Newspaper Page Text
Muhammad Ali grimaces in an attempt to throw a rignt
jab to the head of Leon Spinks.
iThree Times “The Greatest”
By Charles Anderson
PANTHER Sports Editor
Muhammad Ali proved once again to the world that he still
is “The Greatest,” September 15 in the Superdome in New
Orleans, when he whipped the man who shocked the boxing
world back in February by taking the crown away from him.
Leon Spinks, a scrappy and determined individual,
humiliated the champ, winning a split-decision.
But was that a fluke?
Ali set out to prove it was by outclassing the confused
Spinks in an unanimous decision in the rematch. Afterwards,
Ali said in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “I set up the
boxing world.” Ali was just behaving the way he has since he
first stepped into the ring.
I wasn’t even crawling yet when this young lad was shuf
fling around in a boxing ring, circling to his right and then to
his left, pulverizing opponents with a bombardment of jabs to
the noggin. Punishing his victims with frequent jabs to the
head, was later to become his trademark in devastating op
ponents. Then known as Cassius Clay, the handsome,
outspoken kid from Louisville, Ky., captured hearts of
millions, by winning the Olympic Gold Medal in 1960 as a
light-heavyweight boxer. He literally saved the sport of box
ing with his wit and imaginative antics outside the ring. His -
mouth was as swift as his cork-screw jabs.
Eighteen years and 59 professional bouts later, Muhammad
Ali no longer is a kid. His legs can no longer pivot him around
an opponent’s body with ease. His jabs have lost a lotof sting.
And, at the age of 36, he is no longer able to enthrall audiences.
Through the years, Ali brought his charisma to boxing much
the same way Babe Ruth revitalized the sport of baseball. But
in the waning years of his career, did Ali begin to lose some of
his prominence. In viewing Ali’s unmatched career, which
was marred with as much controversy as triumph, he is still,
nonetheless, the greatest boxer in the history of the sport.
And now, Ali is the only boxer in history ever to win the title
three times. For the record, Ali defeated Sonny Liston in 1964 for
the championship. I’ve watched filmed highlights of that fight
several times, and Ali accurately pinpointed all of his shots to the
head of the “indestructible” fighter whom Ali humorously
tagged as “the Bear.” Shortly after that fight, Ali joined the then
Nation of Islam, changed his name to Muhammad Ali, and
shocked white America. Then in the midst of the Vietnam War in
1967, Ali refused to be inducted into the army, claiming he was a
Muslim minister.
There you have it. Two controversial incidents that were the
turning points in Ali’s career. Ali’s refusal to enter the war
resulted in his losing the championship, and more im
portantly, three precious years of boxing. Already acclaimed
as one of the greatest boxers ever, he was unable to fight in the
prime of his career.
Then in 1971 came “The Fight of the Century.” Muhammad
Ali vs. Joe Frazier for the heavyweight championship of the
world. By far, this was one of Ali’s toughest fights. Result:
Frazier won in 15 rounds of blood thirsty war. Now Frazier
was the undisputed champion of the world. Frazier eventually
lost his title to George Foreman and Ali regained it a second
time by knocking out the heavily favored Foreman in eight
rounds October 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali introduced his
famous “Rope-A-Dope” tactic in that fight, a strategy later to
be ineffective against other foes. Ali went through a period of
boredom, barely defeating hapless opponents. Then came
Leon Spinks, with only seven professional bouts under his
belt. Plodding and charging Ali relentlessly, Spinks pulled the
biggest upset in the history of the sport. He granted Ali a
rematch and the rest is history.
The question now is, will Ali retire as the first black
heavyweight champion? In my opinion he will. Ali absorbed
much pain preparing for the Spinks fight, and I don’t think
money is the object. Ali says he’ll wait six months and enjoy
the championship. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Two on Two
Intramurals
By Stanley Egerson
PANTHER Staff Writer
SGA President Floyd
Donald and the entire Student
Government unit are busy try
ing to keep the Clark student
body supplied with something
to do. So, in conjunction with
the Athletics Department,
SGA sponsored a Two on Two
Basketball Tournament. Sign
up lists were up two weeks in
advance and duos of Clark’s
best intramural basketball
talent subscribed. Pre-event
hopefuls such as Danny
Brown/Timmy Martin,
Ahmad Flournoy/Kevin
Sommerville, Ronald
Anderson/Craig Smith,
Cornell Jordan/Roscoe
Thomas, Arthur Carter/John
McGloughlin and other stars
in the galaxies of basketball
added competitive spirit to the
games.
After the two day
competition in Clark’s gym
September 20-21, there was a
set of victorious players for
each level of classification.
The senior winners were Floyd
Atkins and Paul Ford; the win
ning junior representatives
were Tousaint Rowland and
Daryl “Scooter” Smith; the
two outstanding sophomore
courtmen were Ronald
Anderson and Craig Smith.
The freshmen champs were
Ronald Powell and Connie
Tolbert. The Athletic
Department came up with
funds for the eight plaques and
two trophies that were
awarded to the winners. A
word of congratulations is due
the SGA for the fine planning
and execution of this event.
We’ll be looking for more high
calibre activities during the
year.
Clarkites Make Pros
By Jack Jenkins
PANTHER Reporter
Despite the fact that Clark is
small and predominately
black, it has produced several
professional athletes. At least
eight athletes who are Clark
alumni have played either pro
or semi-pro ball.
The athletes to make it in the
pros from Clark are Curtis
Crocket of McDonald, Ga.,
who was drafted by the
Baltimore Colts and later sent
to the Atlanta Falcons; Morris
Stroud, of Griffin, Ga., who
played for the Kansas City
Chiefs; Eliza Nevit, of
Besserman, Ala., played for
the New Orleans Saints; Greg
McGrary, of Griffin, Ga.,
played for the Atlanta Falcons
until he was traded to the
Washington Redskins this
summer; Walter Landers, of
Lanett, Ala., is making his
professional debut this year
for the Green Bay Packers; and
Panthers Prevail
The football team defeated
Fisk September 23,21-6. Frank
Walker was named outstan
ding performer on offense and
Charles Cheeks on defense.
Walker paced the offense
with 84 yards and two
touchdowns. Cheeks was the
mainstay on defense, nearly in
all of the tackles. Clark split
their first two games against
Miles and Lane Colleges, los
ing 14-6 and winning 20-7
respectively. They are now 2-1
in conference play.
HOP PEOPLE
UNITED WAY. Q
Roman Turner, the first Clark
athlete to play professional
sports went to the New York
Knicks and later played for the
Harlem Globetrotters.
Clark also has two athletes
who play professional
baseball. Elmore Mixon of
Besserman, Ala., played Triple
A ball for the Dodger
organization. Larry Bradford
from Chicago, who was
drafted by the Atlanta Braves,
is presently playing in the
Triple A for Richmond.
It has been said that no
matter what school an athlete
attends, if he is pro material
then he will shine and be dis
covered. Clark College is living
proof of that fact.
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