A young star was born in 1960, in the boxing ring ofTokyo where the Olympic Games were held in which Cassius Clay had promised tobring up the gold medal at light-heavyweight. Clay soon turned himself to aMuslim and became Muhammad Ali, leaving the four-cornered stage to win up the entire world as the greatest heavyweight division, becoming the greatestfighter ever.
His start was the Olympic win. Ali was actually a lightweight but he decided to move from the lower division to the heavyweightcategory. He won and lost world titles but never gave up. In 1996, he was backon Olympic duty and there he performed his greatest sporting miraclewherein he lit the flame in Atlanta. It was the final look of the man inaction.
This summer, the big lads are back in Tokyo and they allare fighting their dreams of the skinny young boy, Clay. Till now the mostprecious metal for the game of boxing is known as the Olympic Gold medal,silver and bronze are still considered as hard currency.
On Saturday, July 24, in Britain a few super heavyweightsqualifiers who were lucky enough to find their way out of the Covid maze, someof them underwent a selection process which made some people smile while othersleft with a heavy heart.
The Olympiccompetition for boxing was once known as a heavyweight division but now seeingthe size of the men competing, the competition is now known assuper-heavyweight division. At those games, in 1984, an American fighter calledTyrell Biggs won the gold medal for the hostile nation, he was the last American towin at that weight, and this gold medal was a disaster for the Americans as theywere not able to earn a gold medal in the past five years.
The super-heavyweight championship is no longerconsidered amateur boxing as now it is considered as an ultimate gateway tosuccess, a place where both women and men can audition for their professional dream.This division has heartbreaking dreams, ridiculous endings, deaths, blood,glory, and riches. In 1996, in Atlanta, Floyd Mayweather won bronze and beforethe commencement of his match he stated, “This is just the start.”
Talking of Britain, It has a rich history in the divisionof the super-weight: 2 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals, in the last 9 years.This time the responsibility is on Frazer Clarke, he could be from London orRio, but every time he was overtaken by men who could reach the finals. InJoshua won gold and Joe Joyce in the final for silver in 2016. Both of themwere friends and sparred a thousand rounds, sweated in tournaments, fought eachother, and grew together.
Now, the chief cheerleader in London and Rio is finallyan Olympian at the age of 29. Frazer Clarke might be the most decent person onthe GB team. Biggs was doomed from the beginning and was never guided; he onlyowned some support and understanding. He always looked scared and broken,owning demons that were so hard to hide.
In 1952, in Helsinki, Ed Sanders, an American sailor, wonthe gold at heavyweight, turned professional but died in 1954 after his 9thfight. He collapsed one night after his second loss. He died from his injuries three days later. The man he beat in the final, in 1959, IngemarJohansson won the world heavyweight title. For Big Swede it was redemption, hewas called a “coward” and a “rat” after losing to Sanders. He threw out for “notfighting”.
Over the last 70 years, i.e. the last 17 Olympic Games,only 6 men won the gold in the top division and then won. They were Joe Frazierin 1964, George Foreman in 1968, Lennox Lewis in 1988, Wladimir Klitschko in1996, Alexander Povetkin in 2004, and Joshua in 2012.
Boxing is a hard and cruel game, with a lot of expectations.Frazer Clarke is a real medal achiever, but the hardest part is to walk on theright path, which is indeed difficult to track.