I Boxed Against Muhammad Ali
And the greatest of all time scared the shit out of me
All day at school in my sixth-grade classes, I doodled drawings on Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston, punching Ken Norton, rope-a-doping George Foreman.
Racer Arena was packed that January 16, 1981 night. I don’t remember much about the topic, but what struck me was his appearance.
He overflowed with confidence and power. He yelled. Loudly. Often. He spoke clearly, knew how to stress a point, when to pause, and when to use his hand gestures to make an even stronger point.
He was a very dynamic speaker. He knew how to get a message across. He knew all eyes were on him. He loved being in the spotlight, and — just as he was in the ring — he was a champion at delivering knockout punches — with his words.
Then it was off to the Umars’ house party to meet the three-time heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali.
My heart was racing.
As soon as we entered Mrs. Umar’s house, I heard his loud, commanding voice as he was in the middle of some amazing story of an earlier boxing match saying, “I’ve wrestled with alligators. I’ve tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed lightning. And thrown thunder in jail.”
The whole room erupted into laughter.
I quietly crept around the crowd avoiding eye contact with Sports Illustrated’s Man of the Century to grab a small plate, some cheese and crackers, and, some punch — pardon the pun.
I was nervous and scared. If I didn’t have my dad’s encouragement and nudging my elbow I think I would’ve chickened out to get Ali’s autograph.
“Here,” my dad finally said. “He’s not busy. Let me introduce you.”
Meeting the greatest of all time
My heart rate increased.
He didn’t need to introduce me.
Muhammad Ali took care of that.
“Well, who is this fine, looking young fella?”
“My name is Mike,” I stammered nervously. “Can I have your autograph?”
“You want MY autograph? The greatest boxer of all time? Come here, son. Let me see if you know how to fight.”
I inched a few steps closer, figuring I was the butt of one of Muhammad Ali’s jokes. I turned tomato red. Meanwhile, my brother stayed hidden behind my dad afraid to even establish eye contact with the champ.
Then out of nowhere. Vroom. His left fist goes flying inches from my right cheek. I ducked. Then he pulls a lightning-quick right hook millimeters from my nose.
Another left punch goes so close to my ear I hear and feel the wind. Three more air punches. Whoosh. Whoosh Whoosh.
I keep throwing my hands up to protect myself, but I’m dizzy trying to keep up with all the jabs, hooks, uppercuts, and other series of blows.
Then as fast as the punches come it’s over.
“You got a lot of work cut out for you kid,” Ali responded. “Here, let me see your autograph book” as he quickly scribbles his name.
“Do you mind if we get a photo?” my dad asked.
“Sure, I’m too pretty to break y’all’s camera,” Ali replied.
Parkinson’s delivers a nasty punch
Muhammed Ali’s greatest fight though was not in the ring but against Parkinson’s disease, which Ali fought relentlessly for 35 years.
Ali’s loud, cocky fury slowly turned into silence and solemn tranquility. His withered body deteriorated, hardly a shell of his once chiseled body.
Parkinson knocked out Ali with years and years of blows to the head, severely dampening his speech and motor skills for three decades — but not his spirit.
Muhammed Ali passed on June 3, 2016, at age 74.
Thousands lined the streets in his hometown of Louisville to pay homage to the champ.
At Ali’s memorial, wife Lonnie said, “If Muhammad didn’t like the rules, he rewrote then, his religion, his beliefs, his name were his fashion no matter what it cost.
“Muhammed wants young people of every background to see his life as proof that adversity can make you stronger. It cannot rob you of the power to dream, and to reach your dreams.”
And, boy, did Muhammed Ali ever reach his dream. And give me a boyhood dream to last a lifetime.
Thank you for reading
Tagging some fellow sports fans: Scot Butwell, Gerald Sturgill, Sam Ochstein, Jameson Steward, Laura McDonell, MarkfromBoston, Julian Cosky, Scott Younkin, Craig Stanland, Frank Priegue, Andy Spears, Harold Zeitung, Susan McCorkindale, Brian Wright, Charles Water, JH Spencer, Michael Dolan, George Blue Kelly, Patrick OConnell
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