When Ali Met Cathal

tonight we have as a guest in the studio a man of whom Time magazine once wrote he is Hercules struggling through the 12 labors he is Jason chasing the Golden Fleece he is Galahad Serrano d'Artagnan when he skulls strong men shudder and when he smiles women swoon the mysteries of the universe are his toys he rattles the thunder and he loses the lightning well he's looser a lot of lightning in his day and he's going to loose some more of it tomorrow night in Croke Park there's no man in the world I think whose name is more synonymous with sport today he said he's the greatest and maybe years I'm certainly not going to argue with him about that and he says he's the prettiest ladies and gentlemen will you welcome please Muhammad Ali well do you think he is the prettiest I didn't say that I don't know how that got out I wonder Mohammed you certainly look fit thank you have you been training very hard yes I've been working constantly now since my last fight with Joe Frazier fighting every other month or two and I just boxed Jerry quarry a top-notch fighter I was in good shape for my father the first time he was troubled with the second time a lot of the Russell's offered me and the reason he was trouble first time was because that was my first fight in a four-year layoff all right and so I'm ready now I'm still active just needed to wipe a little dust off of my sister Cora fight I set down a few days of rest and I'm ready now you're doing a lot of fighting well yes I think the boxing game should stay alive I take every contenders you get a shot at a title the new [ __ ] I mean champ Joe Frazier and so not doing nothing fighting once every seven months and fighting people that you could beat you can't fight so it's all right I have to keep the game alive was I'm the true champion how do you feel about the fight without blue Louis well I'm fighting Louis for one reason mainly because Fraser won't fight him George Fullmer top-notch fighter won't fight him Jerry quarry wouldn't fight him and with most boxers and managers this is just a business and they are figure well they got a top contender and he's burly on top and they don't want to take a chance and lose unless they're paid great and top-notch fighters fighting blue Lewis can't receive the proper pay because he's not famous but yet he's got a chance of beating them and they have nothing to gain but everything loose so I'm fighting him because everybody else is ducking him and he is a good fighter plus it'll be kinda hard to bring a top-notch high rank and fighter here because the price couldn't be put up so there's sort of a chance does he have with you two chances what are they slim and none I asked for that one Angelo Dundee is just out of me a piece of paper to say that your your you hope to go to fight in Tehran in about three weeks time Iranian Turay and yes we're gonna just exhibition government invitation and we're working on it now so your next big fight really I suppose is with is with Patterson oh yeah that's right grab it a rabbit I call him the rabbit why is that all the way fights and uh you know he calls me clay the name is now Muhammad Ali steel assistant clay so I'll call him the rabbit plus I'm gonna fight a rabbit in the garden Madison Madison Square Garden of course you then go on to fight Frazier I gather yes if he comes out of hide and he bought a plantation down in South Carolina some chicken plantation I'll move I know he's a slave but he don't have to buy plantations well what do you really feel about him well he's a good Slugger he's not scientific he's rough physically I know I beat him I won nine rounds he's already ugly and I beat him so bad that night I beat him so bad and he was so ugly after the fight his face should have been donated to the Bureau of wildlife you don't he toured here with us he toured here with a herd he flopped like you do everywhere else he's got a singing group called the Knockouts and he thought because they gave him my title he could go everywhere and draw people and get rich and I understand he draws 80 people or maybe a thousand people in the twenty thousand seat arena in London in a four thousand seat arena he drew twelve people but he did have the nerve to keep on with the show he did a little better here he got a separate one actually and I think it's thousand and forty one of it I knew I can beat him saying but I don't call myself a saying I can come here and feel every place cuz the people know the real champion is but you have been a singer too I mean you had a show called but quite didn't you yes I was on a plane called big time buck white and black militant play of problems that we have in America the play was a flop but I was here you you lasted the play lasted six days but the worst critics my part was the head I want to get that straight why is it do you think that that you draw the crowds of all the sportsmen in the world you are amazing crowd wrong mainly personality has got a lot to do with it of personality like a salesman's business depends entirely on his personality if he's rude and unsympathetic and and then the bow will hope that he goes away and never come