"The Greatest: Media Share Memories of Muhammad Ali in and out of The Ring"

Press Box Access: A Sports History Podcast

We’re saluting Muhammad Ali on his 82nd birthday with a compilation of stories told on Press Box Access by sportswriters who crossed paths with The Greatest. Dave Kindred, Jerry Izenberg and other veteran scribes share their personal memories of Ali going as far back as 1960. They put us ringside at Ali’s greatest fights such as “The Rumble in the Jungle” and “The Thrilla in Manila.” They take us on trains, into hotel rooms, and onto the banks of Africa’s Congo River. We even go to the circus with the heavyweight champ and world-renowned activist and humanitarian. Enjoy our treasure trove of Ali tales.

Dave Kindred, on my Mount Rushmore of sportswriters, covered 17 of Ali’s fights, dating back to when he wrote for The Courier-Journal in the champ’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

Jerry Izenberg, who began his amazing journalism career in 1951, covered more of Ali’s fights than any sportswriter, including epic bouts with Joe Frazier and George Foreman that live on in boxing history.

Tom Archdeacon has covered more than 200 fights as a columnist and honored boxing writer in Ohio and Florida, and he not only sat ringside at Ali’s final three bouts but also went to the circus with him.

Tim Smith covered the fight game for many years at The New York Times, New York Daily News, and Cincinnati Enquirer, and he now works for Haymon Sports, a boxing management company.

Thom Loverro, sports columnist at The Washington Times and an honored boxing writer, first met Ali as a young reporter visiting training camp in the late 1970s.

Vito Stellino is best known as a longtime NFL writer, but he was ringside at Madison Square Garden in 1971 as a reporter covering the legendary Ali-Frazier I.

Mary Schmitt Boyer puts us in Atlanta, Georgia on the night when Ali lit the Olympic torch, providing her a most treasured memory of the many Olympics that she covered.

George Diaz had encounters with Ali as a longtime Florida boxing writer, and he’s also the ghostwriter of legendary fighter Roberto Duran’s autobiography, “I Am Duran.”

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