Gala to celebrate legendary Muhammad Ali

The name, singular in mention yet worldwide in recognition, says it all:

Ali.

Nobody in sports history has been so unifying yet so polarizing. His life has transcended boxing and has caused the kind of societal debate usually reserved for politicians. To this day, he remains revered and despised, even though he last fought in 1981.

Muhammad Ali turned 70 on Jan. 17. Tonight, he will be honored at the MGM Grand Garden with the kind of celebration kings and presidents would be envious of. Celebrities from every walk of life have come to pay homage to the man known as "The Greatest," a man who because of his long-standing battle with Parkinson's disease will struggle to say "Thank you" to those who honor him.

The sold-out Power of Love Gala that will benefit the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, as well as the Muhammad Ali Center, is a celebration for a man who never initially intended to change the world. But his actions and convictions did alter the way people thought about America and beyond.

'HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING'

To those who knew him or thought they knew him, Ali was always a simple man with simple values. His decisions to convert to Islam and later refuse induction into the army were not meant to divide the country. They were decisions that came from the heart and after much soul-searching.

"He knew what he was doing," said Top Rank Inc. chairman Bob Arum, who promoted Ali's fights from 1966 until the end of his career in 1981. "He was a man of principle. Most people disliked him for his stances. He was a pariah to a lot of people. To some, he was a traitor. But he was willing to risk everything for what he believed."

Gene Kilroy, who was Ali's business manager from 1968 to 1980 and has known him since 1960 when he was Cassius Clay fighting in the Olympics in Rome, said: "He has always been a man of his convictions. The man you see today is the same man you saw in 1960 when he won the Olympics."

Kilroy, a longtime Las Vegas casino host, said Ali is a figure misunderstood by his critics.

"Ali judged people as people," Kilroy said. "He loved people. His mother was a kind and caring person, his dad was a no b.s. guy, a stern disciplinarian.

"Here's a story that shows you what I'm talking about: We're in New York, and he went up to see Sugar Ray Robinson at his bar in Harlem before the 1960 Olympics, and he was hoping to meet him and get his autograph. But Robinson stiffed him, and Ali said he would never treat anyone like that.

"He said to me, and I've never forgotten this, 'You don't get love if you don't give love.' "

DECISION UPSET SOME VETERANS

But not everyone loved Ali. Many who fought in the Vietnam War looked at Ali with contempt for his decision not to enter the army and still do to this day.

"Ali was a tremendous boxer," said Las Vegas resident Bill Anton, a retired Army Ranger who served in Vietnam from 1969 to 1971. "But for him to not go into the service and not even report, I still find it deplorable. When your nation calls on you, you should serve."

When Anton hears about how Ali had the courage to stand up for his beliefs, he gets angry.

"Courage has nothing to do with it," said Anton, who was a lieutenant colonel and is a member of the Ranger Hall of Fame. "It takes more courage to do something you don't want to do."

Las Vegas resident Bill Olds, who served three tours in Vietnam as a member of the Special Forces and won two Purple Hearts, agrees with Anton.

"When it originally happened, I was pissed," Olds said. "He acted like a big shot, and I doubted he was a conscientious objector. I didn't think he was sincere. But I've mellowed since then. He still should have served. But at least he didn't leave the country. I can respect him for trying to work through the (legal) system."

Not all veterans despise Ali. Las Vegas resident Doug Eaton, a retired Marine who served in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970, said he supports Ali for his stand against the war.

"He had it right when everyone else had it wrong," Eaton said. "Our country made a terrible mistake. But Ali had such a keen insight as to what was going on. I respect him for what he did."

'HE OPENED DOORS FOR OTHERS'

Before Ali's controversial stance on Vietnam in 1967, he had made waves among those who were fighting for civil rights among African-Americans. His brash talking divided black households throughout the country, as younger blacks supported Ali while their parents and grandparents thought he was hurting the cause.

"My father did not like Ali," said Patricia Cunningham, who grew up in Las Vegas and hosts a weekly political and community affairs radio show on KCEP-FM. "He wanted Ali to be more like Joe Louis, who was his hero. But I thought Ali was many years ahead of his time. He had the courage to say what all of us were thinking."

Nowhere was that best demonstrated than when Ali fought in Las Vegas. The Strip was still very much a segregated destination in 1961 when Ali fought Duke Sabedong at the Las Vegas Convention Center. But instead of staying on the Westside, as the black part of town was referred to at the time, Ali stayed at the El Morocco Hotel.

In 1965, when he returned to Las Vegas to fight Floyd Patterson, Ali stayed and trained at the Stardust hotel. By doing so, it sent a signal to casino owners that the only color that really mattered was green.

"He opened doors for others," Cunningham said. "To integrate the Strip was a business decision, and I'm sure by staying on the Strip, he helped immensely. They knew it was in their best interest to have (Ali) stay with them."

Kilroy said Ali wouldn't have it any other way.

"Ali didn't see color," Kilroy said. "The casino owners loved him. They knew he was good for business. There's no doubt Ali helped desegregate Vegas."

CONVERSION TO ISLAM

And by converting to Islam, Ali opened doors worldwide.

"The greatest move he ever made," Kilroy said. "By him converting, it gave him access to all the countries in the Middle East and around the world. It helped with his popularity among all peoples."

There are literally thousands of stories that speak to Ali's kindness toward strangers. Cunningham witnessed one when Ali appeared before the Nevada Athletic Commission to get his boxing license in 1981. He was at the end of his career and had taken a savage beating from Larry Holmes at Caesars Palace a few months earlier.

As Ali waited for his agenda item to be called, he noticed two kids in the audience and motioned for them to come to him. They were Cunningham's sons, Che and Kwasi, who were 10 and 8 at the time. Ali sent a member of his entourage to a nearby McDonald's to bring back french fries for the kids.

"I'm sitting there watching this, and I'm thinking, 'My God,' " Cunningham said. "Here's Muhammad Ali entertaining my kids while the commission is deciding whether or not he can fight.

"There were all these media and cameras there, and Ali didn't even look at them. He was just having such a good time with the boys. I'll never forget it."

ALI'S LEGACY

In his Hall of Fame professional career that spanned three decades, Ali was 56-5 with 37 knockouts. Seven of his eight fights in Nevada were in Las Vegas. He went 6-2 in the state, losing to Leon Spinks in 1978 at the Las Vegas Hilton and in 1980 to Holmes at Caesars.

So what of Ali's legacy? How should those who never saw him fight, never watched his legal battles to stay out of Vietnam and didn't know of his becoming a Muslim judge him?

Dr. Rainier Spencer, an anthropology professor at UNLV who teaches African-American studies, said he tries to tell his students to look beyond what has been said and written.

"When I talk to them about Ali, I want them to focus on his nonconformity, his outspokenness," said Spencer, who has taught at UNLV for 14 years. "There's a general lack of knowledge and caring about that time period. Most students don't know about the Vietnam War. They don't know that Ali lost 3½ years of his career while he was in his prime and that it was almost suicidal what he did to his career because he stood up for what he believed in.

"I can't imagine the courage he had to have to do what he did. He is without question one of the most important men of the 20th century."

Arum said: "He's ahead of everybody. Ali's main contribution as a person of color could have an impact on the unfolding of world events. He took a principled stand on society -- race, Vietnam, religion -- he stood up at a time and took a stand that wasn't the most popular.

"But he changed the world. He still does."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.