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DJRocky was number one!
Ali was a product of his own making. He was contreversial, witty, charming, a news reporter's dream and a fine fighter. His legacy in my mind has been tarnished on those last few fights. Who can forget the pummeling Holmes put on him. Every boxer had his own style in how he dealt with people. Ali knew how to win not only the bouts, but was a marketing genius where other fine fighters of that time like Liston, Patterson, Holmes, Foreman, Frazier didn't know what charisma was. Especially Foreman who was an underrated fighter and wasn't pleasant then and is a fine "actor" today.
As much as I love Rocky and Jack, Ali will always be my favorite though because when I saw Ali at the Edison, NJ show four years ago (his last public signing), I saw people who didn't really care about the $450 autograph, they just wanted to shake his hand and tell him how great he was. This one guy traveled from Germany just to get an 8x10 signed and meet him realizing that this may be the last chance.
Ali made every person at the event feel like a close friend with the same wit and was happy to mock punch the fan before the photograph was taken. That's why he's the Greatest, and number three on my list of Greatest Heavyweights Of All-Time though.
DJ
P.S Vintage Boxing Forum!