Ali

by Jonathan Eig

  “a stylized mimicry”: Oates, On Boxing, 185.

  Ali would admit he was worried: Ibid., 391.

  “You could actually see and feel”: Stokely Carmichael, Ready for Revolution: The Life and Struggles of Stokely Carmichael (New York: Scribner, 2003), 707.

  they found about thirty-five: “A Lot of Fans Will See Fight — But Not in Zaire,” New York Times, October 27, 1974.

  “Gift from President Mobutu”: “Zaire’s $10 Million Bet,” New York Times, October 27, 1974.

  With plenty of plane tickets: Ibid.

  because she’d never traveled outside: Veronica Porche, interview by author, December 20, 2016.

  speaking mostly about their childhoods: Ibid.

  no kisses, no invitations: Veronica Porche, interview by author, May 25, 2016.

  “He just overwhelmed Veronica”: Rose Jennings, interview by author, March 10, 2014.

  “My babysitter”: Kram, Ghosts of Manila, 165.

  “I remember the moment I fell in love with him”: Veronica Porche, interview by author, May 25, 2016.

  “the worst thing that could have happened”: “Foreman’s Eye Is Cut while Sparring, Delaying Title Bout a Week to 30 Days,” New York Times, September 17, 1974.

  persuaded Veronica Porche to take time off: Veronica Porche, interview by author, May 25, 2016.

  Americans called binji: Rose Jennings, interview by author, March 10, 2014.

  Ali accused Belinda of sleeping: Khalilah Camacho-Ali, interview by author, November 21, 2014. Veronica Porche, interview by author, May 25, 2016; Gene Kilroy, interview by author, October 22, 2016.

  “Ali comes in the room”: Khalilah Camacho-Ali, interview by author, November 21, 2014.

  confirmed Belinda was hiding two black eyes: Veronica Porche, interview by author, December 20, 2016.

  George Foreman button: Kram, Ghosts of Manila, 165.

  when Ali proposed marriage: Veronica Porche, interview by author, May 25, 2016.

  lay out a metabiche: “The Farther They Are, the Harder They Fall,” Sports Illustrated, September 2, 1974.

  “whoosh went the hair”: Mailer, The Fight, 116.

  “Adversity is ugly”: Plimpton, Shadow Box, 228.

  boogie-woogie songs: Veronica Porche, interview by author, May 25, 2016.

  ordered meat flown in from Europe: Rose Jennings, interview by author, March 10, 2014.

  “I plan to retire as soon as I win”: “Ali Says It Will Be Last Fight,” New York Times, October 22, 1974.

  Foreman a three-to-one favorite: “Odds on Foreman to Retain Title Rise to 3–1,” New York Times, October 27, 1974.

  “as remote as Zaire”: Red Smith, “Kinshasa Could Be Shelby South,” New York Times, October 23, 1974.

  “Shell him for three days”: “Ali’s Unique Fame — How It All Began,” Chicago Tribune, November 3, 1974.

  “I have a dream”: Plimpton, Shadow Box, 299.

  41. RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE

  “What’s wrong around here?”: George Plimpton, “Breaking a Date for the Dance,” Sports Illustrated, November 11, 1974.

  “Look how much better this one looks”: Ibid.

  where eight-five dollars bought a ticket: “A Lot of Fans Will See Fight — But Not in Zaire.”

  About 50 million: “Foreman 3–1 over Ali in Zaire Tonight,” New York Times, October 29, 1974.

  “Chump!”: Dundee, My View from the Corner, 184.

  “You been hearing about how bad I am”: Ali and Durham, The Greatest, 403.

  “Oh, Christ, it’s a fix”: Plimpton, Shadow Box, 324.

  Weeks before the fight: Gene Kilroy, interview by author, May 22, 2016.

  “traditionally a sort of halfway house”: Plimpton, “Breaking a Date for the Dance.”

  “half-dream room”: Ali and Durham, The Greatest, 405.

  “In the entire history of boxing”: Mike Silver, The Arc of Boxing (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2008), 123.

  “You got eight”: Al and Durham, The Greatest, 411.

  “I got a feeling that George”: Ali v. Foreman, www.youtube.com.

  “I know it”: George Foreman, interview by author, September 28, 2015.

  Sadler asked him for $25,000: Ibid.

  “That’s bullshit!”: Gene Kilroy, interview by author, May 22, 2016.

  “a military column through”: Plimpton, Shadow Box, 329.

  Low, heavy clouds: Plimpton, “Breaking a Date for the Dance.”

  “Bulldogs is falling”: Plimpton, Shadow Box, 332.

  “beating George Foreman and conquering”: Mailer, The Fight, 222.

  42. MOVING ON UP

  “and my great leader”: “Champion’s Greeting for Ali in Chicago,” New York Times, November 2, 1974.

