“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”-Muhammad Ali

When it comes to athletes and legacy, there’s just one thing to really consider. What did you do for your sport and for every single kid or teenager who will eventually want to participate in that sport? Muhammad Ali inspired generations of boxers to be unlike any other fighter on the planet. He urged them to be unique, confident, and never shy away from the risks that life threw at you.

As Ali fought for his life Friday night at the age of 74-a fight he would eventually lose-I couldn’t help but think of one of his most famous quotes. Instinctively, I threw a spin on it and tweeted it out.

How about this for legacy? When it comes to boxing, Ali will always be mentioned first. He was the loud talking promo artist before Floyd Mayweather Jr. carved a career out of it. He was the man who stepped into the ring with the greats like George Foreman and Joe Frazier. Remember the Rumble in the Jungle? The documentary did it justice. For several rounds, Ali took all kinds of punishment from Foreman and suddenly turned the tables. He knocked Foreman out after a small sequence of precise punches. His brawls with Frazier were legendary, even if they were costly later on in Ali’s older age.

Ali fought for too long, falling on his sword instead of walking away when it was right. He burned out instead of drifting away, taking a pounding from Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick in his final two fights. He was 39 when he last fought. What people forget were the thrilling pair of fights he had with Leon Spinks and the three knockdown battles he had with Ken Norton.  (more…)