“The way you describe Muhammad Ali is the greatest,” George Foreman said Saturday as he reflected on his longtime friend’s death.
The boxing legend passed away at an Arizona hospital late Friday evening.
Foreman is one of the few people who experienced Ali’s greatness first hand in the ring.
The Houston boxer suffered his first loss to Ali during the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ in 1974, but now, Foreman is suffering a different kind of loss.
“It’s not a wonderful feeling to wake up and your friend is gone,” Foreman said. “I miss him. He was beautiful. Probably one of the best friends I’ve ever had, and even a brother to me for so many years.”
Foreman was only one of Ali’s Houston connections. The late boxer made many memories here.
All four of Ali’s bouts in the Bayou City went down as wins in his record book. He retained two world heavyweight titles here, once in 1966 and again in 1967.
However, Ali didn’t win all his battles in Houston. It was here where Ali refused to be drafted into the U.S. Army in 1967, claiming he was a conscientious objector.
He went before military officials at Houston’s Military Entrance Processing Station on San Jacinto in downtown Houston, and refused to step forward for induction when his name was called.
Ali was arrested after that. His boxing license was suspended and he was stripped of his world heavyweight title, but that incident was a true testament as to how the boxer always stood his ground.
As Foreman puts it, Ali will be remembered for that courageous spirit as much as he will be for his titles in the ring.
“Muhammad Ali will be remembered more so than boxing. That was just a small part of him. He will be remembered because he was a hero and he was not afraid of anything or anyone,” said Foreman.
Muhammad Ali was a hero who was known for his strength in boxing, in spirituality, and in civil rights. A hero who was loved by all.
