Though Ali won the gold medal that the Rome Olympics in 1960, at the time experts weren't impressed by his boxing skills. His head, eyes wide, seemed to float above the action. Rather than the traditional slipping a punch it was Ali's habit to sway back, bending at the waist. His tactics appalled the experts, the reaction Ali craved. Ali's self-promoting behavior didn't impress any of the experts either. Muhammad wasn't even phased by the negative publicity, in fact he relished the attention and the fans ate it up.
I believe Ali and Anitgone have quite a bit in common. Antigone was an extremely proud and stubborn woman, when she made a decision she was bent on it. Ali was probably one of the most proud athletes I can think of. He publically announced he was the best, and nothing could change his mind, and no one could prove him wrong. Antigone knew that what she was doing was leagally, Ali knew that society would have problems accepting his behavior, but the believed in themselves, and initially others did as well.
Society also had problems with Ali's association with the muslims and giving up his "slave name" Cassius Clay for Muhammad Ali, the poetry and quips like "If Ali says a mosquito can pull a plow, don't ask
. . .
The public was cheering for Liston, a Mob-controlled thung, to take care of the "lippy upstart. Even when somber topics came up, merriment always seemed to be bobbilng blow his surface. He was once denied an autograph by his idol Sugar Ray Robinson, and vowed he would never turn anyone down. After Antigone commited suicide, followed by the deaths of Haimon and the Queen, King Creon realized she had been right all along for following her respect and adoration for her late brother. Hitch him up!", and press conferences where the reporters were sullen. There were no lawsuits to regain Ali's title through the courts. Barely anyone attended his fight for the heavyweight championship against Sonny Liston.
Oscar Wilde once suggested that you kill the thing you love, but I think in Ali and Antigone's case, it was the reverse: what they loved, in a sense, killed them. Ali's girlfriend told a reporter that the first time he was kissed, he fainted.
Ali was asked on a television show what he would have done with his life if he had any choice. He was a perfect combination of sass, sweetness and naivete. In 1971 the Supreme Court ruled that the government had acted improperly. He was idle for 3 1/2 years at the peak of his career.
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