back but very often it's a Salesman is good he can make a person buy when in don't even tend to say with a doctor he might be the the best of doctors he might have many patients and give him all the medicine he wants but if his personality is not really right then like his medicine will make him feel that good as personality to make him feel worse but very often a wise doctor can cure a person with word of mouth alone because they realize pile of matters needed a doc or lawyer can dishearten a clown on one visit if you don't have a personality of victory like Joe Frazier for example he's the champion they say number one he don't have the personality he can talk very few boxes can get on this show and match wits with wise men like yourself which wit learn all I want to mess with you and very few fighters if you take the camera on close-up you see my nose and my face I'm not ugly I'm not ugly like most fighters they have nose like that here's a lifetime how you feel Chambal pretty I'm a pretty fighter and like Arkans you know I'll have a personality I know how to talk to the wine heads I have a talk for the your great mr. Lynch here in the Parliament House and I knew how to talk to two men like you with less intelligence than myself and now it's all the choking just listen to the people away just listen to the people laughs just listen to him laughs very few comedians can do this and that's their job so like I'm saying it's personality that attracts I mean people of all religions like in America I stand up for black people in regardless to what it calls me I speak out for what I believe like you got people in Ireland fighting for what they believe I represent this also the draft was something out of my religion teacher gainst and this may be popular with many people then you got the white races who believe in separation such as I believe one day the black people in America must go to self clean up self help self do for self I recognize them then you got all the Muslims in Saudi Arabia Pakistan Syria Lebanon India all throughout Kuwait Abu Dhabi all throughout Libya they all recognize me because the name Muhammad Ali and yet all of this all I representing in my confidence I am the greatest I cannot lose I'm pretty every man believes he's the greatest every man would like to be the greatest many want to say this but they fear it and they see this in myself and some hate me for me some love me soar so add it all up and we have a large crowd well Joe Frazier's uglies flat-footed he came talk he came same he came fight and no personality no he's a Slugger street fighter why do you show phrases not don't get me wrong Joe Frazier is good with his things not skillful Joe Frazier is known for taking a lot of punches he's not like floral patterns and I'll say Sugar Ray Robinson or Joe Lewis I'll say Jack Johnson Jack Dempsey these are great scientific boxes see Joe Frazier take five punches to hit you was how do you think why do you think he beat you Muhammad down the last time well the reason that he got the decision if you looked at my face and his face had to fight both eyes or close his nose his blood is good this was cut his head was swollen and he spent one month in the hospital it is you all here yes surely he spent 30 days of intensive care no phone calls and no visitors and that's a terrible beaten when you have to stay rest for 30 days but he got the decision but I'm not complaining next time I'll get him I played too much with him and plus I find the time I was bucking a draft system I didn't go to the service and I found out the three of the judges was on the local draft board that's not we'll come back to that if we can in just a moment could we sort of go right to the beginning of your career what made you take up boxing as a child in Louisville well at 12 years old so when stole my bicycle I went to a home show what the display cars and refrigerators and household utensils and everything and I went there and left my bicycle outside and came out it was a drizzling rain that night Saturday evening about 9 o'clock the bicycle was gone just got it for Christmas somebody asked me I asked worthless nearest police officer and they said in the basement the same builder that just came out and fellow named Joe Martin was training amateur boxers in a room about this size and he asked me to take out application and learn how to fight song and beat the fellow up and joking fashion he stole my bicycle so they start boxing this led you on eventually to to the Olympics was this your goal as he I mean as a child and as a young man did you see that the best thing you could ever do was was to be an Olympic champion I knew that about Olympics when I started nothing I just boxes just to get on the local television show called tomorrow's champions every week aside in Louisville Kentucky let me show called tomorrow's champions and you've heard of the Kentucky Derby sure that's where they have the races where I live I live across street from where they have a race every year anyway I just want to get a local television and I found out how good I was and I kept on fighting people say I'm conceded I talk too much but