  For years, there had been rumors: Evanzz, The Messenger, 419.

  “Let’s not talk no more”: Ibid., 421.

  “My whole life is Elijah Muhammad”: “Muhammad Ali — Larger Than Life,” Montana Standard, February 23, 1975.

  “I feel real guilty”: “Ali to Give Away Profits,” Billings Gazette, February 11, 1975.

  white mink stole: “Ali Challenges Black Men,” Ebony, January 1975.

  “because I’m from here, mainly”: “Ali Welcomed by Crowd of Supporters in Hometown, ‘Greatest City in World,’ ” Middlesboro (KY) Daily News, November 7, 1974.

  white Cadillac limousine: “Ali Challenges Black Men.”

  “You are the greatest, my man!”: Ibid.

  “Most were black”: Ibid.

  Ali told them to wait: Kindred, Sound and Fury, 204.

  “After hearing of the death”: Muhammad Ali, eulogy for Elijah Muhammad, memorial service, February 25, 1975, DVD courtesy of Elijah Muhammad III.

  “never leave his side”: Kram, Ghosts of Manila, 113.

  “If every Muslim was killed tomorrow”: Muhammad Ali, eulogy for Elijah Muhammad.

  “Herbert was not that fond of Don”: Lloyd Price, interview by author, July 30, 2015.

  “Joe Bugner?”: Gene Kilroy, interview by author, May 17, 2014.

  George Jefferson and his family: Bruce J. Schulman, The Seventies (New York: The Free Press, 2001), 53.

  invited white people to join the organization: Evanzz, The Messenger, 425.

  “Ali has entered folklore”: Wilfrid Sheed, Muhammad Ali: A Portrait in Words and Photographs (New York: Signet, 1975), 161.

  more than two hundred stitches: “Chuck Wepner: Boxing’s Everyman,” Long Beach (CA) Independent, January 27, 1975.

  “to give the white race a chance”: Newfield, Only in America, 90.

  “a good family man”: “Ali-Wepner Fight Part of Twinbill,” Cumberland (NJ) News, January 25, 1975.

  King made monthly cash payments: Gene Kilroy, interview by author, August 26, 2016.

  five hundred dollars a week plus expenses: Abdul Rahman, interview by author, August 19, 2016.

  “unsung genius”: “Nation of Islam Plans Event,” Chicago Defender, August 30, 1975.

  “The referee was Barney Felix”: Chuck Wepner, interview by author, February 26, 2014.

  “I’m over-tired and under-trained”: “Ali Says He’s Overweight, Unenthused,” Chicago Defender, March 15, 1975.

  Ali sneaking glances at TV monitors: “Tired Ali Scores Knockout in 15th to Retain Crown,” Louisville Courier-Journal, March 25, 1975.

  the first knockdown was real: “Ali Staggers and ‘Fluffs Pillows’ for Good Cause,” Louisville Courier-Journal, May 30, 1975.

  “I let my sparring partners beat up on me”: “Playboy Interview: Muhammad Ali,” Playboy, November 1975.

  “If you didn’t hit Ali”: Larry Holmes, interview by author, October 1, 2015.

  six packets of sugar: “King of All Kings,” New York Times, June 29, 1975.

  “For Ali to come out there”: Larry Holmes, interview by author, October 1, 2015.

  43. IMPULSES

  Wilma Rudolph . . . had come to the Alis’ house: Khalilah Camacho-Ali, interview by author, March 1, 20
16.

  the boxer continued to see Sonji Roi: Leon Muhammad, interview by author, June 6, 2016.

  Areatha Swint . . . said she carried on an affair: Jamillah Muhammad, interview by author, December 9, 2014.

  Ali met a high-school senior: “Suit Is Filed against Ali for Restoration of Child Support,” Los Angeles Times, January 18, 1985.

  Veronica said she knew about Temica: Veronica Porche, interview by author, December 20, 2016.

  “Ali’s weakness was coochie”: Leon Muhammad, interview by author, June 6, 2016.

  complained of difficulty sleeping: Tim Shanahan, interview by author, January 12, 2014.

  “He was automatically stupid and crazy”: Khalilah Camacho-Ali, interview by author, December 3, 2014.

  “He knew it was wrong”: Khalilah Camacho-Ali, interview by author, March 1, 2016.

  “I said, yeah, that’s true”: Khalilah Camacho-Ali, interview by author, November 21, 2014.

  “My wife is married”: Michael Phenner, interview by author, January 7, 2014.

  “The problem I had”: Khalilah Camacho-Ali, interview by author, March 1, 2016.

  Black women, white women: Ibid.

  special set of coded signals: Larry Kolb, interview by author, May 28, 2016; Lowell Riley, interview by author, March 12, 2016.

