Muhammad Ali was the greatest, not only in the ring but outside of it as well. Whether it was as an Olympian, a world champion, or a philanthropist, Ali exceeded at all that he did. Ali was the great one; an incredible athlete and boxer but an even better human being. Great, influential, and determined are all words used over time to attempt to describe the greatness of Cassius Clay. Great is a word that is overused in today’s society but it truly fits in the case of Muhammad Ali. With an outstanding record of 56-5 and 37 of those 56 wins coming by way of knockout,(giving him a 52% knock out rate), he was truly one of the most feared fighters of all time. Ali will go down as being the first boxer to ever win the world heavyweight championship three times.
In the only Olympics he participated in in his career, Ali captivated the entire world as he brought home the gold medal to the United States with his never before seen boxing strategies, feet that were as light as a feather, hands that were quicker than lightning, and a trash talking mouth that would knock opponents out before they ever even stepped into the ring If you look through the history of the best athletes you will always find one common factor, determination. Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Muhammad Ali. They all had one thing in common being that they had the determination to do whatever it takes to win. Ali had a fire of desire burning deep inside of him to be the best that anyone had ever been. No one worked as hard as Ali to reach their goals. If he wanted something in life he put in all his effort to achieve that goal. Most people know Ali for his actions in the ring, but he was much more than a boxer. He used the platform he had to empower more and more blacks to join the race movement. He is one of the biggest reasons that blacks are seen the way they are in sports today. His in the ring influence is still seen today as his technique is still one of the premiere tactics in modern boxing.
The “rope-adope” technique of letting your opponents tire themselves out and then striking back is still one of the single most effective tactics in the boxing world today and has many other techniques based around it. Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali, The Louisville Lip, The Peoples Champion or simply put by Ali himself “The Greatest”, no matter what name you call him by it will never change the undeniably incredible magnificence of the man that forever changed not only boxing but the entire world. He was a man who feared no one but was feared by all, a man that could out talk any auctioneer in his sleep and still have enough punchlines left to fill a rap song. No one present, future or past can or ever will be able to bring what Ali brought to the table.
