The Bite Magazine - issue 16

his most iconic remarks that had all of the people around him applauding. More black and white images greet you as well as artefacts such as a second out clock fromWembley stadium used during the Ali and Cooper fight in 1963, a pro- gramme and ticket for the fight between Ali and Henry Cooper at Arsenal stadium in 1966, an original Muhammad Ali autograph, and a ‘The World Heav- yweight Championship’ placard. We get an insight into the childhood of Cassius Clay in the form of family pictures of his parents, Cassius and Rudy, his brother and a replicate of the red bicycle that was stolen from him when he was 12 years old which would mark the start of his boxing career. Ali said of his very first fight: “My first amateur fight was against Ronnie O’Keefe, a white boy who was bigger and older than me. I was scared to death. I said to my dad, ‘Cash did you see who I’m fighting?’ Cash looked me in the eye. ‘Yes and we’re going to whup him.’ Hearing my father say that inspired me. Suddenly I felt good. I had my dad in my corner and I won my first fight.‘All of a sudden I had a new life.’” This amazing exhibition gives you a real insight into the life and career of Muham- mad Ali; the many fights he won, the very few losses, his stance against going into the army to fight in the VietnamWar, his affirmations, and most importantly his confidence. Here you’ll get to witness some of the artefacts that Ali owned and achieved that would otherwise not be available if it had not been for this exhibi- tion of his life.These include Ali’s boxing gloves, the robe he worn to matches, and images of his triumph at the 1960 Olym- pics held in Rome, Italy where he won a gold medal for his first major fight. It is fascinating how much Ali has achieved throughout his career, including winning 100 fights with only five losses. In 1958, Ali won six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two National Golden Gloves titles and an amateur Athletic Union National title, as well as Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champi- ons Light Heavyweight Quarter-Finalist. In 1959, he became the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions Light Heavyweight Champion, Intercity Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight Champion, National AAU Light Heavyweight Cham- pion, and U.S. Pan American Games Trials Finalist. And in 1960, he upped his game to become the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions Heavyweight Champion, Intercity Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion, National AAU Light Heavyweight Champion, U.S. Olym- pics Trials Light Heavyweight Champion, and Olympic Light Heavyweight Gold Medallist. Speaking about his gold medal, he said, “To make America the greatest is my goal, so I beat the Russian and I beat the Pole, and for the U.S.A won the medal of gold. The Greeks said, ‘You’re better than the Cassius of old.’” Following the sad passing of the great Muhammad Ali on 3 rd June 2016, we join the world in saluting a wonderful and honourable man who opened our eyes to recognise that we can all be ‘the greatest’ in whatever we aspire to do and achieve. Muhammad Ali believed he could do what some could not see he could do. He proved this in the fights that ‘shook the world’ against Sonny Liston and also George Foreman when the media were adamant that he could not beat these two men even when he declared that he could. From this, we should take away the fact that we can do the impossible when we allow that passion and desire inside us to reign in order to achieve what we set out to accomplish. Legendary Bra- zilian football Pele said of Muhammad Ali’s passing: “the sporting universe has suffered a huge loss” while US President Barack Obama declared,“Muhammad Ali shook up the world. And the world is better for it.” We agree with these two moving comments and say, “Thank you Muhammad Ali for helping us all believe in the impossible.” The Muhammad Ali: I AmThe Greatest exhibition will be showing at the O2 in North Greenwich until 31 st August 2016. The O2 Arena, Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX Tel: 020 8463 2000 www.aliattheo2.com bite exhibition review