Always found it odd how two greats never met in real life even though Bruce Lee was a huge admirer of his skills.
Never saw this interview before :bgrin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0Y_Digxnd8
Even prime Tyson recognised the greatness in the man.
A guy whose boxing career was finished before many people were born. Yet still by those one of the most beloved of athletes and human beings. A guy who at a time when black and other minorities were supposed to be good boys that are polite and never ever shake the status quo, said and fought for what he believed in regardless of the consequences. Maybe the greatest heavyweight of all time, definitely the most impactful boxer of all time.
RIP Ali
Add Guy Clark to that list. Probably not as well known unless you’re into outlaw country and folk music (which I am), but he a had a huge impact on that genre.
My favorite boxer to watch, both inside and outside of the ring. RIP.
2016 has been a gloomy year man. I lost my mother back in March.
Muhammad Ali’s death day would have been the perfect time for a surprise Balrog trailer
Ali was one of my biggest role models in life. I grew up on this guy, not just by watching his tapes but reading his entire life. This really hit me hard. We are just mid year of 2016 and so much legends have passed.
…huh??
Ali was such a badass even Superman lost to him.
Yeah, yeah, Red Sun shenanigans and whatnot, but he still lost clean
RIP, Ali. You were one of the greats. 
As a fighter and as a follower of politics and world events, Muhammad Ali has had a profound influence on my life since I was about 16.
“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion’.”
“Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating. It’s just plain wrong.”
“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”
“I’m a fighter. I believe in the eye-for-an-eye business. I’m no cheek turner. I got no respect for a man who won’t hit back. You kill my dog, you better hide your cat.”
"Often it isn’t the mountains ahead that wear you out, it’s the little pebble in your shoe.”
“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No I’m not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end. I have been warned that to take such a stand would cost me millions of dollars. But I have said it once and I will say it again. The real enemy of my people is here. I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality. If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail, so what? We’ve been in jail for 400 years.”
**“The fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road; long before I dance under those lights.” ** (My personal favorite).
“I don’t count my sit-ups; I only start counting when it starts hurting because they’re the only ones that count.”
“Now I had won the gold medal. But it didn’t mean anything, because I didn’t have the right color skin.”
He was a man of conviction. I deeply admire that.
And in regards to whether or not he really was the greatest of all time, well, he made his amateur boxing debut when he was twelve, won six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two national Golden Gloves titles, a Gold Medal in the Olympics when he was 18, had a 100-5 amateur record before going pro, won his first heavyweight championship at the age of 22 against a 35-1 Sonny Liston, he retired at age 39 with a record of 56-5. He defeated every top heavyweight in his era, which was the golden age of heavyweight boxing, he was Ring Magazine’s Fighter of the Year more than anyone else, held wins over seven International Boxing Hall of Famers, and was only one of three boxers to be named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year.
Idk man, the accolades stack up so high. And that’s not even considered how much of a fucking pioneer he was. George Foreman has explicitly called Ali the craftiest fighter Foreman has ever fought. Ali had amazing hand speed and dexterity. His movement and footwork were unmatched. And if you’ve ever been in a fight, you know how hard it is to keep moving and not gas out. But Ali would do just that. He would never, ever stop moving unless he was making a read or baiting something. There were several different ways he would open his opponent up, and with a jab no less. But the again, this guy had so many different types of jabs, so many different patterns.
Bruce Lee would study Muhammad Ali’s tapes to emulate his movement, but with the image reversed because he was a southpaw. Dominick Cruz, the UFC Bantamweight champion, still studies Muhammad Ali and emulates his movement, footwork, and strategies. The “crouch” and the “dart” are probably the most apparent strategies of Ali that Cruz uses.
Idk man. This is really the first time I’ve actually been legitimately sad because of the death of a celebrity. Idk how to describe it. It’s crazy how far a man’s influence can reach.
Even has a federal law named after him.
Yeah Ali’s influence on Lee mechanically was huge. Keep moving, stay nimble and fluid in your motions. Importance of a jab. You could also see some of Ali, and boxing in general’s, influence on Lee’s head movement at times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkhpZoPOfZI&feature=youtu.be
Almost nobody in modern times would know the term “conscientious objector” without Ali. His civil rights work and general work outside of the ring was huge.
This all begs the question: Why does neither Street Fighter or Tekken feature a character based on Ali?
^probably because they and most other fighting games already have boxers…based off Mike Tyson haha
Yeh Tyson was the big name back in the 80s and early 90s but he had a couple of titles.
Heres a article on Ali’s legacy in videogames - http://www.thezonegamer.com/2016/06/muhammad-ali-video-games.html
I picked up the hard cover of this book a few months ago just out of curiosity. Looks like it’ll be a good read.
R.I.P. Ali.
The greatest of all time. Made me love watching boxing. RIP
Seems like a dumb reason when they fought and looked totally different. That’s like saying “Well we already have one white guy who does a form of karate, we can’t have TWO.”
Plus tekken doesn’t have a Tyson character either, now that I think about it.
So is the Ali movie (the one with Will Smith) any good at all to watch in memory of the great one?