Casual Talk via HOLLYWOOD, California – Forget about marital crises these two great men, Muhammad Ali and Manny Pacquiao, may have faced. They both have better existential reflections
than what the public has known of them. For Pacquiao, he would just say “I am fighting for the honor of my country” or “I am just a fighter; I just want to make boxing fans feel happy”. And for Ali, he rather would say, ” Muhammad Ali is the greatest boxer of all time.”
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Ali somehow insisted “I am the greatest …!”, boldly like one with attention-deficit if perhaps diagnosed based on the behavioral model of modern medical science. After his first lopsided defeat to the East Coast head-hunter Smokin’ Joe Frazier in 1971 at the Madison Square Garden of New York, Ali mounted his two signature victories over the same rugged man, to wit, in 1974 at the Madison Square Garden of New York and then in 1975 at the Araneta Coliseum of Quezon City in Metro Manila, Philippines. Thereafter, these victories made him the benchmark of other boxer’s historical distinctions, even to this generation. Ali, nonetheless, had created his own innocuous “word of mouth” campaign, being “Mister Right”. Old-time critics had said Ali was merely reacting to the echoing flatteries most especially from the Islamic community , which glorified him even more from the foothold of his conversion into Islamic faith.
Originally known as Cassius Clay, Ali changed his name after joining the Nation of Islam in 1964, subsequently converting to Islam in 1975.
Ali, on the other hand, was best known for his tenacious adherence refusing to be drafted into the U.S. military, based on his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War. Arrested and found
guilty on draft evasion charges, he was also stripped of his boxing title and had his boxing license suspended. Imprisoned and did not fight again for nearly four years, his legal battle worked its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was successful, which emboldened his popularity into an almost global proportion.
On September 6, 1979, Ali (56-3-0), 37, announced his retirement after winning his rematch on September 15, 1978 over Leon Spinks (7-0-1), 25, via a unanimous decision, to whom he lost a differential 5-3-1 on the judges’ scorecards in their first encounter on February 15 of the same year. But, his brief silence out of the ring grew counter of his self-image. He longed the extensive flashes in the public eye. And, unlike Larry Holmes (35-0-0), 33, who one-sidedly castigated him and aborted his glory on September 2, 1980 in round 10 of their supposedly 15 rounds of boxing, Ali never avoided the limelight brought about and offered to him by the media. Known for his pre-match hype, where he would “trash talk” opponents on television and in person some time before the match, he was by far the grandmaster of his own greatness, so to speak.
Now, should Holmes really have the rightful statement to say he is better than Ali?
Yes, he definitely should have .
But, Holmes chose the less cared route: He stayed away from the media as much as he could and, when cornered, even insisted , “I am just a good boxer, not the greatest.”
And for Ali, “humility” was what he lacked and still does not translate right through the teeth of Ali, even to this date, that if he is still able to articulate; he may still insist:”I am the greatest!”.
No doubt, what makes him the greatest was his compelling stand about Vietnam war:
Here are his popular quotes:
“I ain’t got no quarrel with the Vietcong. No Vietcong ever called me Nigger”
“No, I am not going 10,000 miles to help murder, kill and burn other people to simply help continue the domination of white slavemasters over dark people the world over. This is the day and age when such evil injustice must come to an end.”
“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand 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?”
Would this knock out his being “the greatest” having lack of humility over the admirable disposition of his beliefs?
Even then, Ali was regarded as one of the influential American black figures, alongside of Malcom X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, even to this date, much to the beneficiary of the now most powerful
woman of the world, Winfrey Oprah, in the mix of entertainment and philanthropy.
So they say of today, Ali, a fifthteen-rounder fighter has had more in the ring of his prime and better yet of the outside than what the madness has from Oscar de la Hoya, Cesar Chavez, Sr, Mike Tyson and Sugar Ray Leonard and more. One exception, however, just exists: Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao, like Ali, may have just taken his fame to greater heights in a similar fashion. They, indeed, both have the same sheer spiritual fortitude. They surely influence a better faith perspective to their respective fanbase more than just through violence in the ring. For them, boxing is simply a pure sport but can be a catalyst for a better transformation of one’s manhood and spiritual maturity, much with a defined forum, such as interjecting issues of greater public interests.
But, Ali’s image has drawn better orations in the streets of more than one nation: Islam. Solidly popular not just in the United States, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Africa, Philippines and even in all of the American countries and more, his sense of relevance transcends deep into the core system of controversy blurring racial boundaries from one generation to another. To some, his marching beliefs about Islam and the infectiousness of the political empowerment he employed beyond his boxing career may have just withstood the test of time and translated thousands of Americans into one of curious students of Islam.
And for Pacquiao, being the duly-elected lawmaker of the “Maharlikan nation” – Philippines, being the first boxer in history to win ten world titles, being the first to win in eight weight divisions and being the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes, may have just begun to write his own story at the crux of his extra-political affairs.
But, does he have enough bearing to surpass Ali’s unquestionable, less divided worldwide popularity?
To be continued…
Sources: Encyclopedia, Boxrec.com
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