BoxRec

I searched the internet about the Greatest Muhammad Ali. One writing in ESPN that 3/16 of Ali's blood is white race. Some other writing mentioned Norman Mailer wrote that the Kentucky orator Henry Clay was known as Ali's white ancestor. Could you please re-tell this story for me? Sorry - never think of being racist, just curious for and need an explanation. Thanks.

According to Genesis,Adam is Ali's white ancestor. Of course it takes alot of begats to get that far.

I think he's Irish.

I think it was his paternal grandfather or something was Irish. It's covered in a few of the Ali biographies.

There's a famous quote of Ali's when he refused induction for the Vietnam war - "Ain't no Vietcong ever called me Paddy".

A recent book about Ali's fight with Al 'Blue' Lewis in Dublin has a chapter on Ali's Irish ancestry. It is well worth a read.



THE BIG FIGHT: MUHAMMAD ALI VS AL "BLUE" LEWIS

By DAVE HANNIGAN

Publisher: VINTAGE/EBURY (A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE)

Why is ethnicity so important to some boxing fans?
Time and time again since the days of Jack Johnson and James Jeffries (and I suppose in the bareknuckle era as well) the ugly face of race, color and ancestry is on the lurk.
And I'm not being politically correct here (God, help me if I am!).

Kentucky orator Henry Clay was known as Ali's white ancestor. Could you please re-tell this story for me? Sorry - never think of being racist, just curious for and need an explanation. Thanks

What explanation do you seek, my friend? How in heavens name a WASP like Henry Clay shagged (as they say in Britain) a colored plantation worker? There is no possible explanation for that. It just happens and it happened quite often in the XVIII and XIX century.
This remains me of a scene in Woody Allen's 'Crimes and misdemeanors'
Before going to bed, Allen is telling his wife that his sister went to bed with a stranger and after tying her down the guy defecated on her.
So Allen says,
'Human sexuality is so complex..."
Wife responds:
"Yeah, I know. Well, good night... I gotta be up at seven"

I'm sure we can all agree that his Irish ancestry is where his boxing ability came from. It's a little known fact that Muhammed Ali always wore a shamrock on his trunks when he boxed and downed a mug of Guiness before each match. His Irish accent was unmistakable in interviews and he often cursed his opponents in Gaelic in the clinches.

It also explains why he held a grudge against Joe Frazier. People tend to forget that Frazier was of Scottish ancestry; his grandfather was Duncan McFrazier of Edinburgh.

wouter wrote:It also explains why he held a grudge against Joe Frazier. People tend to forget that Frazier was of Scottish ancestry; his grandfather was Duncan McFrazier of Edinburgh.

That explaines his accent, I always wondered about it......