Dance like a butterfly, sting like a bee. His jabs were legendary.
He was an icon, a very outspoken athlete who spoke his mind at a time when black men were not supposed to stir the pot. That, to me, is real bravery.
And as
@Joker said, the thrilla in Manilla was the stuff of legend. 15 rounds of brutal clobbering in 120 degree heat, the final of the 3 matchups between two legends, Joe Frazier and Ali, that nearly left Joe blind and crippled and Ali, dead.
Ali would later say it was the closest he ever came to dying.
A personal story: my father bet everything he had on the Ali-Sonny Liston fight because he had seen Ali in the olympics and knew what he could do, before pretty much everyone else did and knew and predicted one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
With the money that my father won, he bought a ranch spread in Colorado where he build his house and where I was then born.
So I am indebted to Ali for, in a manner of speaking, providing for my family....
