Muhammad Ali 65th Birthday

[blankety blank]

Sugar Ray Robinson for me.

Ali's draft dodging is now held up as a positive virtue. "No viet cong ever called me n****r" etc etc.

What on earth has that got to do with it?

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA)]

My favourite boxer is good old Gord Burton.

A proper gentleman.

 

[honslow]

Ali may not have been the greatest boxer of his era, but he was one of the greatest warriors the world has ever seen, inside and outside the ring.
He dodged the draft? Of course he did! Who'd want to fight a pointless war in the jungles of Vietnam for a society where the majority of the population call you a 'n****r' and think you're sub-human!
"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" - he was a fair wordsmith.
"Me, we." Says it all really.
The man was/is more humane than most people can ever hope to be.

 

[blankety blank]

I just don't get it. He gets all these accolades about what a fabulous human etc etc etc he is, but what did he ever do (over and above being a champion boxer) to deserve it, apart from dodging the draft?

Why is it ok for him to do it, while at the same time we criticise Bush/Clinton for doing it?

The Americans were fighting the Vietnam war. Fact. Clay was prepared to see some other poor bloke do his share of the fighting, so he could stay at home.

 

[Wolfman Woody]

Baz said he never won it?

Quote from Wikipedia - "He won the World Heavyweight Boxing championship three times, and won the North American Boxing Federation championship as well as an Olympic gold medal."

I think if I'd doen all of that, I'd be saying I was the greatest.

My own opinion, he was damned good, no doubt and a lot better fighter, fighter mind, than many of those that have claimed World Championship titles since. Had he not had to go to jail for draft dodging (and who could blaim him) he may have been even greater.

Sadly, religion made him a zealot in the 70s and that tarnished peoples view of him. Now, he just is a quiet person most of the time who people can respect as a living part of our history.

 

[Wolfman Woody]

Balnkety Blank - "Why is it ok for him to do it, while at the same time we criticise Bush/Clinton for doing it?"

Reason being Clay never asked anyone else to do it for him, unlike Bush wearing all the uniform and making out to be brave. It's just hypocracy.

 

[honslow]

He inspired people, especially black americans. Hell! Watching Rumble in the Jungle he inspires me. Ali passed blood for three days after George gave him that pounding. And the whole time he was whispering in his ear: "Is that all you've got George? Is that all you've got?"
Ali! Bumaye!
The question is, why was the US fighting a war in Vietnam?
If I was called up to fight in Iraq tomorrow, I'd refuse. However, if someone invaded this country, I'd be the first one to turn into a Guerrilla.
Ali refused to fight because he WAS a warrior. He would only fight for a just cause, like civil rights. There was nothing just about the US's behaviour during or after the Cold War. Big Stick bully boy. Hence, today they have become the foremost target of terrorism! How else do you fight a nation which can wage war on two-and-a-half fronts and use stealth to drop a nuke down your underpants without you knowing anything about it?

 

[blankety blank]

Nobody's nuked my underpants Greg.

 

[Evan]

Yes.