they must have pity on me it's hard to be humble when you're great as I I won the Golden Gloves the national AAU and the Olympics and then after the Olympics they had all the gold medals but no money which an interprofessional you you told a story on one occasion about coming back from the Olympics with the medal to your own hometown did this make you a very big man in your own hometown did it completely change your life well you know like made me popular for a few days but I wanted to do something good with it so I went downtown at the time black people was marching to eat in the white restaurants they wanted rights to go where they wanted to and so I said I'll take this medal and I'll go downtown and I'll sat down at a restaurant I got a little spot now and then I'll order something to eat and I went down and I haven't met alone and the lady was looking and I said I'd like all cheeseburger she said we don't serve Negroes I said I don't eat him either just give me a cheese how was it Mohammed anyway to be a negro boy in the south you say black male oh I'm laughing all right and it did is it that the same thing what no Negro we are taught that all people named after country Chinese are named after Channel Cubans are named after Cuba Irish people are named after Ireland Indonesians named after Indonesia Japanese are named after Japan Australians are named after Australia but there's no country named Negros all right let me say I understand as you know let me refresh what I really mean is did you feel that you were deprived that you and your family and and other blacks were second-class citizens do you feel it we knew it not on the second clasp about add up all the nationalities you have on earth then they come first like right now you can come to my town and you're more free in America than I am in my Chinese the Japanese at the black people help America fight or even the Germans a day after the war in Vietnam the Vietcong will be more of a citizen than American Negroes so like we might be the 50 class citizens 60th class if you really break it down something like who's your second class would be alright this is something you feel very strongly strongly I'm Louis the truth I live right there every day what attracted you then to Islam in the first instant no Muslim religion yeah is the true teachings of Elijah Muhammad right there in America no power stroke and nobody will challenge him and the history of ourselves the history of our true religion our nationality our names see we don't have our names you know I knows how proud you all are proud of your names see Chinese have names like change home Lu Chen listen Islamic teachings Russians have names like Kosygin or Khrushchev you have names like O'Connor or Grady or Kennedy and Africans had names like kind Lumumba nacht Roma and Jews got names like Weinstein and gold burden and Italians got names like Dundee and benvenuti and piano but we have names like gradient clay and Hawkins and Smith and Jones and Johnson but we are black these are the slaves now yes and I heard this I knew the truth is history so Muhammad Ali is a beautiful black name name of my ancestors so I would I heard this I just had to walk out of the church and Christianity because they never taught us how true knowledge then they told me how we were brainwashed in America we see Jesus he's white with blond hair and blue eyes we see the Lord's Supper all white people we see the angels in heaven all white people and we look at Miss Universe a white woman Miss America white woman Miss World a white woman even Tarzan the king of the jungle is in Africa he was white we see a white man swinging in Africa Oh all with a dipole he beats up all Africans and break the lines Joe then the Africans been in Africa for centuries but he can't yet talk to the animals but tars and all of a sudden some goat raised the mutton he can talk to animals so I'm just showing you how the black man in America has been whitewashed his mind and then we look at the good Cowboys they rode the white horses and the president live in a white house they got TV commercials white owl cigars white swans soap King right so white cloud tissue-paper white rain Harris white tornado floor wax white plus toothpaste the president live in a White House and and the angel food cake was the white cake but the devil's food cake was the chocolate cake everything good was white and when I heard this I said boy this is the truth so our religion teaches us the knowledge of ourselves the knowledge of our culture the knowledge of my history makes us want to be their own merry own live alone clean up ourselves do for self quit forcing ourselves and white neighborhoods but clean our own neighborhoods makes us proud makes us identify our own brothers throughout the world and after I heard this been intelligent man then like I'm not only a winner in boxing all my standing on the draft I'm a 1 also in the movement that I'll follow for my people learners leaders Elijah Muhammad who we believe was taught by Allah God himself to teach the so-called American [ __ ] knows the truth that's been hidden from them for four hundred years which will free them