I asked Joe Frazier earlier this year about Ali's declining state, ... and he replied, with a sense of satisfaction, 'I did that to him.' |
I don't know if there's ever been a greater fight. |
I vowed that, once I got out from under my father's control, I'd never be controlled by anyone again. |
It's important for people to understand what INSCOM is all about and how it developed into what it is today. |
Now, if Ali was still going around saying those things, I don't think he would be as beloved as he is today. By the same token, this country as a whole has become much more understanding of the terrible prejudice and bigotry that existed and has come to recognize the underlying validity of Ali's demand for racial justice and equality. |
There are certain points in time where you can look back and say 'That's when Ali should have retired,' ... He clearly should've retired after Manila. When you've taken a beating like he had taken in Manila and you know you're not the fighter you once were, that's the time to get out. |
There has been sort of a selective amnesia. If you look at the Will Smith movie 'Ali,' it virtually washed away Ali's history in the Nation of Islam. People are being told that Ali stood up for his beliefs, but they're not being told what those beliefs are. |
This fight could make a legitimate claim to being the greatest fight of all time, maybe not in terms of social significance, but in terms of great action between two historic fighters, ... Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times. |
Throughout a lot of the black community, he was an object of derision and scorn because of the way Ali treated him. It was cruel. |