Name: Muhammad Ali
Age: 60
Nationality: American
Claim to fame: The greatest of them all

HE shakes like a leaf in autumn and his speech sounds a bit slurred due to Parkinson’s Disease and boxing injuries, but there is nothing small or weak about Muhammad Ali, the legendary boxer who shot to fame in the 1960s as a gold medal winner in the Rome Olympics.

The chant of “Ali, Ali” by adoring fans has become somewhat of a mantra whenever he makes a public appearance, reminder of those gold old days when he used to don the boxing gloves and dance his way around his opponents in the ring. It definitely fuelled his ego, and made him go on, perhaps when he should have stopped on his own. He was, and remains, one of the greatest heavyweight boxers to have ever graced the sport, and is rightly considered to be one of the most enduring and controversial heroes due to his arrogance and a loud mouth both in and out of the ring in his heyday.

While accepting his star on the famed Hollywood Boulevard earlier in the month, that has been hung from a wall in Kodak Theatre and not embedded in the sidewalk with the other 2,188 celebrities, he explained why: “I don’t want anybody walking on it.” Typical Ali, one might say.

Born Cassius Clay, he converted to Islam and opted for Muhammad Ali for reasons only known to him until now. According to him, Blacks in America get names like George Washington, which are either Caucasian or European names. His dazzling hand and foot-speed also gave him the conceit to anoint himself The Greatest, which he backed up by winning the heavyweight title three times.

The Champ, as he was also called, was the one who would move “like a butterfly” but would sting “like a bee”. A series of events held in Los Angeles last week honoured the champion who turned 60 on January 17. A one-hour television programme also featured a parade of stars, including Mariah Carey and actor Will Smith, who plays the prize-winning fighter in the feature film simply titled Ali, and which opened on Christmas Day. The movie has been doing exceptionally good business at the box-office, attracting people in droves who cannot wait to see the boxing legend and his life and feats of boxing flash before their eyes.

His legacy now survives through his daughter, Laila Ali, who has entered the boxing arena and is well on her way to make a name for herself as a boxing pro. A case of like father, like daughter, perhaps!