Paved With Gold

LONG BEFORE THEY MET AT THE CROSSROADS IN 1971, ALI AND FRAZIER STARTED THEIR PRO JOURNEYS AS OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS  “If someone...

Powers That Be

This is part of a two-article package exploring the impact of promoters Don King and Bob Arum, as well as...

Come Out Writing

THE EYE TEST OF TIME I read with interest your explanation of the pound-for-pound rating debate (Ratings Summary, October 2021) and...

Dark Comedy

Most boxing writers and a good portion of the fans are cynical by nature, and nothing brings out their cynicism...

Jabs and Straight Writes

MUHAMMAD ALI AND THE ELEPHANT

FURTHER EVIDENCE THAT ‘THE GREATEST’ LIVED A HIGHLY UNUSUAL LIFE

What was it like to be Muhammad Ali?

For starters, this-couldn’t-possibly-be-happening moments were common. Like the time Ali walked out of his home in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and found a real, live, enormous, honest-to-goodness elephant in the backyard.

That doesn’t happen to most people. But it happened to Ali. Let me explain.

FLASHBACK: The Ring Withdraws Recognition of Clay as Heavy King

THE RING WITHDRAWS RECOGNITION OF CLAY AS HEAVY KING This feature originally appeared in the May 1970 issue of The Ring...

Jabs and Straight Writes

BLINDED

The dialogue over racial prejudice in the United States has gotten uglier the past few months. Let me add an experience I had years ago to the discussion.

Jabs y rectas de puño y letra

Cuando Muhammad Ali conoció a Tony Soprano Muhammad Ali era una persona real. Tony Soprano no lo era. Pero ellos compartían...

Jabs and Straight Writes

When Muhammad Ali Met Tony Soprano Muhammad Ali was real. Tony Soprano wasn’t. But they shared a bond as cultural icons...

FLASHBACK: Frazier-Clay Confidential

FRAZIER-CLAY CONFIDENTIAL This feature originally appeared in the May 1971 issue of The Ring Magazine. Editor’s note: Some of the author’s language...