0:00:05 > 0:00:07I love boxing.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10It's competition stripped down to absolute basics.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17One fighter against another battling for pride, reputation,
0:00:17 > 0:00:19and the simple right to say, "I beat you."
0:00:22 > 0:00:24For me, and for a lot of people,
0:00:24 > 0:00:26the greatest of them all was Muhammad Ali.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31In the brutish world of heavyweight boxing, he was an artist,
0:00:31 > 0:00:36dancing around the ring with incredible grace and speed.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40And he wasn't just a sportsman. He was a man of principle,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43a civil rights activist and a born entertainer.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45The angel food cake is the white cake,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48and the devil food cake is the chocolate cake.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52One of the things that really got me into the idea of comedy
0:00:52 > 0:00:54was watching Ali.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57ALI HUMS THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER
0:00:57 > 0:00:59I mean, properly funny.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Tarzan is the king of the jungle in Africa.
0:01:01 > 0:01:02He was white.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06I saw this white man swinging around Africa with a diaper on,
0:01:06 > 0:01:08howling...
0:01:08 > 0:01:09HE IMITATES TARZAN
0:01:10 > 0:01:14I've read loads of books about Ali, watched all his fights...
0:01:14 > 0:01:16I've quite literally bought the T-shirt.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21I met him briefly as a starstruck fanboy, but never got the chance to
0:01:21 > 0:01:23talk to him properly before his death.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28But now I have an opportunity to really find out about him.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33I'm going to see for myself some of the places Muhammad Ali lived
0:01:33 > 0:01:34and worked.
0:01:36 > 0:01:42It's a bit like a little version of Camelot, with Ali as King Arthur.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44I'm going to meet the people who knew him...
0:01:45 > 0:01:49People would stand and applaud, and he hadn't said a word!
0:01:50 > 0:01:53..his family, friends and colleagues.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Welcome to the Holmes' residence.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59The home of the real champion.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03- How are you, Frank? How you doing? Come on in.- Good to see you.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05I'm going to find out what it was like to be around
0:02:05 > 0:02:08one of the most famous human beings who ever lived.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12So stay tuned and see the Greatest Of All Time.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32This is the house that I grew up in, in fact
0:02:32 > 0:02:36I spent the first 20 years of my life in this house.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38- RADIO:- 'The bell for round one.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40'Clay going into the centre of the ring.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42'Dancing a, sort of, contemptuous dance...'
0:02:42 > 0:02:46It was in our old kitchen when I was five or six years old that my dad
0:02:46 > 0:02:48first introduced me to Muhammad Ali.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Back in those days he was still known as Cassius Clay.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54'A right cross by Clay catches Liston high up on the head.'
0:02:54 > 0:02:56My dad would come and...
0:02:56 > 0:02:58..in the middle of the night...
0:02:59 > 0:03:01..little tap on the bedroom door.
0:03:01 > 0:03:02"Come on."
0:03:02 > 0:03:07It was so exciting to wake up in the early hours and we would
0:03:07 > 0:03:11come downstairs in the dark, put the light on in here,
0:03:11 > 0:03:13and he'd get the radio.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17And we'd be ready for the Cassius Clay fight.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20We had an armchair and a sofa in here,
0:03:20 > 0:03:21because we lived in the kitchen.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25The front room was for best, obviously.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27And I never would sit on the sofa with my dad,
0:03:27 > 0:03:32because when my dad listened to a fight he listened to it like this...
0:03:32 > 0:03:34So if you sat too close to my dad
0:03:34 > 0:03:37you might actually recreate what was happening in the ring.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42We were hearing something that was happening in America,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45which seemed like as far away as you could possibly go,
0:03:45 > 0:03:50and we were in our little kitchen, in Oldbury, in the West Midlands,
0:03:50 > 0:03:56just a son and his father sharing this excitement.
0:03:56 > 0:03:57It was really...
0:03:58 > 0:03:59..special.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01'A right hand by Clay and Liston is down.'
0:04:07 > 0:04:12Now, 50 years later, I've come to the city of Louisville, Kentucky
0:04:12 > 0:04:15where Cassius Clay was born in 1942.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24This was always a magical place to me
0:04:24 > 0:04:30because I grew up thinking this to be a mythical spot.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33You know, the Louisville Lip, Ali was known as,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35so you couldn't forget where he came from.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39And there's a quote from Ali that I always remember,
0:04:39 > 0:04:43after he beat Liston, he shouted, "I shook up the world."
0:04:43 > 0:04:45And that comes back to me a lot when
0:04:45 > 0:04:47I read about him and think about him
0:04:47 > 0:04:51and watch his fights. And I like beginnings.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55I like the idea of going to where that tiny seed began
0:04:55 > 0:04:56that shook up the world.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01The...the tiny seed from which the mighty oak tree grew.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09Clay lived with his parents and his younger brother in this street,
0:05:09 > 0:05:10Grand Avenue.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15If I was to picture the birthplace of the average boxer,
0:05:15 > 0:05:17it probably wouldn't look quite like this.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19"The Clay family was part of the
0:05:19 > 0:05:22"black middle class of West End Louisville..."
0:05:24 > 0:05:26The house, I have to say, is...
0:05:27 > 0:05:29..is a nice house.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31A pink wooden house.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33And all of these things are relative,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35but most boxers that you read about,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37they've had it really tough.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39It wasn't like that with Ali, I don't think.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42He wasn't a street fighter in the ring.
0:05:42 > 0:05:43That's not what he was.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45He was an artist.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47He had a beauty about it.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51And maybe he just had enough room in his life for beauty.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56It wasn't all about the hard grind of coming up from the very bottom.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58They always say boxers have to be hungry,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01and I'm not sure he was ever hungry.
0:06:02 > 0:06:03Maybe slightly peckish.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07So, what, if anything,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11marked out young Cassius from the other kids in this neighbourhood?
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Were there any signs of future greatness?
0:06:16 > 0:06:19I'm going to have a chat to his neighbours, the Montgomery family,
0:06:19 > 0:06:20who knew him from boyhood.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25- Good evening.- Hi, hello. - How are you?
0:06:25 > 0:06:27- I'm good, thank you, very much. - Step right in.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34So, Lawrence, Violet, Karen, you used to live across the road,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37directly next door to the Clay...
0:06:37 > 0:06:39- Right next door, yes, we did. - ..family.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41And when would that have been?
0:06:41 > 0:06:44You were living there in the '50s and '60s?
0:06:44 > 0:06:47- That was in the '50s, yes.- OK.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51So what kind of area was this, then?
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Well, we had doctors and lawyers,
0:06:54 > 0:06:58principals and teachers and all right here in this block
0:06:58 > 0:07:03along with the Clays and the Montgomerys.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05What was Cassius like as a boy?
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Could you see something special?
0:07:08 > 0:07:10Did he have that personality then?
0:07:10 > 0:07:12That vibrancy?
0:07:12 > 0:07:16Well, you know, I don't think he was any different from any other child
0:07:16 > 0:07:18around the neighbourhood.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22But he was dedicated to boxing.
0:07:23 > 0:07:30He always had me to hold my hands up so he could shadow-box in my hands.
0:07:31 > 0:07:32He told me... He said,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35"Lawrence, I'm gonna be the Heavyweight Champion Of The World."
0:07:35 > 0:07:37I said, "Boy, you're crazy.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39"Don't even think about it."
0:07:39 > 0:07:40He was small.
0:07:40 > 0:07:45I said, "You have to be a huge man to be a heavyweight, you know?"
