(June 4, 2016 at 12:05 pm)CapnAwesome Wrote: One of the most important things to remember about Ali, both as a man and as a boxer is that he missed 4 of his prime athletic years where he was stripped of his title because of draft dodging and his principled stance against the war.
Yes, we'll never know how great a champion he could have been because of his having the title stripped. Prior to his years wandering in the wilderness, we had glimpses of how magnificent he was (Liston, Terrell, Williams) and of course we saw his checkered but often brilliant years once his boxing license was reinstated, but those lost years will always be a tantalizing "what if".
For my money, his defining fights -- aside from winning the title from Liston -- were the fight in Zaire when he beat the odds and Foreman to regain the title and his third fight with Frazier, during which two of the finest heavyweights of all time threw more punches and absorbed more punishment than seemed possible. People rightly talk about Ali's speed and freakish reflexes, but it's worth mentioning that he had a granite chin and could take body punches like no one I've ever seen.
Of course, his courage and ability to absorb such punishment (combined with his refusal to retire after the fight with Frazier in the Philippines) led to his developing Parkinson's, which was sad. But I doubt many Parkinson's sufferers lived so long and so well with their condition.
R.I.P. Champ. And thanks for the memories.
