Will The Best Ever listen to The Greatest? Will Richard Schaefer, knee deep in a power play of his own, listen to Muhammad Ali?
Life hasn?t been easy for Muhammad Ali. He made a name for himself in the fight game and sacrificed his health in the process. But he would do nothing differently if he had to do it over again, or so we?re told, and there?s no reason for us to think otherwise.
But now we?re asked to believe that Muhammad is using Twitter. He?s not using Twitter reassert his superiority when no reassertion is necessary. He?s using Twitter to lobby for a fight. Not just any old fight, but the long overdue and on the edge of irrelevant fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
Despite the long list of points and counterpoints that have kept the fight from happening, which include PEDs, Bob Arum, Richard Schaefer, Oscar De La Hoya, and of course the fighters themselves, Ali, along with the rest of us, has grown tired of the sideshow.
If Twitter is to be taken at face value?a bridge too far for some, as natural as mother?s milk to others?Ali tweeted on his official Twitter feed following Mayweather?s tougher than expected victory over Marcos Maidana, ?Congratulations @FloydMayweather. Maybe after you rest up we can see you rumble with @MannyPacquiao! #AliTweet?
It?s a nice thought. It?s a noble sentiment. Appeals to the fighters? legacies have produced squat thus far. Boxing, for both fighters, is now a means to an end, and the ends are often as inscrutable as the means. Responsibility for this botched opportunity have shifted like sand in the Sahara, but it now appears the onus is on Floyd Mayweather.
Will The Best Ever listen to The Greatest? Will Richard Schaefer, knee deep in a power play of his own, listen to Muhammad Ali? Or should we forget about this fight, whose significance has diminished with the years, and look to the future instead of the past?
