The Day Muhammad Ali Punched Me

On June 4, 1991, at approximately 3:45 P.M., Muhammad Ali punched me in the face—not in the ring but on a Trailways bus cruising along Interstate 78—and I deserved it. I had boarded the bus earlier that day, in Manhattan, along with some fifteen journalists and photographers, plus members of Ali’s entourage. We were headed toward Ali’s old training camp in Deer Lake, Pennsylvania, about twenty-five miles from Reading. The sportswriters Dick Schaap, Sal Marchiano, Robert Lipsyte, and Ralph Wiley were along for the ride, as was the former heavyweight contender Earnie Shavers. I was there because I had reviewed Tom Hauser’s oral biography of Ali, “Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times,” which had just been published and was the occasion for the press junket.

See the rest of the story at newyorker.com

Related:
Ali on the Aisle
Boxing After Ali
Daily Cartoon: Monday, June 6th