Ali showed that you had to walk the walk if you talked the talk - gulfnews.com

I can't tell you how honoured I was to see The Champ and his wife Lonnie in Kentucky at the weekend. The Greatest was 70 yesterday, and it was a privilege to be invited by Muhammad Ali's family to join his birthday celebrations.

I travelled to Louisville from Miami, a three-hour flight, yet there were people who had come from all over the world. How amazing it was to gather with people from boxing and his life.

He touched the world with his greatness. Ali really is a special man and athlete — for so many different reasons, and to literally billions of people.

But how do you get a present for Muhammad Ali? I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what kind of present to get my hero. It did cause me a few problems.

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Funnily enough, I have this picture of me and him, both wearing tuxedos, and making funny faces at each other. That was what I thought might go down best.

Privilege

I wished him a happy birthday, and told him he is not only still The Greatest, but that he means so much to all of us — we appreciate him, and we love him, we thank him for what he has done and means to the sport. He really did pave the way.

Do I feel emotional when I am around him? No, not emotional, just honoured to be in his presence. It was a privilege to be in the company of The Greatest once more. Muhammad Ali inspired me as a young boy to chase my dreams in and out of the ring.

He meant a great deal to me when I was growing up. Things stood out. I loved the fact that he went against his own country, America, and opposed its young men fighting against the people of Vietnam. He captured my attention because he was helpful to people, and very religious.

But I loved him as a boxer. Ali lit up the ring, and I've watched all of his great fights. Even today, and before his birthday, I watched the documentary film When We Were Kings. It's a great episode in Ali's life and epitomises what he meant to so many of us, how he was adored and admired around the world, for the hope and inspiration he gave to whole nations.

You almost felt you were there with him in Africa in the film of the Rumble In The Jungle against big George Foreman. You could see from the footage what Ali meant to the rest of the world. I studied all the great heavyweights, but Ali for me was the main guy.

He showed you the sweet science of the sport, he showed you how important it was to be fast and nimble on your feet. But then he also showed you that you had to walk the walk if you talked the talk. And how brilliantly he did it.

Pathfinder

I think he should be considered the greatest sportsman of all time because of what he achieved, putting boxing on a global platform, and then having the impact on society that he has had outside the ring.

All the other athletes in the world may not admit it, but they wouldn't have the earning power they enjoy today without the things which Ali did. For example, we wouldn't have been the great symbols in sport if it had not been for him.

He was a great pathfinder. He stood up against the Vietnam War, he created a legacy outside the ring. He stood up for those things, and never feared in doing so. He showed that you do not have to be a puppet, that you can be yourself and stand up tall and proud — and loud — for your beliefs.

Every time we meet, there is a common respect that we give each other. I appreciate deeply the way he is with me. But he also makes faces, teases, makes jokes, and likes to be a magician. Best of all, he's always fun. I've never seen him in a bad mood, or even upset. He really is The Greatest.

 

Lennox Lewis was talking to Gareth A Davies.