Updated 4 June 2016
IN 1972, A year after losing The Fight of the Century to Joe Frazier and two years prior to the Rumble in the Jungle, Muhammad Ali held court for just under 50 minutes in the company of Cathal O’Shannon (1928 – 2011).
Ali set the captivating proceedings on a roll referring to Frazier as a ‘tramp’ and telling O’Shannon that the reigning heavyweight champion was:
“Not doin’ nothin’. Fighting once every seven months, fighting people you could beat – so I have to keep the game alive because I’m the true champion.”
In the interview which is now solely available on the RTE Player, Ali speaks at passionately and at length about race relations in the United States and the hatred that made people want to see him fight, in the hope that he would be beaten.
I get nervous, because of the talking I do. I have to back it up…
O’Shannon’s easy charm played a huge part in the interview’s success, taking Ali’s friendly jibes in the spirit they were given. Though prepared to be the butt of the joke, he never shirked a question and allowed the champ space and time to say what he wanted… not that Ali ever needed much encouragement to talk.
Take some time to watch the full 47-minute interview on RTE Player here.
Originally published 17 January 2012 with the interview as a YouTube clip.
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12k seats – how many do Pats get for a typical game? I’m not trolling btw, I honestly don’t know!
@John S: sounds like you are trolling, why do attendances matter? Rovers don’t sell out tallaght yet their building another stand, it’s all to make the league and the facilities better to make people feel more welcomed.
Won’t get anywhere with smart arses like yourself holding the LOI clubs back. Gareth Kelleher was putting his own money in, no grants, no tax payers money, no government funding, yet you’ll still find a way to complain when clubs are trying to improve the league… you can’t win
@Benny Millar: I’m not trolling, why don’t attendances matter? Because Irish Sport is full of white elephants with no atmosphere. Hhow often would they exceed say 5k? Wouldn’t that be a more appropriate size stadium than a 1/2 full stadium with no atmosphere?
@John S: average attendance is 1600 but personally I’d have no problem if they built this and put up giant banners behind the goal ends with ads & took them down if they managed to get back up into larger crowds, I think with decent facility’s & good prices they could attract 3000 a game maybe even more if say a father decided to go to a match and take the kids while the wife shops in the proposed shopping centre under the stadium or ,anyway it would have been a good forward planning idea but the council’s are too short sited , it also could have been a venue for some smaller outdoor concerts , even community events such as football camps for kids & community games , imagine kids in the area getting the chance to play there and aspire to play for st.pats one day in there local stadium