I can remember a couple of real fights when I ran. Can I ask you when you were first aware, when you were a child, of the differences between black and white? For you all may go home after round four. And from then on Ive been writing a few more poems and Ive just completed a few more poems. Ladies and gentlemen, Muhammad Ali. Quote by Muhammad Ali: "I've wrestled with alligators - Goodreads Ali comes out to meet Frazier but Frazier starts to retreat, If Frazier goes back an inch farther hell wind up in a ringside seat. So now Im going to forget the 400 years of lynching and killing raping and depriving my people feeding of justice and equality and the lowest of low last respect and Im going to look at two or three white people who are trying to do right and dont see the other million who are trying to kill me? Its really silly, when you think about fighting. As bad as he was, I wasnt really mad at him. This kid fights great. MP: Youve talked about being pretty and fighting clever. April 06, 2009. (2:58) In an age when the demarcation line between sport , showbiz and politics has become blurred, hes a prime example of a man who is an athlete yet he represents so many other things for so many other people. The latest: Chris Rock, 58, has opened up for the first time about the infamous Oscars slap he received from Will Smith, 54. Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., grew up in the American . In Korea they werent bad but they still dropped the bomb. Muhammad Ali was not only the greatest boxer--he was also an inspiring leader. All this is going through my mind. MA: But life is too short for me to be doing that. If he can prove hes not the devil, then he should get on television and call the man a liar. This book is for the people who looked up to Muhammad, adored him, adulated him, emulated him and will always do so. And when I heard the truth about my name was not Cassius Clay, like I knew a black man in America named John Hawkins. It was in a magazine. I done handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Ali knew how to captivate his global audience through his words and actions both in and out of the ring. Muhammad Ali was a once-in-a-generation athlete who truly earned his nickname of " The Greatest " for his prowess in the boxing ring. MP: When you were 12 and in your early teens, did you imagine yourself to be World Champion? We are happy to announce that we are now part of the ThreeSixtyEight family. It lasted six days but I sung four songs and there were critics, seriously, in New York who said that my part was perfect. MP: Because I dont think Im any different to you, you see. If youre just looking for presentation services though, please just exit out this box and continue along. And that makes me nervous until I get started. And here are two men, fighting each other and they bleed and hurting each other. All rights reserved. oqoL?, 4m$~PVK Do3LlI),)^ XK ?|w6xIt4@<55QRc"c`Wd]*zEyd|!ifh&J|Ztv^8 I'm the greatest thing that ever lived. Hitch him up. Somebody say, ssshh!. Because right now black people are at home shouting at home jumping because they dont have the nerve to say what Im saying and nobodys never said it. My enemies are white people, not Viet Congs or Chinese or Japanese. Muhammad Ali was not only a boxing champion, he was a championship talker. Boy, hes the complete opposite to me. ", "I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin' hell but as long as they ain't free, I ain't free. We're not rats', Rectorial address, Glasgow University - 1972, For Geoffrey Tozer: 'I have to say we all let him down', by Paul Keating - 2009, for James Baldwin: 'Jimmy. I am not Elijah Muhammad. ", "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. It was on in every bar in America, even traffic stilled. And Miss World was always white, and Miss Universe was always white. Because I can control it. It was in round seven, everything was going good. P.S. That's bad! Muhammad Ali's inspiring speech about life and death He added lots of faith and he stirred it up well. I noticed here the police do not have guns and do not hit people with sticks. This is what I plan to do. Muhammad Ali: 'That's right. If youre not, pretend you are. He won the first, lost the second and won the third. It aint no despair. endobj It was the first of four TV interviews he did with the chat show veteran - in 1974, 1975 and 1981 - but. What did you say? Humble people, I've found, don't get very far. Like when my title was taken, boxing died. Then, he spread it over a span of a lifetime and he served it to each and every deserving person he met.. Something to think about, aint it? 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His reach is longer than George's. And I was due to fight him in Las Vegas and I was on television saying something like this. ALI: By Cassius Clay. And when I heard it, Ive been free ever since. If you can afford a donation, it will help Speakola survive and prosper. They thought he might have some trouble. This page was last edited on 9 December 2022, at 18:34. Should I let those rattle snakes come down, hoping that those one thousand get together and form a shield? And I just cant see myself with a man on the ropes and just to prove how bad I am - and I see in his eyes, his head, hes hopeless - and Im just deliberately hitting. MP: No no. And Frank Sinatra turned his back and walked out on him. 1 0 obj Watch - and read the full transcript - of Muhammad Ali's legendary I had to go to see what he would do - would he win or lose? You might dispute that. Impossible is temporary. But I think its sad that. I dont consider myself no attractive man. Impossible is not a fact. Muhammad Ali quotes on being a champion: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Muhammad Ali: Sir Michael Parkinson 'proud' of legendary - BBC I was 21 years old, I was the Olympic champion but I hadnt started talking yet. The key thing to remember about the worlds captivation with Ali is that he truly fought for the world and not himself. Fred Mitchell: My day with Muhammad Ali in Michigan I really do. Braveheart.. Unapologetic.. Kind.. I never heard that before I got to England - seriously, I never heard this before. I gave him a whooping and a spanking because I was looking towards those who backed him. