Ali has died. R.I. P. the greatest

[Globalgunner]

A beautiful man, perfectly made, spiritually endowed. Lucid, loquacious, linguistic. You are the greatest always will be. RIP.

Everyone knew this day would come but even now I still cant believe he is no more amongst us. A rare human being, Heaven is rolling out the red carpet for sure.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I thought the guy was a bit of a cunt if I'm honest, used the kind of language that had he been white would have been called out for what it was Racist.

Definitely larger than life and charismatic, definitely deserving of the sporting accolades he achieved although not ever a great hitter

Don't get me wrong, Parkinson's is a terrible affliction and I wouldn't have ever wished it on him....it's sad that by today's standards he died so young. But can't say I ever particularly liked him that much as a person.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/21/newsid_2504000/2504777.stm

Fought Henry Cooper in Highbury in 1966

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Moved to other sport.

And RIP.

[Marc Overmars]

Very sad. One of the greats that trascended his sport.

RIP.

2016 deaths show no signs of letting up.

[Kano]

I thought the guy was a bit of a cunt if I'm honest, used the kind of language that had he been white would have been called out for what it was Racist.

Definitely larger than life and charismatic, definitely deserving of the sporting accolades he achieved although not ever a great hitter

Don't get me wrong, Parkinson's is a terrible affliction and I wouldn't have ever wished it on him....it's sad that by today's standards he died so young. But can't say I ever particularly liked him that much as a person.
classy

[GP]

rip

[The Wengerbabies]

I thought the guy was a bit of a cunt if I'm honest, used the kind of language that had he been white would have been called out for what it was Racist.

Definitely larger than life and charismatic, definitely deserving of the sporting accolades he achieved although not ever a great hitter

Don't get me wrong, Parkinson's is a terrible affliction and I wouldn't have ever wished it on him....it's sad that by today's standards he died so young. But can't say I ever particularly liked him that much as a person.
I'm going to agree with this. While undoubtedly a great sportsman and very charismatic. I'm not so sure he was a great man. Certainly a racist.

[Niall_Quinn]

The Greatest. No doubt about it. RIP.

[Özim]

classy

Why be two faced and pretend he was an amazing guy if you didn't think so. Someone doesn't become a saint just because they passed away.

My take, didn't have a problem with him, very entertaining and charismatic, great boxer, didn't know too much about him as a boxer, so R.I.P.

Certainly one of the big personalities of the last 50 years.

[Kano]

Calling someone a cunt wouldn't be the first thing that comes to mind shortly after someone dies. Especially not someone who hasn't exactly brought tyranny to the world.

[Özim]

Calling someone a cunt wouldn't be the first thing that comes to mind shortly after someone dies. Especially not someone who hasn't exactly brought tyranny to the world.

Yes I agree maybe it could have bene voiced better, but someone passing away shouldn't change your view of them. If you didn't like them before they passed away it would be hypocritical to pretend you did after.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Rip to a great and an icon. He was flawed like the rest of us and I've no doubt he regretted a number of things he said over his career. In fact he vocalised as much.

[Xhaka Can’t]

He was a principled man who was the Greatest in the ring and even greater outside it.

He was my first sporting hero and provided me my first sporting memories. RIP

[Niall_Quinn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkhpZoPOfZI

[Ernesto]

Agree with HBZ. Some of the things Ali said about Joe Frazier were disgusting. It's impossible to ignore just how extrovertly racist this guy was

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Calling someone a cunt wouldn't be the first thing that comes to mind shortly after someone dies. Especially not someone who hasn't exactly brought tyranny to the world.

This isn't a book of condolences it's a sports forum. I think some of the things Ali said deserved the four letter word I attributed to him.
He did take what I thought was a very principled stance against being drafted to go to Vietnam.

And yes he was a marvellous fighter. To come back and win the title in Zaire against George Foreman was amazing achievement.
But no I'm not going to retract what I said about him.

[Niall_Quinn]

The more controversial he got, the better it was. Western society has become a wilting little pansy. Bathed in self loathing and guilt for shit their grandfathers did - incidentally whilst turning a blind eye to the exact same shit that goes on today but cosied away under a blanket of political and corporate PR.

I miss people who said what they actually thought. These lily livered cunt stains who are always watching every word in case some obscure campaign group gets offended - fuck them. Let them be offended. How are they actually harmed? Do they die or something? Cunts are queueing up to be offended these days. It's a social sport.

