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Continuing Coverage Of Muhammad Ali's Death In Phoenix, Arizona. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired June 04, 2016 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:19]
GEORGE HOWELL, HOST: Welcome to viewers here in the United States and around the world as our continuing coverage moves forward with the death of Muhammad Ali. The legendary 74-year-old boxer died just a few hours ago at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. I'm George Howell.
ROBYN CURNOW, HOST: Hi there and I'm Robyn Curnow. Thanks so much for joining us. Now he battled Parkinson's disease for more than three decades. The world is remembering the joy, character and fighting spirit that only the man called "the greatest" could bring in and out of the ring.
HOWELL: This is such a huge loss not only to the world of sport, but also on so many different levels. Don Riddell joins us now. And when we talk about Muhammad Ali, we're talking about a person who look he had the style; he had the skill, but his message, his passion, his conviction it just transcended his art.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Absolutely. I mean, I think many people would agree that he's the greatest boxer of all time.
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RIDDELL: Many people would see him as the biggest and most spectacular and most recognized athlete of the 20th century, he's a man who transcended his sport. Arguably he was the most recognizable figure on the planet during his heyday in the 1970s. And his legacy lives on in so many ways.
I mean for example Adam Silver, whose the Commissioner of the NBA, has just released his tribute to Muhammed Ali saying, "Ali's legacy lives on in every athlete who takes a stand for what he or she believes." And I think that says it all.
It's not just the fact that he was a three-time world champion and the style with which he did it. It's not just the way he conducted himself outside the ring as this bombastic, theatrical performer. I mean you can get a lot of joy just out of watching his press conferences and the way he interacted with the media, and the way he kind of trash talked but in such a poetic and theatrical way his opponents. It's what he believed in. He was such a principled man and this is why so many people are really quite moved today that we've lost this legendary boxer. The stand he took for the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Refusing
to go to Vietnam a move that cost him three or four years of his career. Arguably, the best years of his career, that is what really marked him out as such a special man, such an amazing human being and why he inspired so many all over the world.
CURNOW: And why even today what is that commonality that people find in him that's, you know, a kid in Africa now, even an old man sitting in the Philippines, still finds that, that thread that they feel they can identify with him? What is that?
RIDDELL: Well, he faced so many challenges. Didn't he? And it was the manner with which he dealt with them.
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RIDDELL: You know seemingly impossible challenges. You know the things he had to overcome. You know life wasn't easy for him in the early days. Boxing was this outlet you know being described as this is how he could channel his rage and he was able to put it to good use. He wasn't particularly well educated, although you'd never guess it after the fact when he became this world figure and you would hear him talk. I think it was just the style with which he will it, and he just refused to take no for an answer.
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RIDDELL: And he was prepared to bear the consequences for his actions. He was quite prepared to go to jail for avoiding the draft during the Vietnam War. He could have left the country; he could have gone to Canada. He never did that he was prepared to stay here and face the music.
CURNOW: So he took -- he took punches I mean in more ways than one.
RIDDELL: Absolutely - absolutely yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: But took punches for so many different people for so many different reasons. You know I'm struck by the context of the time. When you think about the fact that the United States was just leaving a time of segregation and here is an African-American man who says, I am pretty. I am the greatest. And for people to hear that at that time, and to see this person stand up, really, against the establishment, stand strong in his convictions and at great consequence to some degree, but still, he won.
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RIDDELL: Yes. Absolutely and some of the things he said are just so inspirational.
HOWELL: They are.
RIDDELL: So many quotes have lived on and on and on. I mean, of course, we all know the "float like the butterfly, sting like a bee," but the fights he named, "the thriller in Manila," "the rumble in the jungle -
HOWELL: (Inaudible)
RIDDELL: -- Yes, and you know I've been saying this in the last few hours, even if you know nothing about boxing I bet you you've heard of those fights. If you if you don't know what those fights were, or represented or why they were so important or special, you probably heard of those fights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: I know.
RIDDELL: He just did it with such style. As you say, with such conviction.
[04:05:01]
RIDDELL: And it is a tragedy, really, that we haven't seen the best of him for the last 32 years. I think he had the potential to be so much more. The people who went to cover the fight in Zaire, "the rumble in the jungle" against George Foreman said after the fight that they saw how he was interacting with the locals around the fight and the way they revered him, and they way they kind of fed off him and he off them.
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RIDDELL: And they were saying you know this guy is a political figure. You know he -- this could be his second career. I think he had so many of his own challenges once he was diagnosed with Parkinson's that was never going to be a reality, but he was still an ambassador, a rebel with a cause really, and he did so much good.
CURNOW: Don Riddell, stay with us.
RIDDELL: Of course, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: We're going to talk about it throughout the next hour and a half. Thank you so much.
