The Greatest, the term itself exceeds hyperbole and yet you can no longer hear it without thinking of one man, that is how enormous the legacy of Muhammad Ali is. It is often said, (and get used to it as you will be hearing it a lot in the days that follow) that he transcended sport, that he transcended boxing, and that he was the most famous man on the planet. The 20th Century is not the same place without Ail but you can not divorce who he is , his impact and legacy from the noble art that provided him with the motivation, platform and reason to become who he was.

If you want to know more about the man I could not recommend more highly, two books, David Remnick’s 'King of the World' and Thomas Hauser’s seminal 'His life and times'. Better still watch the 41 rounds he shared with Joe Frazier and some of his other epic battles between the ropes. There is a story that Ali tells in his own book 'The Soul of a Butterfly' of a recurring dream he had when younger. In it he dreamed of running down the main street in Louisville when a truck would drive straight towards him. Rather than getting out of the way he ran straight at it and arms waving took off flying over the oncoming vehicle whilst people stood clapped and cheered. It was to become the way he lived his life. He ducked no obstacle and stood and faced challenge after seemingly insurmountable challenge, using each contest as springboard to get higher and higher until eventually he was able to soar.

At this point I have to declare that as a boxing fan I do not along with many, many others consider Ali to be the Greatest boxer, he is possibly not even the greatest heavyweight and no, I do not consider him the greatest sportsman either. He was though, without doubt an incredible human being who elevated and inspired so many other people and used his position to stick two fingers up to the establishment. He was a fantastic entertainer, a fighter whose graceful and eloquent physical prowess put him up there amongst the greatest the sport has ever seen. His quick tongue and unceasing humour even in the face of great adversity is a lesson for us all, and the world is a flatter and duller place without a character that could light up the faces of people across generations, ethnic, and social classes. He was the people's champion in much more than heavyweight boxing and in countless ways he will never be matched or transcended. He was a pioneer, a punk rock pugilist who tore up the rule book and invented a persona that fearlessly ripped apart so many sham conventions and punctured many a pompous ego. Rest in Peace Champ. There will never be another one like you.