From Bill Clinton to Sir Alex Ferguson – 10 great birthday tributes to Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali Punch

“I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalised a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick.”

It takes a special man to bring the Internet to a standstill, but who can begrudge Muhammad Ali the wave of tributes, which have spread like wildfire on his 70th birthday?

Quidblog takes a look at the best the web has to offer as the three-time heavyweight champion of the world enters his eighth decade.

  • 70 years celebrated in 70 pictures. The Guardian pay homage to ‘The Greatest’ by combing their archive for some of boxing’s most iconic images.
  • It’s rare that Presidents form an orderly cue to pay homage to anyone other than fellow political leaders. In this interview with the BBC, Bill Clinton reflects on Ali’s refusal to fight for the US army in Vietnam and how the controversy surrounding the decision elevated his world status.
  • From his first words, to his first fight. From Olympic Gold in 1960, to lighting the Olympic flame in Atlanta in 1996. From the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ to the ‘Thrilla in Manila’. Shortlist does what it does best by listing the 70 moments which have defined Ali’s career both in and out of the boxing ring.
  • The knockouts, the opponents, the belts, the wives, the kids, the comic book appearances – check out The Mirror’s terrific infographic on the life and times of the Louisville Lip.
  • The Sun looks back on six of Ali’s most famous bouts from his success as an 18-year-old at the Rome Olympics and his defeat of Henry Cooper at Wembley to the legendary duels with Joe Frazier and George Foreman.
  • He turned 70 himself recently and in some sporting circles he is held in the same esteem as Ali, but that doesn’t mean that Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson isn’t in awe of the boxer. Talking to his club’s official website he talks about watching the American fight in the early hours of the Glasgow morning.
  • Writer, broadcaster and ‘hip-hop intellectual’ Lindsay Johns writes from the heart as he describes Ali as one of humanity’s greatest ambassadors in today’s Daily Mail.
  • Lennox Lewis, himself a former heavyweight champion of the world, talks to the Telegraph about his relationship with Ali and the gift he gave the birthday boy when they met at the weekend.
  • Amidst the triumph and grandeur of reaching the pinnacle of his sport, there were also farcical moments when Ali’s grip on his own reputation seemed to be on the ropes. Sportsvibe looks back on a night in Japan when $6 million was enough to persuade him to test his hand against a wrestler.
  • When he wasn’t fighting, Ali liked nothing more than to verbally spar. Whether he was preaching peace, boasting supremacy over his rivals or scalding enemies, the man’s razor-sharp tongue always entertained. The team at Yahoo-Eurosport recall their favourite Ali quotes.

Of course, so much has been written about Muhammad Ali, but nothing beats watching the man in action. Check out this magnificently assembled montage by Gorilla Productions and marvel at the brilliance, the guile, and the charisma of the world’s greatest ever boxer.

If you've got a favourite Mohammad Ali moment, why not share it with us in the comments section...