All language subtitles for ITV.When.Ali.Came.to.Britain.576p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.Forum (1)

Muhammad Ali is the most famous
sportsman who has ever lived.

But he's also an American icon

who has had a love affair with
Britain for nearly five decades.

Over the next hour, and featuring
previously unseen footage,

we'll hear from the friends he made
in this country...

He used to stand outside that front
door...

and do magic tricks for the kids.

..from the reporters who followed
him...

I got to like the man a great deal,
almost love him.

..and from the British fighters who
faced him in the ring.

He was taller than me, he was bigger
than me and he was a lot bloody
better than me.

As he celebrates his 70th birthday,

this is the story of what Muhammad
Ali made of his time in the UK.

The cars are too small, the streets
are too narrow

and I haven't seen as many pretty
girls like I do at home.

We'll hear the tales of the ordinary
British people

who have never forgotten their
encounter

with the man they called the
Greatest.

Meeting Muhammad Ali was probably
the best thing that's ever happened
to me.

I've actually sparred with him. Not
many 17-year-olds can say that.

Yeah, he's pretty good.

ALL CHANT: Ali! Ali! Ali! Ali! Ali!

Muhammad Ali made his last trip to
Britain in 2009...

to meet the many friends he had made
in this country over the years,

including his old foe - Henry Cooper.

This is likely to be the final visit
by the former heavyweight champion

who is now suffering from severe
Parkinson's disease.

During his time here he travelled to
Hyde on the outskirts of Manchester

and the hometown gym of one of
Britain's most successful boxers -

Ricky Hatton.

You come, you slip, you drop.

Hook, bang and then back on the
outside.

We tried to keep it hush-hush

because we knew how poorly he is
now.

But a few whispers must have got out

because they cornered the streets
off.

People were climbing up the
lamp-posts

just to get a glimpse of him.

He got out, they put the wheelchair
out

and he threw it aside and said, 'I'm
walking into Ricky's gym.'

And you could see what an effort it
was for him but that sums him up.

He said, 'Hi, Ricky.' I thought,
'Oh, my God, he knows me.'

ALL CHANT: Ali! Ali! Ali! Ali! Ali!

Thanks, Muhammad. (CHEERING)

I think whether it be people in
Britain, the United States or all
over the world,

I think everybody loves Muhammad Ali
cos he made boxing what it is today.

Ali is now an international sporting
hero

and hugely popular in this country.

But it wasn't always like that.

He first came to the UK in 1963, then
a world heavyweight hopeful

fighting under his original name
Cassius Clay,

to take on local hero Henry Cooper.

And he immediately antagonised the
British boxing public.

From the moment he got off the plane
from America

for that first fight with Cooper,

Clay had been telling everybody,

'He's going to fall in five'

and he kept putting up his five
fingers,

all the way leading up to the fight.

Henry Cooper's nothing but a tramp.
I'm the greatest.

He must fall in five rounds. If he
talk about me I'll cut it to three.

He was an extremely brash
21-year-old

and people in this country hated
him.

(JEERING)

This'll be no contest.

This will be a total annihilation.

Any special training? No special
training.

Just be at the fight. I'm ready to
back up everything I'm saying.

I'm through talking.

This was a deliberate PR strategy

developed by the young heavyweight
and his wily trainer Angelo Dundee

to whip up interest in the fight.

I knew about England. I knew what
type of individuals they liked.

They liked the close-mouthed sort of
a guy

that didn't brag or anything.

I knew right away they weren't gonna
like my guy cos he talked.

A lot of people are booing me and
making remarks at me on the street

and that's just gonna make it hard
on Henry Cooper.

We got some notoriety and some
publicity

and we sold tickets - that was
important.

Henry Cooper passed away in 2011.

But he often talked about this famous
clash with his sons

John and Henry Marco.

That's you, isn't it? Yeah, that's
us. On Ledway Drive. Yeah.

My first one. Yeah.

And he told them that he took Clay's
showmanship with a pinch of salt.

