Ricky Hatton Statement On The Passing Of Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali on Fundraising Tour in UK

by Ricky Hatton: I was extremely saddened to wake up this morning and be told of the passing of the legendary Muhammad Ali.

It is not only a very sad loss for boxing, but for the whole of sport as he was quite simply the greatest and most iconic athlete the world has ever known.

I used to collect boxing fights on VHS as a kid and Muhammad was a big favourite for me. He had speed and timing that few heavyweights possess as well as having the sort personality that drew you in.

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Boxing Hall of Fame Flags At Half-Staff For Muhammad Ali

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The International Boxing Hall of Fame announced its flags will fly at half-staff in memory of three-time heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. He passed away yesterday in Arizona. He was 74.

1990 Hall of Fame Inductee Muhammad Ali

Born in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17, 1942, he won light heavyweight gold at the 1960 Olympics and turned pro the same year.

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Muhammad Ali – The Greatest who ever was and ever will be

https://youtu.be/XpOLWQ8WmdU

“I’ve done something new for this fight. I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick; I’m so mean I make medicine sick”

by Adam Godfrey: Pele. Michael Jordan. Ayrton Senna. Three examples of men who managed, through their force of will, the magnitudes of their achievements or their overwhelming charisma to create legacies that will have history consider them beyond the standards of all others. But one sportsman stands alone, having transcended his sport to the extent that he is truly considered a God amongst mortals, and that man is Muhammad Ali.

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Muhammad Ali is gone

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Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, he cannot hit what he cannot see, rumble young man rumble! The entire Boxing Family is in grief shedding copious tears which are falling thick and fast like autumnal leaves, following the passing of Muhammad Ali, the most phenomenal fighter of all time…The Greatest. A golden era of Boxing passes with him.

Olympic light heavyweight champion. Champion of the world three times, and historically forever linked to his most intrepid ring opponent “Smokin” Joe Frazier, the sheer power of Muhammad Ali`s incredible personality, his bravery in the face of adversity, his kindness, love and humanity more than match his agility, and the exceptional speed, accuracy and dextrous zip of his lightning punches. On film his left jab was timed as twenty five percent faster than that of the great Sugar Ray Robinson, who ruled the roost as middleweight champion in an early era. But Muhammad Ali`s rapier like wit was even faster and even more to the point than his quicksilver fists.

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Muhammad Ali dies at 74

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By Eric Thomas: Former heavyweight world champion Muhammad Ali has reportedly passed away on Friday night at the age of 74 at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. Ali had been hospitalized recently for breathing problems. He was said to have been initially stable but the problem worsened.

The boxing world and his many fans will miss him.

“A true great has left us. Muhammad Ali transformed this country and impacted the world with his spirit. His legacy will be part of our history for all time,” said Arum via Twitter.

Ali has such an impact in his boxing career with his accomplishments. Besides winning world titles at heavyweight, he also captured a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics before he turned pro in the same year.

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Ali, Mayweather and Marciano not the true ‘Greatest of All Time’

Floyd Mayweather JrBy Jaime Ortega: The 50’s and down was unquestionable the best era in boxing history. I am a fan of old school boxing, and admirer of competitiveness. I watched endless tapes of old boxing, and hold a nice collection. I am not against boxing today, but I think we completely overrate boxers today, especially comparing them to boxers in the past. Simply not true.

To name either Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano or Floyd Mayweather Jr. the best ever or even top 10, is simply laughable to absurd – especially the last two. A lot of old school boxing aficionados crown Cassius Clay the greatest pugilist of all times based on his record to overcome loses and prove non-believers and haters wrong while branding himself greatest of all time [GOAT]. Yes Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Henry Cooper were tough cookies — no doubt!

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The Nostalgic/Sanctioning bodies

ali434324442By Robert “Big Moe” Elmore: Nostalgic fans love to talk how this era is better than this era and that only “certain things” happened in their era. For example, you have the 80’s babies saying “the best fought the best”. They did, but they weren’t all back to back. This is true for any and every era.

Unless there was a tournament (like the heavyweight tourney in the 80’s or the Super Six tourney that ran from 2009 to 2011), there was always a buildup. Leonard/Hearns 1, there was a build up; Ali/Frazier 1 there was a buildup. Today’s fans want big fight after big fight. It doesn’t work that way and it never will.

To take it a step further, Leonard/Hagler took five years to happen. Yes, Leonard retired in 1982, but came back in 84 to fight Kevin Howard. He eventually retired again and remerged in 1987 to fight Marvin Hagler. My question is; why didn’t Leonard fight Hagler in 84 when Hagler was red hot?

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Tyson Fury compares himself to Muhammad Ali

furyBy Scott Gilfoid: In a sign that Tyson Fury (24-0, 18 KOs) has completely lost the plot, he’s now comparing himself to boxing great Muhammad Ali, and saying that if he’s not the man to fill the boots that were left behind that there won’t be anyone else that can step in to fill them for a long time to come.

The untested and some would say chinny Fury is facing IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (64-3, 53 KOs) next month on November 28th at the ESPRIT Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany. Fury has been yacking about wanting a title shot against Wladimir for years now, and he’s finally about to get his big shot at his belts.

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Joe Louis vs. Muhammad Ali: who is the real greatest heavyweight of all?

ali4534By Gerardo Granados: A friend of mine just as many readers think that Ali is the Greatest and by consequence the number one of all times; I cannot do nothing else but to disagree. Not only I think that Ali isn’t the Greatest of all times but also I am certain he isn’t even the best heavyweight of all. The Muhammad Ali “I am the Greatest” rant is similar to Floyd Mayweather Jr “The Best Ever” nonsense.

Yes it is true that we cannot compare boxers from different eras and undoubtedly to talk about this issue won’t bring a consensus among boxing experts, the sweet science purist or the hard core fight fans and certainly it would be better to discuss it in a bar whilst drinking a couple of beers.

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Arum: To compare Mayweather to Ali or Sugar Ray Robinson is a joke

arum4By Chris Williams: The other day, Floyd Mayweather Jr. told ESPN that he saw himself as a better fighter than Sugar Ray Robinson (173-19-6, 108 KOs) and Muhammad Ali (56-5, 37 KOs), both of which suffered a fair amount of defeats during their respective careers.

Not surprisingly, Mayweather took some criticism from boxing fans because many of them hold a great deal of respect for Robinson and Ali. However, Mayweather was just telling it like it is by telling the truth about his skills compared to those fighters.

In the meantime, Manny Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum has come out and given his view on the subject, and he thinks it’s a joke for Mayweather to compare himself to those fighters.

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