ANNOUNCER: MAJOR FUNDING FOR "MUHAMMAD ALI"
WAS PROVIDED BY: DAVID M. RUBENSTEIN,
INVESTING IN PEOPLE AND INSTITUTIONS
THAT HELP US UNDERSTAND THE PAST AND PREPARE US FOR THE FUTURE;
BY THE ARTHUR VINING DAVIS FOUNDATIONS,
INVESTING IN OUR COMMON FUTURE;
BY THE BETTER ANGELS SOCIETY AND ITS MEMBERS
ALAN AND MARCIA DOCTER,
MR. AND MRS. PAUL TUDOR JONES,
THE FULLERTON FAMILY CHARITABLE FUND,
GILCHRIST AND AMY BERG;
THE BROOKE BROWN BARZUN FOUNDATION,
OWSLEY BROWN III FOUNDATION.
AND AUGUSTA BROWN HOLLAND FOUNDATION,
PERRY AND DONNA GOLKIN,
JOHN AND LESLIE McQUOWN,
JOHN AND CATHERINE DEBS,
FRED AND DONNA SEIGEL,
SUSAN AND JOHN WIELAND,
AND BY THESE ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTORS.
MAJOR FUNDING WAS ALSO PROVIDED
BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS
TO YOUR PBS STATION
FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU. THANK YOU.
♪
HE RULES THE NIGHT SPACE EVEN NOW,
BESTRIDES THE TREACHEROUS DOMAIN WITH THIGHS OF BRONZE.
A DANCING MURAL OF DELIGHTS.
OH, ALI, ALI...
WHAT MUSIC HURTS THE MASSIVE HEAD TONIGHT, ALI?
THE DRUMS, THE TIN CANS, THE GUITARS
AND MBIRA OF ZAIRE?
ALI, ALI, BOMAYE.
THE RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE?
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST?
ROLL CALL OF BUM-A-MONTH.
THE ROPE-A-DOPE?
THE THRILLA IN MANILLA?
ALI, ALI.
"THE CLOSEST THING TO DEATH," YOU SAID.
WAS THAT THE GREATEST, SADDEST PROPHECY OF ALL?
♪
NARRATOR: BY THE SUMMER OF 1974, THE UNITED STATES WAS BESET
BY A CRIPPLING OIL EMBARGO,
SKYROCKETING INFLATION THAT HAD STAGGERED THE AMERICAN ECONOMY,
AND A CORRUPT AND SCANDAL-PLAGUED PRESIDENT.
[APPLAUSE]
REPORTER: THERE'S THE PRESIDENT WAVING GOOD-BYE.
YOU CAN HEAR THE APPLAUSE.
[APPLAUSE CONTINUES]
NARRATOR: AS COURT-ORDERED DESEGREGATION OF SCHOOLS
SPREAD ACROSS THE COUNTRY
AND WHITE PEOPLE CONTINUED LEAVING CITIES FOR THE SUBURBS,
SOME BLACK ACTIVISTS
WHO HAD MARCHED AND PROTESTED...
OR EVEN TAKEN UP ARMS...
TURNED TO POLITICS
IN HOPES OF ACHIEVING CHANGE.
ELECTORAL POLITICS BECAME MUCH MORE IMPORTANT.
A LOT OF BLACK MAYORS WERE BEGINNING TO BE ELECTED.
MORE TRADITIONAL ROUTES OF EMPOWERMENT WERE EMPLOYED.
AND I THINK THE COUNTRY CONCLUDED
THAT VIETNAM WAS A MISTAKE
AND THAT MAYBE ALI WAS PRESCIENT IN HIS REFUSAL TO GO.
NARRATOR: MUHAMMAD ALI'S LOSS TO JOE FRAZIER IN 1971
AND THEN HIS COMEBACK VICTORY IN THEIR REMATCH THREE YEARS LATER
HAD SOFTENED PERCEPTIONS OF HIM,
EVEN AMONG THOSE WHO HAD ONCE DESPISED ALI.
HE CONTINUED TO VENERATE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD,
THE 77-YEAR-OLD LEADER OF THE NATION OF ISLAM.
THOUGH THE SECT HAD RECEDED FROM PUBLIC VIEW, IT HAD,
IN FACT, EXPANDED, WITH OVER 70 MOSQUES ACROSS THE COUNTRY,
MORE THAN 200,000 MEMBERS,
AND A BUSINESS EMPIRE
WITH ASSETS IN THE TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
IF YOU THINK THE WORLD WAS SURPRISED WHEN NIXON RESIGNED,
WAIT TILL I WHIP FOREMAN'S BEHIND.
[LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE]
ALI: HE'S SLOW. HE HAS NO SKILL,
NO FOOTWORK. HE'S AWKWARD.
AND I HAVE GIVEN HIM A NAME.
I NAMED FLOYD PATTERSON "THE RABBIT."
I NAMED SONNY LISTON "THE BEAR."
AND HE SHALL BE KNOWN OFFICIALLY AS "THE MUMMY."
[LAUGHTER]
THE MUMMY.
FROST: WHY "THE MUMMY?"
WHY? BECAUSE HE FIGHTS... WHEN HE'S FIGHTING,
IF YOU EVER WATCH HIM IN THE RING, HE...
HE DRAGS LIKE THAT AFTER HIS OPPONENT.
[LAUGHTER]
NARRATOR: CONSIDERED A LONGSHOT IN HIS UPCOMING TITLE MATCH
IN ZAIRE, IN AFRICA, ALI PROMOTED HIMSELF
AS A CHAMPION OF BLACK NATIONALISM AND ISLAM,
AND THIS TIME DERIDED HIS OPPONENT, GEORGE FOREMAN,
THE CURRENT UNDEFEATED
HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD,
AS "THE CHRISTIAN" AND THE WHITE MAN'S HOPE.
MAN: ALI MAKES THE STAKES VERY HIGH IN THIS FIGHT.
THIS IS THE FIGHT ABOUT THE BLACK WORLD.
THIS IS A FIGHT ABOUT THE WHOLE BLACK WORLD
COMING TOGETHER, WHO'S GOING TO BE THE CHAMPION
OF THE BLACK WORLD.
AND HE SAYS, "FOREMAN IS NOT THIS.
"FOREMAN IS THE WHITE MAN'S CHAMPION,
AND I'M THE CHAMPION OF THE THIRD WORLD."
MAN: FOR ME, GEORGE FOREMAN HAS ALWAYS BEEN
WHAT I WOULD CALL A COUNTERREVOLUTIONARY FIGHTER.
AT THE SAME 1968 OLYMPICS WHERE CARLOS AND SMITH
RAISED THE CLENCHED BLACK FIST, IT IS GEORGE FOREMAN
WHO PULLS THE AMERICAN FLAG OUT OF HIS TRUNKS
AND STARTS WAVING IT AROUND AFTER HE WINS A GOLD MEDAL.
SO IN SOME WAYS, IT'S NECESSARY
FOR MUHAMMAD ALI TO FIGHT GEORGE FOREMAN IN ZAIRE IN 1974,
BECAUSE ALI IS THE ULTIMATE REVOLUTIONARY ATHLETE
FIGHTING THE COUNTERREVOLUTIONARY ATHLETE.
I'M REPRESENTING GOD.
I'M REPRESENTING THE FREEDOM OF BLACK PEOPLE IN AMERICA.
I WANT TO WIN SO I CAN COME HOME AND SPEAK FOR THE BROTHER
WHO'S LIVING IN RAT-INFESTED HOUSES,
SLEEPING ON CONCRETE IN THE GHETTO,
CAN'T GO ON TELEVISION TO SPEAK.
SO THIS FOR ME IS A HOLY WAR.
THIS AIN'T JUST NO FIGHT WITH GEORGE FOREMAN.
I'M FIGHTING FOR THE FREEDOM AND EQUALITY
OF THE BLACK MAN OF AMERICA.
[BELL CLANGS]
♪
NARRATOR: ON JULY 17, 1974, MUHAMMAD ALI INVITED
A BUSLOAD OF REPORTERS AND THEIR FAMILIES TO A PICNIC LUNCH
AT HIS TRAINING CAMP
IN THE POCONO MOUNTAINS OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA.
IT HAD BEEN EIGHT WEEKS SINCE HE'D BEGUN TRAINING
FOR GEORGE FOREMAN,
AND THOUGH ALI HAD ALREADY TRIMMED TEN POUNDS
FROM HIS 6'3" FRAME, HE HOPED TO LOSE ANOTHER TEN
IN THE TWO MONTHS BEFORE THEIR TITLE FIGHT
IN KINSHASA, ZAIRE, IN SEPTEMBER.
ALI: I DON'T HAVE NO MANAGERS, NO BOSSES.
I RUN WHEN I WANT TO RUN, TRAIN AS LONG AS I WANT TO TRAIN...
NARRATOR: ALI, NOW 32 YEARS OLD,
TOLD JOKES AND STORIES JUST AS HE ALWAYS HAD.
HE RECITED POETRY,
ORDERED HIS SPARRING PARTNERS TO PUMMEL HIM...
ALI: KEEP BLASTING.
NARRATOR: AND PROMISED REPORTERS
THAT FOREMAN "CAN'T HURT WHAT HE CAN'T HIT."
"BET THE HOUSE ON ME," HE TOLD THEM.
FOR THIS FIGHT, I'VE WRASSLED WITH ALLIGATORS.
I'VE TUSSLED WITH A WHALE.
I DONE HANDCUFFED LIGHTNING AND PUT THUNDER IN JAIL.
YOU KNOW I'M BAD.
I HAVE MURDERED A ROCK, I INJURED A STONE,
AND I HOSPITALIZED A BRICK.
I'M SO BAD, I MAKE MEDICINE SICK.
I'M SO FAST, MAN, I CAN RUN THROUGH A HURRICANE
AND DON'T GET WET.
WHEN GEORGE FOREMAN MEETS ME, HE'LL PAY HIS DEBT.
I CAN DROWN A DRINK OF WATER AND KILL A DEAD TREE.
WAIT TILL YOU SEE MUHAMMAD ALI.
♪
TODD BOYD: MOBUTU SESE SEKO IS THE DICTATOR IN ZAIRE,
WHICH HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN KNOWN AS THE CONGO,
THE BELGIAN CONGO WHEN IT WAS COLONIZED.
MOBUTU WILL STAGE THIS LEGENDARY BOXING MATCH
IN A LOCATION THAT'S, OF COURSE, QUITE SYMBOLIC
BECAUSE OF THE RISING CONSCIOUSNESS AROUND AFRICA,
PARTICULARLY FOR MANY AFRICAN AMERICANS.
NARRATOR: MOBUTU SESE SEKO, THE PRESIDENT OF ZAIRE,
HAD COME TO POWER
IN A BELGIAN- AND AMERICAN-BACKED MILITARY COUP
THAT OVERTHREW
THE DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT.
HE ROUTINELY TORTURED AND KILLED HIS OPPONENTS,
AND AMASSED AN ENORMOUS PERSONAL FORTUNE,
SIPHONING THE PROFITS
FROM THE COUNTRY'S BOOMING MINING INDUSTRY
INTO OFFSHORE BANK ACCOUNTS,
WHILE MANY ZAIRIANS SCRAPED BY
WITHOUT ELECTRICITY OR RUNNING WATER.
MUHAMMAD ALI AND GEORGE FOREMAN ACCEPTED MOBUTU'S MILLIONS.
DON KING: HE HAD ALL THE MONEY,
ONE OF THE RICHEST DICTATORS AT THE TIME IN THE WORLD,
AND SO NOW HE HAD OPPORTUNITY
TO BRING HIS PEOPLE IN HIS COUNTRY
TO THE FOREFRONT OF THE WORLD.
WOLE SOYINKA: THAT'S WHAT DICTATORS DO.
THEY STAGE EXTRAVAGANZAS
TO DISTRACT PEOPLE AWAY FROM THEIR MISERY
AND ALSO TO FOCUS THE WRONG KIND OF ATTENTION...
THEY THINK IS THE RIGHT ONE... ON THEMSELVES.
HE'S A DESPICABLE, EXTRAVAGANT CHARACTER WHO OWNS
NOT JUST HOUSES BUT STREETS OF HOUSES
IN THE HOME COUNTRY OF HIS BOSSES, THE BELGIANS.
HE USED TO IMPORT CARTONS AND CARTONS OF CHAMPAGNE,
SPECIALLY BOTTLED FOR HIM.
HE DRANK NOTHING ELSE BUT THAT PARTICULAR BRAND FOR BREAKFAST.
THAT'S THE KIND OF INDIVIDUAL HE WAS.
♪
[CROWD CHEERING]
NARRATOR: ON SEPTEMBER 10th,
ALI ALONG WITH HIS WIFE BELINDA, HIS BROTHER RAHMAN,
HIS MOTHER AND FATHER,
AS WELL AS AN ENTOURAGE OF 2 DOZEN FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES,
ARRIVED IN KINSHASA ABOARD MOBUTU'S PRIVATE PLANE.
"FOREMAN IS A STRANGER COMING TO MY HOME TO FIGHT ME,"
HE TOLD A CROWD OF 5,000 ZAIRIANS
WHO WERE THERE TO GREET HIM.
"HE IS A BELGIAN."
PRESIDENT MOBUTU HAD BUILT A NEW RUNWAY FOR JUMBO JETS
AND A FOUR-LANE HIGHWAY TO CONNECT THE AIRPORT TO DOWNTOWN.
TO RETROFIT THE CITY'S DECREPIT 62,000-SEAT STADIUM,
ONE HUNDRED TONS OF REFRIGERATORS, STEAM TABLES,
SHOWERHEADS, AND BOXING EQUIPMENT
HAD ARRIVED FROM BELGIUM.
ALI AND HIS ENTOURAGE WERE HOUSED
AT ONE OF MOBUTU'S PRESIDENTIAL COMPOUNDS
25 MILES OUTSIDE OF THE CITY, IN N'SELE.
MAN: WE WAS STAYING AT MOBUTU'S QUARTERS
OUT ON THE CONGO RIVER.
I MEAN, THAT WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SIGHT I EVER SEEN,
BECAUSE THE RIVER, YOU COULD SEE THE LILIES
GOING DOWN THE RIVER,
AND IN THE EVENING THE SUN WOULD SET,
AND YOU WOULD SEE ALL OF THAT BEAUTIFUL COLOR
IN THAT WATER,
AND I SHOT SOME PICTURES OF THAT SO I COULD KEEP IT.
♪
NARRATOR: GEORGE FOREMAN SEEMED ILL AT EASE IN AFRICA.
HE HAD ARRIVED TO FAR LESS FANFARE THAN ALI
AND MOVED INTO THE VILLA OF A ZAIRIAN OFFICIAL
A FEW MILES DOWN THE ROAD FROM HIS OPPONENT
AND KEPT MOSTLY TO HIMSELF.
ON SEPTEMBER 16th, FOREMAN'S SPARRING PARTNER CAUGHT HIM
WITH AN ELBOW, OPENING A CUT ABOVE HIS RIGHT EYE.
THOUGH IT REQUIRED NO STITCHES, FOREMAN'S DOCTOR CONCLUDED
THAT THE WOUND WOULD TAKE WEEKS TO HEAL
AND CALLED FOR THE FIGHT TO BE POSTPONED.
LOCAL OFFICIALS, WHO HAD SPENT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
ON PREPARATIONS AND WORRIED THAT ANY DELAY
COULD MEAN RISKING THE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS
AND FATAL FLOODS OF THE UPCOMING RAINY SEASON,
CLAIMED THAT FOREMAN'S CAMP
WAS OVERSTATING THE SEVERITY OF THE CUT.
ALI: I WANT THE PRESIDENT
TO PUT STRICT ORDERS ON THE AIRPORT.
DON'T LET GEORGE OUT OF THIS COUNTRY.
[LAUGHTER]
PLEASE DON'T LET HIM GO.
I'M READY. I'M DANCING.
DON KING: GEORGE FOREMAN WANTED TO GO HOME.
AND I KNOW ALREADY... AND I ALREADY SAID
IN THE BACK OF HIS MIND HE GOT ACCIDENTALLY CUT,
BUT HE DON'T WANT TO STAY IN AFRICA.
