Very few sports personalities are able
to be bold enough to speak about
their success however modest it is.
Ali was never the modest type and
when he spoke you paid attention.
His fights did the speaking for him in
the ring while his mouth did the rest
beyond the ropes.
His vocal nature was sure to attract
attention from fellow detractors as
well as those who would become his
allies and spiritual yardsticks. Meeting
with Malcolm X and the Nation of
Islam meant he moved from a more
conservative form of religion to one
whose roots were still gaining traction
in the North America.
Unfortunately his activism meant
the US government authorities were
not too amused with his refusal and
subsequent conviction for refusing to
be enlisted in the country’s defense
forces. Boxing authorities followed
this too by cancelling his boxing
license initially within the US and
also prohibited him from securing any
fights out of US.
It took the highest court in the land to
quash this and reinstate the legend back
to his order. Many critics have argued
he may have lost some of his oomph in
those 3 or so years out of the ring.
Others argue that this mellowed him
though it did not entirely stop him
from his famed proclamations before
and after the fights.
Rumble, Fight and Thrill
For almost decade in the 1970s, the
world was treated to his labored
comeback and once-in-awhile
loss, but if there is a boxer who
exemplified being knocked and
coming back it was he.
The beauty of all this is that even as he
approached his sunset years, he stood
out as an ambassador of sport across
many cultures and was easily the most
recognized faces in the world.
In sports marketing, an individual
has to learn how to script his o r her
career. Muhammad Ali learnt this in
an early age and usually called out his
fights much to the delight of press
and promoters. From Rumble in the
Jungle,Thrilla in Manila, The Fight of
the Century, he did brand his own fights
even before taking a branding class.
He also perfected the art of
appearances. Early in his professional
fight, he did a photo shoot for a US
magazine center spread showing him
spurring under water. For a person
who had aquaphobia (fear of water),
this was major coup.
He also ensured that unlike some of
the boxers of his time, he was always
in a neat haircut, fitting suit and
trainers when spurring or jogging in
the streets. This gave him credence
with the audience even before
stepping into the ring, ask George
Foreman and their Kinshasa travails.
While Muhammad Ali may not have
benefitted from major sponsorships
and endorsements during much of
his career, he did manage to negotiate
attractive purse monies which aided
cushion him in his retirement.
Perhaps due to his effervescent
nature, it would almost be impossible
to expect him to stick to a script,
giving PR types sleepless nights.
Impossible is … well, Nothing!
According to a sports marketing report
on familiarity, in 2016, 3 decades after
he retired from the ring, Muhammad
Ali was tied with Michael Jordan and
Tom Brady for no.1.
This is on familiarity on Marketing
Evaluations annual sports Q ratings
– which measures different aspects of
athlete and celebrity marketability.
Again even without much of
commercial benefits, he did take on
causes which saw him transcend
the world of sport to politics and
diplomacy. He was regularly called
upon by his statesmen to negotiate
on behalf of the state. In the current
era of polarized political state of the
world, his would have been a tough
task to undertake.
He also remained a true patriot
amidst the friction and restriction
made by the State functionaries.
Nowadays we know of sports
personalities who change nationalities
on a whim to exploit whatever
commercial interests they may have all
in the misplaced name of nationalism.
This column cannot do enough justice
to the legacy that Muhammad Ali
has left not just for sport but also for
humanity. I will leave you though with
some of his best quotes;
‘If my mind can conceive it, and
my heart can believe it – then I can
achieve it’. ‘I hated every minute of
training, but I said, don’t quit. Suffer
now and live the rest of your life as a
champion’.
Lastly here are some lines from one
of the few commercials that used
Muhammad Ali’s legacy incorporating
his daughters Hannah and Layla for
the “Impossible is Nothing” campaign
for Adidas a few years ago;
‘‘Some people listen to themselves,
rather than listen to what others say
. . . they remind us that once you set
out on a path, even though critics may
doubt you, it’s okay to believe there
is no ‘can’t,’ ‘won’t,’ or ‘impossible.’
They remind us it’s okay to believe
impossible is nothing.’’
Quick Aside: Not once, not twice
have I labored to produce an article in
time for logging onto my bi-monthly
column. It sounds ridiculous that
it can be hard to put together 1500
words (or thereabouts), but yes it does
happen.
When my editor send me a reminder
a few weeks ago I had struggled to
come up with a topic and was still
wrapping my head around a relevant
topic. Well, that changed and the mojo
finally came back…
Richard Wanjohi is a marketing
enthusiast with interest in research,
sports marketing and blogging. You can
reach him at via mail on this or related
matters at: [email protected], or
follow his tweets on @rwanjohi.