Muhammad Ali: King of the Boast
*Before you read further, watch the first 1:20 of this clip:*
Sit back and reflect upon the pure artistry of those 80 seconds. Bask in the brilliance of his words. I’m sure you want to play the clip again from the beginning, and I encourage you to do so. Witnessing such brilliant wordplay is a rare treat, especially when it’s completely improvised.
For those of you who are not already aware of the circumstances surrounding this press conference, I’ll provide some context. The speaker is Muhammad Ali, widely considered to be the greatest boxer to ever step in the ring. He was also known for his trash talk, which he often utilized to drum up interest for his fights and invade his opponents’ minds. At the time of his famous speech, he was preparing to face off against the heavily favored George Foreman. The 25-year-old Foreman entered the fight with a pristine record of 40–0, 37 of his wins by way of knockout. His otherworldly punching power had destroyed every opponent he had faced previously, and Ali was his next target. The 32-year-old Ali, while still widely respected for his speed and technique, entered the fight as a 4–1 underdog. Despite the odds, Ali was unfazed. His brilliant rant, essentially a resume of superhuman feats, oozed with his signature swagger.
On October 30, 1974, the two boxers entered the ring in front of 60,000 spectators in Kinshasa, Zaire. Approximately 1 billion people tuned in worldwide to witness this clash of the titans on television. Who would emerge victorious: the seemingly unstoppable rising star or the wily veteran?
Ali employed his now-famous rope-a-dope strategy to tire Foreman in the early rounds, all the while peppering his opponent with pinpoint jabs and taunts. As the match continued into the middle rounds, Foreman became more and more drained. In the seventh, Foreman wound up and nailed Ali in the jaw. Instead of crumpling to the canvas, Ali held Foreman and whispered, “That all you got, George?”
In the eighth, Ali pounced on the fading Foreman. A furious series of well-placed right hooks culminated in a hard right that sent Foreman onto his back. When Foreman failed to beat the referee’s eight second count, Ali raised both arms in victory as the crowd erupted.
I try to incorporate my fanaticism for sports into my lessons at opportune moments. Last year, during our unit on Beowulf in English 12, I saw an opportunity to compare Beowulf’s famous boast in the halls of Heorot with Ali’s. We compared the word choice of the two boasts, taking special note of both warriors’ exemplary verb usage.
I also asked my students to write their own boasts. I wanted them to write about moments in their lives that made themselves proud. I wanted them to pinpoint specific strengths and characteristics that made them especially unique and valuable. I was so pleased with the results. As any teacher knows, most movies about education are almost comically unrealistic. Very rarely do teachers and students experience moments that would require dramatic music to play in the background. But we actually got close to such a moment when we presented a few boasts, largely in part because I encouraged each student to perform their boast while standing on their chair. As those high school seniors trumpeted their accomplishments and strengths with their heads mere feet from the ceiling, Robin Williams was somewhere chuckling and shaking his head.
The day after the boasts, I talked to my students about why I wanted them to boast about themselves. I told them that high school is a truly difficult time in which everyone seems to be so self-conscious and insecure. I can’t count how many times students have said to me that they are simply poor writers, that they aren’t interesting, that they are just simply bad at school. I get so frustrated when students share those sentiments with me. I’m frustrated that they have been conditioned to think of themselves as insignificant. I hate that they spend so much time ruminating on their supposed weaknesses rather than celebrating their strengths.
I think that everyone, especially my students, needs to take some lessons from the great Muhammad Ali. Can everyone be as brash and bold as him? No. But Ali taught us all that confidence and self-belief can carry us to unimaginable heights. George Foreman was seemingly impossible to conquer, and my students will soon encounter challenges in their lives that seem equally daunting. Confidence by itself isn’t enough, of course, but it’s an essential ingredient to success. Constantly reminding my students of their greatness is one of my most important goals. I know each one of them is capable of absorbing life’s body blows with a smile, all the while knowing that they have a little Muhammad Ali within.