Poor old Gazza is off to court because he cracked a joke about a black bloke. The black guy is still alive, having suffered no adverse effects whatsoever. In fact I don't think he was bothered. Somebody else was bothered on his behalf. The real offensive shit here is the huge nose some offended cunt has, a nose stuck into everybody's business.

Blacks call themselves niggas but whites can't do it because grandaddy used to own slaves. Now your pension scheme runs off the back of modern day slavery but nobody gets offended about that. How fucking convenient. And we want to call out Ali because he said what he wanted to say and then backed every word with action?

There are far more worthy targets. Millions of them.

[Kano]

This isn't a book of condolences it's a sports forum. I think some of the things Ali said deserved the four letter word I attributed to him.
He did take what I thought was a very principled stance against being drafted to go to Vietnam.

And yes he was a marvellous fighter. To come back and win the title in Zaire against George Foreman was amazing achievement.
But no I'm not going to retract what I said about him.

Say whatever you want do whatever you want. I'm just admiring your classiness.

[GP]

The more controversial he got, the better it was. Western society has become a wilting little pansy. Bathed in self loathing and guilt for shit their grandfathers did - incidentally whilst turning a blind eye to the exact same shit that goes on today but cosied away under a blanket of political and corporate PR.

I miss people who said what they actually thought. These lily livered cunt stains who are always watching every word in case some obscure campaign group gets offended - fuck them. Let them be offended. How are they actually harmed? Do they die or something? Cunts are queueing up to be offended these days. It's a social sport.

Poor old Gazza is off to court because he cracked a joke about a black bloke. The black guy is still alive, having suffered no adverse effects whatsoever. In fact I don't think he was bothered. Somebody else was bothered on his behalf. The real offensive shit here is the huge nose some offended cunt has, a nose stuck into everybody's business.

Blacks call themselves niggas but whites can't do it because grandaddy used to own slaves. Now your pension scheme runs off the back of modern day slavery but nobody gets offended about that. How fucking convenient. And we want to call out Ali because he said what he wanted to say and then backed every word with action?

There are far more worthy targets. Millions of them.

It's political correctness gone mad. You can't drink tea anymore in case it offends a Pakistani.

[Globalgunner]

People who get upset about what Ali said to Frazier are simply ignorant of history and do not see the subtext of what really happened. Moreover it gives them a reason not to like a person that they have decided not to like. An uninformed case of the onlooker crying louder than the bereaved.what people do not know is that Frazier and Ali were friends even after the 1st fight between them. In the years when Ali was banned and Frazier was the champ. Frazier was one of Ali`s benefactors, regularly giving him money as Ali had little income. They met several times outside the ring prior to the fight and the name calling was part of the stratagem to make more money. $2.5m each was the purse. No one had even been pain $1m before that time. They both got paid and Frazier would have been in on it from the start.

Its a bit like people who I see trading insults over Jay -Z and Beyonce over her new album Lemonade and rumours of infidelity. Its all a promo scam and idiots get taken in and buy the album. Has Beyonce got a divorce lawyer yet? Suckers!. Yes Ali was brash, rude and irreverent, that was his nature and he could be cruel too. He once fought a black guy called Terrell in 1967. In the build up the guy had insisted on calling Ali Cassius Clay. Even though he had officially changed his name. Ali beat this guy black and blue for like 6 rounds or more even though he could clearly have knocked him out much earlier. With each barrage of blows he would taunt him " What`s my name"?. When Ali came to England to fight Henry Cooper he boasted that England had a queen and he was coming to be its King, posing with a crown for added measure.

Fraziers problem with Ali was not the name calling, at least not so much. It was the ego thing. He couldnt handle that Ali became so much more than a boxer, that in 3 fights he could not break him. He got lucky once in the first fight but in the other 2, Ali beat the crap out of him. What must have rankled even more was that Frazier fought Foreman twice and both times Foreman beat him senseless like a little girl. One uppercut literally lifted him up off his feet. Yet Ali made what seemed impossible possible with his miracle in Zaire.

Before you get all wrapped up in your sympathy for Frazier, Remember this. Frazier was later on once asked what he thought about Ali coming down with Parkinsons disease and Frazier replied. " Yes it was me that made him that way". He was a bitter man to the end.

Ali a racist? Really?! to whom was he racist?. To the people who wanted to make him meek and subservient like they wanted all black men to be. To the people who even then could lynch a black man just for looking admiringly at a white woman. Yeah right. Him and those other noted racist terrorists Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.