I KNOW ONCE HE GOT BACK IN AMERICA,
HE WASN'T COMING BACK.
IF HE GOT BACK TO AMERICA, IT WAS OVER WITH.
THAT FIGHT WAS DONE FOR.
NARRATOR: WHEN FOREMAN ASKED TO GO TO FRANCE OR BELGIUM
FOR A SECOND OPINION ON HIS CUT, MOBUTU SAID NO.
HE HAD REPORTEDLY CONFISCATED FOREMAN'S PASSPORT.
EVENTUALLY THE FIGHT WAS RESCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 30th
AT 4 A.M. ZAIRE TIME.
I'M GOING TO FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY
AND STING LIKE A BEE.
GEORGE CAN'T HIT WHAT HIS EYES CAN'T SEE.
NOW YOU SEE ME, NOW YOU DON'T.
YOU THINK YOU WILL, BUT I KNOW YOU WON'T.
[LAUGHTER]
ALI: GEORGE FOREMAN.
MEN: BOMAYE. BOMAYE...
MAN: SEE, FOREMAN DIDN'T GO OUT. FOREMAN STAYED IN HIS CAMP.
AND I WOULD WATCH ALI WALK THROUGH THE STREETS.
PEOPLE TOUCHED HIM. ALI WAS LOOSE.
AND HE KNEW THEY LOVED HIM.
ALL THOSE PEOPLE IN KINSHASA
MADE A CHOICE FOR HIM OVER FOREMAN.
AND SO WHEN THAT FIGHT HIT,
EVERYBODY... I DON'T KNOW ANYBODY WANTED FOREMAN TO WIN.
NARRATOR: WHEN ALI RAN IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
AROUND MOBUTU'S COMPOUND, CROWDS TURNED OUT TO CHEER HIM,
CHANTING "ALI, BOMAYE," "ALI, KILL HIM."
CROWD: ALI, BOMAYE! ALI, BOMAYE! ALI, BOMAYE...
♪
NARRATOR: ONE DAY IN N'SELE, ALI RAN INTO VERONICA PORCHE,
AN 18-YEAR-OLD PRE-MED STUDENT FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
WHO HAD BEEN HIRED BY DON KING TO HELP PROMOTE THE FIGHT.
THEY HAD MET WEEKS EARLIER
AT AN EXHIBITION MATCH IN SALT LAKE CITY.
AT FIRST, HE PAID LITTLE ATTENTION TO HER,
BUT AS SHE BOARDED THE BUS BACK TO KINSHASA,
HE OFFERED TO JOIN HER.
THE TWO SPENT THE TRIP
DISCUSSING THEIR CHILDHOODS AND FAMILIES.
VERONICA PORCHE: IT MADE A GOOD IMPRESSION
BECAUSE I SAID, "OH, HE'S A NICE GUY. HE'S HUMBLE."
HE'S NOT, YOU KNOW... THAT PUBLIC PERSONA
WAS NOT THERE.
AND NOT THAT I DISLIKED THE PUBLIC PERSONA,
IT WAS MORE WHEN HE WAS BRAGGING.
NARRATOR: ALI HOPED TO SEE HER AGAIN.
BELINDA HAD RETURNED TO THE UNITED STATES
WHEN THE FIGHT WAS POSTPONED.
PORCHE: THE FIRST CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD
WHERE HE EXPRESSED INTEREST IN SEEING ME AGAIN,
I SAID, "WELL, YOU'RE MARRIED."
AND HE TOLD ME HE WAS GETTING DIVORCED.
I ASKED ONE PERSON, WHO TOLD ME,
"YEAH, THEY'RE HAVING A LOT OF PROBLEMS."
AND ANOTHER PERSON SAID, "WELL, THEY'RE BOTH MY FRIENDS,
SO I DON'T WANT TO SAY ANYTHING."
I DID TRY TO FIND OUT IF...
I DIDN'T JUST TAKE HIS WORD FOR IT.
BUT I BECAME CONVINCED THAT HE WAS TELLING THE TRUTH,
SO THAT'S WHY I DID SEE HIM AGAIN.
NARRATOR: IN FACT, ALI WAS SEEING
AT LEAST TWO OTHER WOMEN IN AFRICA.
WHEN BELINDA RETURNED TO ZAIRE,
SHE STAYED IN A HOTEL IN KINSHASA.
SHE AND ALI QUARRELED;
HE ACCUSED HER OF HAVING SLEPT WITH ANOTHER MAN.
VERONICA REMAINED OUT OF SIGHT,
QUIETLY VISITING ALI AT HIS COMPOUND.
SO WE WOULD WALK ALONG THE WATER IN THE EVENINGS.
IT WAS REALLY BEAUTIFUL,
AND TALKED, AND HE GAVE ME A LOT OF HIS LECTURES
THAT I LATER FOUND OUT THAT HE HAD TAKEN IDEAS
FROM SUFI BOOKS AND HAD WRITTEN THEM.
BUT AT THE TIME, I THOUGHT HE HAD WRITTEN IT ALL HIMSELF,
AND TOPICS LIKE LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP.
AND IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL.
I ACTUALLY FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM LISTENING TO THOSE LECTURES.
♪
NARRATOR: AS THE FIGHT APPROACHED,
MORE THAN 600 JOURNALISTS ARRIVED IN ZAIRE,
INCLUDING GEORGE PLIMPTON, HUNTER S. THOMPSON,
AND NORMAN MAILER.
[JUMP ROPE SWINGING RAPIDLY]
TIME!
ALI: I FIGHT IN MANY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES,
AND IT'S A GREATER FEELING FIGHTING IN A BLACK COUNTRY.
I FIGHT IN AFRICA BECAUSE I'M FIGHTING IN MY HOMELAND.
[MAN TRANSLATING INTO FRENCH]
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
ALI: AMERICA'S NOT MY ORIGINAL HOMELAND.
MY ORIGINAL HOMELAND IS AFRICA.
ANNOUNCER: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION, GEORGE FOREMAN.
NARRATOR: GEORGE FOREMAN,
WHO HAD FINALLY RESUMED FULL WORKOUTS,
MADE LITTLE TIME FOR REPORTERS
AND GAVE THEM ALMOST NOTHING TO WRITE ABOUT.
THOUGH HIS TRAINING SESSIONS WERE WELL-ATTENDED,
HE BARELY ACKNOWLEDGED THE CROWD,
PREFERRING TO PUT IN HIS WORK
AND RETURN TO THE HOTEL IN KINSHASA,
WHERE HE WAS NOW STAYING.
ALI: I'LL BRUISE UP GEORGE FOREMAN.
IF I DON'T KNOCK HIM OUT, I'LL CUT HIM UP!
ALL AROUND HIS FACE WILL BE NICKS AND CUTS.
I'M SO SHARP, WHEN I'M FINISHED,
IT'LL LOOK LIKE I HAD A RAZOR BLADE.
QUINCY TROUPE: MOST PEOPLE THOUGHT, TO BE TRUTHFUL,
THAT FOREMAN WOULD WIN THAT FIGHT,
EVEN IF THEY LOVED ALI.
YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, I MEAN, FOREMAN WAS
THIS OVERWHELMING, BIG KNOCK-OUT ARTIST
WHO JUST WHUPPED EVERYBODY,
YOU KNOW, AND EVERYBODY COULDN'T GET PAST THAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, THEY JUST THOUGHT THAT HE WAS
GONNA DESTROY ALI.
NARRATOR: THE DAY BEFORE THE FIGHT...
WHAT ALI HAD DUBBED "THE RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE,"
HIS TRAINER, ANGELO DUNDEE, HEADED TO THE STADIUM
TO INSPECT THE RING,
WHICH HAD BEEN BUILT BENEATH A TEMPORARY TIN ROOF
IN CASE THE HEAVY RAINS FINALLY ARRIVED.
HE DIDN'T LIKE WHAT HE SAW.
THE CANVAS FLOOR WAS SOFT AND SLANTED,
AND THE ROPES SAGGED FROM THE HEAT.
THE TRAINER TIGHTENED THE ROPES AND LEVELED THE FLOOR
AS BEST HE COULD.
AT 2 A.M. ON OCTOBER 30th,
ALI BOARDED A BUS TO THE STADIUM.
THE MOOD IN HIS DRESSING ROOM WAS GRIM.
EVERYBODY BUT THE FIGHTER WAS FEARFUL
HE WOULD BE HURT OR WORSE.
MAN: ALI WASN'T SCARED.
ALI HAD NO FEAR.
MY BIGGEST FEAR IS, SHOULD HE GET HURT, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO
FOR A HOSPITAL OVER HERE?
YOU KNOW, THAT WAS THE BIG FEAR FOR ME.
BUT ALI HAD NO FEAR
BECAUSE THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD TOLD HIM,
"ALLAH IS IN YOUR CORNER. HE DOESN'T HAVE ALLAH."
AND THAT WAS ALI'S BOOSTER ROCKET.
NARRATOR: FIVE MINUTES BEFORE THE FIGHT,
THE BOXER SQUEEZED INTO A TOILET STALL WITH HIS MANAGER,
HERBERT MUHAMMAD, AND READ ALOUD FROM THE QUR'AN.
IN GEORGE FOREMAN'S DRESSING ROOM,
THE CHAMP JOINED HANDS WITH HIS CORNERMEN,
INCLUDING ALI'S ONE-TIME TRAINER ARCHIE MOORE.
"I PRAYED THAT GEORGE WOULDN'T KILL ALI," MOORE SAID LATER.
BOB SHERIDAN: THERE YOU SEE HIM, PRESIDENT MOBUTU SESE SEKO,
THE MAN THAT ABSOLUTELY RUNS THIS COUNTRY.
AND WHAT A JOB HE HAS DONE.
NEVER BEFORE IN THE HISTORY OF BOXING
AND PERHAPS IN ALL SPORTS HAS THERE BEEN
AN EVENT THAT PACKS THE DRAMA,
THE TRUE EXCITEMENT, THE SUSPENSE,
AND ESPECIALLY THE MYSTIQUE OF THIS SPECTACLE.
THEY SAID IT COULDN'T HAPPEN IN THE DEEPEST PART OF AFRICA,
BUT HERE WE ARE.
GEORGE FOREMAN HAS THAT SERIOUS LOOK.
ALI DEFINITELY TALKING TO HIM.
LOOK AT THE STARE ON GEORGE FOREMAN.
LOOK AT ALI GIVE HIM THE WORD.
SO THE STAGE IS SET, ROUND ONE.
THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
OF THE WORLD AT STAKE. [BELL CLANGS]
HERE WE GO. ALI QUICKLY ACROSS...
NARRATOR: MUHAMMAD ALI STRUCK FIRST,
SURPRISING ALMOST EVERYONE.
SHERIDAN: THE LIGHT RIGHT HAND
TAKEN ON THE FOREHEAD BY GEORGE FOREMAN, THE CHAMPION.
NARRATOR: THOUGH HE MADE FOREMAN CHASE HIM INTO THE CORNERS
AND ALONG THE ROPES DURING ROUND ONE, HE DID NOT DANCE.
[CROWD CHEERING]
♪
NARRATOR: FOREMAN LAUNCHED PUNCH AFTER PUNCH,
ASSUMING HE'D NEED TO LAND JUST ONE TO END THE FIGHT.
SHERIDAN: THE REFEREE SEPARATES THEM.
ABOUT 8 SECONDS LEFT IN THE ROUND, ROUND ONE.
FOREMAN AND ALI ENDING ROUND ONE.
[CHEERING]
NARRATOR: IN ALI'S CORNER BEFORE ROUND TWO,
HIS TEAM BEGGED HIM TO STAY OFF THE ROPES
AND AWAY FROM FOREMAN. [BELL CLANGS]
SHERIDAN: HERE WE GO, ROUND NUMBER TWO...
DON KING: ALI SHOCKED EVERYBODY 'CAUSE HE WOULDN'T TELL NOBODY
WHAT HE WAS DOING,
AND ANGELO DUNDEE AND ALL OF THEM WAS PULLING THEIR HAIR OUT.
SHERIDAN: FOREMAN TRIES TO WORK THE BODY.
NEITHER ONE OF THOSE PUNCHES DID ANY DAMAGE.
NONE OF THOSE PUNCHES ARE DOING ANY DAMAGE AT ALL.
NONE, ABSOLUTELY NONE.
THERE'S THE LIGHT FLICKING LEFT HAND
TO THE FACE OF GEORGE FOREMAN.
FOREMAN PUSHING THE HEAD BACK OF ALI.
WE WERE ABLE TO OBSERVE A LITTLE BIT OF PUFFINESS
UNDER THE LEFT EYE OF GEORGE FOREMAN.
THE LEFT EYE, NOT THE RIGHT EYE.
OH, WHAT A COMBINATION LANDED BY ALI
TO THE FACE OF GEORGE FOREMAN.
ROUND THREE JUST UNDERWAY...
NARRATOR: IN ROUND THREE, ALI WENT BACK TO THE ROPES
AND ALLOWED FOREMAN TO SWING AWAY AT HIS BODY
WHILE HE FIRED COMBINATIONS AT THE CHAMP'S HEAD.
SHERIDAN: LEFT HAND, LIGHT LEFT TAKEN ON THE CHIN OF ALI.
THAT WILD LEFT HAND IS NOT SCORING.
FOREMAN SETTING HIM UP AGAINST THE ROPES.
WHAT A VICIOUS, FAST COMBINATION BY ALI.
ALI DEFINITELY SHOWING SOME HAND SPEED IN THIS FIGHT.
THERE'S THE CHANT "ALI, BOMAYE." THAT MEANS "ALI, KILL HIM."
THE ROPE-A-DOPE IS A... TRAP THAT MUHAMMAD EMPLOYED
TO ENSNARL GEORGE FOREMAN.
MUHAMMAD LAYS AGAINST THE ROPES, INVITES GEORGE FOREMAN
TO "POUND AWAY, BRUH. NOT GONNA HIT MY HEAD,
AND IF YOU DO, LIKE, I CAN TAKE IT."
AND IF YOU'RE MOVING AROUND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RING,
GUESS WHAT.
YOU'RE USING UP YOUR ENERGY FOR YOUR LEGS.
SO IT'S SMARTER TO LAY AGAINST THE ROPES.
SHERIDAN: LOOK AT HIM WHISPERING IN THE EAR OF FOREMAN.
WHY HE CONTINUES TO TAUNT HIM.
ALI SUPER CONFIDENT.
MAN: ANGELO IS SCREAMING, "GET OFF THE ROPES!
STAY OFF THE ROPES. STAY OFF THE ROPES!"
AND AFTER ONE OF THE ROUNDS, HE CAME AND HE SAT DOWN,
AND HE SAID, "SHUT THE F UP."
HE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS DOING.
SHERIDAN: THE LEFT HAND SCORES AGAIN.
FOREMAN LOOKING FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
LOOKS, HAS A TREMENDOUS LOOK OF DETERMINATION.
STAGGERED! FOREMAN STAGGERED...
NARRATOR: ALI LANDED SIX STRAIGHT SHOTS TO FOREMAN'S HEAD
EARLY IN THE FOURTH ROUND, THEN SETTLED INTO THE ROPES
AND COUNTERPUNCHED AS THE CHAMP TRIED TO PUMMEL HIS BODY.
SHERIDAN: ALI PICKS IT UP A LITTLE BIT.
ABOUT 40 SECONDS LEFT IN ROUND NUMBER FIVE.
GOOD CRISP LEFT, A COMBINATION BY ALI
LANDS ON THE HEAD OF FOREMAN.
FOREMAN WITH THAT RIGHT HOOK. ALI'S STARTING...
NARRATOR: WITH 30 SECONDS REMAINING IN ROUND FIVE,
ALI STAGGERED FOREMAN WITH A SHARP RIGHT HAND,
FOLLOWED BY A FLURRY OF SHORT PUNCHES TO HIS HEAD.
MICHAEL BENTT: AND THE SHOTS THAT LAND... ALI LANDS ON HIM,
BEAUTIFUL SHOTS, MAN.
THEY'RE NOT TEXTBOOK SHOTS.
