Muhammad Ali’s punch dominated the boxing ring for an incredible 27 years.
His influence echoed exponentially around the world and is still stinging like a bee, including here in Burnaby.
The boxing legend died last Friday at the age of 74 after years of battling Parkinson’s disease.
Burnaby’s Manny Sobral says his own career in the sport was immensely influenced by the one-time world boxing champion and civil rights icon.
“When I started boxing I’d watch so many of his videos, of Ali in his prime, to study his style,” Sobral told the NOW. “He was just an amazing fighter, so fast on his feet. What I learned was you couldn’t hit what you couldn’t see.”
After having the world heavyweight title and his boxing licence stripped away in 1967 because of his refusal to fight in Vietnam, Ali’s career was stalled during three prime years. Sobral reflected how the Kentucky-born boxer returned with a new fighting strategy that would see him recapture the world title in 1974.
In preparing (to fight George Foreman in 1974) he would lay on the ropes and plan it out, and that was where he showed his patience and smarts,” said Sobral. “He adjusted his style, he let the fight come to him and used his speed, and it was like he was playing with his opponents.
“From watching him I kind of got some of my style. I tried to keep my hands up, and I think my footwork owes a lot to what he had shown.”
Throughout his life, Ali proved more than a true showman, standing up against oppression and intolerance with flair.
“He was the epitome of a man who did what was right, no matter the cost,” said Sobral, who coaches at the North Burnaby Boxing Club. “He essentially gave up the prime years of his career standing for what he believed in, no matter what public opinion said. There was no guarantee he’d get another chance. How many athletes would walk away from that, from the millions and fame, today?”
Another Burnaby boxer, Dale Walters, was touched by Ali’s presence at an early age.
In 1972 as Ali began the climb back to the top of the boxing world, he came to Vancouver to fight Canadian champion George Chuvalo. On the undercard was Walters, at the age of 10 already a veteran of 20 fights.
In an interview with the Prince George Citizen’s Ted Clarke on Saturday, Walters reflected on meeting “The Greatest.”
“(Ali) said, ‘What’s your name boy?’ and I said ‘It’s Dale.’
“Then he says, ‘Are you going to be the next champion of the world?’ I was kind of scared and said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to try.’ And then he says to me, ‘Well you might be the next champion of the world, but you’ll never be as pretty as me.’ And everybody laughed.”
Walters would go on to win a bronze medal for Canada at the 1984 Olympics. His meeting Ali remains a favourite moment.
“My whole life I’ve been telling that story,” said
Walters.
On two occasions, Sobral met “The Greatest.” Both times he came away wowed.
“I was training in Nevada in 1996 with (Ali’s) former trainer Angelo Dundee and he came to visit a couple of times,” recalled Sobral. “(Ali) was still mobile and on his feet, still had that spark, talking and joking…
“In 2009 we met again this time in Vancouver. I attended the premiere of (the film) Facing Ali and I got to shake his hand and eat popcorn beside him. (Parkinson’s disease) had definitely affected him, but he was still a powerful person.
“It was one of the greatest moments of my life, really.”