why is it do you think that the black Muslims preach the separation of the races rather than integration of the races as as indeed many American blacks do well we are where we say separation we know that as of now we always have to be trained with one lung liver with one another but we say separate we mean mainly mentally as far as do for yourself help self clean your neighbors and make them a better place to live a good four seven white neighbors because they're cleaner respect your women or pool your resources education and qualifications for self independence and this is what we mainly teach about the separate in one day we believe that black people should trade with one another we've tried integrating for 400 years and we've been kicked and shot and brutalize you read about the news for years and it's not working so we believe that we should now come and try to do for ourselves and I understand this and some of your problem in Ireland where people are taught have been dominated by certain groups had taught have been ruled and their men and they want to do for themselves same way in all countries people just tired their revolutionize and things and they want to be free we've been in America on the white domination lynch kill rape castrated shot down daily no justice in the courts the pride of freedom justice equality and we just now want to be free and we can't do we have found out that we black and white are disagreeable in peace they can't get along together so we think we should just now quit fighting quit been violent none of your doctors none of your lawyers none of your mechanics now they were educated only we're not needed to pick cotton no more you got millions of blacks been born everything hospitals there are no jobs we think that we should now go on some land and build and construct and Diouf ourselves so do you mean an actual fact that should be separate parts of the United States only for Negroes except if I tell you from right well I'll realize your army teaches us that we have been our 400 years fighting we fought the Japanese we fought the Germans we fought the Koreans if America went a wild island tomorrow the black people be overshooting you so fast all the black people be right here shooting you with American flag and we believe that since we've been fighting all of Americans and him is not our enemies work for hundred years 16 hours a day from sunup to sundown without a pay day that we should now be repaid don't give us nothing and give us or repay us you got 50 states then we make our 10% population then divide off 10% land let us build on stores make on grown food make on suits and be like other people are not always begging white people for houses begging for jobs begging for seat in your restaurant may I use your toilet mail right on your bus then that I'm grown and educated now we're no longer slaves and we can't get along just let me go and live by myself like other people ain't nothing wrong with that Muslims of course don't believe in war at least you you certainly don't believe what you've demonstrated that by using to join the American army but you have said on one occasion that possibly you would could believe in a holy war well the holy kawarau religious book teaches us that we declare selves to be righteous Muslims do not take no part in wars no way fashion or form they take the lives of humans unless it's a holy war declared by God Allah Himself and like this hadn't happened and if it do happen then we'll have a way of knowing because our religious leaders speak out but we don't take no part in Wars not just a Vietnam war but no war but would you fight in such a war in a holy war of this sort I mean how would you know that you should find us what I'm trying to say then while we have a leader who will speak like all countries have leaders we have a leader and like if we attacked and we're right we believe and fight if we are attacked but not been there Brussels you you go to South Africa very soon to box do you believe in the sort of separation of the races that they have in South Africa but nothing what I hear here is unequal we believe in the equal separation and we all only fight in South Africa under the condition that the audience not coming to change their policies not coming to talk about them we've just been invited otherwise you wouldn't go and we might not still go we don't know but the audience have to be separate which is the way this has got to be but the black side has got to be equal to the white side and convenience and seat and capacity and everything and we'll fight on those conditions but how would you feel if you go to South Africa and go to go into a white man's restaurant if you should perhaps want to and were refused it wouldn't this take you back to the old sort of Louisville situation again no I wouldn't in law just I mean if a man didn't want me in his place I just leave I would've I to force themselves on me and I wouldn't be looking for no trouble like it on my minds too big for that you know I don't want to be right nobody don't want me I believe I'm the greatest well what I won't be with somebody that's less than me I'm the greatest