Section II Portland Observer Thursday, October 5,1978 Page 3
The Greatest
A li has done it all — fighters could take on Joe
Frazier, Ken Norton, Ernie Shavers, George Foreman
— even Sonny Liston and, Ron Lyle? A li beat them all,
and that’s all you can ask. People have to go with
Muhammad A li. He's fought everybody there is to
fight, and what's more, he's managed to adjust to each
style.
Muhammad A li 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 o f
fight fans made it their eleventh commandment. The
tw o statements, w hile hum orous in nature, are
declarations o f philosophies that oppose each other at
every level, and represent boxings classic confrontation:
the persistence o f a slugger vs. the elusiveness o f a
boxer.
. A li depends on backing up and boxing to get out o f
jams.
Muhammad A li has had some o f his greatest fights
against sluggers. And as far as a lack o f current talent is
concerned, i f you look at the size o f the current
heavyweight contenders, all o f them are bigger, faster
and stronger.
A li didn’ t have to knock people out — he outpointed
them. Remember that A li, at 6’ 3” , 225 pounds, hit hard
and often, and a lot o f times those punches take more
o f a toll than a single knockout punch.
Muhammad A li, is not only big but he is the fastest
Heavyweight Champion who ever lived.
A fter A li won the light Heavyweight Gold Medal in
the Olympics in 1961 he said:
. . this is an age o f
records and record-breaking. I f you don’ t break some
records, you’ re a no one . . . 1 have to be first (even) in
the soup line . . . ” The most recognized face in the
world lived up to his popularity.
M uham m ad A li who crow ned him se lf “ 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
A li, the 36-year-old tw o-tim e form er 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 A li made that statement to a reporter.
That little bitty boy became king o f the mountain. And
A li, “ the people’s champ” became the challenger.
In previous fights A li 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 o f promoting him
self and the fight, A li, 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 u m m y .” He also had a label fo r
Spinks'. He called Spinks “ Blackula.” Poking fun at
the gap between Spinks teeth when he removes his
mouthpiece between rounds.
A li 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 A li.
AU
vs.
SPINKS
Cham pion Leon Spinks and form er Cham pion
Muhammad A li 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 theit man would fight the
best fight he was capable o f at this stage in his career.
That proposed a very compelling question. That
question was whether A li, even in the best o f condition
could salvage enough o f his once remarkable skills to
beat o ff 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 o f being Champion.
He was ready to put up the fight o f his life to keep it all.
Both men had something to prove. This encounter
was aptly dubbed “ TH E BIG ONE.“
FGE
ENERGY
UPDATE
Do-it-yourself
Conservation Show
Returns on KPTV
Because o f the popu
larity o f the television
program “ H ow to w ith
Pete" w h ich shows
do-it-yourselfers how
to insulate, make storm
doors and w indow s
and a variety o f other
home weatherization
projects, PGE is happy to present a repeat o f
the best o f the “ H ow to " series again this fall.
Show s are s c h e d u le d o n C h a n n e l 12
(KPTV ), 10 to 10:30 am . every Saturday-
through Decem ber 9th. All PGE division
and d istrict offices have schedules w hich
are yours fo r the asking o r you can call
226-8501 and w e 'll m ail you one because
we re anxious to have you learn all about
conservation and w eatherization from Pete,
one o f o u r PGE energy misers.
PGE/Reader’s Digest
Scholarship Awarded to
U. of O. Freshman
A 11000 Reader's Digest scholarship, w hich
was part o f the National Sweepstakes Award
w on recently by PGE fo r the best u tility
com m unications d u rin g 1977, was awarded
this m onth to C urtis G rund w ho plans to
enter the U niversity o f Oregon this fall. C ur
tis is the son o f the late John Grund, a PGE
em ploye. C u rtis graduated fro m Tigard
High School last June, was valedictorian o f
his class, active on the school newspaper, an
accom plished 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 fam ily had the o p p o rtu
n ity to visit the Trojan Inform ation Center
yet? If not, there’s an in
teresting, educational
treat in store for ✓
you. A com bina
tion o f films,
slides, and
fascinating
w o rkin g models,
assembled in an ultra
m odern building, relates
a wide assortment o f energy inform ation 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 com forta
ble 42-m ile-drive north and west o f Port
land on Hwy. 30 and it’s hard to miss the
bright orange building that houses a fas
cin a tin g educational experience. Come
visit and learn.
Workforce Now Totals
1,000 Building
Boardman Coal Plant
The 530,000-kilow att Boardman coal-fired
generating plant, currently under construc
tion 13 miles southwest o f Boardman, O re
gon, is just under 40 percent com plete w ith
a w orkforce o f 1,000 producing a payroll of
approxim ately »1.5 m illion per month. The
plant, w hich is scheduled to be generating
ele ctricity by June 1980, represents an in
vestment estimated at J5OO-525 m illion.
PGE w ill 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 o f topical programs at luncheon,
dinner o r evening meetings. The programs
range in subject m atter 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 sim ply call
226 8501, o r w rite 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