Two days before he met Pele, the ‘Greatest One’ Muhammad Ali leaned back on
the ropes after being pounded by the challenger Ernie Shavers in New York.
As he lay there, beside him, in tears, was Bundini Brown, Ali’s
famous sidekick, the originator of ‘float like butterfly, sting like bee’
line and who would eventually fall out of inner circle after he sold Ali’s
championship belt to a barber for 500$.
The 35-year old Ali would stir from the ropes to say, “I am tired,
I am tired, that’s it: The End”. Still in the ring, he would comb his hair
on live television and shortly after washing up, Ali would tell reporters:
‘Well, 10 million dollars might force me out for one more fight”.
Unfortunately, he would fight four more times, including the 1980 battering
he took from the fist of Larry Holmes believed to have caused
him brain damage.
the ropes after being pounded by the challenger Ernie Shavers in New York.
As he lay there, beside him, in tears, was Bundini Brown, Ali’s
famous sidekick, the originator of ‘float like butterfly, sting like bee’
line and who would eventually fall out of inner circle after he sold Ali’s
championship belt to a barber for 500$.
The 35-year old Ali would stir from the ropes to say, “I am tired,
I am tired, that’s it: The End”. Still in the ring, he would comb his hair
on live television and shortly after washing up, Ali would tell reporters:
‘Well, 10 million dollars might force me out for one more fight”.
Unfortunately, he would fight four more times, including the 1980 battering
he took from the fist of Larry Holmes believed to have caused
him brain damage.
