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
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