Me.
When We Were Kings.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Muhammad Ali, he was like a sleeping elephant. You can do whatever you want around a sleeping elephant; whatever you want. But when he wakes up, he tramples everything.
- Malik Bowens
When I was a lot younger, I was a big fan of boxing. The ring, the lights, the audience, the champions themselves - it was all so fascinating. Having lived with my grandparents for a few years when I was young, it became normal for me to sit beside my grandfather as the latest boxing match played on the telly. Once the fight was over, my grandfather, my father, and my uncles, would tell me stories about how George Foreman punched a charging bull, cracking its skull; how Sugar Ray Robinson danced with crocodiles; and how Rocky Marciano fought off a dozen giants. They were stories meant to fuel a young boy's imagination, and for that alone I used to walk around thinking that these men were - above all - Gods on Earth.
I don't know why I stopped watching boxing, to be honest. It was a good sport, an entertaining sport.
Last week I sat down to watch a boxing movie/documentary, titled "When We Were Kings". It documented the fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, in Zaire, Africa. I loved it - not because of the boxing match itself (of which footage was minimal), but because of every moment documented before it. Muhammad Ali was amazing to watch - his confidence, his strength, his resolve and determination. Simply amazing. I sat in awe, wondering how anyone could be so exciting, so sure of themselves. So sure of what they wanted out of every living moment - or at the very least, portray themselves as such.
The documentary is full of Ali's own commentary - really entertaining stuff. Here's my favourite:-
It is befitting that I leave the game just like I came in, beating a big bad monster who knocks out everybody and no one can whup him. So when little Cassius Clay from Louisville, Kentucky, came up to stop Sonny Liston. The man who annihilated Floyd Patterson twice. HE WAS GONNA KILL ME! But he hit harder than George. His reach is longer than George's. He's a better boxer than George. And I'm better now than I was when you saw that 22-years old undeveloped kid running from Sonny Liston. I'm experienced now, professional. Jaws been broke, been knocked down a couple of times, I'm bad! Been chopping trees. I done something new for this fight. I done wrestled with an alligator. That's right. I have wrestled with an alligator. I done tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail. That's bad! Only last week I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalised a brick! I'm so mean I make medicine sick! Bad, fast! Fast! Fast! Last night I cut the light off in my bedroom, hit the switch and was in the bed before the room was dark.
Amazing stuff. Hahaha. I strongly recommend watching this documentary if you have some interest in boxing, or if you simply think Muhammad Ali is awesome.
Oh, FYI - the soundtrack gets two thumbs up from me. James Brown, B.B. King, and loads more - if you're a fan of the blues, of funk, it's safe to say you're gonna have difficulty keeping your feet from tapping.
Ding ding ding!
Given a certain level of thought byAdam Dewind at 6:26 PM
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