This may come as a shocker to you celebratory Pacnuts but?Manny Pacquiao is NOT the first and the only prizedfighter (prized by millions) who many thought was Superman.
There?s a classic tale, maybe apocryphal but who cares because you know what they say about a conflict between facts and legend (print the legend), about my personal all time idol, the GOAT (Greatest Of All Times) Muhammad Ali.
Ali was known to be a restless and nervous flier even though he flew to all corners of the globe and I think has touched every continent except for perhaps Antarctica. (I am sure Ali would ask all those penguins why they wear tuxedos every day.)
There was a pretty flight attendant who kept reminding the champ that he had to put on his seat belt but Muhammad did not comply.
After about three reminders, she told Ali, ?You must put on seat belt, champ, due to federal regulations.?
Snippily, Ali snapped back at her, saying, ?Superman don?t need no seat belt!?
Ali must have had his hands low like when Joe Frazier decked him on March 8, 1971 (I was there, a mere college kid, courtesy of Ali) at Madison Square Garden.
I say this because the quick-thinking ?fly girl? floored the great man with a verbal counterpunch.
?Mr. Ali,? she said, ?with all due respect, Superman don?t need no plane!?
Which brings me, as usual, to another story, this one written in something you younger people might not be familiar with.
I am talking about something we used to say was black and white and read all over.
That?s right, a newspaper.
Or, in the case of supreme sports columnist and gentleman Jim Murray, many newspapers as the LA Times franchise ?player? was widely syndicated.
Ali was, like Pacman now, at the peak of his awesome powers.
Murray frankly admitted to fantasizing that he had Ali?s physical prowess and sexual appeal.
?Because,? he wrote, ?there are four beautiful women I wish to make love to and six guys that I want to beat the hell out of.?
What Ali should have on that airplane trip is what you Pacfans should be doing right now and that is enjoying the ride.
The Pacquiao Parade will not go on forever.
It?s painful for me to recall the desultory Ali losses to Larry Holmes and erratic Trevor Berbick but I was at ringside in Las Vegas and then Nassau, Bahamas, for both. I wrote about botched Berbick show in The New York Post and called it ?Trauma In Bahamas.?
There was a shifty group of local promoters and a few shady Americans including a cat from Denver, the money guy, who showed up the morning of the fight. Berbick was threatening not to fight unless he got big cash infusion and this guy brought a suitcase of greenbacks with him.
Another promoter James ?Jaws? Cornelius is said to have disappeared after this financial debacle and I?ve heard over the years that he became a tasty shark snack in the blue and green waters surrounding the islands.
Getting back to Megamannymania, he has become the Asian Ali, the ultimate boxing icon.
You Pinoys revel in your hero the way I, as a 12-year-old reveled in all the exploits inside and outside of the ring, of Ali.
They are polar opposites in personality. Pacman is your humble hero.
Ali was always roasting, toasting and boasting. But his sense of humor was nonpareil.
One day, he was in a low mood or pretended to be while broadcasting legend Howard Cosell (I worked for him four years at ABC much later) interviewed him.
Cosell was a brilliant law school graduate and was a practicing attorney before he became America?s most famous sportscaster. His vocabulary was immense.
?Muhammad?why are you being so truculent today?? Cosell barked as only Cosell could bark.
Ali hesitated just a second or two.
?Howard, I don?t know what truculent is?but, if it is good, then I am it.?
Another round for Ali over Cosell. They could be funnier than Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin.
One final Ali anecdote, patient readers.
He failed the entrance exam to go into the Army during the Vietnam war. The test could readily be passed by the average high school graduate.
Reporters confronted Ali and demanded to know how he had flunked the elementary exam.
?You press men, you heard me say I was the greatest? You heard me say I was the prettiest? You heard me say I was the fastest? Now, did any of you ever hear me say I was the smartest??
Big laughs. You can?t make a mockery of a man who mocks himself.
I believe in reincarnation. In my next life, maybe I can be a Pinoy, young or old it doesn?t matter, who lives in the Age Of Pacquiao.
No, that couldn?t happen. I had my boxing Superman.
And now you men, women and children have yours.
Mabuhay ka Supermanny!
Michael is a former sports columnist at the New York Post. He was a criminal defense attorney and worked for sports legends Howard Cosell and Don King. Marley also operates BoxingConfidential.com. Email him your thoughts.