Well I want to talk about what is happening outside the hospital where members of Muhammad Ali's family have gathered in Phoenix, Arizona, to be with him, in his final hours.
Our Dan Simon is there outside the hospital and he joins us now. Hi there, Dan.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Robyn and George. We know that Muhammad Ali died Friday evening here at this Scottsdale, Arizona Hospital. He was brought here the day before with some kind of respiratory illness. The details are thin at this point, but I think the speed at which this all occurred may have caught some people off guard.
Originally we were told he was in fair condition, that this was just going to be a brief hospital stay, and then before we knew it, we were told that the situation was quite grave, and then we got word this evening here in Arizona that he, in fact, died. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: Of course, he had been in failing health over the last several years, in and out of the hospital. He was last seen a few months ago at a charity event in Phoenix. That was the last time we saw him in public and he really did look frail. But, again, the fact that this happened so quickly, given the fact that the publicist for the family said, you know, he was in fair condition, he was going to be going home and then suddenly we were told that he died. You know, it was really quite a shock. George and Robyn?
CURNOW: Are we hearing anything, any details about his last moments from his family?
SIMON: At this point, Robyn, the family has requested privacy. So we have not heard those details yet. What we do know is that there is going to be a press briefing tomorrow, where we understand some of the details surrounding the funeral are going to be released, and we know that the funeral's going to take place in Louisville, Kentucky, in his hometown and we should get those details tomorrow afternoon. Robyn and George?
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CURNOW: It's obviously 2:00 a.m., just after 2:00 a.m., where you are. Has anyone started gathering by the hospital? What do we know about larger memorials, about people coming together to remember him?
SIMON: We know that -- well, I can tell thaw a few people have come by the hospital. Some people have lit candles. Things of that nature, and that's really what you would expect. There's been a little bit of a police presence outside the hospital as well. I would imagine that, you know, tomorrow and daylight hours we'll start seeing more people come to the hospital and I would expect to see something of a makeshift memorial, if you will, with cards and flowers, and things of that nature. But you know this was Muhammad Ali's home for the past several years, Phoenix, Arizona, and he really loved this community and the community loved him back. And so, you know, folks in this area are really grieving tonight as is everyone around the world.
CURNOW: OK. Thanks for updating us there, Dan Simon. Appreciate it.
HOWELL: We are talking about a man who was larger than life and he had quit wit to match. CNN's Wolf Blitzer gives us a look at the life of this champ.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This legend of Muhammad Ali, the greatest fighter that ever will be.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He proclaimed - himself the greatest, and millions of fans around the world agreed.
MUHAMMED ALI: Float like a butterfly, and sting like the bee!
BLITZER: Those phrases became Ali's motto. His wit and charisma outside the ring would also make him one of the world's best known personalities.
[INAUDIBLE]
BLITZER: But his persona emerged long before he captured his first heavyweight championship. He was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky during an ugly era of racial segregation in America. At 12 years old, Ali's world would change forever when a local police officer introduced him to boxing. It became an outlet for his rage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cassius Clay of Chicago challenges Gary Josh.
[04:10:01]
BLITZER: It also offered Ali an opportunity to develop his remarkable talent. Just six years later Ali would bring home a gold medal from the 1960 summer Olympic Games in Rome. He turned pro at just the age of just 18 and at 22 stunned the boxing world defeating a fighter the experts thought was invincible, Sonny Liston.
Ali had arrived and Liston would never be the same. To prove the point, Ali put Liston away for a second time in a rematch the following year. The '60s were glory days for Ali, but the civil rights era would also become a controversial and polarizing period in his life. He renounced his given name and joined the volatile black separatist nation of Islam. Almost as quickly as he had arrived, Ali's heavyweight title was gone. Revoked after he claimed conscientious objector status and refused to serve in the Vietnam War.
At the peak boxing age of 25, Ali also gave you millions of dollars in endorsements and faced five years in prison all in defiance of a war he called despicable and unjust.
ALI: My intention is to box to win a clean fight but in war, the intention is to kill, kill, kill, kill, and continue killing innocent people.
BLITZER: Ali began a 3.5 year exile from championship fights until the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction on a technicality.
ALI: Everybody that watches and trains, there's no contest, he better not fight like that with Ali.
BLITZER: But the world would soon learn even superman has his off days. Ali was barely back in the ring when his undefeated professional record came to an end. He lost to Joe Frazier in a 1971 match fight dubbed the fight of the century. It was the first of three fights with Smokin' Joe.
ALI: Joe's going to come out smokin' but i ain't going to be joking. I'll be picking and a poking, pouring water on his smoking. This might shock and amaze you but this time I'll retire Joe Frazier.
