Ali's role in boxing, society and beyond

Thomas Hauser - espn.go.com

"You could spend 20 years studying Ali," Dave Kindred once wrote, "and still not know what he is or who he is."

"He's a wise man, and he's a child. I've never seen anyone who was so giving and, at the same time, so self-centered. He's either the most complex guy that I've ever been around or the most simple. And I still can't figure out which it is. I mean, I truly don't know. We were sure who Ali was only when he danced before us in the dazzle of the ring lights. Then he could hide nothing."

And so it was that the world first came to know Muhammad Ali not as a person -- not as a social, political or religious figure -- but as a fighter. His early professional bouts infuriated and entertained as much as they impressed. Cassius Clay held his hands too low. He backed away from punches, rather than bobbing and weaving out of danger, and he lacked true knockout power. Purists cringed when he predicted the round in which he intended to knock out his opponent, and grimaced when he did so and bragged about each new conquest.

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