Amid the cascade of commentary and celebration-of-life retrospectives about Muhammad Ali, I’ve been reminded of a candid interview I had with Ali’s former trainer, the late Angelo Dundee. Some notes you keep. Here are a few outtakes from the iconic corner man who was also the on-set adviser to Will Smith, who played Ali on the big screen.
* “You know all that ‘poetry’ that Ali was famous for? It was mostly mine. And it stunk.”
* “What did I teach Ali? How to move in the ring. But I made him think it was his idea.”
* “What did he lose after being out of boxing in his prime? He lost his edge. He never regained it.”
* “The greatest boxer ever? Willie Pepp. The greatest impact on the sport? Ali.”
* “The Muslims really didn’t affect me. I did my job. I don’t get involved with things like a person’s religion.”