Happy birthday to "The Greatest"

By Tony Watts - Editor - 17/01/2007

When Muhammad Ali first declared himself to be “The Greatest”, the world derided his arrogance. How could a youngster – admittedly with an Olympic Gold medal to his name – make such a claim?

Then, over the coming years, he proved to everyone just how right he was. He didn’t just box with more style, panache and deadly speed than heavyweight boxing had ever seen before. He also had the heart, grit and sheer courage to come back – again and again – from public calumny and defeat.

For all his artistry in the ring, he was also prepared to slug it out when it was the only way forward – never flinching while he took terrible punishment in the process.

One should never forget his courage, either, in giving up his career by refusing to join an army engaged in a war he did not believe in. It would have been easy for him to have joined the Army and done token service. The route he chose was the hardest one.

But arguably his finest moment was also the one where he stood up to a watching world and – with trembling hands through his degenerative illness – lit the 1996 Olympic flame. Which of us would have been prepared to show such vulnerability; and this was once the most feared fighter in the world.

His has been one of the most astonishing sports stories of the last 50 years and today, at 65, he remains an icon of his age.

He was the prettiest. He was the best. And time has not diminished him – it has only served to put his astonishing achievements into context to prove that everyone who has followed in his wake has been a pale imitation of the man who will always be The Greatest.