Konted's Make My Day: Muhammad Ali : The Greatest

Muhammad Ali : The Greatest

It was from classmate Jimmy Tiangco, in 1962, that I first heard the name Sonny Liston. Knowing that I was then an avid fan of Floyd Patterson, he was telling me that Patterson's reign as heavyweight champion was about to end. And Jimmy went on to describe Liston as a mean and lean fighter. A tough and rough looking guy who would demolish anyone with just a combination of punches. He was, according to Jimmy, called the "big bear."

And true enough, Liston, dubbed as the "killing machine", destroyed America's sentimental favorite, Patterson, in Round One to win the heavyweight title. He, again, knocked Patterson out in one round in their rematch. He was now universally perceived as indestructible who would finish his opponents in early rounds. He was methodically aggressive, overpowering and viewed by boxing analysts as the boxer most likely to rule the heavyweight division for a long time.

But in a short time came a young boxer from Louisville, Kentucky who challenged the reigning champ. He was tall at 6 ft 3 inches and with good body built. But what drew the attention, and the ire, of boxing aficionados was the man's being talkative. Being loquacious is the right word. He talked too much and non-stop. And he kept taunting the champ and called him 'the ugly big bear'. His name was Cassius Clay and this was in 1964.

No one was taking Cassius Clay seriously. While shouting that he was going "to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee", he was a 7-1 underdog come fight time. Liston said the fight would be over in 2 rounds. And at the start of the bell, Clay was dancing and throwing strong punches and made Liston look bad as the Big Bear could not land a punch. Perhaps frustrated and shamed by an unknown pugilist, Liston quit after round 6. The braggart from Louisville, Kentucky was now the new heavyweight champion of the world. In his own words, Clay " shook up the world". He was now calling himself "the greatest".

The return bout was shorter but controversial. In Round One, while on the offensive, Liston was hit by a chopping right to the head and he dropped to the canvass. He was counted out. The Ali punch was so quick that some did not see it. Some called it the Phantom Punch. Others said Liston, known as having ties with the Mafia, took a dive. But I have been reviewing the tape up to now and still cannot say if Liston threw the fight. My two cents worth is that if Liston threw the fight, it was that he knew he could not beat Clay.

At that time, whenever I would see Jimmy somewhere in the Santa Mesa Heights area, I was now doing the ribbing. "What happened to your Big Bear, Jimmy?" And Jimmy would just smile. And in 1969, during one of our drinking sprees, Jimmy tappped my hand and said:" Ted, abangan mo si Joe Frazier. Magaling."

And, again, consistent to Jimmy's impression, Joe Frazier was a very good fighter and a knockout artist. He kept moving forward, kept applying pressure on his opponent through relentless punches and, for this, he was called "Smoking Joe" And this Smoking Joe had to cross paths three times with Cassius Clay who was now called Muhammad Ali. Frazier decked Ali in the 15th and final round to win by unanimous decision. The 2nd and 3rd fights of the classic trilogy were won by Ali with the 3rd fight ending in a technical knockout in the 14th round. The more Ali called himself "the greatest". Still I could not agree completely.

At about this time, a new powerful figure was emerging and was stealing the thunder in the boxing scene. This was in 1973. With a record of 37 - 0 with 34 knockouts, 6 ft 4" George Foreman easily disposed of Frazier in two rounds with devastating blows to the body to win the heavyweight crown. It was a one-sided match and others called it as a mismatch. Foreman knocked Frazier down 6 times. He was now hailed as a great champion. And the inevitable had to come: Foreman Vs. Ali. This was in 1974.

It was billed as The Rumble in the Jungle with Foreman as the overwhelming favorite. He had that aura of invincibility. At 32, Ali was past his prime and I thought that he was fighting Foreman in Zaire just for the money. I was watching the fight in my father's clinic at Utex. The 1st round saw Ali trading punches with Foreman. And in the succeeding rounds, just when I thought he would use his footwork and hand speed to his advantage, Ali took refuge in the loose ropes, contented with shielding his face and head with his gloves. He allowed Foreman to throw punches with the intent of tiring the reigning champ.

In Round 8, just when I was about to give the fight to Foreman, Ali unleashed a very powerful punch to Foreman's face that staggered Big George. Ali followed this with successive punches that finally floored Foreman. When he was trying hard to beat the count, the referee, seeing how dazed he was, counted Foreman out. Again, Muhammad Ali was world champion.

It was Ali's defining moment. It showed, once again, his superior boxing skills, his sound discretion, his strength, his speed and agility. He defied seemingly insurmountable odds and proved critics and skeptics wrong. And as I was about to step out of my father's clinic, I looked at Father and said: "This man is indeed the greatest." To which Father replied: "Yes, yes.....the greatest.....of all time !!!!!"

- Konted

* see video - ali vs foreman Round 8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY3yIIxXvy4