Boxing and humanity Legend Muhammad Ali dies

[Cidersomerset]

http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.18.3/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png

Live Muhammad Ali dies: Reaction

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Key Points

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has died, aged 74, a family spokesman has said

He was admitted to hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, on Thursday with a respiratory illness

His funeral will take place in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky

The former heavyweight champion was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1984

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-36450803


Muhammad ALi and Will Smith on Islam

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Muhammad Ali giving an amazing speech

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Published on 12 Jun 2012

If you wanna know what Islam really is, know it from the source, read the book of
God, the holy Quran: www.quranexplorer.com

===================================================

O4itOnqf3k0

[Bill Ryan]

.
From http://bbc.com/sport/boxing/16159374:

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761260_aliolympics.jpg

Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay in Louisville, Kentucky on 17 January 1942. He took up boxing at the age of 12 and went on to win light-heavyweight gold at the 1960 Olympics in Rome


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761259_ali27may1963beforecooperfight.jpg

Clay turned professional in October 1960 aged 18 and won 18 straight fights before travelling to London in June 1963 for his first paid bout overseas, where he predicted a fifth-round knockout of local hero Henry Cooper


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761258_alicooper18june1963.jpg

Cooper floored Clay in round four with 'Enery's 'Ammer' only for the brash American visitor to deliver on his word and force a stoppage in his chosen round in front of more than 55,000 people at Wembley Stadium


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761257_aliinfebruary1964.jpg

Clay's first shot at a world title came in February 1964, when he took on formidable world champion Sonny Liston. The brooding Liston predicted: "I think I'm gonna have to hurt that boy bad."


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761256_aliclayvliston25feb19642.jpg

Dismissed by most boxing experts before the fight, Clay put in an exhilarating performance in Miami, forcing Liston to quit on his stool before the sixth round and winning the world heavyweight title at the age of 22


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761235_aliafterlistonfight25feb1964restrainedbycornerashetriestogetreportersto%27eattheirwords%27 .jpg

Clay's victory over Liston was, and still is, one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. Clay, understandably, was even more verbose than usual: "I am the greatest! I am the greatest! I'm the king of the world!"


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761234_aliintrainingforsecondlistonfightmay211965.jpg

Ali - who announced his membership of the Nation of Islam and adopted his new name following the first Liston fight - made his first world title defence against Liston, "that ugly old bear", in Lewiston, Maine in May 1965

[Bill Ryan]

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761233_clayvliston25may1965.jpg

Ali won the rematch with Liston after knocking him down in the first minute of the first round. To this day, many believe Liston threw the fight, but Ali always maintained it was not a so-called 'Phantom Punch'


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761232_aliknockspattersondowninround6-winsbytkoinround1225november1965.jpg

In November 1965 Ali defended his title against former champion Floyd Patterson, winning via a 12th-round stoppage. Patterson had been particularly scathing on the subject of Ali's politics and religion


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761231_alioutsidehiswestendhotelbeforehenrycooperfight9may1966.jpg

Ali returned to London to fight Henry Cooper for a second time in May 1966 at Arsenal's former home Highbury. The British fans, who had not taken to Ali the first time around, were now enthralled by his every move


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761230_aliatterritorialarmygymnasium10may1966.jpg

Angelo Dundee, seen strapping his charge's hands before the Cooper fight, was in Ali's corner almost from the start of his professional career. "There's only one Cassius Clay," said Dundee. "Thank God."


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761229_alicooperblood66.jpg

Ali stopped Cooper in six rounds after opening up a deep gash over the Englishman's left eye. On Cooper's death in 2011, Ali said: "I will miss my old friend - he was a great fighter and a gentleman."


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761228_aliterrellhouston6thfebruary196715roundfightaliwon.jpg

Ali's eighth title defence came against Ernie Terrell in February 1967. Ali taunted Terrell, who had called Ali by his birth name in the lead-up, for 15 rounds, repeatedly asking: "What's my name, Uncle Tom?"


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761227_alibeforebrianlondonfight5august1966.jpg

After only one more dazzling defence, against Zora Folley, Ali was stripped of his title having refused induction into the US Army fighting in Vietnam. It would be more than three years before Ali returned to the ring


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761226_alifrazier8march1971.jpg

Ali's first defeat came against new world champion Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden in March 1971. Dubbed simply 'The Fight', it was the first time two undefeated heavyweight world champions had shared the same ring

[Bill Ryan]

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761225_aliforeman30oct1974kinshasa.jpg

Ali won a rematch with Frazier but arguably his finest hour came later in 1974 when he fought George Foreman in the 'Rumble in the Jungle'. Ali spent eight rounds leaning back on the ropes, a tactic he called 'rope-a-dope'.


