Just watched the Brian London knockout again. Seventeen punches in slightly over two seconds. Ali was faster than any previous fighter in any weight division. And Ali before his enforced exile was faster than anyone has been since. The only genius in the history of sport.

Great stories, Earl!

I haven’t seen the Doc Ellis documentary; I’ll check it out. Jim Brown used to claim he could beat Ali. He changed his mind when he and Ali were playing hoops. He shoved Ali under the basket. The story goes that Ali open-handed slapped him and spun Brown’s head. Brown supposedly never challenged the GOAT again.

A little something extra: here’s the author’s note that begins APPROACHING ALI:

Clay, hi. Great post: funny, smart, heart-felt. I hope that you’ll enjoy the book. Amazon has it at a good price right now, and I’m selling signed copies on eBay.

Earl, hi. Thanks for the good word. Privately, Ali still talks trash — and shocks with how good he is at it. Inside, he’s no less Ali than he was in the 1960s and Seventies. A big difference, though, is that he has been made increasingly wise by his Parkinson’s and the ways he’s worked with it.

Thanks, Billy. I’m happy you enjoyed this excerpt from the book.

I’m happy you liked my story, Tippy. Ali is The Man! As he has said time and again, “After me, there will never be another.” APPROACHING ALI would make a fine Christmas present to yourself. I promise you that you’ll never read a better, more fun book about The Greatest of All Time.

I was so very happy to see Ali thump Trump yesterday.