Word: alie
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...same increase in interest in the lower weights can be seen in the classiest division of boxing, the heavyweights. Fighters such as Ken Norton, Jimmy Young, George Foreman and Duane Bobick provide the star, Ali, with a supporting cast for the first time in a long while. There are some serious contenders around, rather than the steady diet of Chuck Wepners, Joe "King" Romans and Ron Standers whom we've seen far too often...
...with the greatly increased interest in the lower-weights and the rise of serious heavyweight contenders, where does that leave Ali...
...still very much at the top. But, I contend, he's not as high as he once was; hence, his coming out of retirement. Certainly no one should argue that the primary reason for Ali fighting lies in the money, which is simply too much to give up. But that may not be the only reason...
...Ali, as is well-known, has a massive ego. Could not the proliferation of the fight game while he remained in retirement be reason enough to fight again? People are talking so much about fighters like Norton and Young that Ali may feel the spotlight slowly shifting off him towards new athletes. Thus, his "unretirement" takes on almost as much a publicity angle as it does a financial one. Ali says he is the greatest, and may simply want recognition of that fact while it still may be true...
...boxing would not be where it is without him. The sport badly needed Ali for his flamboyance and, more importantly, for his intelligence. In a rapidly advancing technological and intellectual age, boxing's barbarity made it assume an inhuman and primitive quality which ran counter to prevailing ideas...