they should want to be with me as we all look at it right Elijah Muhammad has said something which perhaps a lot of us white people have misunderstood perhaps you can explain it to me he said that white men are Devils yes what does he mean by he means just what he said though deeds in the works of the mayor he's he says the American Devils the luncheon the killing cutting the black people's private out sticking it in the mouth is what the Dead does got a book called 100 years of lynching written by white man taking black women who was four months pregnant they took us four years and hungers up with the feet and stuck a diagonal stomach and ripped it and pulled unborn baby out just to put fear in other slaves they tied up black people two horses and two horses and pulled his arms out and pulled his legs out one lemonade trains at white children and white people of America used to come and watch him top ten and fifteen black men and pour gasoline on him and burn them watch him burn alive they took us and hung us up the trees and shot us the bullets they took cut a hand off and gave it to little boy and it took two Lego and this is worse than the devil all right but see the devil the preacher and the church taught us that the devil was up underground right and he will wait till he died before he burn us up this white devil in America was worse because he burned us why we was alive he didn't wait till we die so what I'm trying to say is the deeds and he works and I think this if he lied to Mohammed can stand on America for 42 years before my little black self was born and say that the American white man is the devil then the white man should get up and say you are alive and carry him to court and say we are not the devil not one American not one government official one male one senator none of them will stand up and say that they are not devils and this man is lying so what am I to do right I believe it do you believe that every white man is a devil I mean Angelo Dundee Herald Connor Angelo Dundee's Italian he's got a lot of he's got a lot of black brothers Marilyn Connor has Harald Connor has Jew so I got a question sir I no no listen listen what I'm saying to you is this what I'm saying to you is this I'm saying that Elijah Muhammad our leader teaches us this and I believe everything he say so it's not it's not for me to prove that you must remember you have not lynched me in wonder Germans that did this to us it wasn't white canadians whose right on our border he put emphasis on the American Devils he's mission to America by God to preach the truth so what I'm saying let's say we got one white fell in America who has proved that he means right let's say we got another one white people have died in demonstrations for black people now here's the position I'm in here's 10,000 rights coming to kill me and in those 10,000 let's say here's 10,000 rattlesnakes coming to bite me and in those 10,000 that was 1,000 that didn't mean no harm and I knew there was a good thousand snakes out there but they all look alike now what should I do should I keep the door open and let the 10,000 in hoping that the thousand will unite and save me and one by two killing me I should I just be safe and shut the door so we have white people's I mean right I have a black husband or my children are black I love everybody I really believe you but I'm sorry man there's ten more thousand behind you that don't feel that way I'm just sorry but what am I gonna do all excited that I know I'll bet my hand on my family's life now that there's some whites that mean right and sorry that they were from this race but there's so few until they don't really matter until I I can't forget all the slim mention all the deprived and all the murder everything doesn't happen because the toulon mean right right but to see what America dropped bombs on Vietnam she drops her babies boys when she dropped the ball on Japan she dropped it they don't say some innocent they just said wah so when a person in Belfast leave a bomb they don't say well as a kid is innocent in here those of old lady she's blind they just boomed all the bombs so what I'm saying that because they do we have a problem it's black and white and maybe there's a few voices I mean right but there's so many that don't so we have to look at the problem as a whole I want to get that plane I know their whites the mean right okay you yourself have have some little white blood in you yeah what do you say you you feel you feel totally Negro or do you feel black yeah well nobody is really totally like Chinese a yellow they say but they not really yellow you a say you white give me something white you don't look right here's white see this is white you know what you kind of thinking okay you know white see that's all right so I'm not black but I'm considered black but as far as the blood is concerned some people say you talk so bad about us in America you have white blood in you how did I get white blood in me but you've no way back a hundred and something years ago old slave masters wife used to get tired and he would sneak back in old grannies Shack and old granny had big hips she was pretty and