BLITZER: And retire him he did. The famous "thriller in Manila" fight ended after Frazier's trainer stopped the fight following the 14th round given Ali a technical knockout. Ali was on a roll again. But his greatest athletic comeback was in Kinshasa in what was then Zaire.
ALI: Only last week I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick, I'm so mean I make medicine sick.
BLITZER: Ali knocked out the heavy favorite George Foreman, it was called "the rumble in the jungle." His last fight in 1981 marked the beginning of another battle that Ali described as his toughest. The diagnosis that he was afflicted with Parkinson's Disease.
After two decades of redefining the heavyweight division, Ali was forced to retire, his lifetime record, 56 victories, just 5 defeats. But he never retreated from living a very public life. In 1996, Ali provided one of the most poignant moments in sports history with 3 billion people watching he lit the Olympic flame at the summer games in Atlanta. His hands trembling but never wavering. Ali remained the consummate showman.
As his condition grew progressively worse Ali struggled each day to whisper a word. His hands and legs shook and his voice quivered.
ALI: I am the greatest.
BLITZER: Yet his spirit never shaken and he never slowed down from serving as an ambassador for peace and a mediator in world conflicts. In 2005, Ali was presented with a Presidential Medal of Freedom Award, the nation's highest civilian honor.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: When you say "the greatest of all-time is in the room" everyone knows who you mean.
BLITZER: And tributes for the champ continue.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you feel about getting the honor tonight?
BLITZER: Ali was one of the most gifted and unique personalities in sports history. The world may never see the likes of him again. In the final chapter, few would argue that Ali needed the crowds as much as they needed him. Not for mere validation but because each saw in the other the best in themselves.
ALI: Ali's got a left, Ali's got a right, if he hits you once you'll sleep for the night, and as you lie on the floor while the ref counts ten, hope and pray that you never meet me again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:15:02]
CURNOW: What a man. What a fighter. What a legend. We are here at CNN Center remembering the life of Muhammad Ali.
Well, with us is Don Riddell. This is a man who in the ring was nimble, was fast, and -- and he was -- he was the greatest. Wasn't he?
RIDDELL: Yes. And you know you talk about his agility and speed, these are not qualities you would necessarily associate typically with a heavyweight boxer.
CURNOW: No.
RIDDELL: But he was that. And he was quite unusual when he came on to the scene, but he really used those attributes absolutely to his advantage. Just his hand speed, his reflexes.
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RIDDELL: His opponents really struggled to get a handle on that, and one of the things he used to great effect was he was able to get out of the way of their punches sometimes even moving his head directly backwards, and that forced his opponents to get themselves in all sorts of trouble and lose their balance. And once they were in that position and over committed he was able to his them on the counterattack when they were least expecting it.
HOWELL: The interesting thing that's also so interesting is that he was so bold about his style. He knew his style, and it's almost like he would get into his opponent's head. Here comes a left, here comes a right. I mean he's branding it. He's telling you what's coming.
RIDDELL: Well, yes, I mean before the fights he would call the rounds in which he was going to end the fight. I mean he was -
CURNOW: -- literally with a loud speaker.
RIDDELL - yes, or you know he would write it on the board. I mean he was brilliant at getting into the heads and the minds and really unsettling his opponents with mind games before the fight had even started. He was brilliant at it.
But he was strategically very, very astute too. I mean he knew what his strengths were and knew how to outsmart opponents and could do it by goading them and you know kind of really tempting them into making mistakes. But one of his most famous fights, "the rumble in the jungle" where he fought George Foreman, Foreman was a massive guy, a really, really heavy puncher, and a lot of people didn't give Ali a prayer. But his strategy for that fight was to just get in there, stay on the ropes. The rope-a-dope as they called it.
HOWELL: Rope-a-dope, yes.
RIDDELL: And basically just soak up the pressure. Just let Foreman hit him as hard as he could.
HOWELL: But the punches that he took -
RIDDELL: Well I mean he -
CURNOW: -- well the consequences of that - RIDDELL: He took some real punishment. I mean - I mean firstly, he won
the fight. Foreman just wore himself out and became so frustrated, and into the eighth round as we've seen, Ali was able to pick him off and it was just a strategic triumph for Muhammad Ali.
HOWELL: Right.
RIDDELL: But the consequences of that fight, "the thriller in Manila," where he and Joe Frazier just you know thrashed each other 14 rounds taking so much punishment again, and all of his other fights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: There's not many people that doubt the punishment he took in the ring didn't have something to do with the Parkinson's Disease and the way he has suffered for the last 32 years which really is a tragedy.
HOWELL: Don, thank you. Stay with us please.
RIDDELL: Of course, yes.
CURNOW: Thank you.
Well, British boxing legend Lenox Lewis has tweeted.
