With Ali's death, we now live on a smaller planet - CNN

With Ali's death, we now live on a smaller planet

By Gene Seymour

Updated 1708 GMT (0108 HKT) June 4, 2016

Since winning a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics, Muhammad Ali has never been far from the public eye. Take a look at the life and career of Ali, the three-time heavyweight boxing champion who called himself "The Greatest."
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Since winning a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics, Muhammad Ali has never been far from the public eye. Take a look at the life and career of Ali, the three-time heavyweight boxing champion who called himself "The Greatest."
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Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, poses in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, prior to his amateur boxing debut in 1954. He was 12 years old and 85 pounds. As an amateur, he won 100 out of 108 fights.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, poses in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, prior to his amateur boxing debut in 1954. He was 12 years old and 85 pounds. As an amateur, he won 100 out of 108 fights.
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Ali rose to prominence at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, where he claimed a gold medal in the light-heavyweight division.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali rose to prominence at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, where he claimed a gold medal in the light-heavyweight division.
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Ali boldly predicted it would take him five rounds to knock out British boxer Henry Cooper ahead of their bout in London in 1963. The fight was stopped in the fifth round as Cooper was bleeding heavily from a cut around his eye.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali boldly predicted it would take him five rounds to knock out British boxer Henry Cooper ahead of their bout in London in 1963. The fight was stopped in the fifth round as Cooper was bleeding heavily from a cut around his eye.
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Patrick Power, 6, takes on Ali in the ring in 1963. Patrick was taking boxing lessons after getting bullied.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Patrick Power, 6, takes on Ali in the ring in 1963. Patrick was taking boxing lessons after getting bullied.
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Ali poses for a picture with The Beatles in Miami, during the run-up to his heavyweight title fight against Sonny Liston in 1964.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali poses for a picture with The Beatles in Miami, during the run-up to his heavyweight title fight against Sonny Liston in 1964.
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Ali celebrates after defeating Liston in Miami on February 25, 1964. Upon becoming world heavyweight champion for the first time, Ali proclaimed, "I am the greatest!"
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali celebrates after defeating Liston in Miami on February 25, 1964. Upon becoming world heavyweight champion for the first time, Ali proclaimed, "I am the greatest!"
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Ali relaxes after his win over Liston in 1964. At 22, he became the youngest boxer to take the heavyweight title from a reigning champion.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali relaxes after his win over Liston in 1964. At 22, he became the youngest boxer to take the heavyweight title from a reigning champion.
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Civil rights activist Malcolm X, left, takes a picture of a tuxedo-clad Ali surrounded by jubilant fans in March 1964. Shortly after the Liston fight, Ali announced that he had joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name from Cassius Clay.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Civil rights activist Malcolm X, left, takes a picture of a tuxedo-clad Ali surrounded by jubilant fans in March 1964. Shortly after the Liston fight, Ali announced that he had joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name from Cassius Clay.
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Known for being as quick with his mouth as he was with his hands, Ali often taunted his opponents. He famously said he could "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Known for being as quick with his mouth as he was with his hands, Ali often taunted his opponents. He famously said he could "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
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Ali prepares to defend his heavyweight title in 1965.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali prepares to defend his heavyweight title in 1965.
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Ali stands over Liston during their rematch in Lewiston, Maine, on May 25, 1965.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali stands over Liston during their rematch in Lewiston, Maine, on May 25, 1965.
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Ali eats at a restaurant in 1965.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali eats at a restaurant in 1965.
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The referee pushes Ali to a neutral corner as Floyd Patterson slumps to the canvas in November 1965. The fight was stopped at the end of the 12th round and Ali was declared the winner.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
The referee pushes Ali to a neutral corner as Floyd Patterson slumps to the canvas in November 1965. The fight was stopped at the end of the 12th round and Ali was declared the winner.
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Ali signs an autograph for a fan in 1966.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali signs an autograph for a fan in 1966.
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Ali visits a children's home in London in May 1966.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali visits a children's home in London in May 1966.
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Ali trains for his second fight against British champion Henry Cooper in May 1966.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali trains for his second fight against British champion Henry Cooper in May 1966.
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British talk-show host Eamonn Andrews shares a laugh with Ali in May 1966.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
British talk-show host Eamonn Andrews shares a laugh with Ali in May 1966.
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Ali lands a right to the head of Brian London during their bout in London on August 6, 1966. Ali won by a knockout in the third round.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali lands a right to the head of Brian London during their bout in London on August 6, 1966. Ali won by a knockout in the third round.
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Ali looks in his hotel-room mirror in February 1967.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali looks in his hotel-room mirror in February 1967.
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The referee counts as Ali looks down at Zora Folley during a championship fight in New York on March 23, 1967. Ali won by a knockout in the seventh round.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
