Borderland remembers Muhammad Ali
most significant heavy- weight champions of the world – was not only a contender in the ring but was also known for his stance against the vietnam war – and humanitarian efforts –all while suffering from parkinson’s disease late in his life. abc- 7’s jerry najera is live with more on the legend.. evan me like many people around the world don’t follow boxing but the name muhhamed ali is well known. know for his boastfull bravado the boxing legend has made a lasting impact on die hard boxing fans as well as the common man. “still the greatest of all time cassius marcellus clay was born in 1942. he first stepped in the ring when he was 12. regarded by many as the greatest boxer of all time. “i’ handsome im fast im pretty and possibly cant be beat” cassius clay later changed his name to muhhamad ali. his bravado was well deemed. in his carreer he earned 56 wins –5 losses and a olympic gold medal. at 22, he won the world heavyweight championship from sonny liston in 1964. but was later stripped of the belt –ali refused to be drafted into the u.s. military, saying he opposed america’s involvement in the vietnam war. he later regained the title and retired in 1981. ali was diagnosed with parkinsons disease in 1984 in 1991 ali traveled to iraq during the gulf war where he met with saddam hussein in an attempt to negotiate the release of american hostages. in 2000 ali made his way to the borderland. –at the time already diagnosed with parkinsons disease — he walked hand in hand with sister susie valadez of the christ for mexico mission to help feed the hungry in juarez. ali didn’t speak much during the visit but his presence helped bring awareness to a problem valedez was having. in that same trip ali visited kiki romero gym “no h habido otro peleador” he wa the number one boxer in the world, there hasn’t been another one like him since says coach mel martinez who was there at the time. as ali met with the kids “me alcanz? a decir que le echara ganas aqu? con los muchachos” he says the champ told him to give it his all as he coached his kids. back in el paso at the rafael garcia boxing museum. a boxings fan marvels at the memorabilia. “he was the best he beat th best” guerillmo williams says ali’s presence was timeless. “there is nobody that can compare to muhhamad ali, his foot movement his power his stamina everything that he had will never be seen again” and a interesting fact in 1978 ali’s hometown louisville kentucky voted to rename a major street to muhammad ali boulevard within a week 12 of the 70 street signs were stolen. just goes to show how popular the legend was. thanks jerry and there has been an out pouring of support. fans of
