Rwandan recollects memorable encounter with Muhammad Ali

Ndoba Mugunga, a Rwandan businessman, was devastated by the death of three-time world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali. Ndoba has special memories of the boxing icon whose famous fight against George Foreman in Kinshasa, he closely followed on radio. Ndoba was only 18 years old then. Although he did not watch the fight live, he listened to it on the radio and developed an interest not in boxing per se, but in Ali’s life. “One profound thing I remember about the fight was when the entire crowd was shouting ‘Ali boma ye’ – which means ‘Ali kill him.’ Ali restrained himself. Foreman was trying to get up and he probably expected a knockout that would finish him but Ali just left him. “In that heated atmosphere, Ali probably would have killed him if he wanted, but he didn’t and that revealed a human, gentle side of him. That took my attention,” Ndoba said in an exclusive interview with Times Sport. When Ndoba met Ali in 1996, two years after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, it was in a waiting room at an airport in the US. Ali was seated with his wife waiting for their flight. “I happened to be taking the same flight and when I saw Ali I could not restrain myself. I had so much joy and excitement, I just had to walk up to him and speak to him. I approached him and introduced myself. To my utter surprise, he invited me to join him and his wife,” recalls Ndoba. Seating next to Ali was a special moment for Ndoba and as he explains the encounter, his eyes light up as he re-lives that moment. He noted, “I told him about what was going on in Rwanda and he showed so much concern. I could not believe it. He promptly asked me what he could do to help and even asked his wife to give me his contact details, which she did.” “He said that if he would ever get a chance to visit Africa, he would definitely visit Rwanda. Unfortunately that did not happen,” said Ndoba. “Ali was a true fighter out of the ring. At that time, in 1996, he was already battling Parkinson’s disease. When we arrived at our destination, Ali struggled to get his luggage from the conveyor belt and his wife was just standing there looking at him. “I immediately rushed to help him but his wife stopped me. She told me that he prefers to do it himself to strengthen his body and to try and fight the disease. “This strengthened my respect for Ali. His spirit to fight and not give up was so incredible and I admired him for that. The most important thing I learnt from Ali is to never give up in any fight and at any age,” explains Ndoba, who is among the lucky few to have got the chance to meet the man, many think was the greatest boxer ever. It is undoubtedly a sad day for many of Muhammad Ali’s fans but today the world will also celebrate an icon and legend whose passion to fight will forever be remembered. In a ceremony befitting his globally esteemed status, he will be buried today in his hometown of Louisville, US following a procession through Kentucky City and a public funeral at a sports arena. Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. on January 17, 1942, was an American Olympic and professional boxer and activist, widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated sports figures of the 20th century. From early in his career, Ali was known as an inspiring, controversial and polarising figure, both inside and outside the ring. Described by many as a hero, a champion, and he was a special person to all that met him. Throughout his career, he fought to win every fight and the Parkinson’s disease can only count as one of the few fights that he lost in his lifetime. The boxer had been suffering from a respiratory illness, a condition that was complicated by the Parkinson’s disease. After losing to Ken Norton in 1973, he commented, “I never thought of losing, but now that it’s happened, the only thing is to do it right. That’s my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life.” editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Rwandan recollects memorable encounter with Muhammad Ali