THEY'RE SHOTS THAT ONLY MUHAMMAD ALI CAN THROW,
ANGLE-WISE.
[BELL CLANGS]
NARRATOR: BY THE SIXTH ROUND, FOREMAN HAD SLOWED,
HIS FACE PUFFY AND BRUISED.
TODD BOYD: ALI IS USING HIS MIND AS WELL AS HIS FIST.
HOW DO YOU BEAT THIS GUY?
SHERIDAN: FOREMAN, THERE'S NO ESCAPING ANY OF THOSE PUNCHES,
AND YOU DON'T NEED ME TO TELL YOU THAT.
BOYD: WELL, YOU LET HIM PUNCH HIMSELF OUT.
SHERIDAN: FOREMAN DEFINITELY SHOWING SOME FATIGUE
IN THE WANING SECONDS IN ROUND SEVEN.
BOYD: AND ONCE HE GETS TIRED, ALI FLIPS THE SWITCH.
[BELL CLANGS]
SHERIDAN: HERE WE GO. THE BELL SOUNDS, ROUND NUMBER EIGHT.
FOREMAN LOOKING TO DELIVER THE REAL HEAVY BLOWS.
NOW HE'S POUNCING THERE.
ALMOST FALLS OUT OF THE RING!
THIRTY SECONDS LEFT IN ROUND EIGHT.
ALI, A SNEAKY RIGHT HAND.
ANOTHER SNEAKY RIGHT HAND.
THIS TIME, HE'S WORKING OVER THE SHOULDER OF FOREMAN.
IT'S A COMBINATION!
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
SHERIDAN: 3, 4, 5...
NINA SIMONE: ♪ IT'S A NEW DAWN, IT'S A NEW DAY ♪
♪ IT'S A NEW LIFE FOR ME, YEAH... ♪
DAVID FROST: MUHAMMAD ALI HAS DONE IT!
THE GREAT MAN HAS DONE IT!
THIS IS THE MOST JOYOUS SCENE EVER SEEN
IN THE HISTORY OF BOXING!
THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE SCENE. THE PLACE IS GOING WILD...
NARRATOR: MORE THAN SEVEN YEARS AFTER HE WAS EXILED FROM BOXING
AND STRIPPED OF HIS CROWN, MUHAMMAD ALI WAS
ONCE AGAIN THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD.
BOYD: IT'S AN AMAZING THING TO WATCH.
AND THIS GUY WHO TOLD US BACK IN 1964
THAT HE SHOOK UP THE WORLD,
THIS IS 10 YEARS LATER, HE'S GONE THROUGH EXILE,
HE'S, YOU KNOW, HAD HIS TITLE... EVERYTHING.
HE'S COME BACK.
THE COMEBACK'S BEEN GOOD, BUT IT'S NOT BEEN GREAT.
NOW HE'S FIGHTING SOMEBODY HE'S NOT SUPPOSED
TO BE ABLE TO BEAT, AND HE BEATS HIM IN THIS DRAMATIC FASHION
IN THIS SYMBOLIC LOCATION.
IT'S THE FULL CIRCLE OF HIS CAREER AS A BOXER.
NOW HE'S BACK ON TOP.
FROST: CONGRATULATIONS.
ALI: AM I THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME?
FROST: MUHAMMAD, YOU TOLD ME IN DEER LAKE YOU WERE
THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME, AND I THINK...
ALI IS THE ONE WHO GETS TO BE MADE WHOLE.
HE HAS TO BE MADE WHOLE.
THE REASON WHY WE LOVE HIM IS BECAUSE HE'S THE ONE
WHO ACTUALLY GOT IT ALL BACK.
IF HE DOESN'T WIN THAT FIGHT,
IF HE DOESN'T COME ALL THE WAY BACK,
HE GETS BROKEN LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.
HE GOT TO BE BEAUTIFUL. HE GOT TO BE FULL FLOWER.
HE GOT TO USE THE FULL TALENT, SO YOU COULD SEE ALL THE GIFTS.
AND THAT'S WHY WE LOVE HIM SO MUCH.
NARRATOR: PEOPLE EVERYWHERE CHEERED
ALI'S UNEXPECTED TRIUMPH.
"IT'S A VICTORY OF ALL THE OPPRESSED IN THE THIRD WORLD,"
WROTE A SENEGALESE JOURNALIST.
"THE WHOLE OF AFRICA HAS UNITED ITSELF
"BEHIND MUHAMMAD ALI...
THE BELOVED ONE ON OUR CONTINENT."
MOSLEY: I THINK THAT WHAT IT DID FOR AMERICA,
IT MADE AFRICA REAL FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE WHERE IT WASN'T.
THIS IS A PLACE, AND IN THIS PLACE, A GREAT THING HAPPENED.
NARRATOR: BACK IN LOUISVILLE, ALI JOINED JOE MARTIN
AND FRED STONER... HIS FIRST TRAINERS...
AND AN OVERFLOW CROWD AT RIVERFRONT PLAZA
AS THE CITY CELEBRATED MUHAMMAD ALI DAY
AND RENAMED A DOWNTOWN STREET IN HIS HONOR.
IN CHICAGO, MAYOR RICHARD DALEY,
WHO, IN 1966, HAD RESCINDED ALI'S BOXING LICENSE,
AWARDED HIM THE CITY'S MEDAL OF MERIT.
PRESIDENT GERALD FORD SEEKING, HE SAID,
TO "HEAL THE WOUNDS OF RACIAL DIVISION,
VIETNAM, AND WATERGATE,"
INVITED THE BOXER TO THE OVAL OFFICE.
MUHAMMAD ALI, FORD SAID, "WAS A MAN OF PRINCIPLE."
MUHAMMAD ALI WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT MAN IN THE WORLD.
EVERYBODY KNEW HIM. EVERYBODY.
YOU KNOW? IT WAS A GREATNESS THAT NOBODY HAD.
AND THERE WERE NO DOORS CLOSED TO HIM.
[SOUND OF CROWD CHEERING]
NARRATOR: IN THE FALL OF 1974, ALI AND BELINDA SOLD THEIR HOME
IN NEW JERSEY AND BOUGHT A TUDOR MANSION ON
CHICAGO'S SOUTH SIDE,
DOWN THE STREET FROM THE HOME OF THE AILING ELIJAH MUHAMMAD.
ALI HAD ALSO PURCHASED A CONDOMINIUM IN CHICAGO
FOR VERONICA, WHOM HE HAD SECRETLY MARRIED
IN A SMALL ISLAMIC CEREMONY BEFORE THEY LEFT ZAIRE.
BELINDA, WHO WOULD SOON CHANGE HER FIRST NAME TO KHALILAH,
KNEW NOTHING ABOUT IT.
AND VERONICA STILL BELIEVED THAT ALI
INTENDED TO DIVORCE HIS WIFE.
PORCHE: I WAS NOT SAVVY AND NOT EXPERIENCED.
ALL I KNEW IS I LOVED HIM...
AND I THOUGHT THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING,
AND THAT'S WHAT ALL THE SONGS OF THAT ERA SAID.
[LAUGHS] SO, THAT WAS
MY EDUCATION ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS.
♪
NARRATOR: ON FEBRUARY 25, 1975,
ALI WAS AT DEER LAKE WHEN WORD CAME
THAT ELIJAH MUHAMMAD HAD DIED.
ALI IMMEDIATELY RETURNED TO CHICAGO.
THOUGH HE WAS STILL OFFICIALLY SUSPENDED
FROM THE NATION OF ISLAM,
HE HAD CONTINUED TO VISIT ELIJAH MUHAMMAD REGULARLY
AND PRAISE HIM PUBLICLY,
AND REMAINED AMONG THE SECT'S LARGEST DONORS.
THE LEADER'S FAMILY AND CLOSEST ADVISORS CLOSED RANKS
AROUND WALLACE MUHAMMAD, HERBERT'S YOUNGER BROTHER,
AS ELIJAH'S SUCCESSOR.
AFTER EMBRACING TRADITIONAL ISLAM YEARS EARLIER,
WALLACE HAD FREQUENTLY REBELLED AGAINST HIS FATHER'S TEACHINGS
AND HAD BEEN CAST OUT OF THE SECT
FOR CHALLENGING ELIJAH'S CLAIM
THAT HE WAS THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH.
BUT HE HAD RECENTLY BEEN REINSTATED.
BROTHER HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION MUHAMMAD ALI.
[APPLAUSE]
NARRATOR: A DAY LATER, ALI SWORE HIS ALLEGIANCE TO WALLACE.
ALI: BROTHER WALLACE IS NOW IN THE POSITION
OF THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD.
AND WHEN WE LOOK AT HIM, YOU ARE LOOKING AT
THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
PORCHE: MUHAMMAD DID NOT HESITATE TO GO WITH WALLACE.
HE, ACTUALLY, IN HIS HEART, FOLLOWED
THE TEACHINGS OF WALLACE MUHAMMAD MORE CLOSELY
THAN THOSE OF ELIJAH MUHAMMAD ANYWAY
BECAUSE HE LOVED ALL PEOPLE.
I THINK WALLACE MUHAMMAD WAS TEACHING THE THINGS
THAT MALCOLM X HAD GONE OVER TO SAUDI ARABIA
AND DISCOVERED ON HIS OWN.
NARRATOR: OVER THE NEXT 18 MONTHS,
WALLACE STEERED THE ORGANIZATION TOWARD
A MORE MAINSTREAM INTERPRETATION OF ISLAM.
HE DISBANDED THE FRUIT OF ISLAM, THE ORGANIZATION'S ENFORCERS,
DECLARED THAT DEVILS COULD NOT BE IDENTIFIED
BY PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES, EFFECTIVELY OPENING MEMBERSHIP
TO WHITE PEOPLE, AND HE CHANGED THE GROUP'S NAME
TO THE WORLD COMMUNITY OF ISLAM IN THE WEST.
WALLACE HAD A MUCH MORE OPEN IDEA OF ISLAM,
MUCH MORE IN ACCORD WITH ORTHODOX ISLAM.
THAT ENABLED MUHAMMAD ALI
TO OPEN HIS EMBRACE TO MORE PEOPLE.
AND IT ALLOWED HIM TO BE MORE UNIVERSAL
IN HIS EXPRESSION OF ISLAM.
AND IT WAS A VERY GOOD THING FOR HIM.
♪
NARRATOR: IN THE SPRING OF 1975,
ALI EARNED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FIGHTING AND DEFEATING
LOWER-RANKED CONTENDERS:
CHUCK WEPNER, RON LYLE,
AND JOE BUGNER.
BOTH VERONICA AND BELINDA... NOW KHALILAH...
OFTEN TRAVELED WITH HIM.
AT FIRST, THE PRESS IDENTIFIED VERONICA
AS THE FAMILY'S BABYSITTER OR KHALILAH'S COUSIN,
BUT RUMORS BEGAN TO CIRCULATE.
A "HAREM ATMOSPHERE PREVAILED" AROUND ALI, WROTE ONE REPORTER,
WHO NOTED THAT KHALILAH HAD BEGUN INTRODUCING VERONICA
AS "ALI'S OTHER WIFE."
KHALILAH HAD GROWN TO ACCEPT HER HUSBAND'S CHEATING,
AT TIMES EVEN FACILITATING HIS LIAISONS,
AND SHE OCCASIONALLY BEFRIENDED HER RIVALS.
ALI HAD FATHERED CHILDREN WITH AT LEAST TWO OTHER WOMEN
DURING THEIR MARRIAGE, BUT THROUGH IT ALL,
KHALILAH STAYED WITH HIM.
KHALILAH ALI: I HAD TO BE HIS WIFE,
AND THEN I HAD TO BE HIS FRIEND, TOO.
WHEN HE HAD A PROBLEM WITH A PATERNITY SUIT
OR SOME CHICK JUST TRYING TO MILK HIM FOR MONEY,
HE HAD TO COME TO ME AND TELL ME ABOUT IT.
"AND THEY SAID THIS IS MY KID."
I HAD TO NOT BE A WIFE AND BE HIS FRIEND AND SAYS,
"LET ME LOOK AT THE KID. I'LL SEE IF IT'S YOURS."
NARRATOR: WHEN IT BECAME CLEAR THAT ALI'S RELATIONSHIP
WITH VERONICA HAD DEVELOPED INTO SOMETHING MORE,
KHALILAH AGREED TO PUT UP WITH HER PRESENCE
IF IT MEANT AVOIDING A DIVORCE.
IT GETS VERY COMPLICATED.
ONE OF THE FACTORS WAS THAT HIS MANAGER, HERBERT MUHAMMAD,
DID NOT WANT HIM TO DIVORCE HER BECAUSE SHE WAS A MUSLIM.
DON KING: THAT'S ENOUGH. THAT'S ENOUGH...
NARRATOR: ON JULY 1, 1975, ALI ANNOUNCED HIS NEXT FIGHT:
A TIE-BREAKING THIRD SHOWDOWN
WITH HIS OLD NEMESIS JOE FRAZIER.
THE FIGHT WOULD BE HELD IN OCTOBER IN THE PHILIPPINES
AND WOULD COME TO BE KNOWN AS "THE THRILLA IN MANILA."
BY THIS POINT, YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT THEY
HAD EARNED EACH OTHER'S RESPECT.
NEITHER ONE REALLY HAD NEARLY AS MUCH TO PROVE ANYMORE.
ALI WAS WHOLE AGAIN. FRAZIER WAS ON THE DOWNSIDE.
THAT THERE WOULD'VE BEEN SOME MOMENT THERE
WHERE YOU COULD HAVE SAID FINALLY, "RESPECT."
NO, NO, NO RESPECT.
THAT THIS IS, THIS CHAPTER IS NOT FINISHED,
THAT THIS BATTLE IS NOT FINISHED.
NARRATOR: FERDINAND MARCOS,
THE CORRUPT AND AUTHORITARIAN DICTATOR OF THE PHILIPPINES,
HOPED TO IMPROVE HIS REPUTATION
AND PUT HIS COUNTRY IN THE SPOTLIGHT BY HOSTING THE BOUT,
JUST AS MOBUTU HAD IN ZAIRE.
REPORTER: MR. PRESIDENT, WHAT DO YOU THINK
THIS SORT OF FIGHT WILL DO FOR THE PHILIPPINES?
MARCOS: WELL, IT DOES PUBLICIZE THE PHILIPPINES,
INCLUDING THE FACT THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS STABLE
AND THAT WE HAVE PEACE AND ORDER.
NARRATOR: WHEN MARCOS AND HIS WIFE IMELDA INVITED
THE FIGHTERS TO THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE,
ALI BROUGHT VERONICA, NOT KHALILAH.
ALI: THAT'S ALL YOU'RE GONNA SEE ME DO
TO JOE FRAZIER'S HEAD ALL NIGHT.
I'M GONNA STOP ALL THESE PEOPLE
TALKING ABOUT JOE FRAZIER.
THEY STILL THINK JOE FRAZIER CAN WHUP ME.
I'M GONNA SHOW 'EM. YOU SEE HOW HE'S BOUNCING, HMM?
SEE HIS HEAD?
NARRATOR: ALI INSULTED FRAZIER'S INTELLIGENCE,
CLAIMED HE SMELLED BAD,
AND SNUCK INTO ONE OF FRAZIER'S TRAINING SESSIONS
TO HARASS HIM FROM THE CATWALK ABOVE THE RING.
MAN: BY MY MEASURE, THE TWO WORST EPISODES OF ALI'S LIFE
WERE HIS CASTING ASIDE OF MALCOLM X
AND HIS TREATMENT OF FRAZIER GOING INTO THE THIRD FIGHT,
THE THRILLA IN MANILA.
ALI: GOTTA HOLD THE GORILLA. [LAUGHTER]
GOTTA CAPTURE THE GORILLA.
DAVE KINDRED: THIRD FIGHT, THEY BOTH WERE KIND OF OVER THE HILL.
IT WAS GOING TO BE A WAR, AND ALI KNEW THAT.
HE KNEW THAT THE TIME WAS RUNNING OUT ON HIM.