0:07:48 > 0:07:50But Cassius wasn't deterred.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53By the time he'd reached his teens he was well on his way to becoming
0:07:53 > 0:07:54a professional boxer.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02He won state contests, then national amateur titles.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Had he been born in another era he might have been happy to just devote
0:08:05 > 0:08:08his life to sport, but this was the '50s
0:08:08 > 0:08:10in the midst of racial segregation.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15This area, I mean, Louisville in general,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18at that time there was segregation here.
0:08:18 > 0:08:19Absolutely.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23There were certain restaurants that black people couldn't eat in.
0:08:23 > 0:08:24- Most of the restaurants.- Schools...
0:08:24 > 0:08:26- Really?- If the whites used it...
0:08:26 > 0:08:29I mean, the women couldn't even go into the stores
0:08:29 > 0:08:31on 4th Street and try on clothes.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34We could buy them, but we couldn't try them on.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37- What?- That's true.
0:08:37 > 0:08:38That was the rule?
0:08:38 > 0:08:40- That was the rule.- That's so crazy.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43I never even thought that it would, sort of, split down...
0:08:43 > 0:08:45I thought you were either in or out.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51Segregation infected every aspect of Kentucky life in the '50s.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Cassius and his brother were educated
0:08:53 > 0:08:56in separate schools from whites,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59they couldn't play in the same parks or sit next to white children in
0:08:59 > 0:09:00the cinema or the library.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10In the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Cassius Clay won a gold medal
0:09:10 > 0:09:13and returned to America in triumph.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16He walked into a white-owned restaurant in Louisville,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20assuming he'd be welcomed as the conquering hero.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23But it didn't work out that way, as he explained many years later.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27I took my gold medal. I thought I'd invented something.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29I said, "Man, I know I'm going to get my people freedom.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31"I am the champion of the whole world.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33"Olympic champion! I can eat downtown now!"
0:09:33 > 0:09:36And I went downtown that day, I had my big old medal on,
0:09:36 > 0:09:37and I went in the restaurants.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39At that time things weren't integrated.
0:09:39 > 0:09:40The black folks couldn't eat downtown.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45And I went downtown I sat down, and I said, you know, "A cup of coffee.
0:09:45 > 0:09:46"A hot dog..."
0:09:47 > 0:09:50The lady said, "We don't serve Negroes."
0:09:50 > 0:09:52I was so mad I said, "I don't eat them either!
0:09:52 > 0:09:55"Just give me a cup of coffee and a hamburger!"
0:09:55 > 0:09:57AUDIENCE APPLAUDS
0:10:03 > 0:10:05MUSIC: Black Night Is Falling by John Lee Hooker
0:10:10 > 0:10:12# Oh, how I hate to be... #
0:10:12 > 0:10:16Ali was so disgusted by how he'd been treated by white America that
0:10:16 > 0:10:19he came here, to the Second Bridge in Louisville,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22and hurled his gold medal into the Ohio River.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25Or did he?
0:10:25 > 0:10:29# I keep crying for my baby...#
0:10:29 > 0:10:31I've heard conflicting stories.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Some people say he lost it,
0:10:33 > 0:10:34others that he gave it to a girl.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38I'd love to find out what really happened,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40so I'm off to meet someone who knows.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Rahman Ali is Muhammad Ali's only brother.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52A talented boxer himself, he and Ali trained together as men and boys.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57When Ali found fame Rahman joined the entourage
0:10:57 > 0:10:59and was never far from his brother's side.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06Rahman, it seems to me that being Muhammad Ali's brother would be the
0:11:06 > 0:11:08most exciting thing...
0:11:08 > 0:11:11- It is.- ..in the world. - You said the right thing.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15I feel so honoured and overjoyed and happy just to be his brother.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19He's a wonderful, wonderful, sweet man. A kind man.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23So you were Muhammad's sparring partner.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27- Yes, I was. I gave him a real good workout.- Yeah?
0:11:27 > 0:11:29I was his best sparring partner.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33When you are in the entourage, apart from being a sparring partner,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36what were your other... What I else did you do for Muhammad?
0:11:36 > 0:11:37Protected my brother.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40I just watched him. Make sure nobody tried to stab him or hurt him.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42- Oh, so you were a bodyguard as well? - Yes, bodyguard as well.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45I've had a fantastic life!
0:11:46 > 0:11:49- There's a question I have ask you, Rahman.- Ask me anything.- OK.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Did your brother throw his Olympic medal off
0:11:54 > 0:11:57the Second Bridge into the Ohio River?
0:11:57 > 0:11:59I've got something to tell you about that.
0:11:59 > 0:12:05I know the truth, but sometimes it's not a good thing to speak the truth.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Surely, it's always good to speak the truth?
0:12:08 > 0:12:09What did Muhammad... What did he say?
0:12:09 > 0:12:10He said he threw it in.
0:12:12 > 0:12:13Then he did.
0:12:14 > 0:12:15Then he did.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17But I think he also said you were there.
0:12:19 > 0:12:20No comment.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25So, is it worth me getting on a scuba-diving suit and
0:12:25 > 0:12:27- looking in the river for that medal? - No.- OK.
0:12:28 > 0:12:29You might get drowned.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33- You might get drowned. - I might, that's true.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35- I'm telling the truth.- OK.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40I'm no nearer knowing the truth about the medal.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Like many things in his life
0:12:42 > 0:12:45this incident will probably stay shrouded in mystery.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Which is, I suspect, just how Ali wanted it.
0:12:49 > 0:12:50Oh, hold on.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Oh, I thought that was, erm,
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Muhammad Ali's gold medal from the 1960 Olympics.
0:12:59 > 0:13:00It's actually a plastic burger.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06This story, the medal off the bridge, might not be factually true,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09but it has tremendous truth in it.
0:13:09 > 0:13:15It just reminds us that even when he achieved gold medal for America,
0:13:15 > 0:13:19he still went back and wasn't treated like an equal American.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23And that tells us the truth of segregation,
0:13:23 > 0:13:28and tells us about something that was so central to what Ali became.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Cassius Clay's stratospheric rise continued.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40In the next few years not only did he win every fight,
0:13:40 > 0:13:42but he often managed to predict in
0:13:42 > 0:13:46which around he would actually beat his opponent.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49I'm planning to reveal the round and the minute,
0:13:49 > 0:13:50and I will tell you the second if I knew
0:13:50 > 0:13:52how long it would take the referee to
0:13:52 > 0:13:56get Sonny in position and start counting.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02But no amount of success would change Clay's place in society.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04And that's something he just couldn't stomach.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10In 1964, after a decisive six round win over Sonny Liston,
0:14:10 > 0:14:12Clay became heavyweight champion.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18In the press frenzy that followed the fight he made an announcement
0:14:18 > 0:14:20that shocked the world.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23He revealed that he'd become a member of the radical Muslim group,
0:14:23 > 0:14:25the Nation Of Islam,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29and would be changing his name to Muhammad Ali.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31Cassius Clay was my slave name. I'm no longer a slave.
0:14:32 > 0:14:33What does it mean?
0:14:33 > 0:14:37Muhammad means worthy of all praises, and Ali means most high.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42Led by the charismatic Elijah Muhammad,
0:14:42 > 0:14:47the Nation of Islam promoted black pride, self empowerment,
0:14:47 > 0:14:51and, controversially, the complete separation of blacks and whites.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56It was an uncompromising message which horrified white America.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00They boast about what they have, and what they will deprive us of.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04I say, "The earth belongs to the black man."
0:15:12 > 0:15:15It was through the Nation of Islam that Ali met the daughter of one of
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Elijah Muhammad's lieutenants.
0:15:19 > 0:15:20- Hey, Frank.- Khalilah...
0:15:20 > 0:15:23How are you, Frank? How are you doing? Come on in.
