It’s getting harder and harder these days to find diehard boxing fans, what with the whole advent of UFC and mixed marshal arts. It’s even harder to strike up conversations with those who remember watching championship boxing matches on network television. (Yes, there was a time before Showtime, HBO and Pay-Per-View dominated the sport). But I was one of those kids, a son of an amateur boxer, who often watched great historical bouts on ABC’s Wide World of Sports.
And the biggest star in that finite universe was, of course, Muhammad Ali.
Back in the ‘70s, Ali was nearing the end of his career. But he was my first sports hero, even well past his prime, and he was still a smart strategist, using rope-a-dope and such to outsmart his opponents who were sometimes younger and stronger than the heavyweight during that fading twilight of his career.
To a guy like me, Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami is a welcome revelation. Had you asked me before watching it how Ali became the poetic-humorist-athlete I knew him as, I’d be hard pressed to give you an informed answer. But this fine PBS documentary answers a lot of essential questions and fills in many of the missing puzzle pieces of Ali’s complicated life and career.
Writers and producers, Gasper Gonzalez and Alan Tomlinson, make it clear from the outset that Miami was (and still is) a unique Southern city and the perfect environment to grow an iconoclastic individual like Ali. Granted, Ali faced his share of racism in Florida, just as every other African-American did all over the nation in the ‘60s. But this was nevertheless a far more cosmopolitan region than Louisville where Ali was born Cassius Clay.
This 60-minute DVD doesn’t get anywhere close to Ali’s latter day bouts with the likes of Joe Frazier and George Foreman. But it does an excellent job of showing the significance in Ali’s earlier victories over Sonny Liston, who was the Mike Tyson of his day and thought to be unbeatable during his prime. Like Tyson, Liston had done prison time and wasn’t beyond cheating to overcome his opponents – especially if he knew he was losing a fight.
During their first bout together, Liston put something on his gloves that caused Ali’s eyes to sting and severely impaired his vision. But Ali overcame that obstacle to win the fight, and then beat Liston a second time in just a few rounds. Before they even entered the ring the first time, however, few – other than Ali himself – gave the underdog any chance. Boxing experts knew Ali was fast, but few realized he had the power in his punches to defeat a monster like Liston. But the were proven wrong – twice.
Muhammad Ali was just as fascinating outside the ring as in. We learn here how he picked up his ability to brag – especially concerning his good looks, with a fact too pretty to mess up – from wrestler Gorgeous George. We also get insight into what attracted him to Malcolm X and the Islamic faith that prompted him to change his name. And had Ali not beaten Liston to become a heroic athlete, we’re told, he might never have been able to publicly dodge the Vietnam War draft and still retain his career afterwards. We even get a glimpse of the time Ali met the Beatles. Few historical figures fit the bill of larger than life figure better than Muhammad Ali.
I fondly recall watching those Muhammad Ali fights with my dad. Now, this grown man just had the chance to share a Muhammad Ali documentary with his teenage son. I heartily recommend that all fathers share the unique pleasure that is Muhammad Ali with their sons and daughters. He’s one American hero not to be missed.
Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami Directors: Alan Tomlinson (producer, writer);Gaspar Gonzalez (producer, writer) Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen Language: English Region: Region 1 Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Number of discs: 1 Studio: PBS PARAMOUNT DVD Release Date: August 12, 2008 Run Time: 60 minutes
Product Description Muhammad Ali: Made In Miami examines the champion's years in the Magic city as som of his most formative; the crucial time of transformation that rendered the talented Cassius Clay into the larger-than-life legendary Ali.