SO, IT WAS A CRUEL, INSENSITIVE, VILE EPISODE,
AND FRAZIER NEVER FORGAVE HIM.
NARRATOR: FRAZIER HOPED TO SURPRISE ALI WITH A NEW WEAPON.
HE HAD BEEN WORKING ON HIS RIGHT CROSS.
"WHATEVER HAPPENS," FRAZIER TOLD HIS TRAINER, EDDIE FUTCH,
"DON'T STOP THE FIGHT.
"I'M GONNA EAT THIS HALF-BREED'S HEART RIGHT OUT OF HIS CHEST.
THIS IS THE END OF HIM OR ME."
ALI SKIPPED ROADWORK AND SPARRING SESSIONS.
"I'M ALREADY IN PERFECT SHAPE," HE CLAIMED.
"I'LL BE SO MUCH SUPERIOR, I'LL KNOCK HIM OUT."
RING ANNOUNCER: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
THE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES,
IN COOPERATION WITH DON KING PRODUCTIONS, INCORPORATED,
PROUDLY PRESENT THE THRILLA IN MANILA.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
MOSLEY: WHAT YOU HAVE HERE IS TWO EXTRAORDINARY HEARTS.
IT'S NOT STYLES. IT'S HEARTS.
RING ANNOUNCER: INTRODUCING THE CHALLENGER
AND FORMER HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD, JOE FRAZIER.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] FRAZIER!
MOSLEY: FRAZIER SAYS, "I'M GONNA WIN."
AND EVERYTHING, HIS WHOLE HEART, HIS WHOLE SOUL,
EVERYTHING IS HIM WINNING.
RING ANNOUNCER: IN THE RED CORNER,
WEIGHING 224 1/2 POUNDS... [CROWD BOOS]
THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD, MUHAMMAD ALI.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] ALI!
SO JOE IS NOT INTIMIDATED, AND ALI'S NEVER INTIMIDATED.
IN THE RING THEY GO.
[BELL CLANGS]
HOWARD COSELL: THE ACTION
BEGINS.
ALI SCORING QUICKLY WITH A COUPLE OF LEFTS.
THE TWO MOST FAMILIAR FIGHTERS IN THE WORLD
MEETING FOR THE THIRD TIME.
I THINK ALI WILL FIND FRAZIER A DIFFERENT CUSTOMER
IN TERMS OF ANY ROPE-A-DOPE TACTICS.
BY DEFINITION, GEORGE FOREMAN WAS A SLUGGER.
JOE FRAZIER, HE KNOWS ABOUT PACING HIMSELF,
WHEN TO, LIKE, YOU KNOW, STEP BACK AND TAKE A BREATH,
WHEN NOT TO PUNCH,
WHEN TO TIE UP BECAUSE WHEN YOU'RE TIED UP WITH SOMEONE,
NOT ONLY IS HE RESTING, BUT YOU'RE RESTING.
[BELL CLANGS]
COSELL: ROUND TWO JUST GETTING UNDERWAY.
OH! A GOOD RIGHT LEAD SNAPPED FRAZIER'S HEAD BACK.
AGAIN, THAT RIGHT LEAD.
A KEY TO THE FIGHT THUS FAR.
ALI IS NOW SCORING AGAINST JOE FRAZIER.
IZENBERG: BY THREE ROUNDS,
IT LOOKS LIKE JOE'S GONNA GET KNOCKED DOWN.
COSELL: WE'VE GOT LESS THAN 30 SECONDS LEFT,
AND ALI IS CLEANING UP ON FRAZIER'S HEAD HERE
IN THE LATE GOING.
IZENBERG: SUDDENLY, FOURTH ROUND,
FRAZIER HITS ALI WITH A RIGHT HAND.
ALI SAYS TO HIM, "OLD MAN, YOU AIN'T GOT NO RIGHT HAND.
YOU AIN'T GOT NO RIGHT HAND."
BUT IT SLOWED ALI DOWN BECAUSE HE HAD TO CHANGE HIS STRATEGY.
NOW, ALL OF A SUDDEN, FRAZIER'S WINNING THE FIGHT.
♪
COSELL: FRAZIER ALWAYS ON TOP OF ALI, TRYING TO GET THROUGH,
ALWAYS THE AGGRESSOR.
GOOD LEFT HOOK BY JOE FRAZIER.
QUICKLY, ALI COVERS UP...
NARRATOR: IN THE SIXTH,
FRAZIER LANDED TWO VICIOUS LEFT HOOKS, STAGGERING ALI.
COSELL: OH, ANOTHER GOOD LEFT BY JOE FRAZIER.
QUICKLY, JOE CHANGES THE NATURE OF THIS FIGHT...
NARRATOR: "GET OFF THE ROPES," DUNDEE SHOUTED AT ALI.
COSELL: JOE IS ALL OVER HIM THIS ROUND,
AND THOSE BLOWS HURT.
GOOD LEFT TO THE MIDSECTION, A RIGHT TO THE CHEST,
ANOTHER LEFT HOOK TO THE RIGHT JAW OF ALI.
NARRATOR: EARLY IN THE SEVENTH, ALI WHISPERED IN FRAZIER'S EAR:
"OLD JOE FRAZIER, THEY TOLD ME YOU WERE WASHED UP."
"THEY LIED, PRETTY BOY," RESPONDED FRAZIER.
COSELL: ALI ON HIS TOES STILL,
TRYING TO CREATE A MOVING TARGET FOR FRAZIER.
OH, GOOD BLOWS BY ALI.
A COUPLE OF QUICK FLICKING LEFTS, FOLLOWED BY A RIGHT.
GOOD LEFT HOOK THERE BY FRAZIER.
LESS THAN A MINUTE TO GO IN THIS, THE TENTH ROUND,
AND ALI SEEMS A WEARY FIGHTER.
AT THIS POINT IN A FIGHT, THE KEY QUESTIONS BECOME
STAMINA AND STRENGTH.
GOOD RIGHT THERE BY ALI.
JOE TAKES TOO MANY TO THE HEAD AS HE DID THERE.
THAT'S WHY HIS EYES ARE SO SUSCEPTIBLE TO DAMAGE.
NARRATOR: THOUGH BOTH MEN WERE EXHAUSTED,
IN THE 12th, ALI TOOK CHARGE,
NEARLY CLOSING FRAZIER'S LEFT EYE
AND DRAWING A TRICKLE OF BLOOD FROM HIS MOUTH.
[BELL CLANGS]
BOYD: FRAZIER WAS BLIND IN ONE EYE ALREADY.
ALI CLOSED THE OTHER EYE DURING THE FIGHT.
BUT FRAZIER WANTS TO GO.
THE GUY WANTS TO GET IN THE RING AND FIGHT BLIND.
IN THE OTHER CORNER, ALI IS EXHAUSTED. HE CAN'T STAND UP.
♪
[BELL CLANGS]
COSELL: THE BELL FOR ROUND 13.
JOE FRAZIER'S LEFT EYE IS A MESS. NO OTHER WAY TO PUT IT.
IT'S BEEN ANOTHER GRUELING, BRUISING STRUGGLE
BETWEEN THE TWO...
IZENBERG: IT WAS SO BRUTAL, BRUTAL.
COSELL: EACH MAN GIVING EVERYTHING,
IN SOME WAYS REMINISCENT OF THE CLASSIC FIRST FIGHT
IN MARCH OF '71.
THERE'S ALI ACTUALLY...
THE MOUTHPIECE WENT FROM THE RIGHT LEAD.
THE MOUTHPIECE WENT. YOU SAW IT FLY OUT.
ALI IS NOW REALLY GIVING IT TO FRAZIER.
FRAZIER'S IN TROUBLE.
JOE COMING BACK TO THE MIDSECTION, BUT ALI COVERED.
♪
LESS THAN A MINUTE LEFT IN THE 13th ROUND
WITH ALI PUNISHING FRAZIER.
ALREADY THE MOUTHPIECE IS GONE. HE HAS STAGGERED FRAZIER.
[BELL CLANGS]
IZENBERG: FRAZIER, HIS LEGS ARE LIKE WET SPAGHETTI.
ALI DOESN'T LOOK TOO GOOD EITHER.
THAT'S HOW MUCH THESE GUYS LEFT IN THE ROUND.
BY THE TIME THEY GET TO THE 14th ROUND, I SAY,
"I WISH THIS THING WOULD END. WHY DON'T THEY SEND THEM HOME?
TELL 'EM IT'S A DRAW. YOU BOTH ARE GREAT. GO HOME."
I CAN'T WATCH IT ANYMORE.
COSELL: ALI IS GIVING IT TO HIM AGAIN,
AND JOE CAN'T ANSWER BACK.
THE SWINGS ARE WILD.
ALI IN TOTAL COMMAND.
LOOK AT THAT, LEFT AND THEN THE RIGHT...
NARRATOR: IN THE LAST MINUTE OF THE 14th ROUND,
ALI UNLEASHED A FLURRY OF BLOWS
TO FRAZIER'S ALREADY SWOLLEN AND BLOODIED FACE.
SOMEHOW, FRAZIER STAYED ON HIS FEET.
BENTT: MUHAMMAD HIT HIM WITH, I THINK, LIKE,
IT WAS TWO OR THREE SHOTS AT THE CLOSE OF THE ROUND.
AND THOSE TWO OR THREE SHOTS DISORIENTED JOE.
[BELL CLANGS]
THE BELL RINGS, AND THE REFEREE HAS TO STEER HIM
BACK TO HIS CORNER.
AND HE'S DAMAGED, BUT HE DOESN'T WANT TO QUIT.
"NAH, NAH, DON'T... DON'T... DON'T STOP IT. DON'T STOP IT."
MUHAMMAD, HE'S OUT OF IT.
HE SAID THAT THAT FIGHT WAS THE CLOSEST THING TO DEATH.
HE'S NEAR DEATH.
COSELL: EDDIE FUTCH LEANING OVER HIS FIGHTER.
LOOK AT FRAZIER'S EYES.
NARRATOR: EDDIE FUTCH HAD SEEN FOUR FIGHTERS DIE IN THE RING.
HE REFUSED TO LET HIS BOXER CONTINUE.
"JOE," HE SAID. "IT'S OVER."
KINDRED: FRAZIER DIDN'T WANT TO QUIT. FUTCH MADE HIM QUIT.
ONE OF THE GREAT MOMENTS IN BOXING HISTORY, ACTUALLY.
COSELL: FUTCH DOESN'T WANT THE FIGHTER TO GO ON,
TELLING THE REFEREE.
JOE FRAZIER IS IN HIS CORNER, ON THE STOOL.
LOOK AT ALI GETTING READY TO GO OUT.
NOW HE REALIZES FRAZIER WILL NOT COME OUT.
MUHAMMAD ALI IS
STILL THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD.
KINDRED: IT ASKED EVERYTHING OF THEM,
AND THEY GAVE EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW.
AND YOU DON'T SEE THAT HAPPEN VERY OFTEN IN ANY...
IN ANYTHING, ANY GAME, ANY LIFE, YOU KNOW.
AND THERE IT'S NAKED.
THERE YOU COULDN'T MISS IT.
NARRATOR: AS ALI'S CORNER CROWDED AROUND HIM TO CELEBRATE,
HE COLLAPSED ONTO THE CANVAS.
KINDRED: THEY TURNED EACH OTHER INTO MONSTERS, YOU KNOW.
AND THAT'S BOXING AT ITS CRUELEST, YOU KNOW,
BUT THAT'S WHAT THE GAME IS, YOU KNOW.
IT'S A NAKED ASSAULT ON THE BRAIN, YOU KNOW.
IT'S A CRUEL GAME.
AND THEY WERE AT THEIR BEST CRUELEST THAT NIGHT.
IZENBERG: THEY DIDN'T FIGHT FOR THE WBC CHAMPIONSHIP.
THEY DIDN'T FIGHT FOR THE WBA CHAMPIONSHIP.
THEY DIDN'T FIGHT FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE PLANET.
THEY STOOD TOE-TO-TOE ON A MELTING ICE FLOE
AND FOUGHT FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP OF EACH OTHER.
AND FOR EACH OF THEM, THE OTHER GUY WAS AHAB'S WHITE WHALE.
♪
NARRATOR: FRAZIER WAS TOO BATTERED
TO ATTEND THE RECEPTION AT THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE THAT NIGHT.
ALI WOULD URINATE BLOOD FOR WEEKS.
"WE WENT TO MANILA AS CHAMPIONS," ALI SAID LATER,
"AND WE CAME BACK AS OLD MEN."
BENTT: THAT WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, A BARE KNUCKLES MATCH, MAN,
AT LIKE THE BAR DOWN THE STREET.
WHAT MUHAMMAD ALI AND JOE FRAZIER EXPRESSED WAS
MAJESTIC, MAN.
IT WAS VIOLENT AND CONFLICTING AND AT TIMES, LIKE, YOU KNOW,
QUITE MOVING.
THAT'S THEIR GIFT TO US.
♪
I'M GIVING YOU A FEW MINUTES, AND THEN I'M LEAVING.
REPORTER: WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO SAY ABOUT JOE FRAZIER NOW?
HE'S GREAT.
HE'S GREATER THAN I THOUGHT HE WAS.
WHEN I SAY GREAT, HIS STYLE IS THE STYLE THAT
ONLY HE CAN BE SUCCESSFUL WITH.
I THINK HE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT.
BOYD: WATCHING THE INTERVIEWS AFTER THE THRILLA IN MANILA,
IT'S APPARENT ALREADY.
HE'S TALKING DIFFERENTLY, SLOWER.
SOMETHING'S OFF.
IT'S HARD, BECAUSE, SLOWLY, WE'RE GOING TO SEE
A DIFFERENT HUMAN BEING,
AND WE'RE GOING TO WATCH THIS MAN DETERIORATE IN PUBLIC,
ONE OF THE MOST HEARTBREAKING THINGS EVER.
♪
NARRATOR: BY THE SPRING OF 1976, HE AND KHALILAH WERE SEPARATED
AND EACH LIVING IN THEIR OWN APARTMENTS.
"THERE ISN'T ANY MARRIAGE," SHE TOLD ONE REPORTER.
"IT'S PAST ME NOW."
KHALILAH ALI: I DECIDED I'M GONNA HAVE TO DIVORCE THE GUY.
I'VE BEARED A LOT OF EMBARRASSING SITUATIONS.
I BLAME MYSELF, AND, YOU KNOW,
I JUST DIDN'T CARE EITHER AFTER A WHILE,
AND IT HURT ME, TOO.
RASHEDA ALI: MY DAD AND MY MOM DIVORCED
WHEN WE WERE VERY YOUNG. WE WERE, LIKE, FIVE.
MOST OF MY GROWING UP, I LIVED WITH MY GRANDPARENTS,
MY MOM'S PARENTS.
AND I DIDN'T HAVE THE PRIVILEGE
OF HAVING MY DAD WITH ME AFTER THE DIVORCE, OBVIOUSLY.
IT WAS A PAINFUL TIME FOR US.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE MISSED HIM.
NARRATOR: VERONICA WAS PREGNANT NOW.
THEY WERE SPENDING TIME AT AN 80-ACRE FARM
IN BERRIEN SPRINGS, MICHIGAN,
THAT ALI HAD PURCHASED THE PREVIOUS FALL.
PORCHE: WE WERE IN LOVE.
AND I KNEW HOW MUCH HE LOVED ME. HE KNEW I LOVED HIM.
HE KNEW I WAS LOYAL TO HIM ONLY, NOBODY ELSE.
AND I KNOW HE APPRECIATED THAT A LOT.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE WERE ALWAYS TOGETHER.
I WANTED TO HAVE KIDS.
SO HANA WAS VERY WELCOME, YOU KNOW.
NARRATOR: ALI'S MOTHER ODESSA,
TIRED OF HER HUSBAND'S DRINKING AND CAROUSING,
HAD SEPARATED FROM CASSIUS CLAY SENIOR,
AND MOVED INTO ANOTHER HOUSE IN LOUISVILLE,
BOUGHT FOR HER BY HER SON.
ALI HAD TOLD WALLACE MUHAMMAD HE WAS FINISHED WITH BOXING,
BUT HE NEEDED THE HUGE PAYDAYS TO MEET
HIS EVER-INCREASING EXPENSES.
