Local Lady Remembers ‘The Champ’
As the world prepares to bid final farewell to legendary boxer and humanitarian Muhammad Ali tomorrow, June 10, in his hometown of Louisville, Ky., one Jasper County resident recalls with nostalgia her first and only face-to face with "The Greatest."
Nannette Manning entered the offices of The Monticello News Tuesday morning inquiring about what might be published about the famed boxer since his passing last Friday when it was discovered she had a story to share about meeting him in 1986.
Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay on January 17, 1942 during segregation, was a three-time heavyweight boxing champion with a 56-5 record including 37 knockouts. Most notably known for his fancy footwork, speed and trademark grandiose ‘trash talking,' he was also a world class humanitarian and civil rights activist.
It was July of 1986 when the now Jasper County Preschool Director was in her mid-20's. She was attending the annual Bronner Brothers Hair Show in downtown Atlanta where she encountered "The People's Champ." (It is important to note that the Bronner Brothers franchise has a Jasper County connection as founding brother Nathanial hails from Midway where they still own land.)
In the boisterous atmosphere of the hair show arena, Nannette was with a group of family and friends as she happened to quite literally bump into Ali's bodyguard when she noticed the champ himself who was a speaker at the event. Stunned she cued her party in on his immediate presence and while they seemed lackluster she was thrilled. Commotion amongst the young group of ladies ensued when Ali turned his attention to them and did the unthinkable…invited them ALL to dinner with him. Of course they accepted.
Ali, his bodyguard, Nannette and her friends all walked to a restaurant she cannot recall by name now that was located next to the Omni, the venue for the hair show.
"All I had known about Muhammad Ali at that time was what I had seen or heard on television which was this boisterous and loud personality. I remember thinking ‘this guy has a mouth on him," said Nannette referring back to that summer of 1986.
At that time, Ali had retired from boxing in 1981 after earning heavyweight titles in 1964 at age 22, in 1974 at age 32, and in 1978 at age 36. He competed in several highly publicized bouts including the Philippines "Thrilla in Manila" against Joe Frazier, the African "Rumble in the Jungle' against George Foreman, and "The Fight of the Century." He was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease in 1984.
As a boxing great, he was very much a polarizing figure converting to the Islamic faith in his 20's thus changing his birth name and later refusing the Vietnam draft of 1966 for which he was jailed and stripped of his titles.
The Ali Nannette met and dined with that July night of 1986 was the not the Ali she had been aware of before. She went to dinner thinking the night would be filled with flashy poetic words but what she got was so much more.
"I was fascinated once he started speaking. He talked some about boxing but much of his conversation was about current events and issues that affected our community. He displayed a cultural honesty like nothing I had experienced at that time. I was very impressed with his compassion and his humility," noted an excited Nannette from whom I sensed great pride of her Ali moment.
The dinner with Ali, which lasted about two hours, kept Nannette and her friends in amazement of his worldliness, charm, knowledge, and handsome looks. None of the Parkinsons tremors that plagued him late in life were evident at that time. One question of pertinence that she posed to the famed boxer was that of his name change from the one given him at birth to his Islamic one. He simply replied that he wished to be referred to as Muhammad Ali and known for being a person and catalyst of change.
