The legacy of the great Muhammad Ali

By Paulina Brindis

 Throughout history, the world has met various characters, who in one way or another have transformed human thought…Men and women who have broken all stereotypes, who have defied the aberrations of power, of governments, of injustices, of discrimination.

People that did not hesitate to defend their ideals, their thoughts, even though this fight could even threaten their integrity and life itself.

One of them was undoubtedly Muhammad Ali, a man who through his fists fought for equality of races, who surprised and challenged his country and the world by announcing his new faith in the 60s and who refused to fight in the Vietnam War.

Ali converted to Islam, gave up being Cassius Clay considering that it was the name with slavery origins, to become Muhammad Ali and fight against discrimination.

The former world heavyweight champion lived with the greatness of a man of integrity, who acted according to his principles, which he defined as he wanted to live, anchored by his convictions.

 Perhaps this happened since he was a child, because he did not understand why “good” things were always white and the “bad” things were black. For Ali, color was not a determining factor; a little boy who did not understand how aberrant it was for his race brothers to be slaves; men and women of African origin who were forcibly brought and sold in America, being considered the property of their “masters”, people who could be bought or sold, and even marked or mutilated to prevent them from escaping.

Those, who lived subjugated and threatened…who had to cede white people the right to profit from the lives of their neighbors, to humiliate them and make them feel inferior? 

That child knew that nothing made him different, even he lived through a personal motto: “I am the greatest. I even told myself when I didn’t know I was.”

An ideology that made him transcend borders, that led him to be the voice of people and the idol of nations, but that also brought him bitter episodes  and even the disapproval of many who did not agree with his way of thinking.

Ali not only dazzled the world with his outstanding boxing, but also with loyalty to his ideals, proof of this is that when he won the gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, he threw it to the Ohio River…The reason? The “Olympic Negro” as they used to call him, was still “black” and therefore continued to be discriminated, no matter the merits…only the color of the skin.

Muhammad, learned to stop the regrets of being “black” and transformed them into actions. He did not sit idly to watch time pass, to see if the world would change. He put on his gloves and went out to fight with everything he had, he did shake everyone with his way of being, sometimes irreverent, sometimes too honest.

 “Serving others is the rent that must be paid for a room on Earth“, this is how the “King of Boxing” defined his actions.

Ali became such an influential man that in November 1990 he paid a goodwill visit to negotiate the release of 15 American hostages.

A man who fought in the courts and in the US Congress to bring forward the “Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act” in 1999, which protects the rights and well-being of boxers. He did not allow the warriors of the ring to be abused by unscrupulous promoters who tried to exploit the poor education of the fighters to deceive them and steal the purses they earned. 

The boy born in Louisville, Kentucky, on January 17, 1942, found his passion within poverty and combatting discrimination. His motivation was to change the world, to make himself heard, a burning desire that led him to do what was necessary to make his dream of greatness come true.

Proud of his race, Ali tried to erase that bitter legacy of slavery, where men, women and children were stripped of their identity, traditions, customs. An origin that seemed to have been lost in time, lurking between evil, humiliation and abuse.

Even with the body of a child, Ali electrified all who saw him in his first steps through the gyms, he knew it, he had boxing in his veins “he would float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.”

So, time went by and he became known for his extraordinary  style and agility, with incredible reflexes, he jumped and stung … he did it like no other boxer and he also innovated and molded his own style. Gifted with speed never seen before at heavyweight, he moved with the lightness of a dancer who knew the exact chords to dodge and “chop” at the right time, in the right place.

An extraordinary being who shone with his own light and that put dignity above his fame, money and his outstanding career, by  refusing the order given him by the United States Armed Forces seeking to recruit him for the war against Vietnam.

A negative response for which he paid a very high price, since not only he was stripped of his world title, but he was also suspended from all sporting activities for more than three years. He even came close to being sent to prison; However, none of this mattered and although being away from the ring in the time of his greatest splendor was painful, it would be more painful to betray his beliefs. 

This was Muhammad Ali, a genuine warrior who saw the world in a different way; a gifted man who never denied his roots, that he lived as a great man, a genius words who knew how to portray himself and deliver historical fights.

A man who transmitted his strength to all who had the fortune to meet him, who knew just as much about shortcomings as about luxuries, but who never care about it. A man who decided to be free, who broke the chains and inspired millions, he is:

THE GREATEST OF ALL TIMES, Muhammad Ali.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in these articles are only responsibility of their authors and do not reflect the views of the WBC.