0:15:23 > 0:15:24Good to see you.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27She's Khalilah Camacho-Ali,
0:15:27 > 0:15:29and I'm here to talk about her courtship
0:15:29 > 0:15:30and marriage to "The Greatest".
0:15:32 > 0:15:35Do you think the Nation of Islam
0:15:35 > 0:15:38provided Muhammad with a, sort of, home.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40Yeah.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42He was going to gain a religion,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46he was going to gain respect and honour. All of that.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49He was going to gain a good way of life.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52- I'm going to be completely honest with you now...- Yes.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54..as a young kid back in England,
0:15:54 > 0:15:56we used to think the Nation of Islam...
0:15:56 > 0:15:59I hadn't heard of it before Muhammad joined.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04We used to think it was a pretty scary organisation.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07You know what, in the beginning it was the poorest of the poor.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12The people who had lost their self-esteem from the slavery.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16And that's the only people who would join Elijah Muhammad at that time.
0:16:16 > 0:16:22We liked the learning of who we are, where we came from,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26and how to grow out of the slavery mentality.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28So it kind of gave you back your identity, really?
0:16:28 > 0:16:29It did, it did.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35Khalilah met Muhammad Ali while she was still at school.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37But they were little more than acquaintances.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41As she grew into a beautiful young woman their relationship became
0:16:41 > 0:16:42something more.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46So, tell me about the love, Khalilah.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48I want to know how that happened.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50How did you come to marry Muhammad Ali?
0:16:50 > 0:16:54- Did you and him go out on dates... - No.- ..before?
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Muslim relationships are not long.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59I mean, you decided to marry somebody, you'd get married.
0:16:59 > 0:17:00I mean, you don't fool around.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02You don't play around.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06You can't... You know, there's no sex before marriage.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08This is our first date, right here.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10As a matter of fact, I'm autographing this to you, Frank.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12- That's beautiful. - I'll give this to you.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15- I was 16, he was 24.- OK.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20So... This was in 1966.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24And we got married in 1967.
0:17:24 > 0:17:25One year.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31Now, you don't see the four guys my dad sent with us on the date, right?
0:17:31 > 0:17:35- Chaperones?- Chaperones, definitely.
0:17:35 > 0:17:36I was... I was...
0:17:36 > 0:17:38- I was surprised he didn't send more. - OK.
0:17:38 > 0:17:44- So, to be honest with you, I was the only virgin he ever married.- OK.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49This would be no typical celebrity marriage.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53Khalilah became Mrs Ali while her husband was in the midst of a
0:17:53 > 0:17:54high-profile scandal.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00The Vietnam War was raging,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04and, like thousands of other young American men, Ali had been called up
0:18:04 > 0:18:06to serve in the army.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09MUSIC: Handsome Johnny by Richie Haven
0:18:09 > 0:18:13# Marching to the fields of Vietnam
0:18:13 > 0:18:14# Looks like Handsome... #
0:18:14 > 0:18:15But he refused to be drafted,
0:18:15 > 0:18:20arguing that his Muslim faith prevented him from fighting.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26And this will all be denouncing
0:18:26 > 0:18:29and defying everything that I stand for.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31This would mean, of course,
0:18:31 > 0:18:32that you stand the chance of going
0:18:32 > 0:18:34to jail as the result of not going into service.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Well, whatever the punishment,
0:18:37 > 0:18:39whatever the persecution is for
0:18:39 > 0:18:41standing up for my religious beliefs,
0:18:41 > 0:18:44even if it means facing machine gun fire,
0:18:44 > 0:18:46that day I will face it before denouncing
0:18:46 > 0:18:48Elijah Muhammad and the religion of Islam.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50I'm ready to die.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58The authorities response was swift.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02It took an all-white jury less than a half-hour to find Muhammad Ali
0:19:02 > 0:19:05guilty of all charges and specifications.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09He was sentenced by federal judge Joe Ingraham to the maximum,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12five years in prison, and was fined 10,000.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23Ali was given the maximum sentence for refusing the draft,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26he was stripped of the heavyweight title and banned from boxing.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32But if the authorities thought they could silence Ali they were wrong.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38His outspokenness on Vietnam and racial relations in America made him
0:19:38 > 0:19:40a hero for the civil rights movement.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46While his legal team appealed his sentence,
0:19:46 > 0:19:50Ali stayed out of prison and took his message to university campuses
0:19:50 > 0:19:51across the country.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56When you look at television and see these two cars,
0:19:56 > 0:19:58one black and one white, and they put a gallon of gas in each one...
0:19:58 > 0:20:00AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:20:02 > 0:20:04..to see which car can go the farthest.
0:20:04 > 0:20:09And every time the black car stops first and the white car keeps going.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11So this brainwashes the Negroes...
0:20:11 > 0:20:16During his break from boxing he did lots of talks to students.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Talks that you would call, I suppose,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22black power talks, they would have been called then.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26And when he gets his first laughs, you see his face illuminate.
0:20:26 > 0:20:33And even as a civil rights activist, Ali is still loving the laughs.
0:20:33 > 0:20:34Then he goes to the drugstore.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36He orders two dips of ice cream,
0:20:36 > 0:20:38he says I want a dip of chocolate, a dip of vanilla.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40And every time they put the chocolate on the bottom
0:20:40 > 0:20:41and the vanilla on the top.
0:20:41 > 0:20:46And sometimes, when he talked about white people he sounded, like,
0:20:46 > 0:20:48white guys I heard in pubs talking about black people.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50It sounded like bigotry.
0:20:50 > 0:20:56But when he combines the message with the Ali magic, it is...
0:20:56 > 0:20:57it's brilliant.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05The campus talks weren't the only way Ali got his message out during
0:21:05 > 0:21:07his ban from boxing.
0:21:08 > 0:21:13I made the trip to a wintry New York to find out about an episode in
0:21:13 > 0:21:15Ali's life I've always been curious about.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22In 1969 he starred in a black power musical called Buck White.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26And I tracked down his co-star, Charles Weldon.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30You had a rehearsal period with him, presumably?
0:21:30 > 0:21:32Yeah, we had four weeks rehearsal
0:21:32 > 0:21:36and I remember him always being there.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Oh, he showed up regularly?
0:21:38 > 0:21:42- Oh, yeah.- OK.- Ali was a great... He was a great cast member.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46He was... When Ali was with us in rehearsals he was just another guy.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48He was not...
0:21:48 > 0:21:49Muhammad Ali.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54He wore a wig and a beard.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57- Yeah, he hated it.- Did he?
0:21:57 > 0:21:59He wasn't into wigs, you know.
0:22:04 > 0:22:09We would be singing his entrance song, which was a song that went...
0:22:09 > 0:22:12# Big time, Buck White!
0:22:12 > 0:22:15# Big time, Buck White. #
0:22:15 > 0:22:19And he would come down the aisle, and people would stand and applaud.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22And he hadn't said a word, you know.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27You know, I first came here some 400 long years ago.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29And at the end of the first act,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31we would run around the stage like
0:22:31 > 0:22:34we were burning stuff, throwing stuff,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37and Ali would always be right in the middle,
0:22:37 > 0:22:38- shadow-boxing.- Oh, really?
0:22:38 > 0:22:41So our thing was, like, "Don't get close to him!"
0:22:42 > 0:22:48You could still actually feel the wind from his sparring.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50Wow!
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Do you think Ali could act?
0:22:52 > 0:22:55He would have grown into a very good actor, I think, you know.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57Because he did this part very well.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00He really did this part very well.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04Did he... Was he nervous about performing?
0:23:04 > 0:23:06No. He was never nervous.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11He was, you know, he would sometimes forget his lines,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15and he would lean over and whisper in my ear, "What's my line?"