had a big breasts and big legs and she was strong she worked all day to clean up the white lady's house raised the white lady's babies and no white lady was tired and weak and old black slave was back tall strong and he was snap back at night and closed the door and you know what he would do I can you can guess what he would do and then and then here come me if we get back to fighting right just a moment when light is coming up they laughing cuz they know what I'm talking about everybody knows oh yeah well if when a fight is coming up you it appears to me deliberately build up a lot of pressure to intimidate your opponent and intimidates the people see in America the black people were always taught to be humble you know yessir boss I see I'm sorry hey Barbara yes the boss yes boss and never has a slave got up and said I am the greatest I'm beautiful I'm prettier I cannot lose they said that [ __ ] talks too much the [ __ ] needs good whooping and then pay money to see me beat and I go to the bank laughs and one hundred thousand to ten thousand feelin I am the greatest that [ __ ] talks he's cocky Wow hmm so like this is a weii bill look like when I fought Jerry quarry I said the last of the white hopes you know but I saw this Bill's up I started looking at Jerry quarry at the weigh-in the other night on television last month and you were giving him this stare and he was staring back at you was he frightening you or were you frightening him I was neither of you frightening well I don't they me those was writing but I'm psyching him so he lets me know he's not scared but I don't see him I see me I see people like you watching but mainly in America and they were looking and building it up to be a race war I said you don't stand a chance I'm gonna run you out of the ring and people in Alabama Mississippi and Georgia what dead [ __ ] you talk too damn much hey let's go see this fight I literally hate nobody but people are so small-minded it's easy to lead them you know you ever see the rascals as it's always a good rice look and a bad one ah he takes his fan in his eye and the eye shakes it off in two minutes his eyes clear up and he sticks it in again and he hits his back and everybody hate him he'll win the first round and then the sock around the good fella wins and that's what everybody come to see though bad villain be beat up I like to be the villain but the things I'm telling you now won't tell an American television because they start liking me this all he's just tricking us but when I get back to Merc I'd be bad you talk to people in the ring you were feeling a little small but I don't you were you appear to be talking to what you say you appear when you're fighting I do write often I do talk I told you well I can you repeat that well someone will repeat but I have a few things that Satan not for the public but to confuse my opponent like I might say to white fight oh listen while I'm in the clinch the Black Panthers outside you don't stand a damn chance tonight boy now burn your house down he look at this guy's crazy I have a lot of things I'll say do you ever do you ever get into the ring hating the man no never never never never no do you get in with anxiety or fear I be I'm nervous because of the talking that I do and I have to back it up I think about people I'm gonna head on the spot I'm on a heck of a spot can you imagine blue Lewis whooping me I'd have to cry I couldn't go back to America private life at all Muhammad yeah hmm because all the time I've seen you in Ireland up in your hotel and back and Ford people are staring at your looking at you wanting to touch you're wanting to talk to you have a private life well on how you know you're a young man of 30 this seems to be to be a perpetual trust around the world that you do with people you know hey I'm out I rested nights and when I'm at home it read you know like they have a saying a prophet is never honored in his own home like when I leave home I expect this I'm new you let me stay here one year and they get tired of it unless enough you see me every day I'm coming like the Beatles only in America Oh at home they were nothing Tom Jones he comes to America Tom me like like when I come out huh well I'll go home oh I'm tired of that big but the other day I suppose are getting the other day I saw a small boy aspiring and boxing with you and so on do men ever try to do this does a man ever come up to you and say look I'll if he dreamed it he better wake up and apologize never no trouble out of nobody I don't have no trouble Naaman are you a wealthy man yes I mean very are you a millionaire of two terms are you a big spender do you spend a lot of money I'm stopping now yeah I got too many cars I got six cars three of them Rolls Royces which I don't need and you know you come up and pull you get something and this is I find all of them tell me this and you go out just to say I had it you really don't need and the newness wears off you're stuck with it you can't sell it depreciates so I'm just saving money and I have three daughters and one son blueprints or six more children and we want to save all our cash all I'm doing that every money's