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CURNOW: "A giant among men. Ali displayed a greatness in talent, courage and conviction that most of us won't ever be able to truly comprehend." As impressive as Ali's punches were in the ring, his trash talking though was legendary. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: He was very nimble on that front as well. Here are some of his best moments.
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ALI: I don't like fighters who talk too much. I must be the greatest! Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Oh! Rumble in the jungle. I'm the prettiest fighter in the ring today, that's my label. And this might shock and amaze you, but I will destroy Joe Frazier.
I'm so bad, you know what I've been doing, last week I went out into the jungle, I wrestled with an alligator, I hustled with a whale, I handcuffed (inaudible) I'm bad, man. Can I dance? Is the pope a catholic?
The man to beat me hasn't been born yet. Well, I'm the greatest. I'm not going to -- If you could box, I'll knock you out. Last week I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick, I'm so mean I make medicine sick.
It's a spat. Look at me now. Don't tell me that ain't a perfect specimen of a man. Look at that body. Slim, trim, and on my toes. Man, I don't get hurt. I'm the fastest thing on two feet, man. Is you crazy? I'm tired of talking.
I'm not only a fighter, I'm a poet, I'm a prophet, I'm the resurrector, I'm the savior of the boxing world. If it wasn't for me the game would be dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD QUEST, HOST QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: I'm Richard Quest, and these are the top business headlines. Chief Executive of JP Morgan Chase says thousands of British jobs could be lost if the U.K. votes to leave the European Union. Jamie Dimon told staff in the English town of Bournemouth, that a vote to leave would be a terrible deal for the British economy, in his words. The bank employs 16,000 employees in the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive of Airbus said he hopes Britain the votes to stay in Europe. Speaking to me, Fabrice Bregier says a brexit would hurt all sides.
FABRICE BREGIER, CEO AIRBUS: -- I believe the U.K. economy and for the European economy and this one is not good for the business.
QUEST: The United States had its worst month for creating jobs in six years. Only 38,000 jobs were added in May, it's the fewest since U.S. payroll started growing again 68 months ago. While the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in 2007, investors now see less of a chance that the Fed will raise interest rates in June.
Sepp Blatter's lawyer say they will prove his innocence after the former FIFA President is accused of pumping up his own pay. An internal FIFA investigation says Blatter and two senior colleagues awarded themselves raises and bonuses worth $80 million over five years.
The DOW was down for the whole session, but it pulled back towards the close. Just about 30 points up. Those are the news headlines. I'm Richard Quest in London.
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CURNOW: Thank you for joining us, and welcome back to our breaking news coverage of the death of Muhammad Ali.
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CURNOW: The boxing legend and heavyweight champion died Friday night in Phoenix, Arizona, at the age of 74. He suffered from Parkinson's Disease more than 30 years. HOWELL: You will remember, he claimed, "I am the greatest" charmed
millions with his wit, with his style as he rose to fame in the 1960s. Muhammad Ali leaves his mark on the world as one of the best athletes of all-time and later an activist for social change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Boxing promoter Don King had a long history with Muhammad Ali. Back in 1974 he promoted the heavyweight championship fight between Ali and George foreman that became known as "the rumble in the jungle."
HOWELL: Very famous fight. He also promoted Ali's 1975 fight with Joe Frazier in Manila called "the thriller in Manila." Don King spoke with our colleague Don Riddell earlier about what Muhammad Ali means to him.
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DON KING, BOXING PROMOTER: I love Muhammad Ali. He was a friend for life and he had -- he will never die. His spirit will go on forever and he represents what every athlete and sports person in life will try to do, an attitude of going out there and getting it done without any equivocation. Success, what he was after, the goal he was after, he was just fabulous. So he was -- just a great, a great human being and a champion of the people, the greatest of all times.
[04:25:14]
RIDDELL: When you first met him, what was it that attracted you to him as an athlete and boxer? What was it he had that the other guys just didn't?
KING: He had an attitude that he cared for people, and the little kids and old people you know, he would go out and do things without any type of a, of, trying to find any type of publicity or any kind of advertisement. He would do it because it was in his heart and he was a very jovial person. A person that was amicable, you could deal with and he was one of the masses. You know what I mean? And he would fight for the masses for what's right and what's wrong and he would stand up for what his beliefs are.
No one can truly say how great Muhammad Ali really was, because during the height of his career is when he run into the encounter of being charged with draft evasion and wouldn't go to the ware, but he was a conscientious objector and he believed in that. And so therefore he stood his ground on what he was and they took him through all types of trials and tribulations, but he rose to the occasion to prefer to go to jail than to break what he believed in. And that's why everybody loved him. Because he stood up for what he believed in and fought for the will of the people.
