Ali

He wasn’t perfect. But the world in which he was born was even less so.

He wasn’t invincible. Though he convinced us all he was. Even when the ring bell said differently.

He wasn’t the greatest. He was the double greatest. That’s what he told us and we believed him.

Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali, The Greatest. You would have to be under a rock to not know he passed away last Friday. Every morning since, I have awoken with a heavy heart. I am a child of the 70s, and in that era, heavyweight boxing was THE spectacle of the day. The Heavyweight Champion of the World was undisputedly acknowledged as the baddest man on the planet. There was no quibbling. As one reporter said, when Ali lost a fight the entire planet was devastated. Though he only lost five times, and three of them were in his last four unnecessary bouts.

I once dreamt of being a sports reporter. If I was, I would fight hard for the dream assignment of posthumously interviewing Ali today. If I could go 15 rounds with Muhammad, here is what I would want to know:

1. I would ask him how he brought so much love to a world that bestowed upon him so much hate.

2. I would ask him how he brought so much hate to a world that bestowed upon him so much love.

3. I would ask him how old he was when he knew he would someday be The Greatest. I would also want to know if he knew it would last forever.

4. I would ask him whether he forgave Don King. Ali got King his start in boxing as a promoter and King screwed Ali out of money owed to the fighter when his health was plummeting and his earning power eradicated.

5. I would ask him how he, a Black Muslim boxer from the South, and Howard Cosell (nee Cohen), a famed ABC TV broadcaster from Brooklyn, bonded so amazingly on television. Watch this clip to see what I mean.

6. I would ask him how it felt to be robbed of his prime for practicing his Muslim beliefs and objecting to the Vietnam War.

7. I would ask him how he feels about Presidential nominees who want to bar Muslims from America.

8. I wouldn’t ask him about terrorists using Islam as justification for their actions, as I wouldn’t want to see that much sadness in his eyes.

9. I would ask him who his heroes were.

10. I would ask him which of his famous one-liners was his favourite. I would tell him that I love: “Don’t count the days, make the days count.”

11. I would ask him why he couldn’t hang up his gloves and retire before ending his career with embarrassing losses at age 38.

12. I would ask him when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, did he wish he had never boxed.

13. I would ask him what he wished he could say to us during all those years he suffered from Parkinson’s disease.

14. I would ask him who he wants to follow in his footsteps.

15. I would ask him what it’s like in heaven.