Section II Portland Observer Thursday, October 5.1978 Page 3
The Greatest
Ali has done it all — fighters could take on Joe
Frazier, Ken Norton, Ernie Shavers, George Foreman
— even Sonny Liston and, Ron Lyle? Ali beat them all,
and that's all you can ask. People have to go with
Muhammad Ali. He’s fought everybody there is to
fight, and what’s more, he’s managed to adjust to each
style.
Muhammad Ali coined a popular slogan: “ Your
hands can’t hit what your eyes can't see,’’ “ float like a
butterfly, sting like a bee,’’ and a younger generation of
fight fans made it their eleventh commandment. The
two statem ents, while hum orous in nature, are
declarations of philosophies that oppose each other at
every level, and represent boxings classic confrontation:
the persistence of a slugger vs. the elusiveness of a
boxer.
. Ali depends on backing up and boxing to get out of
jams.
Muhammad Ali has had some of his greatest fights
against sluggers. And as far as a lack of current talent is
concerned, if you look at the size of the current
heavyweight contenders, all of them are bigger, faster
and stronger.
Ali didn’t have to knock people out — he outpointed
them. Remember that Ali, at 6*3” , 225 pounds, hit hard
and often, and a lot of times those punches take more
of a toll than a single knockout punch.
Muhammad Ali, is not only big but he is the fastest
Heavyweight Champion who ever lived.
After Ali won the light Heavyweight Gold Medal in
the Olympics in 1961 he said:
. this is an age of
records and record-breaking. If you don’t break some
records, you’re a no one . . . I have to be first (even) in
the soup line . . . ” The most recognized face in the
world lived up to his popularity.
Muhammad Ali who crowned himself “ The
Greatest,” in 1965, remarked, "The man who’s gonna
whup me is now ten years old. There’s a little bitty boy
walking around the sidewalks and he doesn’t even know
but he’s gonna be interested in boxing.” Muhammad
Ali, the 36-year-old two-time former Heavyweight
Champ didn't know how accurate his prediction would
turn out. Leon Spinks, an ex-Marine and a Gold Medal
winner in the 1976 Olympic Games, was only eleven
years old when Ali made that statement to a reporter.
That little bitty boy became king of the mountain. And
Ali, “ the people’s champ” became the challenger.
In previous fights Ali announced the round in which
his opponent would exit — a feat (or treat) that his fans
could count on. But this time he kept Spinks — and the
fans — guessing. Up to his old tricks of promoting him
self and the fight, Ali, who dubbed the man he first beat
(1964) for the Title, Sonny Liston, “ The Bear,” and the
second he toppled for the crown, George Foreman
(1974), “ The M ummy.” He also had a label for
Spinks'. He called Spinks “ Blackula.” Poking fun at
the gap between Spinks teeth when he removes his
mouthpiece between rounds.
Ali said: “ I’ve got a purpose, I’m going to win the
Title a third time. Something that no other champion in
any weight has ever done,” says Ali.
AU
vs.
SPINKS
Champion Leon Spinks and former Champion
Muhammad Ali broke training camp to head for New
Orleans on Thursday, August 31st, to begin final
preparations for their September 15th, encounter at the
New Orleans Superdome.
They began public workouts at the New Orleans
Municipal Auditorium September 1st.
Both men had trained intensely and were below their
respective fighting weights the first time around with
over two weeks training to go. Those around both
fighters felt confident that their man would fight the
best fight he was capable of at this stage in his career.
That proposed a very compelling question. That
question was whether Ali, even in the best of condition
could salvage enough of his once remarkable skills to
beat off the young, strong, brawling Spinks.
He was intent upon becoming the first man in history
to gain the crown three times.
Spinks loved the power and glory of being Champion.
He was ready to put up the fight of his life to keep it all.
Both men had something to prove. This encounter
was aptly dubbed “ THE BIG ONE.”
iHGE
ENERGY
UPDATE
Do-it-yourself
Conservation Show
Returns on KPTV
1
:.
Because of the popu-
Parity the television
program “How to with
•Iff
* T
Fete" which shows
I f K feMT K .
do-it-yourselfers how
\ ^ J \•
to insulate, make storm
doors and windows
and a variety of other
a 7
home weatherization
projects, PGE is happy to present a repeat of
the best of the “How to" series again this fall.
Show s are sc h e d u le d on C han n el 12
(KPTV), 10 to 10:30 a.m. every Saturday
through December 9th. All PGE division
and district offices have schedules which
are yours for the asking or you can call
226-8501 and w e’ll mail you one because
we re anxious to have you learn all about
conservation and weatherization from Pete,
one of our PGE energy misers.
5?
PGE/Reader’s Digest
Scholarship Awarded to
U. of O. Freshman
A 11000 Reader’s Digest scholarship, which
was part of the National Sweepstakes Award
won recently by PGE for the best utility
communications during 1977, was awarded
this month to Curtis Grund who plans to
enter the University of Oregon this fall. Cur
tis is the son of the late John Grund, a PGE
employe. Curtis graduated from Tigard
High School last June, was valedictorian of
his class, active on the school newspaper, an
accomplished athlete and an outstanding
student. PGE President, Robert H. Short,
made the scholarship presentation.
Energy Education
for Families
at Trojan Info Center
Have you and your family had the opportu
nity to visit the Trojan Information Center
yet? If not, there’s an in
teresting, educational
treat in store for ,
you. A combina y ”
tion of films,
slides, and
fascinating
working models,
assembled in an ultra
modern building, relates
a wide assortment of energy information on
conservation, energy sources, safety and
plant operation, that is easily understood.
More than 100,000 visitors toured the cen
ter so far this year. The center is a comforta
ble 42-mile-drive north and west of Port
land on Hwy. 30 and it’s hard to miss the
bright orange building that houses a fas
cinating educational experience. Come
visit and learn.
Workforce Now Totals
1,000 Building
Boardman Coal Plant
The 530,000-kilowatt Boardman coal-fired
generating plant, currently under construc
tion 13 miles southwest of Boardman, Ore
gon, is just under 40 percent com plete with
a workforce of 1,000 producing a payroll of
approximately 11.5 million per month. The
plant, which is scheduled to be generating
electricity by June 1980, represents an in
vestment estimated at »500-525 million.
PGE will be operator and principal owner.
PGE Has a Bureau-full of
Speakers to Present
Free Club Programs
Now that fall is officially here (it began Sept.
23), most civic, service, church and social
clubs are resuming their meeting schedules
and PGE speakers are available to present a
variety of topical programs at luncheon,
dinner or evening meetings. The programs
range in subject matter from A (atom ic en
ergy) to Z (zucchini freezing). To arrange
for a speaker, program chairpersons (o r
anyone, for that m atter) can simply call
226-8501, or write PGE Speaker’s Bureau,.
121 S.W Salmon St., Portland, OR 97204 for
a folder describing the programs that are
available.
Thought For the Day
Democracy is based upon the conviction
that there are extraordinary possibilities in
ordinary people.
Harry Emerson Fosdick
56E
Fbrtland General Electric