savingly seven to five percent of my money for the future my children putting it away for 15 years I don't touch it I don't need it you've said that you wouldn't allow your son to become a mother why not because it's rough is dangerous he's impossible for him to be as good as I am like I want him to use his brains I didn't stay in school like I said I don't have the education I have common sense I make it out whoever no education and books writing but I want him to go to school and be a doctor engineer maybe a lawyer or something judge this way can use his brains and while he's at youth get him a tutor all the teachers they need put up all the money for all the education well they can rely like for example if I should lose a hand I'm finished right but in law you wouldn't our doctor would receive it necessarily so I want him to get his brains ready a lot of doctors do end up broke are you better advised another bust as far as investments are concerned well I'm lucky that I have these before me to take an example and I've been I have made mainly Herbert Muhammad my manager wise advisors the son of our great leader Elijah Muhammad and most of them were just brutes and they didn't have a brain and they had people have a victim of the times using them and they couldn't boxing out on the business too but I found out that many friends and people they come to you wanting to borrow money this happens every day 90% of my mail from all countries is loan me some money on my daughter's sick I'm trying to go through school I want to come to America or this or that I found out that the best thing to do is to have somebody to send them to and he'll tell them that he came the budget is low the other day I had a Harold Conrad refer to you as the wizard that you've got a lot of wizardry in you that you can do a lot of things you can see into the future that you can put a hex on people well I can take for example to show you my power some silver paper cigarette paper here and I can wet it and fold it and hand it to me and this is this is Jesse well this is gold I don't know if this will work having a silver paper might have some 700 second let me see no matter Tom you haven't gotten it oh here we go I can take this right here for example and you tell the people of truth that don't work I'm gonna make 1000 I can take this half and I can all fold it up like this and now you can give me your hand and I can say you just watch me and you concentrate that papers gonna get warm so warm until it'll start smoking and then people keep on till it gets hot do you feel it too my finger I'll just hit it for a second somebody's an audience got a lady coming real fast hey there lady come here in a lady no here's one here we are here we are just take your hand and hold this quick for cools off is that hot it's quite hot but no fooling a no fooling huh is it hot okay he's a wizard thank you what's 10 hot vapors actually red hot it's not quite truthfully the paper is quite truthfully it's still part is still warm well I don't know how it's done that's not bad that's not bad but having to get back to things a little more serious you were in the wilderness for 3 years because you refused to join the army do you have any regrets that you embraced the religion of Muhammad no well you know we are many people like like like when a man goes to war he don't consider losing nothing he's fighting his country what he believed and we all have no regrets if I thought we do for my heart we want to do like I didn't have to do it some I wanted to do so I don't regret it and I'm really thankful that it did I'm more got strong because of it and many people even fighting for the freedom and this is just part of what I believe there's nothing that I regret not at all if I regretted then it wasn't sincere but it lost to not only a great deal of money but it could possibly have lost you your livelihood in fact it could have lost you your own careers no no I wasn't being worth it well yes I mean I haven't really lost nothing I'm I'm back in boxing bigger than ever my salary is double I'm invited to Peking red chinam the first one since Nixon from America open invitation wait what i'v encore been through all our Rabia and Africa met all the kings of the countries and the peace the world wants peace and now represented I went to pop it in America and that is common and like not relieved I don't pay no attention and regardless to like many people are doing what I did and they went to jail for and you don't read about him at least I was a case at the world watched and if I had went to prison I would have been a famous celebrity or the I would've gotten fan mail I've got credit for my stand but what about the people who nobody knows and their daughters I'll look at them has been more great I would say than I am when the Supreme Court eventually decided that you were right and you would a perfect right to do this you showed no resentment against the man who had kept you away from boxing you were very quiet about then I would be a hypocrite if I did because I expected them to recognize me for what I believed and they did what they thought was right at the time they