Muhammad Ali

[Nik]

With regret read on the news that a great boxer, some say the greatest, passed away. Thought he deserved mentioning...

[Philip]

Yes he does - an icon.

[Tara Woods Turner]

RIP Ali. In and outside of the ring his worth can't be overstated.

[Ian]

It is interesting they say he was the greatest. I think it is difficult to compare times, and to say he was better than Joe Louis, say, is merely because none of us saw Joe fight. My personal view is Marciano was in some ways the greatest - he did not lose, he retired essentially uninjured, and he retired a wealthy man with good investments, and as far as I know, lived happily ever after. How do you beat that?

[Tara Woods Turner]

He is considered the greatest by different metrics, depending on who is doing the measuring :-)

But overall I feel pretty confident in surmising that Ali's title as the greatest is based on more than just one aspect of his career and personal life. It has more to do with how he changed perceptions and shifted paradigms. Without Ali The Michael Jordans, Tiger Woods and Williams sisters would not have shone with as much brilliance and clarity. Rocky Marciano certainly made an art out of the sport and can technically be considered the greatest boxer ever to step into the ring, but what Ali did he did for an entire race of people, not just sports.

[Nik]

Ian wrote: "It is interesting they say he was the greatest. I think it is difficult to compare times, and to say he was better than Joe Louis, say, is merely because none of us saw Joe fight. My personal view ..."

These discussions precisely what keeps the fans busy in between the title fights, which happen 2-3 times a year. With the abundance of federations, you can have 4 heavyweight champs simultaneously, so sometimes it's hard to compare even the contemporary boxers, not to say those fighting in different epochs.
Ali is often considered the greatest for being more successful than the other champs in the so-called Golden era of heavyweight boxing. And there is, of course, a political/social halo... But surely you can't know whether he'd beat Marciano or vice versa without actually having them fight each other. Both usually end up in the first 5 of any rating. Marciano's fight record of the only undefeated h/w champ is a strong argument in its own right.
In a sense it's like: Pele or Maradona?
Sometimes it's even unclear after the fight, who was better -:) Lennox- Vit. Klitchko? The latter leading on score cards, but the TKO goes to former because of the injury of the opponent. Too bad Lennox's mother is rumored to have vetoed the rematch.
With all the hype around Floyd or Manny and unprecedented 100mil award, the thing I remember as the most impressive .............. were the pictures of scores of private jets crowding Vegas' airport, because the fight itself wasn't that exciting. Or maybe it's just because I had to wake up at 4 am to watch it -:)
Messi or Ronaldo? They play against each other at least 2-3 times a year and still the question remains pending. And maybe the right answer is that some seasons one is better than the other and some seasons the opposite.
In the meantime looking forward to Klitschko - Fury next month in the hope it'll be a little more decisive -:)

[Nik]

Tara wrote: "But overall I feel pretty confident in surmising that Ali's title as the greatest is based on more than just one aspect of his career and personal life...."

Ali's influence undoubtedly goes far beyond the sport and that is why he's viewed by many as an icon

[Tara Woods Turner]

I'm just angry that I put more effort into what food and drinks to serve than Floyd and Manny put into that fight.

[Nik]

Tara wrote: "I'm just angry that I put more effort into what food and drinks to serve than Floyd and Manny put into that fight."

Yep, disappointing... Floyd outpunched Manny, but not impressively. And Manny claiming he won the fight? Laughable

[Tara Woods Turner]

But my curried chicken fritters were amazing.

[Nik]

Now I know where to watch the next 'big' fight, in case I need something to sweeten the disappointment after -:)

[Tara Woods Turner]

You're on lol. The disappointment is as guaranteed as my key lime oat bars :)