You know, it wasn't personal.

Dad always used to say afterwards,
'He had a glint in his eye.'

He didn't mean it. It was just his
way of selling things to the public.

And it was a good way of selling cos
nobody had done it before.

But Cooper was certainly the
underdog.

Cassius Clay was the Olympic
champion,

undefeated in 18 professional bouts
and about two stone heavier.

The British boxer decided to even up
the odds - for the weigh-in at least.

Dad was always lighter than Muhammad
Ali

and Jim Wicks, his manager, decided
a good thing to do

would be to put some lead weights in
his shoes and in his hands

so that didn't give Ali too much of
a psychological advantage.

Clay discovered his own source of
inspiration at the weigh-in

which was staged at the London
Palladium.

Clay found a...

robe and a crown

lying in the dressing room

left over from the previous winter's
pantomime.

So he stole it.

He went in the ring with the crown
on his head.

'Don't do that, we'll get killed.'

But it was strictly tongue in cheek.

We were having some fun. We had the
king, they had the queen.

When the fight started Henry was
matching Clay

and Clay was showboating a lot.

It was a fight attended by many
celebrities.

He noticed sitting at the ringside
was Elizabeth Taylor.

Elizabeth Taylor had just made the
film Cleopatra.

His eyes widened and he mouthed,
'Hiya, Cleopatra.'

A few seconds later Henry hit him.

(CHEERING)

Everybody stood up because they
thought

he'd never recover from that punch.

Henry's hammer had landed seconds
before the end of round four.

Clay was saved by the bell. But he
was still in trouble.

When he hit my guy with a left hook
in the chin

I knew I needed to buy some time.

Angelo Dundee was accused of
tampering with Clay's glove

to delay the start of the next round.

Came back to the corner wobbly.

I told the referee to come over.

He can't go on because the glove is
split.

The glove never was split. I just
opened it up a bit more.

That quick thinking added a crucial
five seconds before the start of the
next round.

People say it didn't make much time
but Dad said even if it's five
seconds

when you're that fit you recover
straightaway so it made a
difference.

Dundee is also said to have given
Clay smelling salts to revive him

which would have disqualified his
boxer.

Smelling salts was taboo. You're not
supposed to use it.

But I happened to have a little
piece

of smelling salts capsule in a towel

and I was rubbing him with the
towel,

nice and easy, under his nose.

So I utilised the smelling salts.

A revived Clay emerged for the fifth
round,

the round in which he had predicted
he'd finish off Cooper.

He caught Dad with a nice punch on
his eye

and just opened his cut up and that
was the end.

But as Dad said, it was part of the
sport in them days.

You try and gain your man a bit of
extra time.

Just good thinking of his manager.
That's what you pay them for, to
look after you in the ring.

Cassius Clay had won his first fight
in Britain

but he certainly hadn't won many fans
here.

And it seemed the feeling was mutual.

What are your impressions of this
little country of ours?

Great Britain is a nice place

but I'm from America, I'm not used
to it.

The cars are too small, the streets
are too narrow. I like open spaces.

I haven't seen as many pretty girls
like I do at home.

Clay returned home to challenge Sonny
Liston for the world heavyweight
title.

Sonny Liston was considered a
monster,

an unbeatable monster.

Clay outfought him. It was Liston
who quit.

Clay became heavyweight champion of
the world.

Coming up: Turning on the charm for
Britain's top chat show.

You haven't got a mark on you.

Hit and run away and live to fight
another day. (LAUGHTER)

And the story of an unlikely
friendship

on an Oxfordshire housing estate.

The greatest person I've ever met.

Not the fame.

Not the boxing.

I'm talking about him as a man.

In 1964 Cassius Clay defeated Sonny
Liston

to become the heavyweight champion of
the world.

Immediately after the fight he
announced

that he had changed his name to
Muhammad Ali

and joined the Nation of Islam, a
radical Muslim group

associated with outspoken black
nationalist leader Malcolm X.

Two years later Ali headed back to
Britain

for a title defence against Henry
Cooper.