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761224_aliforeman30oct1974.jpg

But Ali sprung from the ropes at the end of round eight and floored Foreman with a stunning combination, becoming only the second man in history to regain the world heavyweight title, at the ripe old age of 32.


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761223_alibugner5july19752.jpg

Ali beat Britain's Joe Bugner in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in June 1975. Four months later Ali sealed another famous victory over his great rival Joe Frazier in the 'Thrilla in Manila' - "the closest thing to death that I could feel", said Ali.


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761222_holmes.jpg

A pitiful Ali lost his title to Leon Spinks in 1978 before regaining it from Spinks later the same year. He announced his retirement nine months later, only to return to challenge new champion Larry Holmes in 1980.


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761221_muhammadaliandmiketysonin1995.jpg

After being defeated by Holmes, Ali had one more fight, a defeat by Trevor Berbick, before retiring at the age of 40. His departure left a huge gulf in heavyweight boxing that was only filled by Mike Tyson's arrival in the mid-1980s.


http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/mcs/media/images/57761000/jpg/_57761220_aliholdstheolympictorch199.jpg

Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's Syndrome in 1984 but dealt with his condition with courage and dignity. In 1996, Ali was watched by a worldwide audience of billions as he lit the Olympic cauldron in Atlanta

[Bill Ryan]

.
"The most remarkable man I ever met."
Wonderful, short video. I highly recommend it. You don't need to be a sports fan to appreciate it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-ui9mTPMMY

[ponda]

RIP Ali


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kHo32RZD9M



From the archive, 29 April 1967: Muhammad Ali refuses to fight in Vietnam war (http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2013/apr/29/muhammad-ali-refuses-to-fight-in-vietnam-war-1967)


http://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/4/26/1366981126296/Muhammad-Ali-Looking-Up-a-006.jpg?w=620&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&


Boxing authorities in America today stripped Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) of his world heavyweight title and suspended his boxing licence after he had refused to be inducted into the United States Army.

Clay had stood in line with 11 other men being called up in a room in the old Post Office building in Houston, Texas, and heard his Black Muslim name called by the officer administering the oath. Clay did not move. Another officer walked up to him and said: "Mr Ali, will you accompany me, please ?" Clay did not speak, but followed him out of the room to be given a warning of the consequences of his refusal.

He was taken back into the room and given a second chance to take the oath, but he again refused. He then signed a statement to that effect.

Soon after he left the centre, to be mobbed by well-wishers, the New York Boxing Commission, the World Boxing Association, and the Texas Boxing Commission withdrew their recognition of him as champion.

At the same time a spokesman for the Justice Department said it would decide whether to ask a federal grand jury for an indictment. If an indictment were returned, Clay would have to go for trial. He could face a long prison sentence.

Clay issued a statement saying: "It is in the light of my consciousness as a Muslim minister and my own personal convictions that I take my stand in rejecting the call to be inducted. I do so with the full realisation of its implications. I have searched my conscience.

"I had the world heavyweight title not because it was given to me, not because of my race or religion, but because I won it in the ring. Those who want to take it and start a series of auction-type bouts not only do me a disservice, but actually disgrace themselves... Sports fans and fair-minded people throughout America would never accept such a title-holder."

The New York Boxing Commission, which suspended his licence, said his refusal to enter the service was detrimental to the best interests of boxing.

[Muhammad Ali was sentenced to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, though he remained out on bail while he appealed. He was stripped of his passport and his heavyweight title and banned from fighting in the US. Ali returned to boxing in 1970 and his conviction was reversed in 1971]



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cl2Yg2sM5A

[Wind]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JDM4MY71G4

[sunwings]

33591r.i.p.

[Cidersomerset]

Frazier, Ali and Foreman On British TV Show Very Funny

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Frazier, Ali and Foreman On British TV Show Very Funny. I found this buy luck the
British BBC was broadcasting this as a tribute to the late Great Jo Fraziers Death.

[Cidersomerset]

Ali was certainly surprised and it was recorded the year he became third time
world champion.....This was a time when there were still few TV channels in the
UK and half the nation or more would watch the big fights.


Muhammad Ali -"This is your Life"

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Nice Episode of the "This is your Life" Series with Muhammad Ali.
Ali's parents and Joe Frazier are also involved, just like singer
Tom Jones and Joe Louis

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

True Story

And a weird slice of (sad) synchronicity.

