Tag: https://alicenter.org/

America, Central America, Countries, Europe, UK

Out the box pugilist statues

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And ahead of the unveiling of the Ken Buchanan statue in Edinburgh we’re thinking today. Out the box pugilist statues.

Tartan terrier: Ken Buchanan

Rock’n’roll in Philly

Rocky, Philadelphia: And with apologies to Tim Witherspoon, Bernard Hopkins and Philadelphia Jack O’Brien (the clue is in the title…

It’s all about Rocky Balboa… and you can get your selfie with the Great Man at the top of his steps in Philly and you don’t have to the run.

On a pedestAli

Let’s Rumble: Ali and Frazier

Muhammad Ali: And the best Ali statue is in sports-mad Philly which immortalises the great duel with adopted Philadelphian, Joe Frazier at the Joe Hand Gym.

Being Ali, we’ve counted 85 statues of Ali around the world, and of course you’ll want to see him in his hometown of Louisville.

And that means the Muhammad Ali Center in the Kentuckian town.

Alexis the Great

On the shoulders of giants: Alexis in Nicaragua

Alexis Arguello, Managua, Nicaragua: And the late great Nicaraguan was a man difficult to worked up to dislike.

No trashtalking here with Alexis always making a point of asking his opponents how their family is… before beating them up.

And on one occasion, Glasgow’s own, Jim Watt, who I’d fanboyed in a record store and wished good luck for his next fight.

Which was… Alexis Aguero.

The Merthyr Matchstick

Here’s Johnny

Johnny Owen, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales: And we’d probably never have heard of Merthyr Tydfil, 23 miles north of Cardiff, were it not for one brave Welsh fighter.

Owen was given his idiosyncratic nickname on account of him being 5ft 8ins and 8st.

And his courage was his undoing when he was knocked unconscious in a world bantamweight title fight in LA and died from his injuries.

Johnny though lives for ever in the hearts of Merthyr (population 50,000) where he shares centre stage with Howard Winstone and Eddie Thomas.

Classical fighters

Fighting Romans: Boxer at Rest in Rome

Boxer at Rest, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome: And, of course, we’ve been boxing the ears off each other since when Cain struck Abel.

And our Greek (Olympics) and Roman friends loved their prize fighters.

With the statue Boxer at Rest still captivating and informing us about the ancient Romans.

Of course, the Romans were bare-knuckled fighters and it’s how we all start in the playground.

Knuckle down: The Bareknuckle Hall of Fame in NY

Of all places Belfast is where you’ll find the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame… Belfast, New York, that is.

The most famous stock of bare-knuckled boxers on the planet are, of course, the Fighting Furys.

Now it’ll probably take years to sculpt a 6ft 9ins and 20st statue.

Just the Jab: Tyson Fury and his statue

But we rather like this interpretative statue of the Gipsy King in his hometown of coastal Morecambe in Lancashire.

Just a sample then of our faves. Out the box pugilist statues.

And remember none of us are free of anachronistic statues until all of us are free of anachronistic statues and we get the icons we want.

America, Countries, Sport

Ali The Greatest Kentuckian

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The tourism industry in Louisville is down but not out. As Louisville’s Muhammad Ali once said: ‘You don’t lose if you get knocked down, you lose if you stay down,’ and we don’t intend to stay down. – Karen Williams, Louisville Tourism on the Greatest Kentuckian

They all tried but not one succeeded.

And on the eve of the fifth anniversary of Muhammad Ali’s death, his cri de coeur is as loud now as when he first called us to arms.

The flower of his generation

There was an outpouring of affection and reflection from around the world on June 3, 2016.

When our hero lost the hardest fight of his life and nobly slipped away.


The Greatest Featival

But, of course, Ali is still with us all and nowhere more so than in his home town of Louisville in Kentucky in America’s Deep South.

Where the annual Muhammad Ali Festival, which will run from June 3-13, will be expanded this year.

King Louisville

it will focus on unity, justice and a rebirth of Louisville.


That’ll be Louisville then

The festival will kick off on June 4 with the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards and it will conclude with the Derby City Jazz Festival.

Past winners of the awards include many worthy winners from the general public who have done extraordinary things.

As well as celebrity philanthropists such as Christina Aguilera, President Jimmy Carter, Susan Sarandon, Harry Belafonte, Ashley Judd and Michael J. Fox.


That unmistakable silhouette

The Muhammad Ali Center presents a 14-minute film ‘If You Can Dream’ of Ali’s life.

While Pavilions focuses on his six core principles… confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, respect and spirituality.

Fight night

Of course the greatest thrill any Ali fan could experience would be to shadow box The Greatest.

The stolen bicycle

And by the wonders of modern technology you can do just that at the Ali Center.

Imagine training too with Ali at his recreated Deer Lake, Pennsylvania camp.

You can watch replays too with him of some of his most famous fights.

Wall of fame

And his lighting the Olympic Torch in Atlanta at the 1996 Games.

If you feel that Ali is right there with you it’s probably because he helped oversee the project.

While our friends at Kentucky Tourism with whom we spent the afternoon tell us that Rahman Ali, Muhammad’s brother is often at the Center too.

At the house of the King

Two giants Ali and Elvis bestride the entertainment world of the second half of the 20th century, from neighbouring states of the Deep South.

And while Graceland has become a pilgrimage for music fans.

Every sports nut, and even those who aren’t, should pay homage to Ali in his hometown of Louisville, the Greatest Kentuckian.