[BELL CLANGS]
NARRATOR: HE FOUGHT FIVE TIMES IN 15 MONTHS.
JEAN-PIERRE COOPMAN,
JIMMY YOUNG,
RICHARD DUNN,
KEN NORTON FOR A THIRD TIME,
ALFREDO EVANGELISTA.
THOUGH HE WON EACH TIME, THE 35-YEAR-OLD ALI
WAS CLEARLY IN DECLINE,
SLOGGING THROUGH ROUND AFTER PUNISHING ROUND,
UNABLE TO AVOID PUNCHES THAT HE HAD ONCE DODGED WITH EASE.
AFTER A BRUTAL 15-ROUND VICTORY
OVER EARNIE SHAVERS IN SEPTEMBER OF 1977,
SOME OF HIS ASSOCIATES HAD SEEN ENOUGH.
TEDDY BRENNER, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN'S PROMOTER,
TOLD HERBERT MUHAMMAD THAT THE GARDEN
WOULD NOT OFFER ALI ANOTHER FIGHT.
"I WISH HE CALLS IT A DAY BEFORE HE
FALLS OFF THE TIGHTROPE," SAID BRENNER.
LAB TESTS BY THE NEW YORK STATE ATHLETIC COMMISSION
REVEALED THAT ALI'S KIDNEYS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DAMAGED
AND COULD FAIL IF EXPOSED TO MORE PUNISHMENT.
"HE SHOULD QUIT AND QUIT NOW," SAID FERDIE PACHECO,
WHO, AFTER 15 YEARS AS ALI'S RINGSIDE DOCTOR,
DECIDED TO MOVE ON.
HIS FATHER TOLD HIM, "QUIT, SON, BEFORE YOU GET HURT."
MAN: HE STARTS ASKING PEOPLE, "DO YOU THINK I SOUND DIFFERENT?
DO YOU THINK MY WORDS ARE SLURRING?"
YOU KNOW, "DO I SEEM DIFFERENT TO YOU?
DO YOU THINK I'M BRAIN DAMAGED?"
HE'S ASKING REPORTERS THIS QUESTION,
AND IT'S HEARTBREAKING,
AND HIS FATHER AND HIS MOTHER ARE TELLING HIM, YOU KNOW,
"YOU DON'T SOUND THE SAME. YOU DON'T SOUND RIGHT.
WHY CAN'T YOU SPEAK RIGHT?"
AND HE KEEPS BOXING, AS HE BELIEVES LIKE,
AS HE'S ALWAYS BELIEVED, THAT YOU KNOW,
EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE ALL RIGHT.
NARRATOR: ANGELO DUNDEE CALLED IT ALI'S DECISION.
"ONLY WHEN THE MAN COMES TO ME AND ASKS DO I TELL HIM
WHAT'S IN MY HEART," SAID THE TRAINER.
PORCHE: EVERYBODY WANTED HIM TO RETIRE THAT CARED ABOUT HIM.
BUT THERE WAS ALWAYS THAT FIGHT
THAT SOMEBODY WOULD CALL HIM ABOUT,
AND USUALLY IT WAS HERBERT.
I THINK OF EVERYONE, MUHAMMAD RESPECTED
HERBERT MUHAMMAD'S OPINION THE MOST.
HERBERT GREW TO HAVE A CERTAIN LIFESTYLE BECAUSE OF MUHAMMAD.
I THINK HE WAS INFLUENTIAL IN HIM CONTINUING TO FIGHT,
BECAUSE IT MEANT MORE MONEY FOR HIM.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
NARRATOR: THE PROMOTER BOB ARUM HAD ALREADY IDENTIFIED
THE CHAMP'S NEXT OPPONENT, A 24-YEAR-OLD EX-MARINE
NAMED LEON SPINKS, WHO HAD WON GOLD AS A LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
AT THE 1976 OLYMPICS.
THE 15-ROUND MATCH WAS SET FOR FEBRUARY 1978.
VICTOR SOLANO, AN AMATEUR BOXER
WHO HAD BEFRIENDED ALI
AFTER A SPARRING SESSION IN LOS ANGELES,
TRIED TO HELP MUHAMMAD PREPARE.
VICTOR SOLANO: HE ONLY TRAINED FOR ABOUT TWO WEEKS
FOR THAT FIGHT,
AND HE GOES, "OH, THIS GUY'S JUST AN AMATEUR.
"HE'S JUST AN AMATEUR, AND I FOUGHT JOE FRAZIER.
"I FOUGHT GEORGE FOREMAN. I FOUGHT ALL THESE GUYS.
THIS GUY'S ONLY HAD SIX FIGHTS."
SO HE WOULD RUN MAYBE A FEW BLOCKS,
GET BACK IN THE LIMOUSINE, GO BACK TO SLEEP.
[BELL CLANGS]
NARRATOR: SPINKS TOOK ALI COMPLETELY BY SURPRISE.
ANNOUNCER: SPINKS COMES FLYING OUT HERE
AND GOES RIGHT AFTER THIS GREAT CHAMPION,
ABSOLUTELY SHOWING NO RESPECT AT ALL.
SPINKS DID A LOT OF DAMAGE TO HIM, A LOT OF DAMAGE.
ANNOUNCER: ALI SHOULD BE PUNCHING WITH BOTH HANDS,
BUT INSTEAD IT'S SPINKS WHO COMES BACK,
AND HE'S THROWING EVERYTHING HE'S GOT IN BOTH PUNCHES.
ALI IS COVERING UP. HE'S KEEPING HIM IN HIS CORNER.
HE WILL NOT LET HIM OUT. ALI'S GOT TO GO TOE-TO-TOE...
SOLANO: HE THOUGHT, "WELL... I'VE DONE IT BEFORE,
"I'LL DO IT AGAIN.
"THE LAST ROUND I'M GOING TO COME OUT,
AND I'M GOING TO GIVE IT ALL I GOT."
ANNOUNCER: SPINKS IS IN THE CORNER,
AND ALI'S GOT HIM WHERE HE WANTS HIM.
AND SPINKS COMES BACK WITH A COUNTER, ANOTHER COUNTER,
ANOTHER, ANOTHER.
AND THERE'S SPINKS BACKING UP THE CHAMPION...
BUT THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT. THERE... THERE WAS NOTHING.
ANNOUNCER: IT'S EIGHT SECONDS AWAY...
HE'S JUST HAMMERED ALI. ALI LOOKS LIKE HE'S IN TROUBLE.
HE'S LEANING AGAINST THE ROPES.
TWO SECONDS. IT'S ONE, AND AT THE BELL...
RING ANNOUNCER: JUDGE HAROLD BUCK SCORES 144-141.
THE NEW... FIGHT ANNOUNCER: THERE IT IS!
LEON SPINKS HAS PULLED IT OFF.
NARRATOR: AFTER ONLY SEVEN PROFESSIONAL WINS,
LEON SPINKS WAS HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD.
ANNOUNCER: BEATING MAYBE THE GREATEST FIGHTER OF ALL TIME...
ARUM: ALI SAID TO ME, "BOB, YOU GOT TO DO ME A FAVOR.
YOU GOT TO MAKE THE REMATCH."
AND I SAID, "ALI, I'LL MAKE THE REMATCH ONLY ON ONE CONDITION:
WIN OR LOSE, IT'S THE END, YOU'LL RETIRE."
"I PROMISE YOU," AND HE AGREED TO RETIRE.
ALI: BUT NOW I GOT BEAT. I'M ALL WASHED UP.
"TIME" MAGAZINE: "THE GREATEST' IS GONE."
"HE'S WASHED UP. HE'S OLD."
NOW I GOT SOMETHING TO GET UP AND PROVE,
TO SET A RECORD THAT YOU KNOW WON'T... NEVER BE BROKEN
IN THE NEXT HUNDRED, TWO HUNDRED YEARS.
I MEAN, TO WIN THE TITLE BACK FOR THE THIRD TIME...
SOLANO: AND HE GOT HUMBLE, AND THEN THAT'S WHEN HE SAID,
"YOU KNOW, I'M GOING TO GET UP
"AND RUN WITH THE MOON AND THE STARS.
"I'M GOING TO GO BACK AND CHOP TREES,
AND GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING TO WHAT MADE ME GREAT."
♪
[CHEERING]
RING ANNOUNCER: PRESENTING THE CHALLENGER
OF TONIGHT'S BOUT...
THE FORMER TWO-TIME GREAT CHAMPION
FROM LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, IN WHITE TRUNKS,
WEIGHING IN AT 221...
MUHAMMAD ALI, THE GREATEST.
MOSLEY: WELL, I THINK
HIS BRAVEST FIGHT WAS
THE SECOND ONE WITH SPINKS.
YOU KNOW?
HE GOES THERE, HE'S TOO OLD TO BE BOXING.
HE SHOULDN'T BE BOXING ANYMORE.
BUT HE SAID, "BUT THIS GUY BEAT ME, OK."
AND HE PLANNED THE PERFECT FIGHT.
[BELL CLANGS]
ANNOUNCER: ROUND ONE.
THE CHAMPION SPINKS COMING
RIGHT OUT AGAINST
A MOVING AND DANCING MUHAMMAD ALI...
ANNOUNCER 2: ALI IS LURING HIM INTO THESE TRAPS.
ANNOUNCER 1: LOOK AT ALI DANCE. HE'S A THING OF BEAUTY.
A LITTLE SHUFFLE IN THE NEUTRAL CORNER BY THE FORMER CHAMPION.
THE CHAMPION IS... THE FORMER CHAMPION STILL MOVING,
STILL FRUSTRATING THE CHAMPION, LEON SPINKS.
OH! A GREAT RIGHT HAND BY ALI.
ANNOUNCER 2: A TERRIFIC RIGHT HAND TO SPINKS,
AND HE GRIMACED.
ANNOUNCER 1: COMING IN, HE GOT ANOTHER RIGHT HAND IN HIS FACE.
ANOTHER RIGHT HAND.
AND WITH THE FINAL 10 SECONDS IN ROUND 4...
AND JUST WATCHING IT WAS, LIKE, AMAZING.
[BELL CLANGS]
ANNOUNCER 1: OK, THEY'RE OUT IN THE MIDDLE FOR ROUND EIGHT.
ANNOUNCER 2: AND HE OPENED IT WITH TWO GOOD HOOKS
RIGHT OFF OF SPINKS' JAW.
ANNOUNCER 1: OH! A GREAT LEFT HOOK, AND SPINKS MAY BE HURT.
NARRATOR: OVER 15 ROUNDS, ALI COMPLETELY OUT-BOXED SPINKS.
ANNOUNCER 2: IT'S ALL ALI. IT'S ALL ALI.
ANNOUNCER 1:1:30 REMAINING IN THIS FIGHT.
AND NOW HERE IN NEW ORLEANS,
AT THE AGE OF 36 YEARS OLD, HE IS SHOWING A YOUNG MAN
WHAT BOXING IS ALL ABOUT.
HE IS SHOWING A YOUNG LEON SPINKS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE
IN WITH THE REAL MUHAMMAD ALI.
THAT IS ABOUT IT, FOLKS.
[BELL CLANGS] IT'S ALL OVER.
RING ANNOUNCER: THE NEW CHAMPION, MUHAMMAD ALI...
NARRATOR: MUHAMMAD ALI HAD WON THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
FOR THE THIRD TIME, SOMETHING NO ONE IN HISTORY
HAD EVER DONE BEFORE.
"THANK GOD IT'S OVER," SAID ALI.
SOLANO: I NOTICED A COUPLE OF TIMES,
THERE WAS LIKE A LITTLE SHAKE ON THE THUMB.
A LITTLE BIT, EVEN AT THAT TIME.
I NOTICED SOMETIMES MAYBE AFTER... HITTING THE SPEED BAG,
THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A TREMBLE, A LITTLE SLIGHTLY,
BUT YOU COULDN'T SEE... YOU HAD TO SEE IT, YOU KNOW,
BUT YOU KNEW SOMETHING WAS ALREADY WRONG.
HANA ALI: MY MOM USED TO SAY THAT SHE SAW SIGNS
AS EARLY AS THE SPINKS FIGHTS.
AND IF YOU REALLY LOOK BACK, A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT
THAT MY FATHER WAS JUST MATURE.
HE WAS SPEAKING MORE SLOWLY. HE'S OLDER NOW.
I SAID, "BUT HE WAS NOT REALLY THAT OLD."
HE JUST DIDN'T FEEL THE SAME. HE THOUGHT IT WAS AGE.
AND BECAUSE HE WAS SO EXTRAORDINARILY QUICK
WITH HIS MOVEMENTS AND HIS SPEED AND HIS SPEECH,
THAT WHEN HE SORT OF SLOWED DOWN,
PEOPLE JUST ASSUMED IT WAS JUST AGE.
♪
NARRATOR: IN JANUARY OF 1979, ALI AND VERONICA,
NOW LEGALLY MARRIED,
BOUGHT A MANSION IN THE HANCOCK PARK SECTION
OF LOS ANGELES.
IN ADDITION TO TWO-YEAR-OLD HANA, THEY HAD
A SECOND DAUGHTER, LAILA, WHO HAD JUST TURNED ONE.
IN JUNE, ALI OFFICIALLY RETIRED, QUIETLY RELINQUISHING HIS TITLE
IN A LETTER TO THE WORLD BOXING ASSOCIATION.
HE WENT ON A FAREWELL TOUR...
HASH BROWNS? ORE IDA? [MUFFLED SPEECH]
NARRATOR: ENDORSED SCORES OF PRODUCTS...
ALI: MOTORCRAFT PARTS, THEY HAVE THE STUFF.
MOTORCRAFT IS TESTED TOUGH.
NARRATOR: ACTED IN FILM AND ON TELEVISION...
I'M JUST A SIMPLE MAN...
NARRATOR: AND FOUGHT IN SEEMINGLY HARMLESS
EXHIBITION MATCHES AROUND THE WORLD.
♪
NARRATOR: BUT HE GREW BORED.
ON FEBRUARY 15, 1980, HE TOLD A REPORTER
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THAT HE HAD BEEN APPROACHED
BY PROMOTERS AND WAS INCREASINGLY SURE
HE WOULD RETURN TO THE RING AFTER ALL.
NOW 38 YEARS OLD, HIS HAIR GRAYING,
AND, ACCORDING TO SOME REPORTS, WEIGHING ALMOST 270 POUNDS,
ALI HADN'T HAD A REAL FIGHT IN 17 MONTHS.
ALMOST NO ONE BELIEVED IT WAS A GOOD IDEA.
"I DON'T WANT TO SEE HIM FIGHT ANYMORE," SAID ODESSA CLAY.
BUT SOON, DON KING PHONED HERBERT AND ALI WITH AN OFFER.
THE PROMOTER NOW MANAGED
A FORMER SPARRING PARTNER OF ALI'S,
WHO HAD RECENTLY CAPTURED THE HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.
"IF YOU'RE GOING TO COME BACK," KING TOLD THEM,
"YOU CAN ONLY FIGHT LARRY HOLMES."
SINGER: ♪ UH! ♪
♪
NARRATOR: HE WAS 30 YEARS OLD
AND UNDEFEATED IN 35 PROFESSIONAL FIGHTS.
HE WAS MY FRIEND.
WHEN ALI CAME TO MY FIGHTS TO SEE ME IN THE RING BOXING,
HE'S SITTING THERE AT RINGSIDE,
MAN, YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I...
"MAN. YEAH, ALI, HE'S WATCHING ME FIGHT!"
MAN, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?
I MEAN, I WAS LIKE A LITTLE KID IN THE PLAYGROUND.
MUHAMMAD ALI HAS SEEN THE BRIGHT SIDE,
AND NOW HE'S ON THE DARK SIDE.
I'M THE LIGHT SIDE NOW.
REPORTER: WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'LL DO WITH HIM?
BEAT MUHAMMAD ALI, OF COURSE,
BUT I WILL FEEL SAD
ABOUT BEATING MUHAMMAD ALI
BECAUSE MUHAMMAD IS A LEGEND IN HIS OWN TIME.
