“I asked a black friend of mine about this and he felt strongly that Ali was a hero, as he was an important figure in the development of black pride.”
I used to think that way too. Then I saw the tapes of Ali calling Frazier an “Uncle Tom” and Frazier and Foreman “gorillas.” How that advanced the development of black pride (vs. Ali pride) baffles me.
Greatest boxer of all time? I think most cognoscenti give that one to Sugar Ray Robinson…