The referee counts as Ali looks down at Zora Folley during a championship fight in New York on March 23, 1967. Ali won by a knockout in the seventh round.
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As a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, Ali refused induction into the U.S. Army in April 1967. Here, top athletes from various sports gather to support Ali as he gives his reasons for rejecting the draft. Seated in the front row, from left to right, are Bill Russell, Ali, Jim Brown and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
As a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, Ali refused induction into the U.S. Army in April 1967. Here, top athletes from various sports gather to support Ali as he gives his reasons for rejecting the draft. Seated in the front row, from left to right, are Bill Russell, Ali, Jim Brown and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
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Ali walks through the streets of New York with members of the Black Panther Party in September 1970. Ali was sentenced to five years in prison for his refusal to enter the draft, and he was also stripped of his boxing title. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Ali's conviction in 1971, but by that time Ali had already become a figurehead of resistance and a hero to many. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/02/sport/muhammad-ali-three-days/index.html" target="_blank">Related: Photographer fondly recalls his three days with Ali</a>
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali walks through the streets of New York with members of the Black Panther Party in September 1970. Ali was sentenced to five years in prison for his refusal to enter the draft, and he was also stripped of his boxing title. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Ali's conviction in 1971, but by that time Ali had already become a figurehead of resistance and a hero to many. Related: Photographer fondly recalls his three days with Ali
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On November 2, 1970, Ali returned to the ring for his first professional fight in three years. He defeated Jerry Quarry in the third round.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
On November 2, 1970, Ali returned to the ring for his first professional fight in three years. He defeated Jerry Quarry in the third round.
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Known as the "Fight of the Century," Ali and Joe Frazier split a $5 million purse to fight for Frazier's title on March 8, 1971, in New York. Frazier won by unanimous decision, handing Ali his first professional loss.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Known as the "Fight of the Century," Ali and Joe Frazier split a $5 million purse to fight for Frazier's title on March 8, 1971, in New York. Frazier won by unanimous decision, handing Ali his first professional loss.
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Ali toys with the finely combed hair of television sports commentator Howard Cosell before the start of the Olympic boxing trials in August 1972.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali toys with the finely combed hair of television sports commentator Howard Cosell before the start of the Olympic boxing trials in August 1972.
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Ali and Frazier appear on "The Dick Cavett Show" in January 1974. The two got into a brawl in ABC's New York studio and were fined $5,000 each.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali and Frazier appear on "The Dick Cavett Show" in January 1974. The two got into a brawl in ABC's New York studio and were fined $5,000 each.
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Ali passes a cheering crowd in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), on September 28, 1974. Ali was in the country to fight George Foreman, who had recently defeated Frazier to win the title.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali passes a cheering crowd in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), on September 28, 1974. Ali was in the country to fight George Foreman, who had recently defeated Frazier to win the title.
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Ali and Foreman fight October 30, 1974, in what was billed as <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/30/worldsport/gallery/rumble-in-the-jungle-40-years/index.html" target="_blank">"The Rumble in the Jungle."</a> Ali, a huge underdog, knocked out Foreman in the eighth round to regain the title that was stripped from him in 1967.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali and Foreman fight October 30, 1974, in what was billed as "The Rumble in the Jungle." Ali, a huge underdog, knocked out Foreman in the eighth round to regain the title that was stripped from him in 1967.
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Ali addresses a Nation of Islam meeting in London in December 1974. The following year, Ali left the Nation and embraced a more mainstream Islamic faith.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali addresses a Nation of Islam meeting in London in December 1974. The following year, Ali left the Nation and embraced a more mainstream Islamic faith.
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Ali offers advice to future opponent Richard Dunn in March 1976. Ali defeated Dunn in the fifth round two months later. It was his last knockout win.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali offers advice to future opponent Richard Dunn in March 1976. Ali defeated Dunn in the fifth round two months later. It was his last knockout win.
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Ali and his third wife, Veronica, second from right, visit the Kremlin in Moscow in June 1978. The two were married from 1977 to 1986. Ali was married four times.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali and his third wife, Veronica, second from right, visit the Kremlin in Moscow in June 1978. The two were married from 1977 to 1986. Ali was married four times.
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Ali takes his daily run along a Pennsylvania country road, shrouded in early morning fog, in 1978.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali takes his daily run along a Pennsylvania country road, shrouded in early morning fog, in 1978.
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Ali takes a hit from Leon Spinks during their title fight in New Orleans on September 15, 1978. Ali won by unanimous decision, regaining the title he lost to Spinks earlier that year.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali takes a hit from Leon Spinks during their title fight in New Orleans on September 15, 1978. Ali won by unanimous decision, regaining the title he lost to Spinks earlier that year.
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Ali sits with his daughters Laila and Hana at the Grosvenor House in London in December 1978. He briefly retired from professional boxing the following year.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali sits with his daughters Laila and Hana at the Grosvenor House in London in December 1978. He briefly retired from professional boxing the following year.