NOW HIS TIME HAS PASSED. IT'S MY TIME NOW.
HE SHOULDN'T HAVE NEVER FOUGHT ME.
BUT TO GET THAT $10 MILLION,
THAT $10 MILLION
WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO FIGHT HOLMES AND EVERYBODY ELSE.
AND THAT'S WHAT HE DID.
AND THAT'S HOW I GOT IN TO FIGHT ALI.
NARRATOR: THE BOXERS AGREED TO FACE EACH OTHER IN LAS VEGAS
IN THE FALL OF 1980.
"SOME OF OUR MOSQUES ARE IN TROUBLE,
AND SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS ARE CLOSING," EXPLAINED ALI.
"I WOULD RETURN TO KEEP THEM OPEN."
WHEN ALI FOUGHT LARRY HOLMES, HE SAID,
"I TAUGHT HIM EVERYTHING HE KNOWS.
I DIDN'T TEACH HIM EVERYTHING I KNOW."
ALI: I TAUGHT HIM HOW TO TRAIN.
HE COME TO ME RAGGED AND HUNGRY.
GAVE HIM A JOB AS A SPARRING PARTNER.
TOOK HIM OUT OF EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA,
A LITTLE PEANUT-HEAD, NOTHING, NO MONEY, BUM.
TAUGHT HIM HOW TO DANCE.
SHOWED HIM HOW TO... YOU SEE HIM IMITATING ME... SHOWED HIM
HOW TO DANCE IN THE RING.
HE TRIES TO IMITATE ME, BUT HE GETS TIRED AND CLUMSY.
HE CAN'T DANCE.
LISTEN, TRIED TO TEACH HIM HOW TO TALK.
HE CAN'T TALK. DON'T ASK HIM NO QUESTIONS.
REPORTER: WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?
DO YOU NEED THE MONEY?
WHO DON'T NEED MONEY?
MUHAMMAD ALI NEVER SHOULD'VE FOUGHT LARRY HOLMES;
LARRY HOLMES NEVER SHOULD'VE FOUGHT MUHAMMAD ALI.
THAT'S THE BUSINESS.
AND THAT'S ALSO ALI'S CONSTANT LOOK
FOR ONE MORE CHANCE TO GET ON STAGE.
NARRATOR: IN JULY, DOCTORS AT THE MAYO CLINIC
GAVE ALI A RIGOROUS PHYSICAL EXAM.
THOUGH THEY DETECTED DIFFICULTY WITH HIS SPEECH,
MEMORY, AND COORDINATION,
THEY TOOK HIS WORD THAT HE WAS JUST "TIRED,"
AND CLEARED HIM TO FIGHT.
♪
[APPLAUSE]
NARRATOR: ALI DYED HIS HAIR BLACK AND SHED 30 POUNDS.
HE BEGAN TO LOOK MORE LIKE HIS OLD SELF.
BUT WHEN HE INSTRUCTED HIS SPARRING PARTNERS
TO PEPPER HIS HEAD WITH PUNCHES, THEY FOUND IT TOO EASY.
ANGELO DUNDEE BEGAN SECRETLY CUTTING THE ROUNDS SHORT
TO SPARE HIS FIGHTER.
THREE WEEKS BEFORE THE MATCH,
HERBERT MUHAMMAD'S PERSONAL PHYSICIAN GAVE ALI MEDICATION
TO CORRECT WHAT HE SAID WAS A THYROID IMBALANCE.
THE PILLS ACCELERATED HIS METABOLISM,
WHICH CAUSED RAPID WEIGHT LOSS,
AND LEFT HIM FEELING WEAK AND TIRED.
DAYS BEFORE THE BOUT,
ALI COLLAPSED WHILE ON AN EARLY MORNING RUN
AND WAS TREATED FOR DEHYDRATION.
A SPARRING PARTNER WORRIED THAT ALI WAS UNFIT TO FIGHT,
BUT HERBERT MUHAMMAD INSISTED THAT IT WAS TOO LATE TO CANCEL.
COSELL: THERE HE IS, THE RETURNING HERO,
MAYBE NOT THIS TIME THE CONQUERING HERO,
MUHAMMAD ALI...
NARRATOR: ON OCTOBER 2, 1980, A CROWD OF NEARLY 25,000
PAID A RECORD-BREAKING $6 MILLION
TO FILL A TEMPORARY ARENA BUILT ALONGSIDE CAESARS PALACE.
COSELL: BUT HERE COMES LARRY HOLMES,
THE WBC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION...
HOLMES: WHAT I FELT THAT I HAD TO DO IS
TAKE CONTROL RIGHT OFF THE BAT,
MAKE HIM RESPECT ME IN A DIFFERENT SETTING
THAN HE DID WHILE I WAS IN THE GYM.
SO THEREFORE, MY STRATEGY WAS TO GET TO HIM,
PUSH HIM AROUND.
I'M GONNA HANDLE HIM.
[BELL CLANGS]
COSELL: THE BELL FOR ROUND ONE.
♪
HOLMES REALLY WOULD LIKE TO MAKE MINCED MEAT OF HIM EARLY
IF HE CAN.
25 SECONDS INTO ROUND ONE.
WITH ALI, YOU MUST CONSTANTLY LOOK FOR STRATEGY,
TRYING TO OUTSMART THE OPPONENT.
KINDRED: AND I THOUGHT, "OK, IT'S ANOTHER MAGIC TRICK
HE'S GOING TO SHOW US."
AND SO, YOU KEPT THINKING... YOU... ME... KEPT THINKING,
"ALL RIGHT. HE'S DONE NOTHING FIRST ROUND.
"HE'S DONE NOTHING THE SECOND ROUND.
ANY MINUTE NOW, HE'S GOING TO BE MUHAMMAD ALI AGAIN."
♪
COSELL: ALI POSTURING AND TALKING,
BUT NOT PUNCHING, NOT AT THE MOMENT.
♪
SEEMS TO ME, THERE IS A SWELLING TO ALI'S FACE.
SO FAR, IT IS UTTERLY NO CONTEST.
KINDRED: THIRD ROUND, YOU KNOW,
THEN IT BECAME CLEAR THAT HE WAS NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING.
COSELL: OH, A GOOD LEFT AND A RIGHT THAT SENT ALI
BACK AGAINST THE ROPES...
KINDRED: AND THEN IT WAS REALLY SAD.
THEN IT WAS LIKE WATCHING A TRAIN WRECK,
LIKE A FRIEND GET RUN OVER BY A TRUCK.
COSELL: ALI GETS WEARILY TO HIS FEET
AS WE PREPARE FOR ROUND NINE. [BELL CLANGS]
♪
OH, A GOOD, SHARP LEFT JAB BY HOLMES.
THERE IS A FLOW OF BLOOD UNDER THE LEFT EYE.
ALI COVERING, AND YET TWO OF THE LEFTS GOT IN.
HOLMES: AND I COULD DO PRETTY MUCH WHAT I WANTED TO DO.
BUT AS THE ROUNDS END,
I SAID TO ALI, "DON'T KEEP TAKIN' THESE PUNCHES.
DON'T TAKE NO MORE SHOTS."
HE CUSSED ME OUT.
HE CALLED ME NAMES AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
HE CALLED ME EVERY NAME IN THE BOOK
THAT I'D NEVER HEARD HIM SAY, YOU KNOW?
COSELL: OH, THAT RIGHT HURT ALI!
HOLMES: AND I SAID, "OK, TAKE THIS. BANG, BANG, BANG."
COSELL: OH, HE'S READY TO GO. THIS MUST BE STOPPED.
IT IS A SAD WAY TO END.
KINDRED: YOU START THINKING, YOU KNOW,
"I DON'T WANT TO WATCH THIS.
"I DON'T WANT TO SEE THIS ANYMORE.
"I'VE SEEN ALL THE MAGIC.
THE MAGIC IS GONE NOW," YOU KNOW.
AND SO THAT WAS PROBABLY AS EMOTIONAL A NIGHT
AS I'VE EVER SPENT AS A SPORTSWRITER
BECAUSE I CARED ABOUT HIM.
I LIKED HIM. YOU KNOW, IF HE LOST, THAT WAS ONE THING,
BUT DON'T GET KILLED IN THERE.
THAT'S WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE.
[BELL CLANGS]
NARRATOR: ALI SLUMPED ON HIS STOOL AFTER THE TENTH,
A ROUND IN WHICH HE ATTEMPTED JUST FOUR FEEBLE PUNCHES.
MAN: OK, IT'S OVER...
NARRATOR: FROM HIS SEAT, HERBERT MUHAMMAD SIGNALED
TO ANGELO DUNDEE TO STOP THE FIGHT.
HOLMES HAD DOMINATED EVERY ROUND,
LANDING 340 PUNCHES TO ALI'S 42.
WHEN YOU FIGHT A FRIEND... TO ME, A BROTHER...
THEN YOU DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO.
YOU CAN'T GET HAPPINESS.
I TOLD HIM, I SAID, "I LOVE YOU, AND I REALLY RESPECT YOU."
I WAS GOING TO MEET MY WIFE, AND I WAS CRYING.
AND EVERYBODY SAID, "WHY YOU CRYING?"
I SAID, "BECAUSE I LOVE THIS GUY."
THE GUY WAS MY MAN."
AND, SEE,
THAT PART MADE ME GET... MY EYES GET WATERED THERE.
I STILL CRY A LITTLE BIT,
'CAUSE THE MAN HAD SO MUCH TO OFFER.
REPORTER: ALI SAID HE CHECKED INTO THE HOSPITAL
BECAUSE HE HADN'T FELT WELL BEFORE LAST WEEK'S FIGHT,
AND HE WANTED TO KNOW WHAT WAS WRONG.
ALI: I WASN'T MYSELF THE NIGHT I FOUGHT HOLMES.
I COULDN'T GET AWAY FROM PUNCHES.
MY TIMING WAS OFF...
NARRATOR: DOCTORS DETERMINED
THAT HE HAD OVERDOSED ON THYROID PILLS,
BUT FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF AN UNDERLYING AFFLICTION.
"HE APPEARS TO BE IN EXCELLENT HEALTH,"
REPORTED ONE OF HIS EXAMINERS.
NOT EVERYONE AGREED.
"IN TWO OR THREE YEARS, WE'LL SEE WHAT THE HOLMES FIGHT
DID TO HIS KIDNEYS AND BRAIN,"
SAID HIS FORMER FIGHT DOCTOR FERDIE PACHECO.
"HE WAS A DAMAGED FIGHTER BEFORE THE FIGHT,
AND NOW HE'S GOING TO BE DAMAGED EVEN MORE."
HERBERT MUHAMMAD BLAMED ALI'S VANITY,
ALLEGING THAT THE BOXER HAD BEEN TOO CONCERNED WITH LOOKING GOOD.
"I DON'T THINK HE SHOULD FIGHT AGAIN," SAID HERBERT,
"BUT IF HE INSISTS, I'LL TELL HIM 'I'LL BE WITH YOU.'"
DON KING CLAIMED HE WOULD ADVISE ALI AGAINST ANOTHER BOUT,
BUT ALSO SAID HE WOULD PROMOTE ONE IF ASKED.
"I SHALL RETURN," DECLARED ALI.
MAN: I'M ONLY SAYING JUST BACK IT UP A LITTLE BIT.
WOULD YOU BACK IT UP A LITTLE BIT, PLEASE?
NARRATOR: TRUE TO HIS WORD, THE FOLLOWING YEAR,
HE FACED 27-YEAR-OLD TREVOR BERBICK
IN NASSAU, IN THE BAHAMAS.
ALI HAD ADVERTISED THE BOUT
AS THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF FIGHTS
TO REGAIN THE HEAVYWEIGHT CROWN.
ALI: I'VE GOT A CHANCE TO GO DOWN
AS THE GREATEST ATHLETE, NOT BOXER, IN HISTORY.
I CAN MAKE SO MANY PEOPLE WRONG.
SO MANY OF THE WRITERS WILL HAVE TO EAT CROW.
I HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE TO BEAT, NOT JUST BERBICK.
SO I DON'T HAVE NO EXTRA TIME TO CLOWN FOR YOU.
NARRATOR: ALMOST 40 YEARS OLD, HE WEIGHED 236 POUNDS,
NEARLY 20 MORE THAN WHEN HE FOUGHT HOLMES.
AND IN THE DAYS BEFORE THE FIGHT,
HE HAD STRUGGLED TO COMPLETE HIS MORNING RUNS.
ANNOUNCER: BERBICK'S ALL OVER
ALI ON THE ROPES.
TWO OF THOSE RIGHT HANDS...
RASHEDA ALI: IT WAS
A HORRIBLE FIGHT.
WE WERE JUST CRINGING IN THE STANDS, JUST,
"DADDY, PLEASE, JUST THROW THE TOWEL IN."
WE DIDN'T WANT TO WATCH HIM ANYMORE.
ANNOUNCER: ALI WAS REALLY HURT THAT TIME. HE'S WINCING.
RASHEDA ALI: IT WAS VERY HARD TO WATCH.
NARRATOR: THOUGH ALI LASTED ALL TEN ROUNDS,
THE DECISION WAS UNANIMOUS.
ANNOUNCER: BERBICK'S LANDING SOME GOOD PUNCHES
WHILE ALI TRIES TO HOLD ON.
[BELL CLANGING] ANNOUNCER: THERE IT IS.
TREVOR BERBICK IS THE UNANIMOUS DECISION...
NARRATOR: RASHEDA JOINED ALI IN HIS DRESSING ROOM
AFTER THE FIGHT.
"I WANTED HIM TO LOSE," HER SISTER MARYUM SAID LATER.
"IF HE WON, HE'D KEEP FIGHTING,
AND I DIDN'T WANT HIM TO FIGHT ANYMORE."
REPORTER: HOW DO YOU FEEL NOW?
DO YOU THINK IT'S TIME NOW,
THAT YOU SHOULD GIVE SOME SERIOUS THOUGHT TO THIS?
I FELT MORE LIKE RETIRING A MINUTE AFTER THE FIGHT.
PROBABLY NEXT WEEK, I'LL BE TRYING AGAIN.
I THINK I'LL QUIT. FATHER TIME CAUGHT ME.
YOU THINK FATHER TIME CAUGHT YOU?
YOU THINK MAYBE NEXT WEEK, YOU'LL THINK ABOUT IT,
BUT NOW YOU'RE...
I THINK FATHER TIME WINS.
♪
NARRATOR: HIS CAREER WAS OVER.
MUHAMMAD ALI HAD CAPTURED THE GOLD MEDAL
AT THE ROME OLYMPICS IN 1960.
HE HAD WON 56 PROFESSIONAL FIGHTS, LOST JUST FIVE
TO JOE FRAZIER, KEN NORTON, LEON SPINKS, LARRY HOLMES,
AND TREVOR BERBICK,
AND HAD WON THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP THREE TIMES.
HIS FIGHTS HAD EARNED HIM MORE THAN $50 MILLION,
MORE THAN ALL THE PREVIOUS HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS COMBINED.
BILLIONS OF FANS ACROSS THE WORLD HAD WATCHED HIM
FIGHT IN PERSON, IN MOVIE HOUSES, AND ON TELEVISION.
AND HE HAD ABSORBED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PUNCHES
TO HIS BODY AND HEAD.
HE SHOULD HAVE QUIT,
SHOULD HAVE QUIT AFTER BEATING FOREMAN IN ZAIRE.
THAT'S WHEN THE MOVIE ENDS.
IT CAN'T GET BETTER THAN THIS, YOU KNOW.
BUT THE ATTENTION IS A DRUG, TOO, YOU KNOW.
THE ADRENALINE IS A DRUG, TOO, YOU KNOW.
THE CELEBRITY IS A DRUG, TOO.
HE COULDN'T RESIST THAT.
♪
NARRATOR: IN NOVEMBER OF 1982, MUHAMMAD ALI RETURNED TO THE GYM
TO TRAIN FOR A 3-WEEK EXHIBITION TOUR
WITH STOPS IN SAUDI ARABIA, INDIA, AND PAKISTAN.
THE PROFITS WOULD GO TOWARDS THE CONSTRUCTION
OF A NEW MOSQUE IN CHICAGO.
