Just been sent a link to HBO's tribute to the man which is possibly the pick of the bunch from what I have seen;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThJbZR8M9a0&feature=youtu.be

It is interesting how figures like Ali, who were such a fixture for generations like mine, are just footnotes for the younger folk of today. To my children and their friends there is name recognition of Ali but little else.

I have been thinking about why boxing has lost the pull it had over the likes of me in my youth. I remember huge anticipation before the big fights, when boxers were household names, when the schoolyard conversations spoke of little else. To me the turning point was when boxing fell into the hands of pay television. It stripped the immediacy away and limited access by the less privileged to whom the stories of boxers beating the odds were a source of inspiration.

The messages Ali was able to deliver in a time of real racial discrimination and poverty in the US would probably not be possible now.

What are we left with? MMA? Perhaps it is just me but hitting someone you have knocked to the ground is just an anathema. A cage instead of a ring, the kicking, elbowing and kneeing all speak to a brutalisation of a tradition, a gladiatorial spectacle very much in the Roman sense rather than a sport.

Geez I'm getting old.

Hi STEELEREDUX...

I couldn't imagine ALI was a coward, and I do think he was treated quite harshly by the US government for failing to answer his call-up. I'm not entirely sure why he chose to avoid his obligation? Being who he was, he would've been given some decent posting where his fame and abilities could've been usefully exploited to the mutual benefit of both the US military and Ali himself, I would've thought ? One need look no further than Mr Elvis PRESLEY when he honoured his call-up ?

Indeed, the Oz Navy have always excelled in the annual Inter-Service Boxing tournament, followed by the Army and the RAAF last, in the early to mid sixties. Today, the annual Inter-Service Boxing has been done away with, considered the risk too great to the young participants? But your Dad was part of a very strong Service team, being Navy, they built 'em tough in those days !

Thanks SteeleRedux, I don't think that Muhammad Ali was in anyway a bad person, his life's contribution was greater than most, and he will be remembers kindly by the majority.
As for Beach, I see him as a bit of sport. I think I tagged him right as a gung-ho militarist who did no more than paraded around playing soldier. Ali stood up for what he believed in.

Hi o sung wu, just as Ali made a choice, Elvis also made a choice that went with his convictions. MA choice put his at odds with the authorities and he paid the penalty. I hold nothing against Elvis, in fact I am a big fan, been to many an Elvis show.
I an interest in what you said;
"very few of the fighters I associated with, had much of a kind word for Muhammad ALI," Why? just because they were fighters doesn't mean they had anymore knowledge of him that I do. Ali was also a showman, don't hold that against him.

Dear Paul,

Michael Parkinson in his autobiography, "Parky,"
first published in 2008 -
has dedicated two chapters to Muhammad Ali.
"Ali, the Greatest," (page 181 onwards), and
"Ali in Autumn," (page 192 onwards). It covers all
his interviews and knowledge of Ali and makes for
fascinating reading capturing a difficult time in
American history and doing it so well.

The Los Angeles Times also reminds people that -

"Ali, after all started at the bottom and ended up at
the top, literally fighting his way through the
racism and limitations of pre-civil-rights America
to become a living example of what can happen when you
challenge the system and win."

We're also reminded - that success in the ring made Ali
famous, but it was his personality, open-heartedness,
defiance, recklessness, and falliblity that endeared him
to so many.

RIP.

Hi Paul 1405...

You must remember the fighters that I associated with and fought, were known as journeymen, tough as old bags but devoid of those finite boxing skills to win major events. As 'prelim.' fighters they were either heading up, or like me in it to earn a quid. There's no such thing as a good amateur boxer worth his salt. An amateur who could hold his hands up, turned pro ASAP in order to justify the heavy hits he took. I fought several Oz former champions, and beat them - why? On the way down they hit the piss, started working the doors of big pubs, and the rest is a sad decline to either crime or a drunkin' nobody.

I was lucky I had a career to rely upon; so win, lose or draw was of no real consequence other than a somewhat bruised ego (& 'face') with any loss. It encouraged me to keep and remain fit, which was important in our occupation. The only real danger was to do something stupid that would bring the force into disrepute, and that was unforgivable.

Moreover I sought permission from the Command Executive to participate, according to the strict terms of my written application to fight, and as long as I strictly complied with the criteria that came with that authority, I was sweet!

You may also be aware Paul, many coppers played 1st grade Rugby League, their gentle countenances were often shown on TV, whenever they played. Their 'permission' was not unlike mine, simply a different sport is all.

The main thing that worried Command;

(i) Was the activity the member sought to participate, going to bring the Force into disrepute? and;

(ii) Is there any likelihood the activity sought, may render the member medically unfit for him to perform their allotted duty.

Fighters are very opinionated lot. From memory it was the late, great Rocky MARCIANO who was their favourite, as was his brawling style, that seemed to capture their imagination completely.