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 'Time and Again' on Ali Jan. 15: Jane Pauly of NBC's 'Time and Again' looks at the incredible life of Muhammad Ali. |
The opponent
Larry Holmes was proudest of the black eye.
He got it as an amateur the first time he stepped into the ring for a sparring session with Ali at his training camp in Deer Lake, Pa.
“I didn’t want to put ice on it,” Holmes said. “Having him give me a black eye meant a lot to me.”
Holmes would later give Ali much worse when he beat him in his last big fight.
“I can’t just say Ali was the greatest because there were so many great fighters out there. I can’t say he was greater than Marciano, Louis, Dempsey and everyone else,” Holmes said.
“A lot of it today is that people feel sorry for him because he’s got that Parkinson’s or whatever is wrong with him. They feel he doesn’t have too much longer to live and they want to be part of the legend.”
The promoter
Bob Arum wonders if it was somehow partly his fault. A lot of the punches Ali took came on his watch.
Ali had 61 fights over 21 years, winning 56. Arum promoted 25 of them.
“I feel terrible about what happened because for better or worse I played a part in it,” Arum said. “Not that it wouldn’t have happened if somebody else was involved. But I feel I played a part in his physical decline.”
Arum’s wife, Lovee, and Lonnie Ali still often talk on the phone. He sees Ali on occasion, and each time he feels conflicted.
“Here was a guy who my memories of him were larger than life. He was full of life, like nobody I’ve ever seen in my life,” Arum said. “Now to see what is essentially a shell of what was is hard. Every time I see him I’m glad to see him, but I feel terrible.”
The fan
Musician and sometime actor Kris Kristofferson first saw Ali in Rome at the 1960 Olympics. They became good friends and even starred together in a television movie, “Freedom Road.”
He hopes there will be advances in treating Parkinson’s before it’s too late.
“He’ll be remembered more than any other great athlete because of his humanitarian work and the courage he showed in his life,” Kristofferson said. “He’s probably the most remarkable person I ever met on the planet. He’s an amazing human being.”
The photographer
Howard Bingham had no idea his life would change that day, in 1962, when he went to take pictures of a young fighter at a Los Angeles press conference.
“My assignment that day was to cover this big loudmouth coming into town,” said Bingham, who took pictures for a black weekly newspaper. “I had never really heard of him.”
Turns out, Bingham was photographing a young Cassius Clay. He’s been with Ali ever since and calls him his best friend.
“I’ve had the opportunity to meet and greet kings and queens. And kings and queens have had the opportunity to meet me, too,” Bingham said. “It’s been wonderful.”
Bingham still travels with Ali and talks to him regularly on the telephone.
“I can’t believe that on January 17, 2007, he’ll be 65,” Bingham said. “It just doesn’t seem real.”
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