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. They look like me, we all happy and I dont have no trouble. MP: What plans do you have for the future now - apart from fighting? "I Am the Greatest!" Muhammad Ali once said "I am the greatest! And then this is when I knew something was wrong. (30 October 1974). And you cant take no Chinese man and give him no Puerto Rican woman and talking like theyre in love and emotionally in love and physically. Gene Tunney was a great. MA: Mostly by Rolls Royce. While Alis pre-fight quotes will live through the test of time, dont skip on his speeches outside the ring. And he had Floyd Paterson in his room, he came to Las Vegas and he was singing in a nightclub and saying Floyd was his boy to whoop that old black Muslim. When they gave me my title back I could have waited for Joe Frazier but I didnt. Alleged response by Ali to a reporter who asked how he felt about sharing the Islamic faith with the suspects of the World Trade Center terrorist attack, as debunked at. Its an opinion. And if that bum even messes my hair up Ill annihilate him. Black folks couldnt eat downtown. Copyright 2016 NPR. THE MAN. The government has failed us; you cant deny that. Do you think Muhammad Ali was the best boxer to step foot in the ring! MA: Who am I to say he was the devil? I was baptized when I was twelve, but I didn't know what I was doing. Hi speech lovers,With costs of hosting website and podcast, this labour of love has become a difficult financial proposition in recent times. There aint no such thing as black Muslims. Walk up and just hit ME? The fight goes like this: Ding! We should have more intelligence than them, right? In studying the success of these legendary athletes, one characteristic came back for each one and according to them was the most important factor in their success. MP: You mentioned earlier the fear that you have, and every fighter must have it, of getting his face messed in. They must look at him and think hes fearless of everything. The Holy Quran With English Translation And Commentary English And Islam means peace, I couldn't just sit home and watch people label Muslims as the reason for this problem. endobj Copyright 2023 Big Fish Presentations, All Rights Reserved. MA: Let me tell you something - Ive never said this before. In 1975, Harvard got a glimpse of Muhammad Ali's true greatness Boxing legend Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus . MUHAMMAD ALI 1975 speech (HARVARD UNIVERSITY) Watch on. Keeps them out of trouble. At two or three days later, a plane crash landed here. And Mary had a little lamb with feet as white as snow, and Snow White, and everything was white. So number one comes freedom first for my people and equality. And right away I start talking: I am the greatest. Muhammad Ali ( January 17 1942 - June 3 2016) was an American professional boxer activist and philanthropist. In Hawaii they closed all the factories and had televisions on every street corner and people came out to watch the fight on the streets. So I kept working until I did it. And I heard her tell the manager, and he said, Well, hes got to go out. They put me out. All kinds of things set us back, but life goes on. And when Gorgeous George came down the aisle he had these two blonde beautiful girls carrying his robe so it wouldnt get dirty. How theyve been taught to love white and hate black, how weve been robbed of our names in slavery. MA: No. ", "I've wrestled with alligators. Muhammad Ali I Am The Greatest Speech - YouTube I dont talk no more. You can do what you want. Elsewhere on the show, we'll hear remembrances from the memorial service. Were taught its impossible for us to be violent. So it left us a walking dead man. 'I Am the Greatest:' Muhammad Ali in His Own Words - Newsweek Too dangerous. If I'm gonna die, I'll die now right here fighting you, if I'm gonna die. And if the white man aint the devil, hes been aiming at the history of the Americans. But weve been there 600 years and there aint no peace between black and whites because the cultures are different - like the Chinese and Mexicans cannot integrate: the music is different, the eating is different. MA: Only for reasons of war, not for religion or my peoples freedom. And I use my image to try to help young people fighting and killing each other. Its a dare. I knowyou've got him. Theres a lot of money on the ship, but I cannot integrate on the ship or get equality on the ship. He is the Devil! Response to the question, "What would you like people to think about you when you've gone?" Reading the book feels like sitting with Ali alone and hearing him answer all the questions you ever wanted to ask him. When I say two, there's never a third. Clay is a good enough fighter, but it's unfortunate that he's a. Ive always been one to Im not just a boxer. The man who annihilated Floyd Patterson twice. Just thing about ten hundred people - that makes me nervous. Nobody was hurt. No athlete embodies this better than Ali. Muhammad Ali with his trainer Angelo Dundee ahead of his fight with Ernie Terrell at the Astrodome, Houston, February 1967. If some black man go out and start something, a riot or something or, Im not going to jump in it and get killed because hes gone out and started something I dont believe in what hes fighting for or his approach. And when a pilot says its going to be bad, its going to be rough. At a press conference before Ali vs. Frazier 1: I predict that when i meet Joe Frazier.