And so the Supreme Court of the United States vindicated him with that glorious decision that came in his behalf and was just like, wow. It was just like heaven on earth, because this young man, those four years that he lost at the height of his career, they can never say how good he would have been, because he did all of this greatness after being, being held out from practicing his trade at the height of his career. He sacrificed that. He had something to lose and that's when you can really tell a person when they have something they will be able to lose when you put him to the test, and he stood the test of time. I loved the man.
RIDDELL: And he was incredible when he came back after losing, as you say, three, four of the best years of his career. Early on, Don, people didn't really know what to make of him. He was so brash, so bombastic. I mean, look back at his press conferences now and they're just absolutely amazing performances, and it was all off the cuff, but in the early days, he was quite polarizing and very controversial. What was it do you think that really turned public opinion in his favor?
KING: Well, because he stood steadfast, tenacious in his belief and firm. He said what he means, and he meant what he said, and this is what you can win the people with you know because when you've got everything to gain, and he had everything to gain by just going along with the system, but he fought the system for righteousness. And in so doing became a fame and (inaudible) but more importantly, the loyalty of the people.
The people that didn't like him had to respect him, and that's really all you have to do is to deal with r-e-s-p-e-c-t, respect. And this turned him around because he kept his brash statements, stayed with it, was a visionary and he would prognosticate what he would do and then go out and do it. So he was a - he was a fighter for the people. He was the greatest of all time and you know, and I coined a phrase for him, I said every head must bow, every knee must bend, every tongue must confess that thou are the greatest, the greatest of all time, Muhammad, Muhammad Ali. And this is just what he exemplified and he demonstrated that you know with the love of the people, he was a tremendous, a tremendous not only just a boxer a great human being and he's an icon and the spirit will never die.
Ali will never die like Martin Luther King, all that stood up and fought, with the president, that I loved John f. Kennedy. All of them had ways and means of saying things that will be able to incite and get people motivated, inspired to do what was right and stand their ground on what was right. And that's why Muhammad Ali will never die.
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CURNOW: Well, there's been a lot of reaction on twitter. Muhammad Ali is taking up all of the top trending spots, and British Prime Minister also, David Cameron, tweeting, "Muhammad Ali was not just a champion in the ring a champion of civil rights and role model for so many people."
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CURNOW: Beatles drummer, Ringo Starr, saying " God bless Muhammad Ali, peace and love to all of his family."
British boxer and two time world champion, Amir Khan, "Rest in peace, the greatest of all time."
[04:30:02]
CURNOW: World champion boxer Lenox Lewis also tweeting "A giant among men, Ali display a greatness in talent, courage, and conviction."
And former CNN host, Larry King tweeting " I mourn the passing of Muhammad Ali he was indeed the greatest, an American legend and a true champion for the world."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Ali was a boxer by professional but took on the role of civil rights activist many times throughout his life.
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HOWELL: He famously refused to be drafted to fight in Vietnam in 1967. He said he was a conscientious objector. Ali explained it best when he put it bluntly saying, "I ain't got no quarrel with the Vietcong." He was stripped of his title and barred from boxing in the primetime of his career, no less. He even faced prison at one point but the Supreme Court unanimously overturned that conviction in 1971. His stand against the U.S. Government became a rallying cry against war everywhere. His words that day and throughout his life continue to inspire people all around the world. I want to read this quote also from Muhammad Ali. "Live every day as if it's your last, because one day you might be right." Our continuing coverage returns after the break.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. We continue covering the breaking news this hour, the death of Muhammad Ali. I'm George Howell.
CURNOW: And I'm Robyn Curnow. Well, the 74-year-old died just a few hours ago after a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease.
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[04:35:05]
HOWELL: Officials have not yet released the cause of death, but Ali was admitted to a Phoenix hospital Thursday with a respiratory problem. Right now the world is mourning the loss of this three-time heavyweight boxing champ and around the globe people are remembering the flare that only he could bring to the ring.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIDDELL: And that includes in the Philippines, a boxing crazy nation where Ali fought the epic "thriller in Manila" against Joe Frazier in 1975. And we can bring in Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong, who has good memories himself of that fight.
And Andrew, this is just so remarkable. Muhammad Ali took part in so many iconic fights which we are still talking about decades later. And the "thriller in Manila" was really one you would never forget.
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is right up there. Some would tell you, Don, that this was the greatest fight of all time. Others would say, and probably this is definitely true, one of the most brutal fights of all time.
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STEVENS: It was the third time that Frazier and Ali had met each other. The record sort of 1-1. The "thriller in Manila" was going to be decided. As was said earlier, there was no love lost between these two fighters, they were both slightly past their prime but they had pride to go around several times and they were still strong and they both had something to prove.
