen

To be real his fights not even in the rumble in the jungle interested me, they still don't

It was his personality which captivated it all for me


No one can tell you how many times he got beat or how many pounds he weighed but they can tell you about his stance on the Vietnam war
Just watching some of his presence on media talk shows now and how he talks about the afterlife , or how God is his bodyguard etc or him just playing about with kids and letting them hit on him

This was a man who played up on an ego but who didn't have one
He didn't talk about money or women or how many people watch his fights , he just made everyone laugh and represented his religion to the fullest

Rest in peace, champ
 
Going to take the time to watch the Michael Parkinson specials with Mohammad Ali this evening. They're all gems and well worth viewing.

Great insight of society and the state of race relations in that era. They're all on YouTube.
 
kingusama92 said:
One of the greatest (if not greatest) role models of our generation.

RIP.
Click to expand...

I think this short statement just about sums it up best, except that it spanned more than one generation. miandadrules has already pointed out that his peak years were stolen from him when he was stripped of his title and his licence to box after refusing to back the Vietnam war. That he still went on to win world titles after his greatest assets of speed and agility were no longer there says everything about his unnatural boxing talent. I saw a video of the Cleveland Williams fight years ago and I think it was former US president Bill Clinton who summed it up best. You weren't sure whether you were watching a boxer or a ballerina.
 
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