Cooper had knocked down Ali in 1963.

But when the American returned three
year later with trainer Angelo
Dundee,

he had become a major celebrity.

(ALL TALK AT ONCE)

When we first came to England, the
first fight,

we could walk the streets, nobody
bothered us.

But when he came back

he had got to be a controversial
figure.

We couldn't move.

This fight captured the imagination
of the boxing public.

The self-proclaimed greatest in a
15-round rematch with the best of
British.

The excitement reached Henry Cooper's
suburban home

and his five-year-old son Henry
Marco.

When this fight was going on I
looked out of the window.

You see all these people outside.

That was really exciting. It made
you realise

that something special was going on
and Dad just wasn't your dad,

Dad was a famous sportsman.

But Henry Cooper's Italian wife,
Albina, was no fan of his profession.

Mum hated boxing.

In '66 Dad was quite keen for Mum to
see the fight

and Mum really didn't want to go but
she went.

What made you decide to go and see
this particular fight?

Because Henry's asked me to. He's
never asked me before

to go to see any of his fights

and I don't think I should let him
down.

The fight was staged at Arsenal's
Highbury football ground

in front of a sell-out audience of
40,000 boxing fans.

The atmosphere had been whipped up
to almost frenzied proportions.

COMMENTATOR: Here is Ali praying in
his corner

before he comes out for round one.

Henry was boxing quite well...

but it was very clear that the
longer it went

the more Ali was getting into the
ascendency.

Cooper well short.

He was the fastest heavyweight
there'd ever been

and Henry couldn't catch him.

Cooper couldn't get close to Ali.

But the world heavyweight champion
was landing his blows

to the dismay of Henry's wife in the
crowd.

There's actually photos of mum just
with her head buried in her hand.

She hardly watched any of it.

In round six Ali finally inflicted
the same damage on Cooper's face

that had ended the fight three years
earlier.

Yes, Henry Cooper's left eye is
badly cut.

A fountain of blood shot up in the
air

and cascaded over Henry's head and
shoulders.

He was literally covered in blood.

I shall never forget the look of
horror

on Ali's face at what he'd done.

But that lasted a split second,
being the great pro that he was.

He immediately started jabbing away

at Cooper's injury to try and make
it worse.

COMMENTATOR: I'm afraid it's a very
bad cut.

So it's all over.

The great disappointment for Henry
Cooper.

Dad was in his changing room getting
his eye sorted.

There was a knock at the door and
Ali walked in

and came up and shook Dad's hand and
said,

'I'm sorry the fight had to end that
way.'

And Dad said, 'Don't worry, that's
just the nature of the game.'

The following day Ali headed down to
a London television studio

to launch a new charm offensive.

The British love affair with Ali
began in 1966

after the second Cooper fight.

Ali appeared as a guest on the
Eamonn Andrews Show

alongside Noel Coward,

Dudley Moore and Lucille Ball.

That was the first time the British
public realised

he wasn't a boastful, ugly American.

I hate the sight of blood. It's not
my nature to just hurt a man

once I see blood gushing from his
head like that.

And it certainly was gushing.

Did you ask the ref to stop it? I
mentioned it but he paid no
attention.

(LAUGHTER)

He was a very pretty American with
an immense amount of charisma.

Muhammad, you haven't got a mark on
you.

Hit and run away and live to fight
another day. (LAUGHTER)

In this country we got to love him
quickly

and we saw the irony in him

and all became huge fans of his.

In America, of course, people still
used to refer to him as Clay which
he didn't like.

The British press were the first to
recognise his change of name and
officially call him Ali.

Doesn't it annoy you when people
forget and call you Cassius?

In the States and many places they
seem to be looking for trouble.

'How are you doing, Cassius, old
boy?'

(LAUGHTER) You know my name, fella.

(LAUGHTER)

'Hi, Mr Ali. I'm sorry.'

Let's talk about the fight last
night, Cassius. Muhammad.