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Ali came out of retirement on October 2, 1980, for a title fight with Larry Holmes and a guaranteed purse of $8 million. Holmes won easily, beating up Ali until the fight was stopped after the 10th round.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali came out of retirement on October 2, 1980, for a title fight with Larry Holmes and a guaranteed purse of $8 million. Holmes won easily, beating up Ali until the fight was stopped after the 10th round.
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Ali and Trevor Berbick weigh in for their fight in the Bahamas in December 1981. Berbick won by unanimous decision. It was Ali's last professional fight.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali and Trevor Berbick weigh in for their fight in the Bahamas in December 1981. Berbick won by unanimous decision. It was Ali's last professional fight.
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Ali prays at a mosque in Cairo in October 1986. Two years prior, he revealed that he had Parkinson's syndrome, a disorder of the central nervous system.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali prays at a mosque in Cairo in October 1986. Two years prior, he revealed that he had Parkinson's syndrome, a disorder of the central nervous system.
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In 1990, Ali met with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to negotiate the release of 15 American hostages in Iraq and Kuwait. Here, Ali leaves Iraq with the hostages on December 2, 1990.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
In 1990, Ali met with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to negotiate the release of 15 American hostages in Iraq and Kuwait. Here, Ali leaves Iraq with the hostages on December 2, 1990.
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Ali lights the Olympic torch at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali lights the Olympic torch at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
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Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, gives Ali a replacement gold medal in 1996. Ali had thrown his 1960 gold medal into the Ohio River after he was criticized for not fighting in Vietnam.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, gives Ali a replacement gold medal in 1996. Ali had thrown his 1960 gold medal into the Ohio River after he was criticized for not fighting in Vietnam.
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Ali and his fourth wife, Lonnie, unveil his special-edition Wheaties box in February 1999. The box marked the cereal's 75th anniversary, and it was the first time a boxer appeared on the cover.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali and his fourth wife, Lonnie, unveil his special-edition Wheaties box in February 1999. The box marked the cereal's 75th anniversary, and it was the first time a boxer appeared on the cover.
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Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger raises Ali's hand during the Celebrity Fight Night charity event in Phoenix in March 2002. Schwarzenegger was presented with the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for his work with the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Foundation, the Inner-City Games Foundation and the Special Olympics. The award was presented by former CNN host Larry King, left.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger raises Ali's hand during the Celebrity Fight Night charity event in Phoenix in March 2002. Schwarzenegger was presented with the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for his work with the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Foundation, the Inner-City Games Foundation and the Special Olympics. The award was presented by former CNN host Larry King, left.
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Ali arrives in Kabul, Afghanistan, in November 2002 for a three-day goodwill mission as a special guest of the United Nations. He was appointed as a U.N. Messenger of Peace in 2000.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali arrives in Kabul, Afghanistan, in November 2002 for a three-day goodwill mission as a special guest of the United Nations. He was appointed as a U.N. Messenger of Peace in 2000.
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U.S. President George W. Bush presents Ali with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, on November 9, 2005.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
U.S. President George W. Bush presents Ali with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, on November 9, 2005.
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Members of the media watch a video of Ali before the grand opening of the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, in November 2005.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Members of the media watch a video of Ali before the grand opening of the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, in November 2005.
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Ali's wife, Lonnie, watches as actress Alfre Woodard presents him with the President's Award during the 2009 NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali's wife, Lonnie, watches as actress Alfre Woodard presents him with the President's Award during the 2009 NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles.
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On May 24, 2011, Ali appears at the National Press Club in Washington to publicly appeal to Iranian officials for the release of captive hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal. The hikers were released in September 2011, more than two years after their detention.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
On May 24, 2011, Ali appears at the National Press Club in Washington to publicly appeal to Iranian officials for the release of captive hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal. The hikers were released in September 2011, more than two years after their detention.
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Ali poses during a photo shoot outside his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona, in January 2012.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali poses during a photo shoot outside his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona, in January 2012.
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Ali poses for a picture with, from left, Greg Fischer, Len Amato, daughter Laila Ali and Donald Lassere during the U.S. premiere of the HBO film "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight" in October 2013.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali poses for a picture with, from left, Greg Fischer, Len Amato, daughter Laila Ali and Donald Lassere during the U.S. premiere of the HBO film "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight" in October 2013.
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A boxing robe worn by Ali, which belonged to the late country singer Waylon Jennings, went up for auction in 2014.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
A boxing robe worn by Ali, which belonged to the late country singer Waylon Jennings, went up for auction in 2014.
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Ali is seen with singer Carrie Underwood at a charity event in Phoenix in April.
Photos: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali
Ali is seen with singer Carrie Underwood at a charity event in Phoenix in April.
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Story highlights

