India is infinitely poorer for the absence of a fearless man like Ali. Ali could count on legends from other fields among his legion of fans. Ali subjected Frazier to humiliating taunts. King of the World, written by David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, is a scholarly account of the impact Ali had on boxing and outside the ring. The great singer wasn’t a spectator; he was Life’s official photographer for the bout and his photo would adorn the magazine’s cover. Under her protective arm, Ali’s health also improved. Although Ali could have knocked out Terrell easily in a bout in 1967, he kept the fight going until the 15th and the final round to humiliate him. Ali’s candour, however, didn’t go down well within the magicians’ community which always closely guarded its secrets.

There is a consensus in Ali’s close circles that Bingham was the three-time world champion’s best buddy. Ali’s devotion to Elijah was total and the boxer wouldn’t do anything against his wishes. He never asks for anything. There are so many books on Ali that you can spend your life reading them. Lonnie, who knew Ali from the age of five, ensured that the boxer’s broken finances were mended. The less said the better about Sachin Tendulkar as the cricket legend has made an industry out of being politically correct. Aamir Khan raised a flicker of hope when he spoke up against intolerance under Modiji’s rule but he was soon silenced by the Indian prime minister’s bhakts. He doesn’t have the guts to ruffle a feather leave lead wood screw anchors alone the small matter of poking a giant like the establishment.Gorgeous George was a wrestler who revelled in taunting his rivals before bouts.” Magic was a passion for Ali besides boxing.

Howard Bingham and Howard Cosell were so close to Ali that it would be impossible to write a book about the boxing champion without chapters on the two. When Ali met George before his seventh professional fight in 1961, the wrestler impressed upon the young boxer on the need to hype up his bouts. In addition to raining blows on Terrell, Ali kept asking him throughout the bout: “What is my name?”Frank Sinatra was at the ringside for Ali’s first of three fascinating fights against Joe Frazier. Ali clearly breached the boundaries of sportsmanship with his below-the-belt attack on Frazier, who carried the scars until his death in 2011. Ali and Frazier were never the thickest of friends but their bouts brought out the best in each other.” The chemistry Cosell, a pompous TV presenter, enjoyed with Ali went beyond his professional duties. . Only after Elijah’s death in 1975 did Ali realise that the Nation of Islam’s all-whites-are-evil philosophy was wrong.

Nothing delighted Ali more than pulling Cosell’s leg in public. There is no apolitical icon on the horizon.Nation of Islam’s founder Elijah Muhammad became Ali’s mentor and spiritual guru in the beginning of his professional career.Joe Frazier contributed handsomely to the Ali legend through his three gladiatorial fights against the Greatest.Olympics opening ceremony at Atlanta in 1996 became poignant when Ali lit the cauldron with his trembling hands. Ali said: “Everybody says I love people, so it’s only fair that I have the best friend in the world, and that is Howard Bingham.Muhammad Ali with Nelson Mandela. Bingham, Ali’s personal photographer, was there for the boxer whenever he needed him. Lonnie never lost sight of the big picture and she hit the nail on the head with the following quote: “Muhammad isn’t my property; Muhammad belongs to the world. He enthralled children and adults alike with his magic skills.

Ali appointed Herbert Muhammad, Elijah’s third son, his manager after a contract with a professional group ended in 1966. Frazier never forgave Ali for calling him an Uncle Tom, for the ultimate insult for a black man was to be called a stooge of whites. No one sells like Ali because he was a walking box-office at his peak. For the complete account of Ali’s life, do read Thomas Hauser’s Muhammad Ali: His life and times. Ali, the poet who predicted the round his opponents would fall, owed his over-the-top gimmicks to George. Elvis Presley was an admirer of Ali.Lonnie Ali, the fourth wife of Ali, was the rock of his life from the time he married her in 1986. The pop icon presented the boxer a signature robe emblazoned with the slogan, People’s Choice, before a fight in 1973. As Islam forbids deceit, he would always reveal the secret of his tricks at the end of the show. George never got tired of calling himself the greatest in his trade and Ali was inspired by the wrestler’s brash style that invariably garnered people’s attention.India has been in desperate need of celebrities in the league of Ali who can speak their mind