If whenever boxing as a sport is mentioned and all that comes to your mind is Mayweather or Pacquiao, then step aside and listen to the old men tell you of the days when boxing was boxing.
But it is a sad time to tell tales of the great sport, when the world mourns Muhammad ?The Greatest? Ali, who was laid to rest on Friday. And yes, young as you are to recall Mayweather, the name Muhammad Ali are certainly no strange words.
And often you may have chanced on such phrases as ?float like a butterfly and sting like a bee,? that is perhaps one of the most memorable quotes from a man that now lies in his last place of rest, but was once famed for his quick feet and even quicker punches; Muhammad Ali.
His boxing prowess aside, he was an outspoken critic of the world order during his heyday, speaking out against racial segregation and senseless conflicts like the Vietnam War. He quickly became iconic for his stinging political remarks.
But today, there is one characteristic that he embodied that I wish to make the subject of our discussion today. Muhammad was as outspoken as he was vain. He gloated in triumph and bragged when he obliterated his enemies in the ring. He was proud, unapologetic of his accomplishments and promised doom to those who dared him. To put it plainly, he was quite a braggart!
That, nowadays, is not a very enviable trait, but he espoused it and in fact he is quoted to once have said, ?Humble people, I?ve found, don?t get very far.?
I am inclined to believe Muhammad Ali. This nonsense of hiding behind modesty to deny yourself the much-deserved acclaim all in the name of appeasing underachievers, whose over achievement is talking about your achievement, is unfair. If you have achieved an epic milestone, how else are you going to inspire many if you don?t taunt them into working as hard as you have? ?Be graceful in triumph,? you hear the counsel coming in.
But what is there to be graceful about from a hard-earned piece of success? Why don?t they tell that to soccer players who score one goal and do six flips before running the length of the pitch only to halt after sliding on their knees for over 10 metres? Celebrating victory should not be hampered because there is someone going to feel bad about their loss.
And so when Muhammad Ali taunted his opponents, he invariably brought the ?monkey? on his back. He had to work so hard to walk the talk. Imagine after a guy tells you, ?Even when you dream of beating me, wake up and come apologise? and you actually beat them in the ring.
Just how humbling would that be to this guy? But Muhammad never allowed himself to get humbled. He beat those he taunted. And so, it can be inferred that taunting was one of the many driving forces of his success. He could not afford a loss because that way he would be the joke.
So, in the greatest memory of the greatest boxer ever, we should all strive to be the greatest and not be shy about celebrating our greatness, no matter who is before us.
And so, Ali joins a long list of greats in the arts, from Michael Jackson to Whitney Houston, greats in sport (names would certainly fill this space) and every other great that has ever walked this earth but was called to eternity; fare thee well!