0:23:15 > 0:23:18And I would tell him his line, and he would just move right along.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20# We came in chains
0:23:21 > 0:23:24# And now your choice must be... #
0:23:24 > 0:23:26The initial flurry of interest in Ali
0:23:26 > 0:23:29didn't result in big ticket sales.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32The show soon closed, partly, Charles believes,
0:23:32 > 0:23:34because of Ali's notoriety.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39It didn't run long simply because it was Muhammad Ali
0:23:39 > 0:23:40and there was a certain amount of people
0:23:40 > 0:23:42who were not going to be a part
0:23:42 > 0:23:46of this guy who was going against going to Vietnam.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48You know, he was a draft dodger,
0:23:48 > 0:23:50but I'll say one thing about Muhammad Ali...
0:23:51 > 0:23:56..I never remember him mentioning that at all.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59He was just a fun guy to be around with.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01He never mentioned his problems.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07But Ali's problems had become headline news across the world.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14Back in Britain a bare knuckle boxer called Paddy Monaghan took it upon
0:24:14 > 0:24:17himself to mount a one-man support campaign.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22He started a petition protesting the ban,
0:24:22 > 0:24:24that got over 20,000 signatures.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28He organised a fan club and wrote letters to Richard Nixon and the
0:24:28 > 0:24:30American Embassy.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33It's an extraordinary story,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36and I'm off to hear more about it from Paddy himself,
0:24:36 > 0:24:38and his son, Tyrone.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42I think it must have been strange for Ali -
0:24:42 > 0:24:44who must have felt, as we know,
0:24:44 > 0:24:50pretty embattled at the time and maybe a bit lonely in a way -
0:24:50 > 0:24:54to know that out in England there was a guy fighting his corner.
0:25:00 > 0:25:05Paddy. How did it happen for you and Muhammad Ali?
0:25:05 > 0:25:07I'm right that you started a petition?
0:25:08 > 0:25:10First of all, what was that about?
0:25:10 > 0:25:13I had no schooling,
0:25:13 > 0:25:15but we knew right from wrong.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19They had no right whatsoever to take the guy's title away.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21So then what happened?
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Muhammad then sent a letter,
0:25:23 > 0:25:25saying he was coming over to the...
0:25:25 > 0:25:27Is it the Royal Lancaster Hotel?
0:25:27 > 0:25:29- ..in London,... - Yeah, the Royal Lancaster.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31That's where you first met him.
0:25:31 > 0:25:32They did a tour of London together.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36Muhammad Ali, you have said that one of your biggest fans has been a lad
0:25:36 > 0:25:38called Paddy Monaghan, if we can bring Paddy in.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Because Paddy lives in our area.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42Just how much of a fan is Paddy Monaghan?
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Well, he's one of my number one fans in the Britain area, here.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49I have many fans and he's one of the top-notch fans here.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51He's protesting. When they took my title,
0:25:51 > 0:25:53carrying signs at the airport.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56He started a Muhammad Ali fan club all on his own.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Paddy, what has been the attraction to you about Muhammad Ali?
0:25:59 > 0:26:02Well, the man himself. He's taught me a lot. I've watched him.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04I've learned from him.
0:26:04 > 0:26:05His principles - simple as that.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07It's not just the boxer, it's the man.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09And this meeting wasn't the end of it.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Ali invited Paddy to come and visit him in America.
0:26:13 > 0:26:14So you went, obviously?
0:26:14 > 0:26:18- Who wouldn't? - Well, I thought about it.
0:26:18 > 0:26:19I was so busy.
0:26:19 > 0:26:20FRANK LAUGHS
0:26:20 > 0:26:23So where did you stay? Did he put you in a hotel?
0:26:23 > 0:26:24I was at his place.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28- In his house?- In his house, yeah. Yeah.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31So you'd get up for breakfast in the morning and Muhammad Ali would
0:26:31 > 0:26:35- be sitting there having his cornflakes.- Yeah, yeah.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37Me too. I trained with him, I sparred with him.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39Sparred with him in the 5th St Gym.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Why did you bond so much, you and him?
0:26:42 > 0:26:45He's the sort of guy, he didn't give a damn about anything.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47And he knew...
0:26:47 > 0:26:49that I was the same.
0:26:49 > 0:26:50We were both the same.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54He must have had a, sort of, quiet down time.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57If he had a quiet downtime, you tell me about it.
0:26:58 > 0:27:04True as God is my judge, he was the same Ali as what we see on TV.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06He was the same man all the time.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12Paddy had the kind of access to Muhammad Ali that fans like me can
0:27:12 > 0:27:13only dream about.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18And Ali was happy to spend time with Paddy and his family in their
0:27:18 > 0:27:20council house in Oxfordshire.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25Over the years he visited more than a dozen times.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33And this is your old house?
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Yeah, it is, yeah. This is where we used to live and Muhammad...
0:27:36 > 0:27:39It's interesting to imagine Muhammad Ali arriving here.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41No disrespect to your house.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44Not many people ever get to be as famous as him
0:27:44 > 0:27:45even amongst the famous.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48But they wouldn't come here, if you know what I mean.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51No, no. Way back here, when he used to come...
0:27:51 > 0:27:52I mean this... Saxton Road was notorious.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55I mean, you see it now. It was notorious way back then.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58The only time the police came down here, I think it was in riot vans!
0:27:58 > 0:28:01- Really?- Yeah, seriously. They'd have the big black shield
0:28:01 > 0:28:02coming down over the windscreen.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04When he visited the crowd was so big
0:28:04 > 0:28:07- that the police was, obviously, called in for crowd control.- Really?
0:28:07 > 0:28:09Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was absolutely amazing.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11And would he arrive on his own?
0:28:11 > 0:28:13No, mainly with an entourage.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15But we had a fence here then, and there was people,
0:28:15 > 0:28:16I don't know how many,
0:28:16 > 0:28:18but there was quite a few. They had makeshift tents.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20My mum was bringing them out tea and coffee.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23They were staying two or three nights until Muhammad came back.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25It's like a, sort of, Muhammad Ali festival.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27Yeah, yeah.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Another time he'd come in here, me and him would be out there.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31I don't know if I've got this one here...
0:28:31 > 0:28:33we'd be sparring, shadow-boxing.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35- You shadow-boxed?- Yeah.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37You're in pretty good shape, if you don't mind me saying.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40I was then. That's us with the gloves on, out the back garden.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42"Tyrone," he says, "do you want to do some sparring?"
0:28:42 > 0:28:44I thought, "Oh, yeah! Let's get it on, you know!"
0:28:44 > 0:28:47And that one, that's one with Muhammad leaving the house.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50- They hugged each other. - That's beautiful.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52I remember him calling my dad, "You're my friend and brother."
0:28:52 > 0:28:54That's real affection.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Yeah, it is. There's my dad and Ali, just there, look.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59- He's doing the Joe Frazier, isn't he?- Yeah, Joe Frazier.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Yeah, he's right down. He's in his crouch.
0:29:02 > 0:29:03Do you want to do a little bit, Frank?
0:29:03 > 0:29:05How about you being Ali? I'll be Frazier.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08Do you know what, I was going to insist on being Ali.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10- You going to be Ali?- You look more like Frazier to me.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12Let's move about a little bit.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14Remember, the emphasis on shadow.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17- Well, we're just touching, not even touching.- OK.- That's it.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20And we're going around that way. He kept saying, "Come on, sucker."
0:29:20 > 0:29:23My dad's coming in like that, as Frazier. He's coming in.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25- "I'm going to get you, sucker." - You big ugly bear!
