The Story
"All those people who blinked at that moment, they missed it."
--Ali commenting on the "phantom punch" which knocked out Sonny Liston in their second fight.
As a young boy, Cassius Clay had a favorite game. While others were playing baseball, young Cassius would ask his brother to throw rocks while he dodged them. It is said that his athletic younger brother, who would become a professional boxer himself, could never hit the speedy Cassius.
While enormously physically gifted, Ali knew that constant training was important to success. “Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them – a desire, a dream a vision. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”
He was naturally fast, but he worked to keep his edge.
Although he loved to be among others, he was willing to do the solitary work that physical training demanded. Ali’s determination and discipline are inspiration for us all.
In his words: “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses. Behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road long before I dance under those lights.”
