WATCH MUHAMMAD ALI VS ERNIE TERRELL FULL FIGHT
There is not much else that can be said about Muhammed Ali that has not already been written, there are countless articles, Books, documentaries, and movies about the great man, let’s not beat around the bush here he was a great man! the self-proclaimed Greatest all-time Heavyweight, he transcended and changed the face of sport as a whole, most of us would be hard pressed to find reasons to disagree.
Ali did have a darker more malevolent side to his jovial media persona, a side that every once in a while, would manifest itself and show NOT his true colors per se’, but show his unwillingness to conform to what society believed he should be, Ali did things his way and he was damned if he would do otherwise and be told what to do, and when to do it.
During his Olympic trials and subsequent win at the Moscow 1960 Olympics, Ali (Then still Cassius Clay) became disillusioned with America’s racial discrimination and inequality. Despite his remarkable success in the Olympics, Ali experienced first-hand the racial prejudices that persisted in America. This experience left him questioning the values and fairness of a country that he represented on the international stage. The discriminatory treatment he faced, including being denied entry to a restaurant in his own hometown of Louisville, further fuelled his discontent and fuelled his desire to challenge the status quo. Ali’s journey from an Olympic champion to a vocal advocate for civil rights and social justice was shaped by these early experiences, igniting a fire within him to fight not only in the boxing ring but also for equality and justice outside of it.
Ali began to find solace in religion attending lectures and meetings held by the Chicago-based Nation of Islam the radical views of Elijah Mohammed but more importantly the dynamic Malcom X Captivated Ali, it wasn’t long before Ali and Malcom X stood Shoulder to shoulder becoming close friends, much to the annoyance of those involved in the civil rights movement who saw Ali as a natural allay to Dr Martin Luther King.
Ali preferred the more direct approach adopted by The Nation, he confronted the indignities of racial discrimination by embracing the Nation’s doctrine of strict separation of other races and the description that all white people were devils. The Nation provided him a sense of belonging and group support It enabled him to be himself in a world where his sport was controlled by whites.
Ali went public with his membership in the Nation in 1964, shortly after defeating Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title. He abandoned what he called his slave name, Cassius Clay, briefly known by Cassius X before declaring:
“I am Muhammad Ali, a free name — it means beloved of God and I insist people use it when speaking to me and of me.”
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali attended a pre-fight interview at ABC studios he was due to fight Ernie Terrell on February 6, 1967, for the WBA, WBC, NYSAC, and The Ring heavyweight championships at the Astrodome, Houston Texas, During the interview Terrell mistakenly called Ali by his previous name of Clay, Pouncing on this Ali hurled a tirade of abuse and insults at his opponent calling him an “Uncle Tom” and vowing to make Terrell Pay for his petulance.
The fight itself was not the one sided affair many claim it to be, although Ali boxed beautifully his piston like lead hand jab continually rocking back the head of his opponent, Terrell gave as good as he got for the first 3 to 4 rounds, incensed by his inability to knock Terrel out, a trait that would follow Ali through the rest of his subsequent career, Ali upped the anti by unleashing barrage after barrage of combinations through the middle rounds the most notable of these round 8, where at the sound of the bell to end the round Ali dropped his hands and screamed defiantly at Terrell “ What’s my Name”.
We look back at that performance today by Ali and we see a finely tuned athlete, with silky smooth moves, rhythmically changing direction, effortlessly cracking out jabs and one -twos, throwing in energy zapping left hook body shots, however the press ring side and those commentating ironically White !! criticized the performance, calling it ‘calculating Bullying’ ‘Disgusting’ and liking it to a Lynching’. In truth it was nothing of the sort.
Ali was no saint when it came to Selling and promoting fights, slurs and insults were common place when he was around, but in his later years he would apologise to those he once ridiculed, and would come to embrace the more orthodox style of the Muslim faith, distancing himself from those radicalised years he embraced and studied Sufism, a mystical Islamic tradition and belief in which Muslims seek to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God.”
The image of Ali shouting at Terrell is one worth remembering it is the image of a man refusing to be defined or controlled by others. It’s the image of a man who fought for his beliefs with his mouth and mind as well as his body.
WATCH MUHAMMAD ALI VS ERNIE TERRELL