And Ali kept goading Frazier he said it was going to be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller when I get the gorilla in Manila. And certainly that sort of took things to a new level as Ali was so clever at doing, just generating this buzz. But, you know, I remember, and it does date me somewhat, as a kid in the school yard in Australia in rural Australia talking about this fight. The lead up to the fight. That's how global it was, in a little school sort of in the middle of nowhere almost, that's what the kids were talking about.
As we know, Ali won that fight. It went for 14 rounds, both men hammered each other, it's the only way you can describe it, and eventually they stood apart, they sat down at the end of the 14th round and the trainer of Frazier basically threw in the towel. Frazier couldn't see properly. His left eye was closed completely. He couldn't see much through his right eye and there's a story behind that saying that it was suggested that if he'd wait add few more seconds, that Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee would have thrown in the towel. Dundee later denied that, but certainly at the time, that what was being said.
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STEVENS: But it carved out a special place, that fight, in the pantheon of boxing fights, the great boxing fights and it gave Ali that sort of undisputed claim if you like to be the greatest. I mean Frazier was an amazing boxer and Ali said later that it's the closest he's ever come to feeling like he was going to die. That's after Frazier had said, you know, I was hitting that man with punches that would have knocked down a city wall, Don.
RIDDELL: Yes, I mean boxing's known as the noble art, but it didn't seem to be particularly noble on that occasion and there was so much animosity, as you say, leading up to the fight and you could tell that the two men really did just hate each other. Neither one wanted to give an inch during that fight, and in the end, I think, arguably they both would have been prepared to die in the ring, they were just so furious with each other. There was a great line towards the end when they were running out of
energy with a commentator said I think by now they've just about thrashed the hate out of each other and the two of them were just hanging on towards the end. But Andrew, you say you remember the fight. Something that people might not realize is that this took place at 10:00 in the morning in Manila when, you know, the heat of the air still hadn't kind of dissipated, and the sun came up and just kind of baked the whole atmosphere into this incredible stew which must have been incredibly difficult to fight in those conditions. Right?
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STEVENS: Absolutely. This -- the coliseum arena in the (inaudible) city, which is now a part of Greater Manila, had a tin roof. And as you say, it was 10:00 in the morning. So it wasn't actually that the ferocious heat of the day, but there was enough heat in that room, and generated, and magnified, by a tin roof.
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STEVENS: People ring-side were saying this was 100 degrees, if not more, and they weathered each other hard for I think -- I want to say 48 minutes. I'm not sure, but certainly 14 rounds. And the other thing to be aware of here, this was happening against the backdrop of Ferdinand Marcos, who was the dictator of the Philippines, who had been in power for three years and he wanted to see this fight take place in Manila. It was sort of a hearts and minds exercise almost. He wanted to show the people through sport that he was a benevolent ruler and he got these two men, and created this massive buzz, the buzz was massive around it.
[04:40:04]
STEVENS: And he was giving away, or made sure tickets were available to the Filipinos. I think they were being sold for $1 each. So he did try to bring it in, and from that, Don, you have this legacy of boxing in the Philippines. It has a long and proud tradition, and they have produced some absolute world-class boxers. And, of course, none more so than Manny Pacquiao, who's still currently fighting, has won world championships in so many divisions now. Interestingly, Manny tweeting along with the rest of the boxing legends. Manny tweeting a little earlier today, saying that, "We lost a giant. Boxing benefited from Muhammad Ali's talents, but not nearly as much as mankind benefited from his humanity."
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STEVENS: And it's interesting, because that's a line -- you read the tweets of the boxing greats, and so many of them talk about what an amazing sportsman he was.
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STEVENS: What an amazing boxer he was, but how much more -- excuse me -- he did for -- for society, almost human kind. One more, Floyd Mayweather, perhaps, you know talked about almost sometimes in the same breath as Ali as one of the greatest boxers that ever was. Floyd Mayweather saying they'll never be another Ali. "The black community all around the world, black people all around the world, needed him. He was the voice for us. He's the voice for me, to be where I am today."
And certainly if you, you can apply that to the Philippines. He was down there. It was an extraordinary fight. It was beamed across the world, and from that, that legacy, if you like, there's so much boxing in the Philippines, so many champions coming out of the Philippines, Don.
RIDDELL: Yes, amazing memories, Andrew Stevens, thanks very much. Andrew live for us in Hong Kong. There are some amazing films that have been made about Muhammad Ali, Thriller in Manila, is the documentary about this fight. Rumble in the Jungle, When we Were Kings was that documentary. If you haven't seen them or if our viewers haven't seen them, I highly recommend you watch them. They're almost certain to be screened around the world in the coming days. They are remarkable movies about a remarkable man and you'll learn so much more about Muhammad Ali in those.
