Mohmmed Ali
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When Davis Miller, left, was a kid, there was only one athlete he
When Davis Miller, left, was a kid, there was only one athlete he cared about: Muhammad Ali. Decades later, the two are now friends.
‘Approaching Ali’ Offers Unmatched Personal Account Of Boxer’s Life Beyond The Ring
By Bill LittlefieldCommentsDecember 12, 2015
When Davis Miller, left, was a kid, there was only one athlete he cared about: Muhammad Ali. Decades later, the two are now friends. When Davis Miller, left, was a kid, there was only one athlete he cared about: Muhammad Ali. Decades later, the two are now friends.
Davis Miller has made a career writing about the life of Muhammed Ali. His most recent book, “Approaching Ali: A Reclamation in Three Acts,” offers a detailed and intimate portrait of the former heavyweight champion. Miller tells the more personal story of his friendship with Ali…In His Own Words:
Ali’s Influence On Miller’s Childhood
“When I first saw Muhammad Ali, I was 11 years old, and I was almost catatonically depressed. It was January, 1964, and I was sitting sadly in front of my father’s little black and white television. Turned it on, flipped channels, and suddenly there was this face and this voice in front of me who said, ‘I’m young. I’m handsome. I’m fast and pretty. I can’t possibly be beat.’
“I was 4’10” and weighed 63 pounds when I was a junior in high school, and my high school nickname was ‘Fetus.’ I imitated his voice terribly. I got really cocky with my mouth, which got me beaten up even more regularly than it would have otherwise. I learned to throw a jab like Ali. I could dance clockwise and counter-clockwise like him. It gave me some sort of solace in my otherwise bleak life.
Miller Faces His ‘Daddy’ In The Ring
“It was fun. I was trembling head to toe until the bell rang. And then he pointed at me and said, ‘I could be your daddy if I was white.’ And as soon as that happened I relaxed. I had seen him and studied everything he’d done, so when he went back into his rope-a-dope, and he sat there looking sleepy, I managed to catch the guy with a three-punch combination. The crowd oohed and aahed and it woke Ali up. He hit me with a single jab, and I suddenly couldn’t see, couldn’t hear. Didn’t know where I was. Spectators sounded like they were a galaxy far, far away, and my legs went to soup. He draped his arm around me and said, ‘You’re fast, and you sure can’t hit — to be so little.’ He led me, looking freshly electrocuted from the ring, and it was one of the highlights of my life.
Ali’s Legacy
“He surely does not want anybody to feel sorry for him. I think he’s become a greater man in his years with Parkinson’s. I think it’s actually served him well that he doesn’t speak easily anymore, because if he did, we’d still be hearing this sweetly insane narcissist who just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Instead, he’s become this ‘whispering muse.’ And he’s aware of every bit of that and he considers the Parkinson’s disease a sort of gift.
In One Place “He says that the way he’d like to be remembered is as an enormously generous person. He’s still reviled by some people, but hundreds of millions, if not billions of people, love him. No matter who Ali says he is and isn’t, and no matter who you and I say he is and isn’t, he falls outside our concepts of who we believe him to be. And he takes pleasure in that. He notices that, and likes to sort of pick up the carpet of the universe and give it a sweet, friendly shake and peer underneath and see what’s there and be this little cosmic brat that says, ‘I don’t have to be who you want me to be.’”