“I’ve wrestled with an alligator, I’ve tussled with a whale. I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick. I’m so mean I make medicine sick.”
--Typical Ali rant
MUHAMMAD ALI, three times heavyweight boxing champion of the world, died June 3 at 74. A respiratory ailment complicated by Parkinson’s disease struck him down.
Much of the world mourns his death. He was sports celebrity, showman, “master of illusion who danced around his opponents.” And great in advertising himself.
People remember him for his fights and, with them, his bragging, taunts and name-calling, his words often rhymed in near poetry (“flit like a butterfly/sting like a bee”).
Trash talk of old didn’t cuss. “F” word was a rarity, which broadcast and print censors removed or disguised anyway. The boxer demeaned rivals and drummed up his superiority but rarely with swear words.
Those who listened, and much of the world did, wouldn’t see Ali as an a..hole puffing up and spewing out hot air. He delivered, most of the time.
Trash talk before the fight, they say, is as essential as throwing punches on the ring. It whets appetite to watch the brawl, incites supporters to root for their boxer--and sells tickets.
Promise
Trash talk from Rodrigo Duterte made him win the election, on the promise he’d bring about “real change,” as if crass language assured compliance.
Before weekend he promised he’d be transformed on June 30, the day his term starts.
It won’t be a boxing arena. Yet from his pulpit, he can be mean and tough without being un-presidential.
If he wants to entertain as well, jolly good show but he can do without long monologues and needless eruptions over perceived hostility from those who may not share his view.
Beyond the campaign trash talk and celebration hangover, his big promise and the nation’s huge expectations remain.
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