  • Boxing legend Muhammad Ali died Friday
  • Gene Seymour: For most of his 74 years, Ali's presence was steadiest, most reliable assurance we were all alive

Gene Seymour is a film critic who has written about music, movies and culture for The New York Times, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly and the Washington Post. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

(CNN)Muhammad Ali has died and, as a friend of mine remarked the other night, we now know what it's like to live on a smaller planet.

To see him in action was to imagine superlatives gasping for air and clichés hiding in shame. To see him in person was to recognize there was no such thing as the unimaginable. I did. Twice.
    The second time was at a lecture when I was in college. No matter where you sat in the (inevitably) crowded theater, everything around him lost its shape and nothing else mattered in those minutes except whatever he had to say -- which, being the fall of 1970, essentially was that Joe Frazier better run when he sees him coming.
      Gene Seymour
      Gene Seymour
      But the first time -- and the only time that matters to me -- was three years before, at Weaver High School in Hartford, Connecticut. We didn't know he was coming that day, which made his impromptu appearance in our dreary corridors all the more galvanic.
      I honestly don't remember anything he said. And I don't think I'm overstating matters when I tell you it felt as though the sun decided to come down from behind the clouds and hang out with us tiny earthbound drudges.
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      Many of us drifted out of our classrooms and followed him into the hallways and out into the streets. Who would have told us not to? Not our teachers. Some of them also slipped out to watch him and his entourage leave as abruptly as they arrived.
        What just happened? we asked for days afterward. Were we dreaming? (No.) Are we the same? (Again, no.)
        'The Greatest': Oh, what a life he led
        'The Greatest': Oh, what a life he led
        Who could cause such massive midday disruption and make it at once a life-altering festival of life and the most natural thing in the world? Why, the King of the World, that's who.
        For most of his 74 years, Ali's presence was the steadiest, most reliable assurance that we were all alive, aware and alert to possibility. Even when Parkinson's disease plagued Ali in his later years, you were always reassured when you saw him.
        He wasn't perfect. (Greatness never is.) And he often had the grace to know it, remorseful to the end of both their lives toward how he'd mistreated Frazier, the one opponent who, as one sportswriter observed, "dragged the truth out of Ali" more than any other.
        Those who insisted on imagining Ali as being more than human misinterpreted how even his faults and follies allowed the rest of us to more readily recognize our own. That's what art is supposed to do -- and Muhammad Ali was his own masterwork, his shadows and light in perpetual, riveting combat. Maybe that battle was the real fight of the century.
        Artists and writers couldn't have created anything like him. So those with massive ambition (Norman Mailer most prominently) sought to project things onto him. Ali dodged their presumptions and expectations as cagily and as stylishly as he evaded George Foreman's sledgehammer blows.
        Perhaps only John Keats, with his centuries-old recognition that beauty is truth and vice-versa, nailed Ali better than anyone since.
        And since we are acknowledging the passing of the quintessential boxer-poet, let's send him off with what is widely acknowledged as the shortest poem ever written: "Me/Whee."
        Or if you will, Beauty/Truth.
          Safe travels, King of the World. And thanks again for dropping by my school.
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