"MY LIFE IS JUST STARTING AT 40," HE SAID.
"I'M DOING THIS FOR THE MOSLEMIC RELIGION."
SINCE RETIRING FROM BOXING, ALI'S CONDITION HAD WORSENED.
OVERWEIGHT AND OFTEN FATIGUED, HE SPOKE SOFTLY AND HESITANTLY,
AND SHUFFLED WHEN HE WALKED.
HANA ALI: I PROBABLY WAS FIVE YEARS OLD, AND I REMEMBER
JUST HIM STUMBLING WHEN HE WALKED OR LOSING HIS BALANCE,
OR THIS GLAZE IN HIS EYE.
I REMEMBER ONCE HE WAS PULLED OVER BY A POLICE OFFICER,
AND THEY WANTED... THEY THOUGHT HE WAS DRUNK,
AND MY FATHER DIDN'T DRINK.
AND HE COULDN'T WALK THE LINE.
AND THEY REALIZED, "OH, HE'S NOT DRUNK.
"THIS IS, YOU KNOW, MUHAMMAD ALI, AND, YOU KNOW,
SOMETHING WASN'T RIGHT."
BUT HE HAD PARKINSON'S, AND NO ONE KNEW.
NARRATOR: THE CORNERMEN AND CONFIDANTS,
FACILITATORS AND HANGERS-ON
WHO HAD TRAVELED THE GLOBE WITH ALI, READYING HIM
FOR EACH FIGHT AND REVELING IN HIS ADVENTURES,
HAD LARGELY MOVED ON.
BUNDINI BROWN, WHO SUFFERED FROM DIABETES
AND WAS DRINKING EXCESSIVELY,
NOW LIVED IN A SHABBY MOTEL IN LOS ANGELES.
WHEN BUNDINI WAS PARALYZED IN A FALL,
ALI VISITED HIS FRIEND AT GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL.
SOLANO: MUHAMMAD AND I ENTERED, AND WE WALKED IN,
AND MUHAMMAD, I KNEW HE WANTED TO CRY,
BUT THEN HE JUST GRABBED HIS LIPS,
"HEY, DREW, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
"YOU'RE GOING TO BE SO HAPPY AND EVERYTHING.
NO MORE SICKNESS, NO MORE... NO MORE TRIALS," HE GOES.
THEN HE WENT, "HEY, DREW."
HE WENT, "FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY, STING LIKE A BEE.
RUMBLE, YOUNG MAN, RUMBLE, HA!"
AND THEN DREW STARTED SHAKING AND STARTED CRYING EVEN MORE,
AND THEN HE BENT DOWN, AND HE KISSED HIM,
AND MUHAMMAD JUST HELD HIS HAND, AND MUHAMMAD WAS...
FINALLY, TEARS CAME DOWN HIS EYES,
AND THEN WE LEFT.
NARRATOR: DAYS LATER, BROWN WAS DEAD.
HE WAS 59 YEARS OLD.
♪
IN SEPTEMBER OF 1984, ALI CHECKED HIMSELF INTO NEW YORK'S
COLUMBIA-PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL CENTER.
AFTER DAYS OF TESTS, DOCTORS SAID
HE HAD PARKINSON'S SYNDROME.
RASHEDA ALI: WHEN MY DAD WAS FIRST DIAGNOSED
WITH PARKINSON'S, HE WAS SHOCKED LIKE ANYBODY WOULD BE.
"THERE'S NO CURE? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"
AND MY DAD LOVED THE CAMERA.
HE LOVED TALKING. HE LOVED CLOWNING AROUND.
HE LOVED BEING MUHAMMAD ALI.
BUT WHEN PARKINSON'S ROBBED HIM, OR TRIED TO ROB HIM,
OF HIS SPEECH AND HIS WAY THAT HE WOULD COMMUNICATE
WITH PEOPLE, HE WAS TAKEN ABACK.
NARRATOR: AT THE HOUSE ON FREMONT PLACE,
FRIENDS, CELEBRITIES, AND FANS CONTINUED TO DROP BY,
BUT ALI AND VERONICA WERE GROWING APART.
HE HAD BEEN CHEATING ON HER FOR YEARS.
PORCHE: IT WAS VERY, VERY, VERY PAINFUL,
ESPECIALLY IN THE BEGINNING.
I THOUGHT I'D DIE.
AND AFTER A WHILE, I BECAME NUMB.
NARRATOR: TWO YEARS EARLIER, WHILE ON A TRIP TO LOUISVILLE,
ALI HAD INVITED LONNIE WILLIAMS TO JOIN HIM FOR LUNCH.
♪
THE TWO HAD FIRST MET IN THE EARLY 1960s,
WHEN LONNIE WAS IN THE FIRST GRADE.
LONNIE: WE MOVED IN NOT KNOWING WHO LIVED ACROSS THE STREET.
NOW, ACTUALLY MUHAMMAD DIDN'T LIVE THERE, JUST HIS PARENTS.
AND IT WAS SHORTLY AFTER WE MOVED IN
THAT WE FIRST MET HIM,
AND WE REALIZED, YOU KNOW, THAT, "OH, YOU KNOW,
THERE'S SOMEBODY FAMOUS ACROSS THE STREET HERE."
NARRATOR: THEIR MOTHERS HAD BECOME CLOSE,
AND, OVER THE YEARS,
ALI HAD SEEN LONNIE WHEN VISITING LOUISVILLE.
NOW LONNIE WAS TROUBLED BY ALI'S CLUMSY GAIT
AND MUMBLED SPEECH.
SOON, SHE RELOCATED TO LOS ANGELES.
BEFORE LONG, ALI WAS SEEING LONNIE REGULARLY.
IN 1985, VERONICA TOLD MUHAMMAD SHE WANTED A DIVORCE.
PORCHE: IT WASN'T AS IF I WAS ANGRY WITH HIM.
I JUST COULDN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE.
WE WERE VERY CIVIL AND FRIENDLY.
HE WAS HOPING THAT I WOULD CHANGE MY MIND.
BUT I THINK HE WOULD HAVE BEEN JUST AS NICE
EVEN IF HE HAD ACCEPTED IT ALREADY.
THAT'S JUST THE WAY HE WAS.
NARRATOR: ON NOVEMBER 19, 1986,
MUHAMMAD ALI MARRIED LONNIE WILLIAMS
BEFORE A HANDFUL OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN LOUISVILLE.
SEEKING QUIET, THE NEWLYWEDS MOVED TO ALI'S FARM IN MICHIGAN.
FOR DECADES, ALI HAD SHARED HIS INCOME FREELY WITH FAMILY,
FRIENDS, AND STRANGERS,
AND HAD GOTTEN INVOLVED
IN COUNTLESS DUBIOUS BUSINESS VENTURES.
LONNIE BROUGHT ORDER TO ALI'S FINANCES.
EIG: SHE NOT ONLY TOOK CARE OF HIM
AND SHE NOT ONLY, YOU KNOW, LOVED HIM
AND STARTED A NEW FAMILY WITH HIM,
SHE BECAME, REALLY, THE C.E.O. OF ALI, INC.,
AND GOT RID OF A LOT OF THE PEOPLE
WHO'D BEEN LEECHING MONEY,
GOT RID OF A LOT OF THE BAD BUSINESSES
THAT HE'D BEEN A PART OF,
AND, STARTED TO FIND WAYS THAT THEY COULD MAKE MONEY
IN HIS POST-BOXING CAREER.
♪
NARRATOR: HIS DEVOTION TO ISLAM
INCREASINGLY SHAPED HIS DAILY ROUTINE.
HE PRAYED FIVE TIMES EACH DAY FACING MECCA,
CALLED FRIENDS TO DISCUSS THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RELIGIONS,
AND DISTRIBUTED AUTOGRAPHED PAMPHLETS THAT HE HOPED
WOULD HELP CORRECT COMMON MISPERCEPTIONS ABOUT HIS FAITH.
♪
WHEN HE TRAVELED IN THE MUSLIM WORLD,
MASSIVE CROWDS GREETED HIM AS "MUHAMMAD ALI CLAY"
TO DISTINGUISH THEIR HERO FROM THOUSANDS OF FAITHFUL MUSLIMS
ALSO NAMED MUHAMMAD ALI.
DURING A GOODWILL VISIT TO PAKISTAN IN 1987,
MUHAMMAD AND LONNIE VISITED SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS, AND MOSQUES.
THEY DELIVERED CANNED MILK TO AN AFGHAN REFUGEE CAMP
ALONG THE BORDER
AND ENCOURAGED GUERRILLA FIGHTERS THERE
IN THEIR LONG STRUGGLE TO EVICT THE OCCUPYING SOVIET ARMY
FROM AFGHANISTAN.
HANA ALI: HE NEEDED LOVE LIKE HE NEEDED AIR TO BREATHE.
SO THE PEOPLE DID PROBABLY MORE FOR HIM
THAN HE DID FOR THEM, IF NOT AT LEAST EQUAL, YOU KNOW?
SO HE WAS SO GRATEFUL FOR THE LOVE THEY GAVE,
HE WAS SO GRATEFUL FOR THAT.
NARRATOR: IN 1989, HE WAS ON THE ROAD
MORE THAN AT HOME, VISITING ENGLAND, SENEGAL, SWITZERLAND,
AND SAUDI ARABIA.
IN APRIL, HE AND LONNIE MADE A PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA
DURING THE HOLY MONTH OF RAMADAN.
ALI HAD VISITED MECCA BEFORE, IN 1972,
BUT NOW ADMITTED THAT HE
HADN'T FULLY APPRECIATED ITS SIGNIFICANCE
AND ACKNOWLEDGED THAT HIS COMMITMENT TO HIS RELIGION
HAD LONG BEEN IMPERFECT.
"I FIT MY RELIGION TO DO WHATEVER I WANTED.
"I DID THINGS THAT WERE WRONG, AND CHASED WOMEN ALL THE TIME.
EVERYTHING I DO NOW I DO TO PLEASE ALLAH."
ONE OF MY FATHER'S FAVORITE SAYINGS WAS,
"RIVERS, LAKES, AND STREAMS ALL HAVE DIFFERENT NAMES,
"BUT THEY ALL CONTAIN WATER.
"SO DO RELIGIONS HAVE DIFFERENT NAMES,
BUT THEY ALL CONTAIN TRUTH."
HE ALWAYS TAUGHT ME THAT THERE'S ONLY ONE TRUE RELIGION,
AND THAT'S THE RELIGION OF THE HEART, HE WOULD SAY.
"AND AS LONG AS YOU DO RIGHT AND YOU TREAT PEOPLE RIGHT,
"I BELIEVE YOU'LL GO TO HEAVEN
NO MATTER WHAT YOU CALL YOUR RELIGION."
NARRATOR: AS HIS SYMPTOMS PROGRESSED...
HIS SPEECH MORE SLURRED, HIS TREMORS MORE OBVIOUS,
HIS ONCE EXPRESSIVE FACE NOW FROZEN...
ALI SPOKE OF HIS PARKINSON'S AS A TRIAL FROM GOD
AND A PUNISHMENT FOR HIS SINS,
BUT ALSO AS A BLESSING THAT KEPT HIM HUMBLE.
BRYANT GUMBEL: MUHAMMAD, GOOD MORNING.
ALI: THANKS. GOOD MORNING.
GUMBEL: HOW YOU BEEN?
ALI: TIRED, TRAVELING...
NARRATOR: HE HAD ONCE LOVED TO ADMIRE
HIS OWN REFLECTION AND CROW ABOUT HIS GOOD LOOKS.
BUT WHEN HE SAW A RECORDING OF HIMSELF ON THE "TODAY SHOW,"
ALI RECOILED.
"THAT MAN LOOKED LIKE HE'S DYING," HE SAID.
NARRATOR: IN 1996, ALI TRAVELED TO CUBA
ON A HUMANITARIAN MISSION, VISITING CHILDREN'S WARDS
AND DELIVERING MEDICAL SUPPLIES.
ALI AND HIS COMPANIONS ATTENDED A RECEPTION
WITH FIDEL CASTRO.
♪
NARRATOR: UNABLE TO SPEAK,
ALI ENTERTAINED THE CUBAN PRESIDENT
AND HIS GUESTS, PERFORMING MAGIC TRICKS.
AFTERWARDS, BELIEVING THAT IT WENT AGAINST ISLAM
TO DECEIVE PEOPLE, HE REVEALED THE SECRET TO EACH TRICK.
[CASTRO SPEAKING SPANISH]
[LAUGHTER]
EIG: HE'D BEEN FORGOTTEN TO SOME EXTENT.
I THINK PEOPLE DON'T APPRECIATE THAT,
IN THE LATE EIGHTIES, EARLY NINETIES,
ALI DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH ATTENTION TO MAKE HIM HAPPY.
HE'D GO OUT AND DO EVENTS FOR $1,000, $2,000.
HE'D SIT ALL DAY SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS
AT A TRADE SHOW, AND HE WOULDN'T LEAVE
WHEN HIS TIME WAS UP UNTIL EVERYBODY GOT THEIR AUTOGRAPHS
BECAUSE HE WANTED TO MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY
AND HE WANTED THE ATTENTION.
NARRATOR: IN 1996, THE OLYMPIC COMMITTEE,
PLANNING THE SUMMER GAMES IN ATLANTA, ASKED MUHAMMAD ALI
TO LIGHT THE TORCH AT THE OPENING CEREMONIES.
AT FIRST, ALI DECLINED.
HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE SEEN SHAKING
AND STUMBLING ON THAT STAGE.
BUT HIS FRIEND HOWARD BINGHAM CONVINCED HIM.
"THIS IS THE THING WHERE THE WORLD IS SAYING, 'THANK YOU
FOR ALL THAT YOU'VE DONE OVER YOUR LIFE, '" BINGHAM TOLD HIM.
"THERE WILL BE 3 BILLION PEOPLE WATCHING."
♪
[BEETHOVEN'S "ODE TO JOY" PLAYING]
NARRATOR: THE PLANS WERE KEPT SECRET.
ANNOUNCER: DO YOU RECOGNIZE HER?
JANET EVANS.
ANNOUNCER 2: CONSIDERED THE GREATEST FEMALE DISTANCE SWIMMER
OF ALL TIME.
AND IT WAS PLANNED VERY BRILLIANTLY.
I MEAN, PEOPLE REALLY THOUGHT THE SWIMMER JANET EVANS WAS
GOING TO BE THE PERSON WHO WAS GOING TO LIGHT THAT TORCH,
BUT INSTEAD OUT OF NOWHERE COMES MUHAMMAD ALI.
♪
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
NAOMI SHELTON & THE GOSPEL QUEENS: ♪ I'LL TAKE ♪
♪ THE LONG ROAD... ♪
BOYD: YOU HADN'T REALLY SEEN HIM IN A WHILE.
YOU KNEW HE WAS SICK, AND WHEN YOU WOULD SEE HIM,
HE WAS CLEARLY SHOWING THE EFFECTS OF THE ILLNESS,
BUT HE HADN'T BEEN SEEN THAT MUCH,
AND THEN HERE HE IS IN THIS BIG, PROMINENT MOMENT.
AND HE'S HOLDING THAT TORCH, AND HE'S SHAKING.
AND, I, MAN, I'M ABOUT TO CRY NOW.
IT WAS HARD TO WATCH BECAUSE YOU
DON'T WANT TO SEE YOUR GUY LIKE THAT.
YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THAT, BUT YOU... YOU SAW IT.
KINDRED: HE WAS DEFENSELESS NOW.
HE CAN'T HURT US ANYMORE, YOU KNOW.
HE CAN'T MAKE US MAD ANYMORE, BECAUSE NOW HE'S...
THE GAME THAT WE ASKED HIM TO PLAY TO ENTERTAIN US
HAS LEFT HIM LOOKING LIKE THIS.
AND NOW WE FEEL SOME SYMPATHY, IF NOT GUILT.
WE SEE HIM SHAKING, TREMBLING UP THERE.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, MOVING...
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ATHLETE IN MOTION YOU'VE EVER SEEN,
AND NOW HE CAN'T HOLD THE TORCH, YOU KNOW.