took my title at the time they wouldn't let me box nowhere in the country they just did what they thought was right and for me to know to soothe my to condemn them and to speak out against them for doing what they thought was right then this would be hypocritical at the same time I expected them although they didn't to recognize me for what I believe so how can I get on them for doing what they really believe was right once or twice you've spoken it seem to me sometimes sadly about retirement do you still think of retiring oh I wanted to but I thought about my children I watched the baby cry another day and my wife was late giving the baby milk and the baby raised hell ah just Holland don't know where they're going to get it but they suspect you to have it and I looked at about six more coming and I said ten years from now I won't be fighting ten years now that baby just be ten years old and I'll need money you'll need schoolbooks you'll need clothes bus fare and then 20 years from now my daughter need a house I shall need a job and it'd be shame to say Muhammad Ali's daughter a waitress in the restaurant he made all of those millions oh there's the son over there is our in here what I'm trying to say I can earn enough money in five years if I invest it and put it up right to take care of my grandchildren so I wanted to retire but after I see these children coming and after a scene that they gonna have a hard time maybe they won't be blessed to make it like myself I can knock out blue Lewis I can go knock out flora Patterson I can knock out Joe Frasier I can come back with my culture and if you get your Irish champion come knock him out then I'm good back over and knock something didn't get to it or laugh on it agree so what I'm trying to say if I can save up about two million dollars which is behind many pounds peanuts almost a million pounds almost a million I say about 1 million pounds then I can relax and go to sleep retire and don't have to worry about my children cause this is a hard world don't nobody give you nothing you have to work for it right right so I'm going to try blessed to be able to beat up everybody so I want to beat up everybody until I can't beat them no more if I can go ten more years I'm gonna keep on doing it God you most of your poems like the one you spoke a few moments ago are funny but you've written one about your own people I think at the time of the Attica prison riot it's a serious poem you have certainly very serious moments as you've shown us tonight could you before we go just say that poem Forrest all this for me explains a Vatika prisoner you hear that over when all the black prisons were shot and just before the hair held some white hostages and they say they will cut throats if they didn't get what they wanted and the words was well if the folks are cut then shoot and kill everybody they found out during the autopsy that folks were not cut they just shot him for nothing the trigger half a policeman and that Rockefeller gave word ten minutes or so if they don't give up I think it's the way with open fire and one black person that came out to speak to the warden he said you have ten minutes to surrender what's your reply we're going to come in shooting and the black prisoner came out poetic poem which didn't happen but this is what I wrote he said better far from all I see to die fighting to be free what more fifteen in could be better surely than in some bed were in broken health I'm led lingering until I'm dead better than with prayers and please are in the clutch of some disease wasting slowly by degrees better than of heart attack are some dose of drug I lack let me die by being black better far that I should go standing here against the foe is the sweeter death to know better than the blood is stain on some highway where I'm lane torn by flying glass and pain battle call and death to come then to die another dumb muted victim in the slum better than of this prison rot if there's any choice I've got to kill me here on the spot better farm I fight to wage now while my blood balls with rage less it cool with ancient age got a volume for us to die than to Uncle Tom and try making peace just to live a lie better now that I say my sooth I'm gonna die demanding truth while I'm still a kin to youth better now in the late on now that fear of death is gone never mind another dawn they opened fire but they died telling it like it was and the motivator search this is one thing this is one thing I love and I'm about the Irish people I studied a little bit history since I've been here I found out you've been underdog for years hundreds of years people dominating and ruling you and you can identify with this freedom struggle you understand but I just have mine on the other side of the water but we all fighting for the same cause and idea but we have different reasons and different approaches Mohammed Ali thank you very much you

Channel: joekilgobinet

Views: 706,532

Rating: 4.8549957 out of 5

Keywords: Cathal O'Shannon, RTE, Muhammad Ali, Croke Park, Al 'Blue' Lewis

Id: tCc4VBMEUnI

Length: 47min 6sec (2826 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 07 2016