Write On Sports

(Reprinted from September 2007)

When you look at Muhammad Ali’s life and boxing career, you may notice that the month of September has been both a very eventful month and a very difficult month for the greatest heavyweight champion of all time.

First, in 1966 he fought Karl Mildenberger in Germany, which he won by a 12th round knockout. Second, in September 1972, he had his 2nd showdown with former champion Floyd Patterson in New York, winning by a knockout in the 7th. In September 1973, Muhammad Ali met Ken Norton in the 2nd of their three fights, this time avenging his previous, broken-jaw loss to Norton. Ali won this time on a 12-round decision.

In September of 1976, things got a bit tougher for Muhammad Ali. He and his wife of many years, Khalilah Ali, filed for divorce. In the same month in 1976, Ali had his third and toughest bout with Ken Norton in New York’s Yankee Stadium. This fight was extremely difficult for Ali, although he got the close decision in a hard-fought 15-round battle.

The next September, 1977, didn’t turn out to be too much easier for Muhammad Ali, as he did battle with hard-hitting Earnie Shavers in one of Ali’s toughest battles. After retirement, whenever Ali was asked, “Who hit you the hardest in all of your fights?”, Ali would always say, “Earnie Shavers”. It was an extremely difficult fight for Muhammad Ali, and was one of several fights that should have been his last.

September 1978 marked both a great triumph for Ali and a very historic fight on the same night. He had lost his title in a previous match with Leon Spinks, so on this historic September 15th night, Muhammad Ali became the first heavyweight in boxing history to win the title 3 times, by defeating Spinks in a 15-round rematch in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was also historic because it would be the final victory in boxing for the great Muhammad Ali.

Three more Septembers in later years would be much worse for Muhammad Ali. In September 1984, Muhammad Ali would be diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Then in September of 1987, Ali would lose his long time motivator and cornerman, Drew “Bundini” Brown, who passed away that month.

Even worse for Muhammad Ali was September of 1994, when his dear mother died at the age of 77.

September has been a very difficult and historic month for Muhammad Ali, in a life and career which has seen many triumphs, trials and tribulations. And through it all, Muhammad Ali has come out of it as a world hero, the most famous face on the planet earth, and as far as boxing is concerned, he was as he said he was: The Greatest of All Time.

For more on the life and career of Muhammad Ali, see the new book, “The Dancing Master: A Concise Biography of Muhammad Ali“. Also visit the website at www.muhammadali-life.com.