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HOWELL: You know, Andrew was mentioning some of the greats that have you know made remarks about the death of Muhammad Ali. And before the show I actually spoke with five-time heavyweight champion of the world Evander Holyfield and to paraphrase what he told me, I asked Mr. Holyfield, so what did Muhammad Ali mean to you? And he said that Muhammad Ali was someone who had put his life on the line not only in the ring but also put his life on the line in what he believed in. So he was willing to die for what he believed in, and for Evander Holyfield, that was the source of inspiration looking at this legend and at what he did in his life. A man who was willing to die for what he believed in.
RIDDELL: Yes. I think it's interesting. You talk about, you know, the profession of boxing. There's something special about the heavyweight champions, and I think all of the heavyweight champion whose have come ever since Muhammad Ali kind of know that they're almost walking in his footsteps and they know that they've inherited his legacy and are trying in one way or another to continue it.
Boxing is very different now. I mean, pay per view, cable channel boxing has really reduced the audience. You've got to remember when Ali was boxing it was the golden generation. Everybody had access to it either through television or radio. And these guys genuinely were household names and in Ali's case, he transcended the whole thing and was just a global icon.
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CURNOW: And you talk about being a global icon. He was one of the greatest sportsmen, athletes of the 20th century. But the immense authority that came with that, that statement saying, "that I am greatest" for a black man in those times, in those tumultuous decades here in the United States but also you know in the tumultuous time of post-independence in Africa, for a black man to stand up and say, I am the greatest, carried with it such a burden and a responsibility and he took it so well. Didn't he?
RIDDELL: Yes. I mean can you imagine how inspirational that would be at a time when there was no role models like that.
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RIDDELL: So incredibly powerful. He did it with such style and such class, and such confidence. He believed it, and he didn't care what anybody else thought about it, and that's why people will be mourning him today, even though his greatest era was so long ago now.
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HOWELL: At a time where so many people in this country were looking for someone that would be so strong.
RIDDELL: Yes.
HOWELL: In his stature. Don, thank you.
CURNOW: Thank you.
RIDDELL: All right.
I'm Robyn Curnow, you are watching CNN continuing coverage of the death of Muhammad Ali.
[04:45:00]
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HOWELL: Welcome back. Following the death of the great, Muhammad Ali. At his peak, the best all-around athlete in history, but his health declined with age as he struggled with Parkinson's disease for decades.
CURNOW: CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now live. He struggled with Parkinson's over 30 years. This is a man who knew how to endure.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely. He was diagnosed just when he was in his early 40s. You know, a devastating diagnosis for anyone, but especially for an athlete.
Now, Parkinson's disease is what doctors call a progressive disease. Meaning that it gets worse, and while there are drugs you can use to, to try to limit the symptoms in the beginning, they don't work forever, and I think we saw this. That in the beginning there were times he could come out and he could attend an event, and he could, and you wouldn't necessarily notice so much that he had Parkinson's but later on I think that became more difficult to control.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) COHEN: Now, I did years ago speak with a doctor who knew Muhammad Ali. He talked about what an incredibly strong and gracious man he was. He said, you know, Elizabeth, even when his Parkinson's was getting bad, when he had an event to go to, a fundraiser, something for charity, he rallied. And when you looked at him up onstage he was again, the greatest. Robyn, George?
CURNOW: And we talk, Elizabeth, about his greatest fights. But in many ways this battle against Parkinson's was his greatest and he became very much the face of this disease, helping to try and find a cure at the forefront of pushing for research.
[04:50:00]
COHEN: He was. I mean, I think we're familiar, sort of younger people may be more familiar with Michael J. Fox in that role and he also has done a stupendous job in that role, but first it was Muhammad Ali. One of your guests talked earlier about the role that he took on as an African-American man and being the first in so many ways. He was also really the first one to speak so publicly about having this devastating disease.
It is a -- it's a disease that you can't recover from, really. It just gets worse. There are drugs you can take in the beginning, but putting a face on Parkinson's I know meant so much. I've spoken to people who have had Parkinson's more recently and they said that just knowing that he would be out there and be so strong, that meant the world to them.
CURNOW: And his legendary career, the way he took a lot of punches, many people saying that this, in a way, contributed to that very early diagnosis. His brain just couldn't handle all that direct contact.
COHEN: You know, it's interesting. That went back and forth, there were people who said that there were also experts who said, look, this Parkinson's has nothing to do with the boxing. And certainly, you know sadly, there are people who are diagnosed with Parkinson's in their 40s. It's certainly not unheard of at all. So I think it would be hard to say it was the boxing that led to the Parkinson's. Again, there are plenty of people who have early onset Parkinson's who aren't in that field.
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CURNOW: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much for bringing us your perspective.
