My dad was a boxer during his time in the Navy. It was just assumed we would watch boxing as I was growing up. We would tune into ABC’s Wide World of Sports as they traveled the world to capture the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat through sport, and especially prize fights.
It was in those formative years that I learned Muhammad Ali was “the greatest.” His attitude and swagger were not well received by many at that time, but I loved it. The issue of race and equality needed a champion, and Muhammad Ali defiantly stood against a majority of society at his own financial and personal peril to further this social agenda. Much of that generation held those political views as a bias against the talent and accomplishments of the boxer. My age group was seeing something different which would shape the views of many of us.
With Ali’s talent, I found it hard to imagine that anyone prior to him could have been better. Here was this loud-talking, easy-rhyming combination of power and skill that backed it all up in the ring, and he was unafraid to share his gifts with the world any time Howard Cosell interviewed him.
A great debate
Years later, when I was a teenager, Mike Tyson became the champ, and I transitioned to the belief that he was the best. There seemed to exist a clear generational divide on whether Tyson was better than Ali. Although we knew the pair would never square off owing to age differences and Ali’s battle with Parkinson’s disease, my dad and I debated who would win in a hypothetical epic matchup. He stood confident that Ali would triumph, while I favored Iron Mike.
I was fortunate our debates went beyond boxing. Dad and I often discussed a wide variety of topics and issues. He was as much a product of his generation as I am of mine, so we disagreed on many policies. Often times, it would end with one of us leaving the room (usually me) because the frustration level had hit its apex.
This has not changed with each passing generation as many take different points of view which differ from other generations. Too often, the young grow resentful, even hostile, toward their elders over issues, and vice-versa. I can understand the frustration of the constant battle of wills, but it is too often that we let differences of opinion cloud judgement. I am a firm believer in taking a stand for what is right regarding my beliefs, but one must also be willing to fight all types of battles. Some require a debate to overcome the views in which one was raised to believe.
Muhammad Ali took a very public and vocal stance when he felt it was necessary, and it was certainly needed for the march toward equality during that time. While I usually work to change minds through the power of public debate, Muhammad Ali brought his own style and flair to emphasize discussions that often weren’t happening on network television without him.
In that sense, Muhammad Ali had a different calling in that specific battle. I cannot imagine where we would be as a society if today we were recognizing “Cautious” Cassius Clay rather than the iconic, straight-talking legend we grew to know. While there is always an appropriate time and place for the type of battles we pick, I am thankful we had Muhammad Ali fighting for equality inside and outside the ring in the way he did.
In many ways, he was the right man for the right time.
Long battles necessary for great change
As he got older, my dad came around to many different points of view through life experiences. I wish he were still here so we could have more of those discussions, and I am thankful he raised me to question authority. I have encouraged many people younger than me to do the same, but I also ask that they have the patience to fight the long battles necessary for great change.
As I have gotten older, I have also realized that my dad was right about many things. He was certainly correct about Muhammad Ali. The champ was — without a doubt — the greatest boxer of my generation, and I think my dad would also agree that Muhammad Ali was as great a champion outside the boxing ring as he was inside it
Please keep up your own fight for moving our society ahead.