0:29:28 > 0:29:30- I didn't mean that, by the way. - No, no, it's OK.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37While Ali made friends in England,
0:29:37 > 0:29:41back in America his legal case rumbled on.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45A full three years after the ban was imposed his lawyers made a stunning
0:29:45 > 0:29:50discovery while trawling the records of the US Boxing Commission.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53The commission refused to give Ali a licence,
0:29:53 > 0:29:57because they didn't want a convicted felon in professional boxing.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59Can you imagine such a thing?
0:29:59 > 0:30:04Unsurprisingly, his council investigated the commission's record
0:30:04 > 0:30:08to see if any other convicted felons had been professional boxers.
0:30:08 > 0:30:13They found at least 244 instances in recent years
0:30:13 > 0:30:16where licences had been granted to convicted felons,
0:30:16 > 0:30:21these convictions included, let me see, second-degree murder, burglary,
0:30:21 > 0:30:24armed robbery, extortion, grand larceny, rape, sodomy, embezzlement,
0:30:24 > 0:30:27arson, and receiving stolen property.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30Possession of narcotics, attempted rape, assault and battery, fraud,
0:30:30 > 0:30:33impairing the morals of a minor, possession of burglar's tools,
0:30:33 > 0:30:35and desertion from the
0:30:35 > 0:30:37Armed Forces of the United States.
0:30:39 > 0:30:44The case against Ali fell apart and his sentence was overturned.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46MUSIC: War by Edwin Starr
0:30:46 > 0:30:49# What is it good for
0:30:49 > 0:30:52# Absolutely nothing... #
0:30:52 > 0:30:54And with support for the war disappearing
0:30:54 > 0:30:56Ali's views were increasingly
0:30:56 > 0:30:59in step with the new revolutionary mood in America.
0:31:02 > 0:31:07In 1970, Ali, by now a 28-year-old father of three,
0:31:07 > 0:31:09had his boxing licence renewed.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16His ambition was to win back the heavyweight title from the man who'd
0:31:16 > 0:31:20taken it in his absence, Smokin' Joe Frazier.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25Joe Frazier will go down!
0:31:25 > 0:31:29I have made my prediction, and it will be released.
0:31:29 > 0:31:30I'll show you.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32- I gotta go now.- Muhammad.- Are we going to go for it?
0:31:32 > 0:31:36Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
0:31:36 > 0:31:38Oh! Rumble, young man, rumble. Oh!
0:31:42 > 0:31:45The match was dubbed the fight of the century.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48MUSIC: Give The People What They by O'Jays
0:31:50 > 0:31:53A star-studded crowd filled Madison Square Garden
0:31:53 > 0:31:57and the worldwide TV audience was over 300 million.
0:32:01 > 0:32:02Ali told the papers,
0:32:02 > 0:32:05"People want to see me whipped because I'm arrogant,
0:32:05 > 0:32:08"because of the draft, because of my religion...
0:32:11 > 0:32:13"..but I thrive on pressure.
0:32:13 > 0:32:14"I'll win easy."
0:32:16 > 0:32:18The stage had been set.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20The king had come back from his travels,
0:32:20 > 0:32:24from his battles and his wars, to retain his crown.
0:32:24 > 0:32:26And it didn't quite happen.
0:32:26 > 0:32:32The fight went the distance, but Frazier won unanimously on points.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35The thing that sticks in my mind is the last round.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40When Frazier found this left hook, and Ali went down.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44It was the way that as he landed his feet went up in the air in a
0:32:44 > 0:32:46real ugly shape.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49It was like a man being thrown back from an explosion.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53And it was so shocking to see Ali go down like that.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55To be so graceless.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59Anyway, because it was an Ali-Frazier fight, obviously,
0:32:59 > 0:33:02both men went into hospital afterwards.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04But when me and my dad back in the
0:33:04 > 0:33:06West Midlands read the newspaper reports,
0:33:06 > 0:33:10we managed to work out in our minds that maybe Ali HAD won the fight.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13We were wrong first time, we hadn't really thought about it.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15And it was an American conspiracy to
0:33:15 > 0:33:18keep the loud-mouthed draft dodger down.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20So, in our house, he was still "The Greatest".
0:33:27 > 0:33:32For Ali too, defeat to Frazier was just a temporary setback.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34Determined to regain his heavyweight title
0:33:34 > 0:33:36he were retreated to the country
0:33:36 > 0:33:41to his training camp in Deer Lake, Pennsylvania.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44Now you'll see this sign here that says, "Deer Lake, 2 miles"?
0:33:44 > 0:33:48See, even the sign gives me a bit of a tingle.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50That's just the sign!
0:33:50 > 0:33:52'The camp is such a big part of the
0:33:52 > 0:33:55'Ali mythology I can hardly believe it's real.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59'But Lynda Schiffer whose father sold Ali the original plot of land
0:33:59 > 0:34:00'is driving me there.'
0:34:01 > 0:34:02Now we are entering Deer Lake.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24- This building, straight ahead...- OK.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28..which would be Ali's personal cabin.
0:34:28 > 0:34:30And that's where he stayed when he was here.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35The rocks to my left, Ali's dad painted all of these names.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38They're all fighters, all boxers.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40I love the inspirational rocks.
0:34:40 > 0:34:44When I think of Deer Lake it's those rocks I always think of
0:34:44 > 0:34:46with the champions on.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51So, I imagined when Ali came here
0:34:51 > 0:34:56that the idea was that he just shut himself away, and didn't really...
0:34:56 > 0:34:58- Oh, no.- No?- Oh, no.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00There were always people around him.
0:35:04 > 0:35:09And to the left would be the kitchen.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11- Be careful, there's ice here. - Oh, OK.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14Let me give you a hand up there, Lynda.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16Thank you very much.
0:35:16 > 0:35:17Oh, but aren't you going to help me?
0:35:17 > 0:35:20I'm kidding. SHE LAUGHS
0:35:20 > 0:35:22Wow.
0:35:22 > 0:35:24So, this is the kitchen area.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27There's some wonderful pictures here.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32- So, your dad met Ali...- Mm-hmm.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36..how did you get from that first meeting...
0:35:36 > 0:35:38to suddenly Ali is buying property from you?
0:35:38 > 0:35:40Well, my father said to Ali one day,
0:35:40 > 0:35:42"You know, I have the perfect spot.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44"It's fresh air,
0:35:44 > 0:35:46"it's backcountry roads.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48"The air's good for you, the food's good,"
0:35:48 > 0:35:52- and he just tweaked his interest, I guess.- Yeah.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54And up they came, and Ali liked what he saw.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58So these would have been communal meals in here?
0:35:58 > 0:36:02- Yes.- I like the, sort of, pioneer cabin feel.
0:36:02 > 0:36:03It has a lot of charm, I think.
0:36:03 > 0:36:08I can imagine the sort of communal atmosphere here.
0:36:08 > 0:36:13It's a bit like a little version of Camelot with Ali as King Arthur.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17And then the Knights Of The Rectangular Table.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31When you're at a place like this, I think,
0:36:31 > 0:36:36what you can't help but think about is, sort of, "Team Ali".
0:36:36 > 0:36:40The fact that every fighter who gets into the ring
0:36:40 > 0:36:43is the tip of a pyramid,
0:36:43 > 0:36:48and underneath him there are trainers, and masseurs, and cooks,
0:36:48 > 0:36:50and sparring partners,
0:36:50 > 0:36:55all with that single purpose of making him as good as he can be
0:36:55 > 0:36:57on one given night.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02And then that moment where they can't help him any more
0:37:02 > 0:37:06once he steps into the ring - that's when the boxer is like
0:37:06 > 0:37:09the loneliest person on earth.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13MUSIC: The Boss by James Brown
0:37:16 > 0:37:19# Paid the cost to be the boss
0:37:23 > 0:37:25# Paid the cost to be the boss... #
0:37:25 > 0:37:27At the centre of the camp was the gym.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29This is where Ali, ever the showman,
0:37:29 > 0:37:33welcomed in the public to watch him train with his sparring partners -
0:37:33 > 0:37:36skilful, smart young boxers with something to prove.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46One of these was Larry Holmes, aka The Eastern Assassin.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Welcome to the Holmes' residence.
