In a nondescript concrete building in Louisville, Kentucky, the smell of sweat hung in the air as two teenagers in protective helmets and boxing gloves traded blows at lightning speed, propelled by shouts of encouragement.
Sunshine streamed in from a skylight overhead to illuminate the action at the center of Louisville TKO Boxing Club, where the heirs to Muhammad Ali’s storied legacy are determined to do him proud.
Louisville is the hometown and final resting place of the legendary fighter, who was buried there on June 10 in a send-off befitting the three-time heavyweight champion.
Photo: AFP
At TKO, teens train in the hopes they might be the next Cassius Clay.
On any given day, about 80 youths can be found training here, buoyed by the same quest for greatness that spurred Ali — even if they know that boxing legends like him are rare.
“Nobody is close to Muhammad Ali — he is way above everybody else,” said 17-year-old Jeffrey Clancy. “He was so much ahead of his time, it was ridiculous — nobody had really seen fast feet like that in the heavyweight division.”
Jeffrey began boxing 60 years after a young Cassius Clay took up the sport. The young Louisville upstart came to be known for his way with words, but first he learned to let his fists do the talking in the boxing ring.
Clay started training in 1954 at the age of 12 — about the same age as many of the children at TKO — training at a nearby gym that is now part of Spalding University, at a time when Louisville was a segregated city at the crossroads of the Midwest and the Deep South.
He changed his name to Muhammad Ali and rose to become not just Louisville’s favorite son, but, at the height of his fame, “The Champ” — a US and global phenomenon.
Even after his death, Ali remains a larger-than-life presence, nowhere more so than in the minds of the up-and-coming boxers following in his prodigious footsteps.
Stephanie Malone, 24, a recent boxing recruit, said she has adopted Ali’s credo as her own.
“Be yourself and do not let anybody dictate who you are, your drive, your determination,” Malone said, summing up what she said is the crux of Ali’s message.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
RSS