HOWELL: Our continuing coverage returns after the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RIDDELL: I'm Don Riddell with your CNN "World Sport" headlines. Just when we thought we knew everything there was to know about FIFA's corruption scandal, a major new development according to FIFA itself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RIDDELL: Former President, Sepp Blatter, and former top FIFA Executive, Jerome Valcke and Markus Kattner could have enriched themselves to the tune of some $80 million possibly in violation of Swiss law. FIFA lawyers say the men seemed to act in a coordinated effort to enrich themselves with a series of pay raises and world cup bonuses. FIFA has handed the information to the U.S. Justice department and the Swiss authorities who are conducting ongoing investigations of the football body.
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RIDDELL: The defending champion Warriors won the opening game of their NBA finals rematch against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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RIDDELL: Stephan Curry and Klay Thompson struggled shooting but it was Shaun Livingston and the rest of the Warriors reserves that were the difference in this one. Livingston scored 20 of the 45 Warriors bench points compared to Cleveland's 10. Golden State won by 104 to 89, game two is Sunday in California.
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RIDDELL: And Andy Murray is into his first French Open final facing the world number one Novak Djokovic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIDDELL: The Scot took down the defending champion Stan Wawrinka in straight sets and is aiming to become the first Brit to win Roland Garros since 1935. Djokovic can complete a career grand slam if he wins on Sunday.
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RIDDELL: That is a quick look at your sports headlines. I'm Don Riddell.
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[04:55:40]
RIDDELL: Welcome back. The world is learning of the passing of a global icon. Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74. He died in hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday night. As I say, he was 74 years old.
The United Kingdom is a country with a proud boxing tradition a proud heavyweight boxing tradition, too. I'm joined now on the line now by Kellie Maloney, a boxing promoter who worked most famously with Lennox Lewis, a former world heavyweight champion. And Kellie, thanks for being with us on the line just now. Let's start with your reaction to the passing of Muhammad Ali.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KELLIE MALONEY, BOXING PROMOTER: I think it's very sad. The world has lost a great human being. I think Muhammad Ali transcended from being a sports personality to a world icon, because of his civil rights work and his work for the underprivileged people.
RIDDELL: Did you, were you fortunate enough to meet Muhammad Ali? What are your personal experiences of your time with him?
MALONEY: Yes. I saw Muhammad Ali when i was young. He was preparing for the heavy fight at Highbury when he was known as Cassius Clay. He was best young American, he didn't care what he said, and could entertain the whole place, but I was lucky enough to sneak into the (inaudible) and watch him.
And then later in life I had the privilege of meeting him when he wasn't in such good health. He was with Lenox Lewis and it was such a great honor to be in the room with these two great athletes. Both talking to each other, both sort of praising each other in a really respectful way. But to see Lenox Lewis who at that time, was the best heavyweight out there, the respect and awe he had for Muhammad Ali was unbelievable, and Ali joked with him. It was just an honor and a privilege to be in the same room with these two great athletes.
RIDDELL: You saw him at a time right at the start of his career, before he was the world champion, before he was the greatest, to fight against Henry Cooper might not have gone Ali's way and Cooper put him down at one point during that fight. What was it about Ali then that made him special? What did he have back then, Kellie, that perhaps other fighters did not?
MALONEY: I think he had the determination and belief that he was the great effort and was going to be the greatest. I think a fighter had to have something like that, (inaudible) but they're just not great. Ali was something special. He transcended boxing from being a sport from just being too many in the ring to time to knock each other out to entertainment. He became the first person, I think that took boxing to a new level.
RIDDELL: Now, it's been a long time, of course, since we saw Muhammad Ali in the ring. Today's generation will have never seen him fight, but boxers, of course, are very well aware of his legacy. You promote young fighters now. What do they think of Muhammad Ali? What do they say about him?
MALONEY: Well I think everyone knows Muhammad Ali. You know, I've got 15-year-old daughter, and she phoned me this morning and she went can you believe it? Muhammad Ali's dead. You know, and she's not really a boxing fan. So it shows you that Muhammad Ali, it's very hard to say there's not many people that are great in the actual sport they're in.
Muhammad Ali was actually greater than boxing itself to me. And you know what he had done with the Olympic gold medal at the start of his career was unbelievable. When he didn't agree with the American government's war in Vietnam, the way he stood up for his principles.
This was a man of great principles, and you know today listening to stories on the English radio, because I've been listening to it all morning, there was certain things he'd done that he would never let newspaper people print. And it wasn't just the black community that Muhammad Ali looked after and talked about. He was getting ready for a fight in New York, I'm not sure if it was the (inaudible) fight but he heard about a home for old Jewish people that would be closed down, in down town New York, and these people were going to be put out on the street. He stopped training. He got his driver to take him down to the home and he wrote out a six figure check so this home could survive and these people would not be put out in the cold or in the street or be left without any care.
