Muhammad Ali at 70: A Video Tribute to One of the All-Time Great Icons in Sports History

by Scott Christ on Jan 17, 2012 5:53 AM EST in Boxing History

Today, Muhammad Ali, "The Greatest" himself, turned 70 years old. Without going into a lengthy and I'm certain familiar history of his professional accomplishments, and of his greatness in the ring, I do want to say one thing: When you talk about Muhammad Ali, you are talking about more than a great fighter, more than a great boxer, more than a great athlete. I talk about boxers all the time. But Muhammad Ali -- it's just different.

We're talking about one of the most well-known men on the planet earth. Across the world, people know Muhammad Ali. The things he did in boxing are just about unmatched by any fighter in history. He was an enormous attraction, and to go along with that, a fabulous fighter. To compare modern "superstar" boxers to Muhammad Ali is laughable. None will have the cultural impact that Ali had on the sport and, seriously, on the world. None are even in the same universe as Ali in that regard.

He has been loved and he has been hated. The man named the BBC Sports Personality of the Century and the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Century was held in almost universal high regard by the time those honors were bestowed upon him in 1999, but Ali was one of the most controversial athletes in history. He wasn't always the good guy.

Honestly, I doubt you or I will ever see the like of him again, in any sport.

Happy birthday, champ.

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Great Tribute.

Ali will always be the greatest sportmen in history, In and out of the ring.

by TheBod on Jan 17, 2012 6:54 AM EST reply actions

Great upload. In today’s reality TV world, a prime Ali would be rating’s gold. He had more charisma than should be allowed.

by DPlainview on Jan 17, 2012 9:33 AM EST reply actions

It was quite a time, and very unpleasant. I think that Ali helped in some ways, but hurt in others.

I think he was a combination of a unique individual who defined himself, by himself, and in other ways he was a voice of prevailing sentiment.

by DrRck on Jan 17, 2012 5:03 PM EST reply actions

Wonderful video (again) by Gorilla. Those were wonderful times full of hope and change for the better, and Ali was the time’s most wonderful icon.

There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939

by BoxAnne on Jan 17, 2012 5:18 PM EST reply actions

I’ve just see a clip of him as he is today on tv. I have to say I found it difficult to watch. I really hate to see such a once powerful man in such bad shape.

by Phill on Jan 17, 2012 6:30 PM EST reply actions

He’s 70, and still alive, with very, really remarkably, alive eyes. I think he enjoys every day. I don’t feel that badly for him. A lot of people [who should have been] age 70 are already dead, and a great many others are wounded, not to say there aren’t some healthy 70-year-olds. But he’s really not that much worse off than most—some of it’s less obvious, diabetes, heart disease don’t show, but they’re awful. I think if you look at a lot of just plain people in their youth, and then in their late 60s, early 70’s, one way and another you’re going to see a lot of lost function. Everybody gets old, and it’s rarely pretty.

There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939

by BoxAnne on Jan 19, 2012 7:15 PM EST up reply actions