RIP M ALI

The term "sports icon" is often misused in today's day and age, but it certainly applies to Muhammad Ali. While I never thought he was the "Greatest (Boxer) Of All Time", he was the greatest show the sport ever saw, certainly.

I won't go into his politics, but I have to respect a man who is willing to give up what he was willing to give up for his beliefs.
 
America lost a real hero when Ali died. He was and always will be, "The greatest"; for his athletic accomplishments and his standing tall on his principles.
 
One thing people should realize about Ali is...he was not a "draft dodger". Usual draft dodgers went to Canada or used political pull to avoid service. Ali could have agreed to the military service and he would have never seen actual combat. He stood for his principles (whether they were good principles or that was smart or not I don't know).

58,000 young Americans died in the Vietnam War and now we (USA) are getting along fine with them and have trade deals. Makes you wonder.

Anyway - Ali should be an example to other athletes in another regard. He never got hit much in his youth or his prime, but he kept it going too long and took too many heavy punches later in his career and ended up "punch drunk". Even in the small town I grew up in we had a guy who was a middle weight boxer in his youth and he walked the streets wiggling around and semi-throwing short punches at the air and mumbling...too many hits to the head...cumulative. Even the "Greatest" is not immune to that.

RIP ALI
 
Racer1930 said:
One thing people should realize about Ali is...he was not a "draft dodger". Usual draft dodgers went to Canada or used political pull to avoid service. Ali could have agreed to the military service and he would have never seen actual combat. He stood for his principles (whether they were good principles or that was smart or not I don't know).

58,000 young Americans died in the Vietnam War and now we (USA) are getting along fine with them and have trade deals. Makes you wonder.

Anyway - Ali should be an example to other athletes in another regard. He never got hit much in his youth or his prime, but he kept it going too long and took too many heavy punches later in his career and ended up "punch drunk". Even in the small town I grew up in we had a guy who was a middle weight boxer in his youth and he walked the streets wiggling around and semi-throwing short punches at the air and mumbling...too many hits to the head...cumulative. Even the "Greatest" is not immune to that.

RIP ALI
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That has happened to so many boxers and football players it is hard to calculate. Many of today's athletes are getting out early, especially football players. The money is much better now and they can afford to do so. Guys are financially set for life at an early age, or have enough money to feel very comfortable starting their after football life immediately that they see what repeated concussions and CTE are doing to guys who play for too long.

We haven't seen this much with MMA, yet, mostly because it is a relatively new sport. They also use much smaller gloves and so guys don't take nearly as many shots to the head before somebody gets knocked out if they do, and there is a lot of grappling involved where nobody is getting hit in the head at all. They also only fight 3 five-minute rounds, 5 rounds if it a championship fight or the main event of the evening.
 
One memory I will always have of my dad was him and I standing by the refregerator listening to Clay Liston fight on a fuzzy AM radio that sat on top of it.
 
A lot of people did not like him, back in the day.

Am I the only one left?

He was a loudmouth, braggart, muzzlimb but worst of all a draft-dodger.

He was a good fighter. So good, in fact they even gave him a couple fights he did not win.

Not right in my book.
 
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