Muhammad. I'm sorry. That wasn't
deliberate. (LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

I was mesmerised by him. The only
autograph I ever asked for was his.

I've got it in a frame. I'm very
proud of it.

I really got to like the man a great
deal, almost love him. He's a
fantastic guy.

Ali had won over the British press
and the public.

Next he had to beat another British
boxer.

In August 1966 he was to take on
Brian London,

nickname - the Blackpool Rock.

I'm at Pontins holiday camp in
Blackpool.

Not as a happy camper but to watch
Brian London of Blackpool

prepare for the greatest fight of
his life.

It was a big build-up.

They thought I had a chance but...

they made a mistake, didn't they?

Brian London was a goodish
heavyweight.

He was a very strong, physically
powerful man

but he didn't have the kind of skill
that could cope with Ali.

(CHEERING)

He was big, he was fast...

..and he could punch.

And I was smaller,

fatter...and couldn't punch.

Stopped me in three rounds and that
was it.

I don't think I hit him.

It was good money and I got well
paid for it.

That's all I fought for.

Every fight I've ever had I've
always had a go.

But with Muhammad Ali I thought,

'Don't get hurt, Brian.'

Didn't try.

Which was wrong. Totally wrong.

I wish I could live my life again.

After retaining his title against
Brian London,

Ali returned to America

where his Islamic faith triggered a
major political storm.

He defied the American government by
refusing the draft.

He refused to go into the US
military...

because he was against the Vietnam
war.

And, of course, he was hated in the
United States.

Ali was convicted of draft evasion

and faced five years in prison.

The New York State Athletic
Commission suspended his boxing
licence

and stripped him of the title on the
day of his arrest.

Most countries recognised that the
title was vacant except one - and
that was Britain.

The British Boxing Board of Control

regarded him as world heavyweight
champion until he was beaten in the
ring.

And Ali never forgot that.

That's why he had such an affinity

with the British people and with
this country.

Ali was banned from overseas travel
while he appealed against his
conviction.

So British journalists flew to the
States to speak to him.

I was reading a piece in England
just before I came over

which described you as the former
heavyweight champion of the world.

Is that a description you'd accept?

I beat the best in England, Germany,
Canada and America.

Undefeated in all of my professional
fights.

Unscratched and unmarked by a human.

So I pay no attention to a few
cigar-smoking,

dried-up people, you know.

My title was taken because of my
religion.

Back in Britain a young bare-knuckle
boxer called Paddy Monaghan

was outraged by the actions of the US
boxing authorities.

It's a great injustice. He's
standing up for what he believes in.

That's nothing to do with boxing.

So I said, 'Something's got to be
done about it.

What can be done? What can I do?'

Then all of a sudden I thought,
'Well, a petition.'

I ended up in three-and-a-half
years...

..with 22,224 names and addresses...

which I took to the United States
Embassy in London.

In 1971 the US Supreme Court
rejected the charges against Ali

on a legal technicality.

He was free to return to Britain.

He made contact...

..thanking me for um...what I'd been
doing.

'Keep up the good work.

I'll see you next time I'm in
London. Muhammad Ali.'

Later that year Ali headed over to
Britain to promote Ovaltine.

ALI: I never realised how many
people I had following me -

mainly old women and old men.

Excuse me while I drink some
Ovaltine.

(LAUGHTER)

I always have my Ovaltine. How do
you mix it?

(LAUGHTER)

While he was in the country he got
together with Paddy Monaghan.

We met up in the hotel. We were
laughing and joking together, got on
well together.

We gelled. We liked each other.

In the end he turned around, he says
to me,

'Paddy...what is Ovaltine?'

This was the beginning of a long
friendship.

Over the years that followed,

Ali regularly visited Paddy's home in
Abingdon in Oxfordshire.

Here family home movie footage
captured the times

the most famous man in the world

called in on this otherwise ordinary
estate.

He's been down this street so many
times...I've lost count.

He used to stand outside that front
door...

and he used to do magic tricks for
the kids.