SO, WE FEEL GUILT, AND WE FEEL SYMPATHY.
WE WANT TO HUG HIM. WE WANT TO EMBRACE HIM.
WE WANT TO ASK HIS FORGIVENESS, YOU KNOW.
FOR EVERY REASON THAT WE DISLIKED HIM,
NOW WE LOVE HIM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE HE WAS RIGHT.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
♪
MAN: IT WAS STRIKING TO SEE THIS EVOLUTION
NOT IN ALI, BUT IN US.
IT JUST STRUCK ME SO AMAZINGLY TO WATCH ALI,
LIKE, LIGHTING THIS TORCH,
PEOPLE WEEPING.
IT'S AMAZING, AND YOU... AND YOU CAST BACK
NOT SO MANY YEARS BEFORE,
AND SOME HUGE AMOUNT OF THE COUNTRY THOUGHT
THIS GUY WAS THE ANTICHRIST,
OR THEY CHOSE TO HATE HIM,
OR THEY MADE HIM A FOIL
TO THE OTHER GUY THAT THEY LIKED BETTER.
AND IT'S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE THAT HUMAN BEINGS
ARE CAPABLE OF LEARNING SOMETHING.
♪
NARRATOR: THE OUTPOURING OF LOVE CAUGHT ALI BY SURPRISE.
"PARKINSON'S ROBS YOU OF CONFIDENCE,"
LONNIE TOLD A REPORTER.
"NOW HE KNOWS THE PUBLIC WILL LOVE HIM AND ACCEPT HIM
NO MATTER WHAT HE HAS."
NAOMI SHELTON & THE QUEENS: ♪ YES, I WILL ♪
EIG: ALI, LATE IN LIFE, TALKED ABOUT
THIS TALLYING ANGEL, HE CALLED IT,
THAT THERE WAS AN ANGEL UP THERE WHO COUNTED ALL THE GOOD THINGS
YOU DID IN LIFE AND ALL THE BAD THINGS YOU DID IN LIFE,
AND IF YOU HAD MORE BAD THINGS THAN GOOD THINGS,
YOU WERE GOING TO HELL,
AND HE HAD A VERY VIVID IMPRESSION OF WHAT HELL MEANT.
AND HE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT HE HAD A LOT OF NEGATIVE MARKS,
THAT THE TALLYING ANGEL WAS NOT GOING TO BE HAPPY
WITH THE WAY HE HAD TREATED WOMEN, IN PARTICULAR.
♪
NARRATOR: 30 YEARS AFTER ALI FIRST FACED JOE FRAZIER,
A REPORTER ASKED HIM ABOUT THEIR LONG-RUNNING FEUD.
"I CALLED HIM A LOT OF NAMES
THAT I SHOULDN'T HAVE CALLED HIM," ALI ADMITTED.
"I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. I LIKE JOE FRAZIER.
ME AND HIM WAS A GOOD SHOW."
FRAZIER NEVER FORGAVE ALI.
LATER, HE EXPRESSED SORROW AT HAVING ABANDONED MALCOLM X.
"TURNING MY BACK ON MALCOLM WAS ONE OF THE MISTAKES
THAT I REGRET MOST IN MY LIFE," HE WROTE.
"I WISH I'D BEEN ABLE TO TELL MALCOLM I WAS SORRY,
THAT HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT SO MANY THINGS."
RASHEDA ALI: DADDY EVOLVED. HE BECAME BETTER.
AND DADDY SAID THAT, "I'M BIGGER THAN BOXING."
THAT MEANT BOXING WAS THIS MUCH.
♪
HIS EVOLUTION INTO THE PERSON HE IS TODAY
IS WAY BIGGER THAN HIM JUST BOXING.
AND I THINK HE KNEW THAT,
AND HE CARRIED IT WITH HIM...
HIS LOVE.
♪
AND HE GAVE IT TO EVERY SINGLE PERSON HE MET.
AND I THINK THAT'S BEAUTIFUL.
♪
NARRATOR: AS THE 20th CENTURY CAME TO AN END,
"NEWSWEEK," "TIME," AND "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED"
ALL NAMED HIM ATHLETE OF THE CENTURY.
IN THE DAYS AFTER THE TERRORIST ATTACKS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001,
AMERICAN MUSLIMS WERE THE VICTIMS OF HATE CRIMES
SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THEIR FAITH.
"I AM A MUSLIM. I AM AN AMERICAN," ALI RESPONDED.
"IF THE CULPRITS ARE MUSLIM,
"THEY HAVE TWISTED THE TEACHINGS OF ISLAM.
"WHOEVER PERFORMED THE TERRORIST ATTACKS
"DOES NOT REPRESENT ISLAM.
GOD IS NOT BEHIND ASSASSINS."
MAN: WHAT I HOPE IS THAT MUHAMMAD ALI WILL BE
A CONSTANT REMINDER TO AMERICA
OF JUST HOW THOROUGHLY AMERICAN
A BELIEVING, PRACTICING, SINCERELY COMMITTED MUSLIM
CAN BE.
WHATEVER ONE'S BACKGROUND IS, ALI BELONGS TO AMERICA,
ALL OF US.
AND I THINK THAT HE BELONGS TO ALL OF US,
BECAUSE HE AFFECTED ALL OF US.
AND I HOPE THAT THAT'S PART OF THE LEGACY THAT HE WILL LEAVE,
THAT AMERICA WON'T FORGET ALI AS THIS AMERICAN MUSLIM
WITH EQUAL EMPHASIS ON AMERICAN-MUSLIM.
NARRATOR: ON NOVEMBER 9, 2005,
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH PRESENTED ALI
WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM,
THE HIGHEST CIVILIAN HONOR IN THE UNITED STATES.
THAT SAME YEAR, THE MUHAMMAD ALI CENTER,
A MUSEUM DEDICATED TO HIS LIFE AND LEGACY,
OPENED IN LOUISVILLE.
BRYANT: MUHAMMAD ALI WAS AN ACTIVIST
WHO FOUGHT TO REACH US A CERTAIN WAY
AND TO MOVE AMERICA IN A CERTAIN WAY
AND MOVE INDIVIDUALS IN A CERTAIN WAY.
"I'M GOING TO TAKE THIS PATH. I BELIEVE THAT I'M RIGHT.
AND EVEN IF I'M NOT RIGHT, I'M STILL ME."
AND TO BE ABLE TO FOLLOW THAT AND TO KNOW THAT THERE WAS
GOING TO BE AN ENORMOUS PRICE TO PAY FOR THAT
AND TO HAVE THAT BE GENERATIONAL,
TO HAVE THAT LIVE ON BEYOND YOU IS EXTREMELY VALUABLE.
EVERYTHING THAT HE DID COULDN'T BE UNDONE.
♪
RASHEDA ALI: AS MY DAD'S CONDITION PROGRESSED,
IT BECAME MORE DIFFICULT TO JUST WALK AND TO EAT
AND TO JUST DO... JUST THE LITTLE THINGS.
YOU KNOW, GETTING UP OUT OF BED,
GETTING... YOU KNOW, WALKING FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER, YOU KNOW?
THE STOOPED POSTURE, YOU KNOW. THAT'S THE LEANING OVER.
IT WASN'T SO EASY AT THE END
BECAUSE OF THE PARKINSON'S, BUT HE STILL ENJOYED HIS LIFE.
AND I NEVER, NEVER HEARD DADDY COMPLAIN, NOT ONE TIME.
BUT ON THE DAYS WHEN HE SOUND GOOD, OH...
THE SUN CAME OUT.
NARRATOR: ON JUNE 2, 2016,
MUHAMMAD ALI CHECKED INTO A SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, HOSPITAL
WITH A RESPIRATORY INFECTION.
ALI'S CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN TRAVELED FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY
TO BE AT HIS BEDSIDE.
AT 8:30 P.M. ON JUNE 3rd,
DOCTORS DISCONNECTED HIM FROM THE VENTILATOR
THAT WAS HELPING HIM BREATHE.
♪
AS HIS RESPIRATION GENTLY SLOWED,
AN IMAM SANG THE MUSLIM CALL TO PRAYER:
"THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH,
AND MUHAMMAD IS HIS MESSENGER."
SOON, HE WAS GONE.
MUHAMMAD ALI WAS 74 YEARS OLD.
BENTT: I GOT A TEXT FROM THIS FRIEND.
THE TEXT SAID, "MUHAMMAD'S GONE."
"MUHAMMAD'S GONE. DAMN."
LIKE [BLEEP], MAN.
YUP. "MUHAMMAD'S GONE. DAMN."
I DIDN'T KNOW HIM.
I MET HIM TWICE, BUT HE WAS FAMILY.
♪
RAHAMAN ALI: EVERYTHING MY BROTHER SAID HE WOULD DO
AS A CHILD, HE DID IT IN LIFE.
HE SAID HE WAS GOING TO BE A GREAT MAN,
GOING TO BE A BOXER, BE A POET,
BE KIND AND GOOD TO PEOPLE, BE RICH.
ALL THOSE THINGS HE DID BEFORE HE DIED.
SO HE DIED A RICH, HAPPY MAN.
♪
SOLANO: I LOVE MY DAD,
BUT MUHAMMAD TAUGHT ME A LOT OF STUFF
THAT MY DAD DIDN'T TEACH ME.
HE TAUGHT ME HOW TO HAVE COURAGE,
AND HE TAUGHT ME HOW TO, UM...
♪
FACE ADVERSITY.
I... I MISS HIM.
IT'S JUST SO HARD TO EXPLAIN.
IT'S JUST LIKE PART OF YOUR HEART'S JUST BROKEN
EVEN TO THIS DAY, YOU KNOW.
IT'S JUST LIKE YOU CAN STILL HEAR HIS VOICE,
YOU CAN STILL HEAR HIM SINGING, LAUGHING, JOKING,
SAD, HAPPY, YOU KNOW.
BUT, UM, WE GO ON.
♪
HANA ALI: HE USED TO HAVE THIS DREAM
THAT HE TALKED ABOUT AND WROTE ABOUT,
HOW HE WAS RUNNING DOWN BROADWAY WHEN HE WAS A TEENAGER,
AND HE SAID HE DREAMT THIS DREAM ALL THE TIME,
AND ALL OF THE SUDDEN, PEOPLE WERE IN THE STREETS,
AND THEY WERE CHANTING HIS NAME AND WAVING AT HIM,
AND HE LOOKED AT THEM, AND HE'D WAVE BACK,
AND HE WOULD JUST TAKE OFF FLYING.
♪
HANA ALI: IT WAS SO FUNNY
BECAUSE AS I WAS IN THE CAR FOLLOWING THE CASKET
TO HIS FINAL RESTING PLACE, AND THERE WERE ALL THE PEOPLE
IN THE STREETS, AND THEY HAD THE SIGNS UP,
AND THERE WAS NOT A GAP FOR MILES WE DROVE.
IT WAS JUST AMAZING BECAUSE THE STREETS AND THE BRIDGES,
AND IT WAS JUST LINED WITH THICK CROWDS OF PEOPLE
CHANTING HIS NAME.
AND, I THOUGHT, "OH, MY GOD. THIS WAS HIS DREAM."
NARRATOR: THE FUNERAL PROCESSION WOUND THROUGH LOUISVILLE,
PAST THE MUHAMMAD ALI CENTER,
ALONG MUHAMMAD ALI BOULEVARD,
PAST HIS CHILDHOOD HOME ON GRAND AVENUE,
WHERE THE HEARSE WAS ALMOST SWALLOWED UP BY THE CROWD,
AND THEN, FINALLY, TO CAVE HILL CEMETERY.
HIS HEADSTONE WAS ENGRAVED WITH A LINE HE LIKED TO QUOTE:
"SERVICE TO OTHERS IS THE RENT YOU PAY
FOR YOUR ROOM IN HEAVEN."
"IF THE MEASURE OF GREATNESS IS TO GLADDEN THE HEART
"OF EVERY HUMAN BEING ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH,
THEN HE TRULY WAS THE GREATEST," WROTE BOB DYLAN.
"IN EVERY WAY HE WAS THE BRAVEST,
THE KINDEST, AND THE MOST EXCELLENT OF MEN."
♪
WOLE SOYINKA: OH, ALI, ALI.
BLACK TARANTULA WHOSE ANTICS HYPNOTIZE THE FOE.
BUTTERFLY SIDE SLIPPING DEATH FROM ROCKET PROBES.
BEE WHOSE STING, UNSHEATHED,
PICKS THE TEETH OF THE RAGING HIPPOPOTAMUS.
WARRIOR WHO SAID, "I WILL NOT FIGHT,"
YET PROVED A PROPHET'S CALL TO ARMS AGAINST A WAR.
CASSIUS MARCELLUS, WARRIOR,
MUHAMMAD PROPHET,
FLESH IS CLAY, ALL, ALL TOO BRITTLE MOULD.
THE BOUT IS OVER.
FRAYED AND SPLIT AND AUTOGRAPHED.
THE GLOVES ARE HUNG UP IN THE HALL OF FAME... STILL LOADED,
EVEN FROM THAT FIRST BLAZE OF GOLD AND GLORY.
AWED MULTITUDES WILL GAZE,
NEW QUESTERS FEAST ON THESE MEMENTOS,
AND FROM THEIR SHELL-SHOCKED REMNANTS REINVOKE THE SPELL.
BUT THE SORCERER IS GONE,
THE LION WITHDRAWN TO A LAIR OF TIME AND SPACE
INACCESSIBLE AS THE SACRED LINING OF A CROWN
WHEN KINGS WERE KINGS, AND LORDS OF RHYME AND PACE.
THE ENCHANTMENT IS OVER, BUT THE SPELL REMAINS.
♪
["I SHALL BE RELEASED" BY NINA SIMONE BEGINS]
♪
NINA SIMONE: ♪ THEY SAY EVERYTHING CAN BE REPLACED ♪
♪
♪ THEY SAY EVERY DISTANCE IS NOT NEAR ♪
♪
♪ SO I REMEMBER EVERY FACE ♪
♪
♪ OF EVERY MAN WHO PUT ME HERE ♪
WOMEN: ♪ OH... ♪
♪ I SEE MY LIGHT ♪
♪ COME SHINING ♪
♪
♪ FROM THE WEST DOWN TO THE E-E-EAST ♪
♪ ANY DAY NOW ♪
♪ I SHALL BE RELEASED ♪
♪
♪ THEY SAY EVERY MAN NEEDS PROTECTION ♪
♪
♪ THEY SAY EVERY MAN MUST FALL ♪
ANNOUNCER: STREAM THE FULL SERIES,
GO BEHIND THE SCENES, AND LEARN HOW TO BRING
MUHAMMAD ALI'S STORY INTO THE CLASSROOM
BY VISITING PBS.ORG/ALI OR THE PBS VIDEO APP.
ANNOUNCER: TO ORDER "MUHAMMAD ALI" ON DVD OR BLU-RAY,
VISIT SHOPPBS OR CALL 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
"MUHAMMAD ALI" IS ALSO AVAILABLE
WITH PBS PASSPORT AND ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO.
♪ FROM THE WEST DOWN TO THE E-E-EAST ♪
♪ ANY DAY NOW ♪
♪ I SHALL BE RELEASED ♪
[CROWD CHANTING "ALI! ALI! ALI! ALI..."]
ANNOUNCER: MAJOR FUNDING FOR "MUHAMMAD ALI"
WAS PROVIDED BY: DAVID M. RUBENSTEIN,
INVESTING IN PEOPLE AND INSTITUTIONS
THAT HELP US UNDERSTAND THE PAST AND PREPARE US FOR THE FUTURE;
BY THE ARTHUR VINING DAVIS FOUNDATIONS,
INVESTING IN OUR COMMON FUTURE;
BY THE BETTER ANGELS SOCIETY AND ITS MEMBERS
ALAN AND MARCIA DOCTER,
MR. AND MRS. PAUL TUDOR JONES,
THE FULLERTON FAMILY CHARITABLE FUND,
GILCHRIST AND AMY BERG;
THE BROOKE BROWN BARZUN FOUNDATION,
OWSLEY BROWN III FOUNDATION.
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