0:37:52 > 0:37:53The home of the real champion.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Come on in. Come on in, guys.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59- Oh, man!- All right.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02I got Ali's over there.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04And I got Joe Frazier over there.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06Who's the guy in the middle?
0:38:06 > 0:38:10Oh, this guy, that's when I was young, strong and skinny!
0:38:12 > 0:38:15Oh, man. I loved Larry's house.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19It was a museum to the noble art of self-defence.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21Larry, I'm really excited to meet you.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23I feel I can ten-year-old kid.
0:38:23 > 0:38:24- It's great.- Me too!
0:38:25 > 0:38:27To meet you.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30I just feel bad that I'm here talking to you about Muhammad Ali,
0:38:30 > 0:38:32because you were an amazing champion,
0:38:32 > 0:38:34and I need to acknowledge that from the start.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37But I'd like to start, if I could,
0:38:37 > 0:38:41with your career as a sparring partner.
0:38:41 > 0:38:46If Ali hires you as a sparring partner, what does he want from you?
0:38:47 > 0:38:49Well, because I had sparring partners,
0:38:49 > 0:38:50and I know what I wanted from them,
0:38:50 > 0:38:53I can tell you what Ali would expect from me.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56Hard work. He wanted me put the pressure on him.
0:38:56 > 0:39:01He wanted me to be similar to the guy he's fighting.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05And he had different people around him to...
0:39:05 > 0:39:07That's George Foreman, that's Joe Frazier,
0:39:07 > 0:39:09and these guys emulate
0:39:10 > 0:39:13George Foreman and Joe Frazier, of course. You know?
0:39:13 > 0:39:15Would he be giving you his best shots in sparring?
0:39:15 > 0:39:17Sometimes he'd get mad.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21When the audience comes in, when there are people around,
0:39:22 > 0:39:24then you're in trouble!
0:39:24 > 0:39:26What's the money like for a...
0:39:26 > 0:39:29Was he paying you good money for sparring?
0:39:29 > 0:39:31He was giving me 500 a week.
0:39:31 > 0:39:36And he could have given me 100 a week, I didn't care. I...
0:39:36 > 0:39:41I enjoyed the excitement of being with Muhammad Ali.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44And people used to say, "You're crazy."
0:39:44 > 0:39:45- He's going to kill you.- Hmm.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48I said, "Well, at least I'm getting killed
0:39:48 > 0:39:50"by one of the greatest guys in the world."
0:39:50 > 0:39:55So he wasn't just, a sort of, boss-employee relationship?
0:39:55 > 0:39:56You remained friends?
0:39:56 > 0:39:58Yeah, till the day he died.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04Larry helped Ali prepare for one of the greatest bouts of his career.
0:40:05 > 0:40:11In 1974 Ali was scheduled to go to Zaire to face George Foreman in the
0:40:11 > 0:40:13Rumble In The Jungle.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16The undefeated Foreman was the current heavyweight champion,
0:40:16 > 0:40:18having taken the title from
0:40:18 > 0:40:21Joe Frazier with ease in less than two rounds.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26George Foreman, at that point, wasn't selling grilling machines.
0:40:26 > 0:40:31He was a scary, menacing figure.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33And completely humourless.
0:40:33 > 0:40:38And they were a lot of boxing critics who honestly thought that
0:40:38 > 0:40:40Ali was in danger of his life.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49If Ali was daunted by Foreman's fearsome reputation,
0:40:49 > 0:40:50he certainly didn't show it.
0:40:53 > 0:40:54He's a bully. He is slow.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57He has no skill, no footwork, he's awkward.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59And I have given him a name.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01I named Floyd Patterson, "The Rabbit,"
0:41:01 > 0:41:03I named Sonny Liston, "The Bear",
0:41:03 > 0:41:06and he shall be known officially as, "The Mummy."
0:41:07 > 0:41:08Ali's doing gags.
0:41:08 > 0:41:12He looks incredibly relaxed.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14He looks like someone who is going to the theatre,
0:41:14 > 0:41:20not someone who is soon going to be going to a potential slaughter.
0:41:20 > 0:41:21And why? Why The Mummy?
0:41:21 > 0:41:22Because he fights...
0:41:22 > 0:41:25When he's fighting, if you ever watch him in the ring,
0:41:25 > 0:41:28he...he drags like that after his opponent.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:41:33 > 0:41:37And...and how is The Mummy going to catch me? When you fight The Mummy,
0:41:37 > 0:41:39you just keep a step ahead of The Mummy. See?
0:41:39 > 0:41:41- Keep it moving, yeah.- Just move on The Mummy.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43Nope, Mummy, I'm over here. No, Mummy, I'm over here.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45No, you're moving too fast.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47The Mummy don't move that fast!
0:41:53 > 0:41:57Ali left America for Zaire in September '74.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01It was the first time a major sporting event
0:42:01 > 0:42:02had been held in Africa.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04And the fight was a huge source of pride
0:42:04 > 0:42:06for this former Belgian colony.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14Travelling with Ali was his business manager Gene Kilroy
0:42:14 > 0:42:16who had a ringside seat at the fight.
0:42:17 > 0:42:22Gene, you are described as Muhammad Ali's business manager,
0:42:22 > 0:42:23but that's quite a broad title.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26- What does that involve?- Well...
0:42:26 > 0:42:28It wasn't about titles, you know.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32Some said, "the facilitator", some said, "the business manager",
0:42:32 > 0:42:36"best friend"... You know, whatever came up, I was his guy.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38I looked out for him better than I did myself.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43Around Ali there was an inner circle and an outer circle.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45There was about four people inner circle,
0:42:45 > 0:42:47all the rest were outer circles.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50You know, they said this and that... We'd have dinner,
0:42:50 > 0:42:53Ali would take a guy to dinner, join us for dinner.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55Next thing I know, he's writing a book, he was Ali's best friend.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00You know, it's... You see things, and it's unbelievable.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04So, what about The Rumble In The Jungle?
0:43:04 > 0:43:07We got off the aeroplane, everybody was... It was dark night.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10Everybody's yelling, "Ali! Ali! Ali!"
0:43:10 > 0:43:13And Ali turned to me and he said, "Who don't they like here?"
0:43:13 > 0:43:15I said, "The Belgians."
0:43:16 > 0:43:19"Ali," they are yelling, "Ali," and he goes,
0:43:19 > 0:43:21"George Foreman's a Belgian!"
0:43:22 > 0:43:25They started yelling, "Ali bomaye. Ali bomaye."
0:43:27 > 0:43:29Ali said, "I asked my interpreter, what does that mean?"
0:43:29 > 0:43:31"That means kill him."
0:43:31 > 0:43:32"Kill George Foreman."
0:43:32 > 0:43:33Ali bomaye!
0:43:33 > 0:43:35Ali bomaye!
0:43:35 > 0:43:37Then, when George got off the aeroplane
0:43:37 > 0:43:39he had a dog with him, Diego,
0:43:39 > 0:43:40- a German police dog.- Yeah.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43And I said, "Ali, we're home free."
