Montreal's boxing community shares cherished memories of meeting Ali

CTV Montreal: Montreal remembers Ali Boxing legend Muhammad Ali was remembered by Montreal’s boxing community as a figure that transcended sport.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali was remembered by Montreal’s boxing community as a figure that transcended sport, using his influence to make the world a better place.

“There’s only one Ali, there can never be another sports figure like him,” said former world middleweight champion Otis Grant.

Grant, now co-owner of Grant Brothers Boxing in Dorval recalled his brush with Ali at the Pan-Am Games in 1987, where Ali wished him good luck.

“I have a picture of me, him and Lennox Lewis, actually, as he came to wish us well before the fight,” he said. “It was great – you know when you’re in the presence of greatness.”

Grant said Ali’s presence “took over the entire room” even while other boxers were fighting.

“That was a special moment,” he said.

The world first felt that presence at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

“You could see he was above everybody in there,” said former Team Canada boxer Gaby Mancini, who remembers a friendly rivalry with Cassius Clay.

“He said, ‘Come on over, we're going to fight.’ We said, ‘Come on over, we're going to fight.’ It became a comedy.

The brash theatrics took a serious turn when Ali converted to Islam and refused to serve in the Vietnam War. At that time, no American city would stage a fight with Ali, and Montreal got on board.

It was then-mayor Jean Drapeau who was forced to comply, when the American Veteran's Association threatened to boycott Expo '67.

“That was Jean Drapeau's baby, so he erred on the side of caution and thought, ‘I’m not going take this risk for a boxer,’” said boxing analyst Russ Anber. “So it went to Toronto. Even then, the Ontario Athletic Commission, because of the political implications, refused to recognize it as a World Heavyweight Championship fight for their own guy George Chuvallo.”

Boxing promoter Yvon Michel said he also had a life-changing brush with Ali, when he coached the national Canadian boxing team at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996.

Ali came to sit down next to him and former boxer Gaby Mancini during breakfast in the cafeteria. Michael said meeting and speaking to The Greatest for 30 minutes was a career highlight.

“It’s probably the memory that I cherish the most in my career,” he said, equating his imprint as a human rights advocate to that of Mother Teresa or Gandhi. “He became so big as a personality, that if he just looked at you, you felt like you were blessed

Ali’s legacy: Help others

Grant said it was Ali’s influence on human rights, fighting racism and injustices and working to help others is what inspired him to want to give back, too.

“This guy was so much more than a fighter, than a boxer, I think that was just the platform he used to propel himself to greatness, to be a humanitarian,” he said. “This guy has taught me that’ it’s better to give than to receive.”

“I’m somewhat well-known here in the Montreal area through the sport of boxing and through that I’ve used my name here to help people, to start a foundation to do community work, to help kids, impoverished families,” he said. “That’s the legacy of this man. He’s done some tremendous things to help.”