Muhammad Ali: The man who talked, fought, and won, by Folorunso Adisa

Muhammad Ali was more than a boxer. He was a poet in motion, a master of words, and a warrior of wit. He didn’t just throw punches, he threw verses. He didn’t just fight,he performed. If he hadn’t been the greatest in the ring, he might have been the greatest on stage, a showman of speech, a poet of power.

Ali didn’t just fight with his fists. He fought with his mind. Long before the first bell rang, he had already stepped into his opponent’s head, planting doubt, shaking confidence, and setting the stage for his victory. He disarmed before he harmed. He psyched before he struck. And the crowd? Oh, they were his orchestra. “Ali bomaye! Ali bomaye!” they roared in Kinshasa, willing him to take down George Foreman. His words were so powerful that his fists only had to do the follow-up work.

Picture this: A fan tells Ali she’s coming to see his next fight. His response? Pure gold.
“You better get there early ‘cause that man is going down. If he talks a little jive, he’s going down in five. If he talks a little more, I might drop him in four!”
A man in the crowd shouts, “If you want more fun, do it in one!”
Ali, ever the wordsmith, shoots back, “Hold on now, I’m the one doing the rhyming!”

Before The Rumble in the Jungle in 1974, Ali looked Foreman in the eye and delivered his iconic line:
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, his hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see!”
And true to his words, Foreman swung, but Ali danced. Foreman charged, but Ali glided. Foreman punched, but Ali planned.

Ali was the king of hyperbole, but his exaggerations were never empty boasts. His pre-fight monologues still echo through time:
“I done wrassled with an alligator! I done tussled with a whale! Only last week I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick! I’m so mean I make medicine sick!”
Who dares a man who claims to have knocked out inanimate objects?

Against Foreman, Ali waxed lyrical again:
“You think the world was shocked when Nixon resigned?
Wait till I whup George Foreman’s behind!
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,
His hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.
Now you see me, now you don’t,
George thinks he will, but I know he won’t.”

And he did exactly as he said.

Ali knew how to sell himself. He called himself “The Legend”, “The Greatest”, and he had the words to match the claim:
“Ali fights great, he’s got speed and endurance.
If you sign to fight him, increase your insurance!
Ali’s got a left, Ali’s got a right,
If he hits you once, you’re asleep for the night!”
And of his speed? Pure poetry:
“I’m so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark!”

But Ali’s genius wasn’t just in his words. It was in his strategy. Rope-a-dope. The art of making your opponent punch himself into exhaustion while you wait for the perfect moment. In The Rumble in the Jungle, Ali leaned back on the ropes, absorbing Foreman’s power shots, letting him wear himself out. And when Foreman was drained, Ali struck. A few swift punches, and the giant fell like a tree. The world watched, stunned. Ali had done it.

But rope-a-dope isn’t just a boxing trick. It’s a life lesson.

In a world where common sense is no longer common, where people rant, rage, and react without reason, the best way to win isn’t to fight back, it’s to wait. Let them burn out their energy. Let them swing wildly while you stand firm. In the end, silence is the ultimate knockout punch.

Ali proved that talent alone isn’t enough. Talent needs preparation. Preparation needs opportunity. And when all three meet, greatness is born.

Therefore, the next time someone tries to drag you into pointless battles, remember Muhammad Ali. Don’t bite the dog just because it bit you. Float, sting, and win, without breaking a sweat.