0:43:43 > 0:43:46MUSIC: Jungle Boogie by Kool & The Gang
0:43:46 > 0:43:49# Jungle Boogie
0:43:49 > 0:43:50# Jungle Boogie
0:43:50 > 0:43:51# Get It On
0:43:51 > 0:43:53# Jungle Boogie
0:43:53 > 0:43:54# Jungle Boogie... #
0:43:55 > 0:43:59It was an epic struggle in the boiling heat of Zaire.
0:43:59 > 0:44:03Ali's strategy was to tire Foreman out.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07With his rope-a-dope technique he leaned on the ropes continually
0:44:07 > 0:44:09absorbing the hammer blows.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11In the eighth round Ali floored an
0:44:11 > 0:44:14exhausted Foreman and it was all over.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17He was heavyweight champion for a second time.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23You know the, what's now known as, the "rope-a-dope" method,
0:44:23 > 0:44:26- which everyone had no idea... - Well, he did it.
0:44:26 > 0:44:27- Did you know?- No.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31He knew when he got in and started abusing him.
0:44:31 > 0:44:32George wore himself out.
0:44:32 > 0:44:34After the fight George complained about everything.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36The ropes were too loose.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39We tried to tighten the ropes
0:44:39 > 0:44:41so Ali wouldn't fall out of the ring.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44The mattress was too...sorry, the mat was too soft.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46His corner was against him.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48Great athletes never complain.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51You never heard Ali complain about anyone.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55That's the difference between a good athlete and a great athlete.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06The Rumble In The Jungle became one of the most famous boxing matches of
0:45:06 > 0:45:07all time.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10Back in England, years later,
0:45:10 > 0:45:14it struck a chord with a little girl by the name of Nicola Adams.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21So, can you remember the first Ali fight that you watched?
0:45:21 > 0:45:23The Rumble In The Jungle.
0:45:23 > 0:45:24Oh, OK, the Foreman fight?
0:45:24 > 0:45:25Yeah, yeah.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28That was the big one for me.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31All the press and the media, the interviews that I saw.
0:45:31 > 0:45:33The big crowds, the crowds were huge.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36I was like, "Wow, I want to be boxing one day
0:45:36 > 0:45:38"in a crowd that size."
0:45:38 > 0:45:41He was my hero and I always wanted to meet him,
0:45:41 > 0:45:44and to say to him how much he'd inspired me
0:45:44 > 0:45:46through my whole career and...
0:45:46 > 0:45:51- Yeah.- He was the reason why I wanted to become an Olympic champion.
0:45:51 > 0:45:57So when you started boxing was the shadow of Ali standing over you?
0:45:57 > 0:45:58Oh, yeah, definitely.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02When I had my first competition at 13, in an old working men's club,
0:46:02 > 0:46:05I remember going into the ring and thinking,
0:46:05 > 0:46:06"I'm going to do the shuffle.
0:46:06 > 0:46:07"I'm going to be just like Ali.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09"Throwing my punches, moving around the ring."
0:46:09 > 0:46:12I was so, so happy and excited.
0:46:12 > 0:46:14MUSIC: Black Superman by Johnny Wakelin
0:46:14 > 0:46:17# Muhammad Ali
0:46:17 > 0:46:21# He floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee FRANK SINGS ALONG
0:46:21 > 0:46:23# Muhammad
0:46:23 > 0:46:26# The black superman
0:46:26 > 0:46:34# Who calls to the other guy I'm A-a-a-li
0:46:34 > 0:46:36# Catch me if you can
0:46:39 > 0:46:43# Now all you fight fans you've got to agree
0:46:44 > 0:46:48# There ain't no flies on Muhammad Ali
0:46:48 > 0:46:52# He fills the arena wherever he goes... #
0:46:52 > 0:46:54After The Rumble In The Jungle,
0:46:54 > 0:46:57it didn't seem possible that Ali could get more famous,
0:46:57 > 0:46:58but I think he did.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01Ali was famous everywhere.
0:47:01 > 0:47:05He transcended, like, the whole idea of fame.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08He became Fame Plus.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15Ali never seemed to tire of the limelight.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17He appeared in comic books, films,
0:47:17 > 0:47:21commercials and promotional opportunities by the dozen.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25And there's one particularly strange episode from around this time
0:47:25 > 0:47:27that I just love.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30I've come to destroy you.
0:47:30 > 0:47:31I've got to go back to the United States.
0:47:31 > 0:47:35I'm the hero there, I can't get beat in Japan!
0:47:35 > 0:47:37I've got some movies to make!
0:47:37 > 0:47:39AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:47:39 > 0:47:44In June 1976, when he was Heavyweight Champion Of The World,
0:47:44 > 0:47:49he agreed to fight a Japanese wrestler called Antonio Inoki.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53In a, sort of, mixed boxing-wrestling fight.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56So no-one really know what this fight was going be like.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59You have serious problems!
0:47:59 > 0:48:00AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:48:02 > 0:48:07Basically, what happened, Inoki just sat on his behind,
0:48:07 > 0:48:11more or less the whole fight, kicking Ali in the legs,
0:48:11 > 0:48:14with Ali shouting and screaming and taunting him,
0:48:14 > 0:48:16and just trying to throw a punch.
0:48:19 > 0:48:24They think that Ali landed five punches on Inoki.
0:48:24 > 0:48:26Inoki landed a lot more kicks,
0:48:26 > 0:48:29but it was given as a draw in the end, which was...
0:48:29 > 0:48:31Inoki was furious about.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37The whole thing was... It was insanity.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44By 1977 Ali was still winning fights,
0:48:44 > 0:48:47but he wasn't quite the fighter he used to be.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49Guile and cunning rather than lightning speed
0:48:49 > 0:48:51were now his best weapons.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58His personal life was also making headlines.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00His wife, Khalilah, divorced him.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03Ali was then free to marry Veronica Porche
0:49:03 > 0:49:06with whom he'd been having a very public affair.
0:49:12 > 0:49:14The following year Ali shocked the
0:49:14 > 0:49:16boxing world when he lost to
0:49:16 > 0:49:18rank outsider Leon Spinks.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20But then he beat him seven months
0:49:20 > 0:49:22later to become heavyweight champion
0:49:22 > 0:49:23for a record third time.
0:49:26 > 0:49:28Soon afterwards he announced his retirement.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33It would have been a fitting end to a spectacular career,
0:49:33 > 0:49:35but Ali could never resist a challenge...
0:49:37 > 0:49:39..and in 1980 he returned to the ring
0:49:39 > 0:49:41to try and win back the heavyweight title
0:49:41 > 0:49:43from the current champion...
0:49:44 > 0:49:47..his former sparring partner -
0:49:47 > 0:49:48Larry Holmes.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51The WBC Heavyweight Champion Of The World,
0:49:51 > 0:49:55Larry "The Eastern Assassin" Holmes.
0:49:56 > 0:49:5714 rounds of boxing.
0:49:58 > 0:50:03When in that fight did you know that he hadn't got the weapons any more?
0:50:03 > 0:50:05I knew he didn't have it when he signed the contract.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09I knew he didn't have it when he signed the contract.
0:50:11 > 0:50:15When the bell went all Ali's aggression seemed to disappear.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19He was dull, sluggish, and totally outclassed by Holmes,
0:50:19 > 0:50:22but faced the onslaught with incredible courage.
0:50:22 > 0:50:24'..Ali, Larry just continues to tee off.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26- 'The whole story of this fight.' - Come on, champ.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30'And Holmes throwing punches and Ali doing nothing. Just taking shots.'
0:50:30 > 0:50:33'He is proving to all the fans that it's just not there.
0:50:33 > 0:50:34'The body is weary.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37'It just can't do what it used to do before.'
0:50:37 > 0:50:41It got to about the ninth round, I remember,
0:50:41 > 0:50:44it looked like you were really pummelling him.
