I recognize how cliche it is for me to sit here and write about the profound impact Ali had on my life now at the time of his death. I don’t care. Ali was the champ for many reasons and the greatest boxer of all time. He was an athlete at a time when black people didn’t have the ability to have many public heroes. He was our hero as a race yet he belonged to the world. He belonged to the Muslim religion and never once tried to destroy us as a nation, though there was a time when the government tried to make it seem that way. But Ali just floated right past all that and kept stinging his opponents and making it all look so easy. Ali was our hero and mine.
I came to know about Ali in the time of Tyson. Five years after Ali’s career ended at the hands of Trevor Berbick, a twenty year old Tyson would step into the ring with Berbick and offer some sweet revenge. Tyson, a student of boxing was aware of what he did and remains so to this day. He looked up to Ali. We all did. We learned about being stand up men and not backing away from what is difficult or what is unaccepted. I learned about pride and working hard to get where I want to be.
We all honor Ali by what we do in our lives. That, or we disrespect the world and opportunity he left for us.