Ali started with nothing and made his name in the sweet science
Louisville not the best place for a Black man not looking for bias
Got into boxing as a good way to channel his youthful energy
Given his background he could’ve easily contracted lethargy
A great opportunity to fight awaited him in the city of Rome
He won a gold medal, but an unpleasant surprise waited at home
Walked into a diner for a meal and the greeting made him quiver
They refused to serve Cassius so he tossed his medal in the river
Turned professional with dreams of becoming heavyweight champ
Had a beast named Sonny Liston waiting at the end of the ramp
No one gave Clay a chance against the big hulking monster
But fear never entered his mind. Wasn’t anywhere on his roster
The young challenger agitated and prodded Liston to distraction
Sonny paid him little mind which seemed to give Clay great satisfaction
The young Olympian talked mucho trash and was a peerless promoter
Spit dope rhymes in the pre-rap era and was quite the TV joker
On fight night Clay frustrated Liston and a new champion was unfurled
He talked about how pretty he was and how he “Shook up the world!”
A few years later he changed his name and refused to go to Vietnam
The government stripped his boxing titles and didn’t seem to give a damn
Ali fought the decision and won while his fans cried real tears
By that time he was past his prime and lost valuable boxing years
A huge fight was arranged where Muhammad would fight Joe Frazier
Many thought Ali still had one left in him and would shock and amaze us
But it was not to be even though the fight has huge social import
Poor Ali had been away much too long and could not hold the fort
Later fought for the title in Zaire. His loyal fans chanted “Ali Bumaye”
Showed us his “Rope-A-Dope” strategy. Prayers were answered on that day
Found out later that Ali was not right and he had fought much too long
Parkinson’s made his hands shake and we knew something was really wrong
He made a surprised appearance and lit the Olympic cauldron to much acclaim
This was a breakthrough. We rarely saw the disabled on this kind of public display
Now here we are at the end and Ali won’t take any more public stages
He’ll be entering a new ring in the sky. For now he belongs to the ages.