  Ali took six women back to his room: “Arum, One of Boxing’s Most Powerful Promoters, Still Hustling,” Sports Illustrated, December 5, 2012.

  Arum said Ali took three women: Bob Arum, interview by author, November 17, 2015.

  “the love I had for him”: Khalilah Camacho-Ali, interview by author, March 1, 2016.

  crossed paths but never met: Veronica Porche, interview by author, May 26, 2016.

  Herbert Muhammad would keep an office there: Jamillah Ali, interview by author, July 25, 2015.

  “She didn’t get sick, but I did”: Veronica Porche, interview by author, December 20, 2016.

  “I knew I was going to marry Muhammad”: “Greatest Expectations,” New York Times, April 8, 2012.

  “He said Lonnie would be a third wife”: Veronica Porche, interview by author, December 20, 2016.

  “Me, Wheeeee!”: “Knockout.”

  The three of them shared a suite: Veronica Porche, interview by author, May 26, 2016; Khalilah Camacho-Ali, interview by author, March 1, 2016.

  “Every two nights”: Khalilah Camacho-Ali, interview by author, March 1, 2016.

  silver perfume amulet: Veronica Porche, interview by author, May 26, 2016.

  “It was totally unfair to”: Ibid.

  “It’s going to be big”: “King of All Kings.”

  helped hunt for it: Rahaman Ali, interview by author, November 10, 2014.

  holding the medal as late as 1963: Curt Gunther, photograph, MPTV Images, 1963. Published in Azadeh Ansari, “Previously Unseen Photos Show Young Muhammad Ali at Home,” CNN.com, http://www.cnn.com/­2016/06/05/us/­cnnphotos-muhammad-ali-rare-pictures/index.html?sr=twcnni060616cnnphotos-muhammad-ali-rare-pictures0226AMVODtopLink&linkId=25239242.

  “Here’s this guy”: Peter Bonventre, interview by author, June 2, 2016.

  Areatha Swint had made the trip: Jamillah Muhammad, interview by author, December 9, 2014.

  “You couldn’t be around a man like that”: Ibid.

  “Solemn Muslim guards”: Peter Bonventre, “The Ali Mystique,” Newsweek, September 29, 1975.

  “You have a beautiful wife”: Veronica Porche, interview by author, December 20, 2016.

  “No, we ain’t gonna go”: Dave Anderson, “Magellan to MacArthur to Muhammad,” New York Times, September 23, 1975.

  “I’m not wanted here”: “Mrs. Ali Leaves Manila, Indicating ‘3 Is a Crowd,’ ” New York Times, September 27, 1975.

  “You really couldn’t blame her”: Jamillah Muhammad, interview by author, December 9, 2014.

  “It ain’t no accident”: “The Ali Mystique.”

  “I got three or four lady friends”: “Ali Tells Public of His Private Life,” New York Times, September 24, 1975.

  44. ALI-FRAZIER III

  “Who’d he ever beat”: “It Takes Two to Make a Fight,” New York Times, October 2, 1975.

  “He not only looks bad!”: Kram, Ghosts of Manila, 169.

  “I know enough about guns”: “Ali Tells Public of His Private Life.”

  “I’m gonna eat this”: Kram, Ghosts of Manila, 171.

  350 arenas and theaters: “Ali-Frazier Gross Likely to Set Mark,” New York Times, October 2, 1975.

  100,000 or so American homeowners: Bill Mesce Jr., Inside the Rise of HBO (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2015), 79.

  transmitter in the Philippines: “TV Notes: Who Jockeyed ABC into First Place?” New York Times, November 2, 1975.

  “Somebody told you all wrong”: “Lawdy, Lawdy He’s Great,” Sports Illustrated, October 13, 1975.

  ”It was like death”: Ibid.

  “The world needs ya”: Ibid.

  “Lawd have mercy!”: Ibid.

  thinking of Frazier’s kids: “You Could Trust the Trainer Eddie Futch,” New York Times, October 14, 2001.

  Dundee never confirmed those accounts: Dundee, My View from the Corner, 199.

  “Why I do this?”: Kram, Ghosts of Manila, 189.

  45. GETTING OLD

  “I’ve changed my mind”: Muhammad Ali, interview by Howard Cosell, ABC-TV, “Thrilla in Manila with Ali Feedback,” n.d. (c. 1975), www.youtube.com.

  “I’m not going to break our marriage”: “Muhammad and Belinda Ali: Is Their Marriage on the Rocks, Ebony, December 1975.

  “Well, yes”: Muhammad Ali, interview by Howard Cosell.

  Ali said he planned: “Press Conference, 1976 Model,” New York Times, February 22, 1976.

  “I’m so far in my own class”: “Wrestler’s Chin Withstands Ali’s Lip,” New York Times, March 26, 1976.