I went to my sister's place a couple of days ago to fit some new window blinds. After arriving, I was taking off my jacket when my elbow caught one of her pictures hanging on the wall behind me. It fell to the floor, fortunately it did not break. It was a black and white print of Muhammad Ali at his prime (evidently she's a fan). I apologised, and then jokingly raised my arms saying "hey, I knocked out the champ!". She laughed, we brushed it off. I then asked, (as you sometimes do with well-known people you haven't heard anything about for a long time), "He's still around, isn't he?" "Of course," she replied, "Ali will live forever."

I texted her this morning with the news. It's strange, eerie, humbling in a way, when these sorts of synchronicities occur.

Personally I was never a fan of boxing, or of any kind of violent sport. But I certainly appreciated and admired Ali's achievements, literally *knocking down* barriers that stood in his way - at a time when black people lacked even basic human rights. Far more than merely titles in the ring, he stood as a symbol of defiance, spirit and resolve that excited, inspired and motivated a generation - and precisely when it was needed most. My sister was right, Ali will live forever.

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) meets the Beatles while training for a fight with Sonny Liston (1964)

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[Antihero]

One of my heroes. Float like a butterfly - sting like a bee!

[Bill Ryan]

One of my heroes. Float like a butterfly - sting like a bee!

Here's the complete quote: :)


Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. His hands can't hit what his eyes can't see.


Ali had a measured IQ of 136: a clever, creative, quick mind. Here's more of what he said:



Don’t count the days; make the days count.



A man who has no imagination has no wings.



If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it — then I can achieve it.



It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.



A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.



Bragging is when a person says something and can’t do it. I do what I say.



Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.



He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.



If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.



I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'



At home I'm a nice guy: but I don’t want the world to know. Humble people, I’ve found, don’t get very far.



Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.



Live everyday as if it were your last, because someday you're going to be right.

[ulli]

I once met a guy who worked in his entourage. Cant remember what function.
Anyway, this guy said that if they were out on the town, and Muhammad Ali said "Hey, lets drop in on so and so" and meant some rich and famous personality, and when asked if he had met him before, he said "No, but he will see me".
And sure enough, the doors were opened to him.
Anywhere and everywhere in the world, noone ever denied him access, day or night.

[Cidersomerset]

Ali was the 'Showman' as well as boxing master and here he is in song, movie
and legend......

Rumble in the Jungle

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Ali (2001) The Rumble In The Jungle

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Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman 47th of 61 - Oct. 1974 - ULTIMATE VERSION -

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[ExomatrixTV]

R.I.P. Ali 33596 admins? ... how do I make this image direct (not indirect via link) visible in this forum? (I have used insert image icon then upload from my computer to your server) but it shows only a link not the image directly ... why?

