At party, friends remember boxer as competitive youngster

Long before his dazzling footwork and punching prowess made him a three-time world heavyweight boxing champion known as Muhammad Ali, a young Cassius Clay honed his skills by sparring with neighborhood friends and running alongside the bus on the way to school.

The man who became the world's most recognizable athlete was a baby sitter, a jokester and a dreamer in the predominantly black West End neighborhood of Louisville where he grew up and forged lasting friendships while beginning his ascent toward greatness.

The iconic boxer, now slowed by Parkinson's disease, turned 70 this month, and he came home for a birthday bash at the downtown cultural center and museum that bears his name. The private party doubled as a fundraiser for the 6-year-old Muhammad Ali Center, which promotes ideals of tolerance, respect and individual achievement. The birthday party will highlight a weeklong extended tribute to the city's favorite son whose name and face emblazon buildings and street signs.

Those who knew him before he developed his famous ringside persona - the brash predictions followed by rapid-fire punches that backed up his taunts - remember a happy-go-lucky kid with a ready smile who had a serious side, aspiring to show his mettle as a fighter.

Early on, Ali's neighbors and classmates saw the work ethic that enabled him to defeat the likes of Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Sonny Liston in epic bouts that sealed his reputation as an all-time great.

Instead of riding a bus to school, Ali raced it in early-morning workouts that stretched for miles.

"He would jog and of course we'd pass him up," said Shirlee Smith, 69, who graduated with Ali from Louisville Central High School in 1960. "Then we'd stop at every corner to pick somebody up and he'd pass us up. And he'd laugh and wave at us all the way to school."

Ali's introduction to boxing was spurred by a theft.

His new bicycle was stolen when Ali was 12. He rode the bike to a community event to get free popcorn and candy. When it was time to go home, the bike was gone. Wanting to report the crime, the shaken boy was introduced to Joe Martin, a police officer who doubled as a boxing coach at a local gym. Ali told Martin he wanted to whip the culprit. The thief was never found, nor was the bike, but soon the feisty Ali was a regular in Martin's gym.

Associated Press

(China Daily 01/29/2012 page6)