As Lewis's head snapped back, his legs crumbling . The American writer Norman Mailer once said that there was a shock in seeing Muhammad Ali, the former world heavyweight champion. The man was simply beautiful. Women draw an audible breath.
Men look down.
Ali was more than a boxer. He was a conscientious objector, a man who refused to fight in the US Army against civilians in Vietnam. He was also the most eloquent and hypnotic ambassador for the sport ever to emerge. He embodied not just the spirit of great athleticism, but of humanity. He outgrew being a mere pugilist, becoming an ambassador for peace and racial and religious tolerance.