  “I’m heavy because I need energy”: “Ali at 230 for Young Tonight,” New York Times, April 30, 1976.

  “I’ve been eating too much pie”: “Young ‘Ducks’ Away from Title,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City, UT), May 1, 1976.

  “Go to work”: “Muhammad Ali v. Jimmy Young,” ABC-TV, April 30, 1976, www.youtube.com.

  “He was more than just overweight”: “The Most Subjective Sport,” New York Times, May 2, 1976.

  “The bounce wasn’t the same”: Angelo Dundee, interview by ESPN Sports Century.

  “because I couldn’t . . . hear him talk”: Ibid.

  A reporter asked Ali: “The Most Subjective Sport.”

  “Six million dollars”: Ibid.

  46. “THEY MAY NOT LET ME QUIT”

  Ali’s Trolley: Photo and caption, Jet, January 8, 1976.

  “You’re not as dumb as you look”: Mike Katz, interview by author, May 17, 2014.

  “There isn’t any marriage: “The Ali-Belinda Split Is Made Official — and Mysterious Veronica Turns up Pregnant,” People, April 19, 1976.

  separate apartments: Ibid.

  “He was literally”: Spiros Anthony, interview by author, March 9, 2016.

  earned Ali millions: Ibid.

  “I think he knew he was throwing the money away”: Richard W. Skillman, interview by author, December 12, 2016.

  “I really want to quit”: “Ali Admits Decline, but ‘They Won’t Let Me Quit,’ ” New York Times, May 26, 1976.

  “One million dollars a punch”: “Ali Punches More for Army,” New York Times, June 28, 1976.

  By the time he flew back: “Ali Hospitalized,” New York Times, July 2, 1976.

  Inoki later sued Ali: “Ali Confident in Bout with Norton Tonight,” New York Times, September 28, 1976.

  “extreme and repeated mental cruelty”: “Notes on People,” New York Times, October 5, 1976.

  drive his Stutz Blackhawk: Tim Shanahan, interview by author, July 15, 2014.

  Harold’s Chicken Shack: Tim Shanahan, Running with the Champ (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2016), 98.

  “We’ve got bedspreads and towels”:
“Ali Extends Reach to Sheets,” New York Times, August 4, 1976.

  “Mr. Champ’s”: “Ali’s New Drink: ‘Mr. Champs’ Soda,” New York Times, May 9, 1978.

  one hundred rounds: “Ken Spars 225 Rounds; Ali 100,” New York Daily News, September 26, 1976.

  “the only thing he does with the same”: “Ali Now Talking Comeback on Title Merry-Go-Round,” New York Daily News, September 23, 1976.

  mostly failed: “Ali Is up to Par,” New York Post, September 23, 1976.

  group of army sergeants: “Busy, Like a Bee,” New York Post, September 25, 1976.

  “I’m almost twice as better”: “How Ali, Dundee United,” New York Post, September 22, 1976.

  “I wanna leave him”: “Ali Set to Slam in the Rubber Match,” Sports Illustrated, September 27, 1976.

  “I want you, nigger!”: “The Champ’s Show,” New York Post, September 24, 1976.

  The Bronx could be dangerous: “Police Flout Writ by Blocking Traffic at Ali-Norton Fight,” New York Times, September 29, 1976.

  Red Smith . . . got his pocket picked: Mike Katz, interview by author, May 17, 2014.

  skins of boa constrictors: “The Fight Crowd Finery,” New York Post, September 29, 1976.

  “I beat you!”: “This Was for Auld Lang Syne,” New York Times, September 29, 1976.

  “I was robbed”: “ ‘I Was Robbed,’ ” New York Post, September 29, 1976.

  “The judges always like”: “Ali Finds Non-Believers in His Dressing Room,” New York Times, September 29, 1976.

  “You think they’re going to give Ken the decision”: “What’s Ali Got Left? Not Much,” New York Post, September 29, 1976.

  “How much longer can you fight”: Ibid.

  “There is no question now”: Mark Kram, “Not the Greatest Way to Go,” Sports Illustrated, October 11, 1976.

  “At the urging of my leader”: “Ali Declares He Is Retiring to Assist ‘the Islamic Cause,’ ” New York Times, October 2, 1976.

  “If he should lose his wealth”: “Raise New Doubt over Ali’s Future,” Manchester (CT) Journal Inquirer, October 4, 1976.

  47. “DO YOU REMEMBER MUHAMMAD ALI?”

  “Movie star!”: “Muhammad Ali Tries for a Knockout as a Movie Star,” New York Times, November 7, 1976.

  “This face is worth billions”: Ibid.

  “I want Foreman”: “Ali Sees a Foreman (and Bobick) in Future and Changes His Retirement Plans Again,” New York Times, November 23, 1976.