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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 1978)
Portland Observer Thursday, September 14, 1978 Page 9 Ali and Spinks look each other over closely as they prepare for Friday night bout. Ali (Continued from Page 1 Column 4) A m e rica ’ s ghettoes to feel the around A li when his cause is intense dramatic impact o f this fight upon and he is dedicated to his challenge. the masses o f the people. It has a Indeed, those closest to him sense a meaning far beyond the scope o f the resurgence o f those times o f zest general population to grasp. Black and zeal when A li has dedicated his America is gearing itself for grave full being in quest o f victory. and compelling results on September A li is intent upon being the First 15th in New Orleans. That night they man in history to win the title three w ill either celebrate the third coming times. To do so, to him, is fully in of Muhammad A li or lament his Iasi keeping with his lofty fate and un hurrah. common mission. Either way, it w ill be an evening o f That A li is marshalling the best in pronounced emotional impact. him for his battle to reclaim the title is no longer a question. The question is whether the best in him is enough to win. Those who have observed both A li and Spinks in recent days agree almost to the person that both men w ill fight the best Fight they can (Continued from Page 1 Column 6) at this stage o f th e ir respective Leon Spinks is no angel. Leon careers. Both men trained down would be the First person to admit below their fighting weights o f the that. first bout. Leon is a dim ensional human Veteran fight observers contend being with faults like all other human that the second encounter w ill be a beings. Likewise he has strong points real slugfest. Some say it w ill be one and good points like all other human of the bruising encounters in boxing beings. annuals. Even a broken clock is right twice One point o f view has it that A li a day. But if the American media are must move early and tag the easy to correct, which God knows they’ re hit Spinks and kayo him in the early not, Leon Spinks' positive aspects rounds. Another has it that A li will rank below the average o f the win the early rounds, be in trouble in proverbial broken clock. the middle rounds and rally in the The mass human mind tends to be latter rounds to eke out a narrow vic shallow and manipulatable. Given a tory. Still another has A li building an Leon Spinks w ith two fro n t teeth early lead only to be worn down by missing, slow speech patterns and a the bullish Spinks and losing a close Black face from the projects o f the decision. situation is tempting. Add a couple A li loves the aura and the spectacle o f arrests, the questionable presence o f defying the odds. He loves the o f minute traces o f dope and wire challenge o f the unconquerable but service transmitted photos o f a hand beyond all this he has the spirit and cuffed Leon Spinks (none were trans feeling o f a champion. He believes he m itted o f Eviel Knievel after his is the best. brutal act) and the old lynch mob He is the last living symbol o f the mentality burns beyond the boiling tu rb u le n t sixties, a tim e o f un p o in t. I t ’ s open season on Leon paralleled meaning and significance Spinks. to Black people and th ird w orld Lost in the reams o f paper, audio people. A ll the other heroes o f that tracts and television images imposed era; that historic epoch have passed upon us, there is a real person named on or been rendered useless by the Leon Spinks who is the Heavyweight system they challenged and sought to C ham pion o f the w orld and he change. doesn’t have horns. He is the last keeper o f the legacy I met Leon Spinks recently in New o f those times. He is the transition; Orleans. I found Leon the man to be the bridge between those times and a far cry from the conjured up mon these. He wears that responsibility ster 1 had read about. squarely and is motivated to uphold D u rin g a parade down Canal the meaning and place o f those times Street soon after I met him, I was historically and forever. He wishes to impressed w ith the concern and enshrine them with indelible impact compassion he showed the kids and upon the legions o f the living, the the old people who crowded around dead and the unborn. his car. He continually warned them History dictates that Muhammad to watch their feet for fear the car A li is unpredictable. The dope sheet would run over them. A t times he is shredded into swirling confetti and asked his driver to slow down for logic and practicality fly out the win people ahead o f the car. dow when his special dedication is For all his "bad boy" or should I incited. say " b a d n ig g e r" image, Leon He is d e fin ite ly incited. He is Spinks is a concerned, considerate primed to reach into himself for a person. He does have an inclination Final flurry. towards free lancing and at random O nly tim e w ill tell whether A li movement but that is personal and retains enough o f his magnificent not intended to hurt anyone. skills; his vaunted boxing wizardry to Later that same evening, after I conquer the formidable Spinks in the had stalked him and observed him a fight dubbed as the Big One. full day, Leon Spinks sat on a table One needs only to walk through and faced me squarely. 1 was checking him out and he knew it. He wanted to talk about himself. We did tor two hours. I learned quickly that Leon's speed and manner o f speech is in no way reflective o f his ability to think and in no way m irro r the q uality o f his th in kin g . His manner o f ex pression too often overshadows the substance o f the thoughts he ex presses. His level o f literacy is not the measure o f Leon Spinks. His mind is quick and his life concepts and beliefs are strong. Leon Spinks must be measure J by the dynamics o f his own life. He faced trials and tribulations as a boy that have driven grown men to suicide. He was programmed by society for destruction and he sur vived. He is due credit for simply surviving. , He served his country with respon sibility. He is due credit for that. He represented Am erica w ith great distinction in the Olympics. He is due credit fo r that. He went fifteen grueling rounds in only his eighth professional fight and won the heavyweight crow n, the most coveted prize in sports. Most fighters are not asked to go ten rounds by their eighth Fight. He is due credit for that. Leon the man must replace Leon the caricature and in that process America and the world w ill learn to give credence and respect to one o f the great human stories o f our times. Leon Spinks, caricature as he is portrayed, is hard at work preparing to defend the heavyweight crown he won fairly and squarely. Win, lose or draw on that occasion, the person facing that decision is a far better person than the w orld has been allowed to know. The Spinks-Ali rematch for the W orld’ s Heavyweight Championship is one o f the thought provoking confrontations in boxing history. The confrontation between the latest and the greatest is more than jingles and rhyme. The two gladiators are already assured o f settling the score before the highest paying live gate in boxing history. The gross or the live gate surpassed the $2.7 million gross o f the second Dempsey-Tunncy fight, the previous high, in early July. The gate is heading towards box ing’ s firs t and perhaps only over $6 m illion gate ever. The fight is truly — THE BIG ONE. SKINKS v On giant screen TV See it happen at JOE’S PLACE 1801 N.E. A lberta Spinks 5 I ! IENOWS • FOR M 1 I I A J • ■ 'lA t * * lo » » I w r n i i ^ » • )J rd » .t A M I H o n « o *k • , J JnA AN I Ohgon • 3D»k A l l O* **•!••» • • • • N l o m k e - d o» G e o o l o r l a l s i f h M ills R lo s o 2 A **••» L e k » Osw o^K» • A »« • 102ri4o’* S f Dlvi»i«n • King City • O ob SALE I SAVINGS PLANS. FOR EDUCATION. DOW N PAYMENT. OR JUST PEACE OF MIND. I “THAT’S M Y BANK’.’ We ve got almost as many different types of savings, programs as you have different reasons to save. T h a t’s why we can plan one that exactly fits your individual needs, whether you re saving for a specific goal like educa tion, or down payment on a house, or whether you re just putting something away for your peace of mind. 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