As a kid, I remember him as a larger than life fighter when boxing still had relevance. He was big, strong, fast, smart. Watching his fights with my grandfather, an amateur boxer himself, he pointed out things about Ali's performance that I never would have caught with my own eyes. He also fought every challenger.
As an adult, I came to understand more about his impact socially. The impact of his decisions, the costs of his convictions and came to respect and admire this man who was simply doing what he thought was right. He lost 3 years in the prime of his career, had his life repeatedly threatened, lost millions of dollars and went from hero to villain to most of America. But he stood by his convictions.
When Parkinson's ravaged his body and silenced his voice, he became more resolute in his quest to be a force for change. Getting involved with hostage negotiations, the first prominent muslin to speak out against the 9/11 attacks and trying to make the world a better place one day at a time.
Ali was a boxer, arguably one of the best. But Ali was also a larger than life man, arguably one of the best as well.