0:50:44 > 0:50:45I hit him with open hand.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47I didn't hit him hard with the glove.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50So you're hitting him with a slightly open fist
0:50:50 > 0:50:52- so the impact is not as much?- Right.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55Ali would have kept going, you'd have had to kill Ali that night.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57He would not have quit.
0:50:57 > 0:50:58I went back in my corner, like,
0:50:58 > 0:51:01"This is what I got to do, kill him? I got to kill the guy?
0:51:01 > 0:51:03"Stop the fight cos you know he ain't got nothing."
0:51:03 > 0:51:06And I knew that, you know, he was hurting around there,
0:51:06 > 0:51:07because I was hitting him in the body.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10And I stopped hitting him in the body. I stopped.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16Ali, somehow, made it through ten rounds.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19It was up to his trainer, Angelo Dundee,
0:51:19 > 0:51:21to finally say enough was enough.
0:51:23 > 0:51:27'That's it. They've stopped the fight - a TKO.'
0:51:27 > 0:51:32So, when you went over to him at the end of the fight, Larry,
0:51:32 > 0:51:33- what did you say?- I was crying.
0:51:35 > 0:51:36I said, "Man, I love you, man.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41"I don't care what nobody says, I love you."
0:51:41 > 0:51:43He said,
0:51:43 > 0:51:45"If you love me,
0:51:45 > 0:51:47"why you whoop me like that?"
0:51:47 > 0:51:48Is that what he said?
0:51:49 > 0:51:51- Yeah. I'll never forget it.- Yeah.
0:51:55 > 0:51:56The man was a great man.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59I mean, I've fought a lot of guys, I had 75 fights, man.
0:51:59 > 0:52:00Ali is...
0:52:02 > 0:52:03..the best guy I ever fought.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07It wasn't just about the boxing.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10He was the best just when he opened his mouth.
0:52:10 > 0:52:11- Because nobody ever did that.- No.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13Because they was afraid to do it.
0:52:13 > 0:52:17He wasn't afraid to let people know he was black and he was proud.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19But he said that in a nice way to make a joke,
0:52:19 > 0:52:21and people accepted it when he said it.
0:52:23 > 0:52:24Larry Holmes couldn't say that.
0:52:25 > 0:52:27I don't believe that I could say it.
0:52:28 > 0:52:29But Ali had charisma...
0:52:31 > 0:52:32..and nobody could take it away.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38It had been clear since before the Holmes fight
0:52:38 > 0:52:40that Ali wasn't the boxer of old,
0:52:40 > 0:52:44but now it was beginning to look like there was something very wrong.
0:52:45 > 0:52:50I remember seeing Ali on breakfast television and...
0:52:51 > 0:52:55..me and my dad both saying, "He doesn't seem right."
0:52:55 > 0:52:57Well, Muhammad, I apologise for dragging you
0:52:57 > 0:52:59out of bed after travelling all night long,
0:52:59 > 0:53:02and getting no sleep, driving to Birmingham.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05- I do appreciate it.- Yes, Reg, I'll only do it for you.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08I've been on the plane all night.
0:53:08 > 0:53:12I got to my bed, laid down one hour
0:53:12 > 0:53:14and here you come calling.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17Ali, himself, kept saying, "Oh, man, I've got jet lag."
0:53:17 > 0:53:21The fact is that Ali, even if he was dead on his feet,
0:53:21 > 0:53:23would never have said that in an interview.
0:53:23 > 0:53:26And I think the slurred speech,
0:53:26 > 0:53:28he was aware of it.
0:53:28 > 0:53:33And he was looking for a way of finding excuses for the way it was.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37His friends and doctors were telling Ali to stop,
0:53:37 > 0:53:41but at the age of 39 he decided to make a comeback.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43What about the last fight in the Bahamas?
0:53:43 > 0:53:45It should never have been.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48He calls, said, "I've got this fight in the Bahamas."
0:53:48 > 0:53:51I said, "Don't take it. You don't need it."
0:53:52 > 0:53:54People were beating on him.
0:53:54 > 0:53:57- And did you go?- I went to the fight, as a spectator.
0:53:57 > 0:54:01Stayed in his room all day and went to the fight with him that night.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07Ali called his comeback attempt the Drama In The Bahama,
0:54:07 > 0:54:10but it quickly became the Trauma In The Bahama,
0:54:10 > 0:54:13thanks to promoters whose financial problems threatened to cancel the
0:54:13 > 0:54:14entire fight card,
0:54:14 > 0:54:17they also couldn't find the key to the Sports Centre's gate
0:54:17 > 0:54:20which kept the crowd waiting for more than an hour.
0:54:20 > 0:54:24And they forgot to get a bell. A cowbell was pressed into service.
0:54:24 > 0:54:28It was terrible. They had a cowbell, nobody knew what they were doing.
0:54:30 > 0:54:31After losing the fight,
0:54:31 > 0:54:35and obviously diminished, Ali decided to finally quit.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39Muhammad Ali says he will not fight again,
0:54:39 > 0:54:41calling himself, "a beaten old man".
0:54:48 > 0:54:52In 1984, after years of speculation about his health,
0:54:52 > 0:54:55Ali revealed that he'd been diagnosed with Parkinson's Syndrome.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00His symptoms, slurred speech, slowness of movement,
0:55:00 > 0:55:03and tremor would worsen as the years went by.
0:55:05 > 0:55:09But Ali confronted his illness with the same warrior mentality he'd
0:55:09 > 0:55:10always shown in the ring.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16During the '90s I was lucky enough to meet him.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19By then he was deep into his Parkinson's,
0:55:19 > 0:55:21but there was still a glimpse of the old sparkle.
0:55:26 > 0:55:28I suppose, the thing about meeting Ali
0:55:28 > 0:55:34was that he was ponderous and slow, and the face wasn't as expressive,
0:55:34 > 0:55:37the speech was very, very slurred.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40But it was like looking at this...
0:55:42 > 0:55:45..this decaying palace
0:55:45 > 0:55:49where all these incredible adventures had happened,
0:55:49 > 0:55:51but there was still a light on inside,
0:55:51 > 0:55:54and you knew that that special person was still in there.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04When I heard about Ali's death,
0:56:04 > 0:56:07it took me right back to my old kitchen and those fights I'd
0:56:07 > 0:56:09listened to on the radio with my dad.
0:56:13 > 0:56:15And I was sad, of course,
0:56:15 > 0:56:19but along with the sadness I also remembered all the joy I'd felt over
0:56:19 > 0:56:22the years watching and listening to Muhammad Ali.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39You know, at the very end of
0:56:39 > 0:56:43the last ever post-fight press conference that Muhammad Ali did
0:56:43 > 0:56:46one of the journalists got up, and instead of asking a question...
0:56:48 > 0:56:49..he just said...
0:56:50 > 0:56:53"Thanks for giving us one hell of a ride."
0:56:53 > 0:56:54And, erm...
0:56:54 > 0:56:58..yeah, I should be sad here and mournful, but it's...
0:56:58 > 0:57:00To have done that.
0:57:02 > 0:57:05Just to make people, erm, just feel that...
0:57:05 > 0:57:09..just that exhilaration of watching someone amazing at what they do.
0:57:12 > 0:57:13That...
0:57:13 > 0:57:15That's what I want to say.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18I think I just want to say, "Thank you for that. It's amazing."
0:57:32 > 0:57:34What a...what an end.
0:57:34 > 0:57:36My goodness me!
0:57:36 > 0:57:40One minute of the first round the winner...
0:57:40 > 0:57:42via knockout
0:57:42 > 0:57:46and still the Heavyweight Champion Of The World,
0:57:46 > 0:57:49Muhammad Ali!