From Bill: no idea... we'll take a look. Right now, I uploaded the image to the Avalon server so it shows. :thumbsup:

~~~~~~~~~~~

http://projectavalon.net/Ali_attachment.gif

[Cidersomerset]

Muhammed ali - Float like a butterfly, Sting like a bee

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Muhammad Ali Theme Song Black Superman LYRICS!!!

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[Basho]

Thank you for starting this thread and thank you for the stories, quotes, pics & videos!

RIP to the greatest

[Carmody]

Ali even made it to Robot Chicken....

So-YyfEUb1w

[ulli]

Another great story, from a family member from Barbados...


A legend gone at the early age of seventy four after a valiant fight against the debilitating Parkinson's disease. Once he was very kind to me. I was a student at the University of Florida and he came to speak to the Black Student's Union. I went to hear him and a group of Black Panthers barred my way and would not let me enter the building. He found out and gave them a choice...let me into the building or he would take me under some nearby trees and give his talk to me...the upshot was that the Black Panthers relented and I went into the auditorium.

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

http://projectavalon.net/Ali_attachment.gif

Wow, superb. :cake:

****

R.I.P. Ali 33596 admins? ... how do I make this image direct (not indirect via link) visible in this forum? (I have used insert image icon then upload from my computer to your server) but it shows only a link not the image directly ... why?

From Bill: no idea... we'll take a look. Right now, I uploaded the image to the Avalon server so it shows. :thumbsup:

It might be because the image format is .GIF ?

Thx, but not the cause of the problem: it was originally a JPG. I changed it to a GIF for the server because that's a smaller file. Besides being smaller, GIFs are also best for text and lines, JPGs for blocks of color.

:focus:

[thepainterdoug]

I had the good fortune to meet Mohammed Ali when I was a kid in Hackensack NJ. he was an inspiring , creative and colorful figure in my growing up. I created a painting of him years ago in this 1979 fight scene with Ken Norton titled " Float like a Butterfly" Ali on the right throwing a hook into Norton,s jaw /on left.

[kirolak]

What a wonderful, evocative work, thepainterdoug! Thanks for sharing! And Ulli, thanks for sharing your personal anecdote, what a lovely experience to treasure.

I have never been a sports fan, least of all of boxing, but somehow Mohammed Ali captured everyone's imagination & attention, including mine, with his intelligence, wit, charm & stunning good looks - may he soar like that butterfly across the skies of his new dimension!

[11one]

he was like an astronaut probing the limits of human ability. holy god did he ever pay the price though

[Cidersomerset]

http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.18.3/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png

Muhammad Ali: Barack Obama says boxing's 'Greatest' shook up world

5 minutes ago
From the section Boxing

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/480/cpsprodpb/F512/production/_89883726_aliclayvliston25feb19642.jpg
Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, and Sonny Liston

Ali won the world heavyweight title for the first time aged just 22, beating Sonny
Liston in Miami

US President Barack Obama and boxing great George Foreman have led worldwide
tributes to Muhammad Ali, who has died at the age of 74.

"Ali shook up the world - and the world is better for it," Obama said.

Foreman, who was beaten by Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974,
said: "Muhammad Ali made you love him."

British Prime Minister David Cameron, musician Sir Paul McCartney, boxers Mike
Tyson and Floyd Mayweather and golfer Tiger Woods also paid tribute.

Ali was admitted to a hospital in the US city of Phoenix, Arizona on Thursday
suffering from a respiratory illness, a condition that was complicated by Parkinson's disease.

The three-time world champion died from septic shock caused by "unspecified
natural causes", his spokesman Bob Gunnell said.

Ali's funeral will take place in his home town of Louisville, Kentucky at 19:00 BST
on Friday, 10 June, where flags have been flying at half-mast since his death was announced.

Former US president Bill Clinton and comedian Billy Crystal will deliver eulogies at
the service, which will be open to the public. A procession will also be held in
Louisville on the same day.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/36450961

[bettye198]

I had the pleasure of meeting him in the 1980's in a quiet room with only some students and teachers present. No news media. He was definitely punch drunk but despite his disability, his kindness came through. I still to this day am baffled why people walk into a profession that creates undue harm all for money and glory.

[Mike]

Oh my...what inspiration this man gave me!

What he showed us was that a modern day David could slay a modern day goliath...both in the ring and politically.

I recently watched the documentary "when we were kings"....and if youve seen it, and u don't get goosebumps when Ali knocks out Foreman, something is very wrong with you!

Some people are good. Even fewer are great. Even fewer still are * trancendent*. Ali was trancendent..a unique genius who demonstrated an extremely rare bravery, in and out of the ring. My respect for this man is immeasurable.

He was a man's man, but so much more than that. He transcended sexes and politics. He's everything I wish I could be.

Thank you Muhammad Ali! Thank you for incarnating here and being that inspirational tour de force we all needed you to be. You werent poetic..you were a poem..a masterpiece..a Renoir, a van Gogh..a beautiful beautiful guy. I only wish I could have met you...

[Cidersomerset]

http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.18.3/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png


When Muhammad Ali met Prince

By Roland Hughes
BBC News
1 hour ago
From the section US & Canada

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/A38C/production/_89886814_89886813.jpg
Prince "had a look of amazement on his face" on meeting Ali

June, 1997. Prince, at this time, is one of the best-known artists in the world,
his string of 1980s and early 1990s hits still recent enough for people to see
him as an artist at his peak.

And yet, when he received a phone call from another well-known figure, he
dropped everything at only 48 hours' notice to fly out to meet him.

It's a measure of Prince's affection for Muhammad Ali that he flew from his
native Minneapolis to Washington DC to see him.

And it's a measure of Ali's affection for Prince that he welcomed him like an
old friend, despite this being their first meeting.

The setting was the five-star Hay-Adams hotel. The reason was to support
Ali's World Healing Project that raised money to combat bigotry worldwide.




read more...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36455642

[Ted]

I first read the title as: Boxing and humility Legend Muhammad Ali dies. Made me laugh.

[ExomatrixTV]

xx6wTF-HAnM

O4itOnqf3k0

lgouwh2Ir6Q

[Akasha]

Rabbi Michael Lerner's powerful speech at the funeral of Muhammed Ali (apart from the Hilary endorsement):

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[Cidersomerset]

Rabbi Michael Lerner's powerful speech at the funeral of Muhammed Ali (apart from the Hilary endorsement):

article with same vid....


At Muhammad Ali’s Funeral, Rabbi Slams Islamophobia and Israel's Treatment of Palestinians

By David on 12 June 2016 GMT Activism,


https://www.davidicke.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/screen-shot-2016-06-10-at-4.35.27-pm.png

‘Longtime interfaith activist Rabbi Michael Lerner sparked uproarious applause and repeated
standing ovations when he addressed mourners at Muhammad Ali’s funeral on Friday with a
rousing call for social justice, denouncing the occupation of Palestine, the U.S. drone war,
rampant Islamophobia and the mass incarceration of African Americans.’


Brave Rabbi Supports Palestine in front of US president
sBhzKpbROc0

Read more: At Muhammad Ali’s Funeral, Rabbi Slams Islamophobia and Israel’s Treatment of Palestinians

Bill Clinton’s Face Says it All

http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/muhammad-alis-funeral-rabbi-slams-islamophobia-and-israels-treatment-palestinians

[Bill Ryan]

.
I accidentally came across this astonishing story. Read this, and be amazed.

I immediately (and seriously) wondered if this was a prior incarnation of Muhammad Ali.

Summary (mine): Melankomas of Caria was the Olympic boxing champion in 49 AD. He was famous, and was universally admired, for his physical good looks, which were described by many as 'beauty'. He was undefeated in all his fights... and in his entire career (get this!), he was never once hit by an opponent, and never once hit an opponent either. He just wore them all out, one by one.

Who knew? I'm finding myself wondering whether anyone has ever put these two great athletes together.


From http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/melan.html


Now since his was beauty of body, his was courage and a stout heart and, besides, self-control and the good fortune of never having been defeated, what man could be called happier than he? ... Dio Chrysostom, Discourses, 29.16 The boxer Melankomas was from Caria, a region of what the Greeks called Asia Minor and is now known as Turkey. Born to an outstanding father, Melankomas was known for his handsome body and good looks.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/pictures/1991.08.0754.jpeg

This athlete, we are told, had a soul as brave as his body was beautiful. In an effort to prove his courage, Melankomas chose athletics, since this was the most honorable and most strenuous path open to him. Evidently some men believed that the training a soldier must endure is less difficult than that of an athlete, particularly that of a boxer.

Amazingly enough, Melankomas was undefeated throughout his career yet he never once hit an opponent or was hit by one.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/pictures/1991.10.0668.jpeg

His boxing style was to defend himself from the blows of the other boxer and avoid striking the other man. Invariably, the opponent would grow frustrated and lose his composure. This unique style won Melankomas much admiration for his strength and endurance. He could allegedly fight throughout the whole day, even in the summer, and he refused to strike his opponents even though he knew by doing so he would quickly end the match and secure an easy victory for himself.

No doubt his success was due in large part to his rigorous training. Melankomas exercised far more than the other atheletes. Indeed, one story relates that the boxer went for two straight days with his arms up, not once putting them down or resting.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/pictures/1991.10.0771.jpeg
.
Unfortunately, Melankomas died at a young age. Always the eager competitor, the boxer, lying on his deathbed, asked a friend how many days of the athletic meet were left. He would not live to compete again. Even so, his name lives on for his remarkable boxing skills.



And from http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/tp011en.html


Melankomas, "the one with the black hair", was a boxing (http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TC007bEN.html) champion from the first century AD. His father, another Melankomas, won the Olympic boxing in AD 49. Melankomas owes his fame mainly to Dio Chrysostomus, who wrote two eulogies on the Carian athlete, who passed away in the prime of his life, around AD 70.

Although Melankomas was no doubt a historical athlete, in Dio's eulogy he becomes the ideal image of the perfect athlete. Melankomas was an extremely beautiful athlete. He was even the favourite of the future emperor Titus.

Using his special tactics, Melankomas managed to maintain his beauty (http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TD007EN.html) throughout his boxing career: because of his exceptional condition and endurance he succeeded in keeping his arms up high in defence - in this way he didn't receive any blows on his face, nor gave any, according to the idealized picture of Dio - until his opponent was exhausted and submitted.

Melankomas represents both an athletic and philosophical ideal: central in the life of athletes and philosophers stood the virtue of self-control (http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TC022EN.html). No earthly pleasure, e.g. food or sex, could stand in the way of their life's purpose, in the case of Melankomas, his achievements in sport. This ascetic ideal was obtained through continuous training (http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TC021EN.html) and extreme self-discipline (http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TC022EN.html).

Melankomas was also extremely competitive. He died during the games at Naples and on his deathbed he asked his friend Athenodoros how many days the games would still continue.

[mgray]

Sounds very much like the origin of Ali's Rope-a-dope strategy.

[Rex]

This looks in line with the reincarnation cases that David Wilcock had in his last book - very cool!