And then we'd go inside and we'd
have our own personal private visit.

Me and him we'd be playing
around...right there.

Sparring in the middle of the road.

Laughing, joking.

I'm supposed to have a heart
condition.

Memories. Memories I'll always
treasure.

I miss the guy.

The greatest person I've ever met.

I'm talking about him as a man, as a
friend.

Not the fame.

Not the boxing.

As a friend.

That's all.

Coming up: Yorkshire's finest winds
up the world champ...

Every donkey likes to hear itself
bray.

You want it?! Come on!

I'm sat here with the greatest
fighter in the world

and he's getting upset and I'm not.

..and Ali springs into action at a
Tyneside boys' club.

He shook my hand and he knew he was
in for it.

And he backed off. That's what I
like about that.

1974.

Ten years after he had first been
crowned world champion

Muhammad Ali prepared for a new tilt
at the title.

Ali was now 32 years old and a clear
outsider

against the younger and more powerful
George Foreman.

I'm the greatest scientific fighter
of all times

and you rank up a street, bar-room
bum to beat me.

You must be out of your mind.

But he still had his fans in the
British press.

I'd gone against everybody else and
tipped Ali to win.

Ali dropped Foreman in the eighth
round to regain his title.

And I'm afraid I did something very
unprofessional.

I actually leapt out of my seat and
punched the air.

Just weeks after he had regained his
title in Zaire,

Ali flew back into Britain.

After a decade of regular visits to
the UK,

the heavyweight champion was now a
major superstar in this country

and had been booked in for his own
primetime TV show

with host Dickie Davies.

I was informed that we were going to
do a programme with him.

Well, I was so thrilled

and nervous at whether I'd be good
enough to do it really.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I
introduce the heavyweight champion
of the world, Muhammad Ali?

(APPLAUSE)

And he came in and he was in such a
great mood.

And the minute he looked at me and
he smiled...

..all the worry went.

I think when he came to this country
he seemed so at ease.

In many cases you can say Britain
can be ranked as number one

as far as supporting me is
concerned.

And the little hassles that I had in
the States,

they paid no attention to them here

and they recognised me as their
champion.

The studio audience included Ali's
old adversary Henry Cooper.

Oh, a terrible moment in my life.

Ooh. (LAUGHS) It was about 1963 when
that Henry Cooper hit me.

(LAUGHTER) I'll tell you what.
Henry, come up.

Can we have an action replay? I want
to know how it happened.

Henry still looks good too.

He don't have no fat on him or
nothing.

There was such fun between the two
of them.

They were having a giggle together,
you know. It was lovely.

I was in the corner. Come on, Henry.
He was going backwards. I was
jabbing.

Bop. Ohh.
Boy, he's one of the good -

And that was it? Yeah, man. Fast.

He hit me so fast, he hit me before
God got the news.

They got on so well. Henry always
had a terrific affection for Ali

and spoke in such a glowing manner
about him. Loved him.

Another less famous boxer was in the
audience that day.

17-year-old Isaac Flemming had been
invited down from a North London gym.

Somebody at our local news asked me

if I wanted to go to meet Muhammad
Ali.

We said yes, we jumped to it, but we
didn't probably believe that it's
going to happen.

You see Dickie Davies and you
thought, 'This is real.'

Let's look to the future for a young
man who badly wanted to see you.

His name is Isaac Flemming. He's a
young boxer.

He box? He boxes. (LAUGHTER)

I thought to myself, 'Why me?

Why are you calling me? Leave me
alone', you know?

What does he box - cigars, oranges,
grapefruit?

I was frightened. I was nervous and
frightened at the same time.

Put your hands up then block my jab.

How do you block this? Come on.

Come on, show me something. You
ain't nothing.

Show me something. You tired
already.

Look at you. I'm hitting you
already.

All the girls are watching and I'm
beating you up.

Come on.

Yeah, he's pretty good. He's pretty
good.

It's something that I'll treasure
all my life.

Just being there with him, you know,
in front of him.

It was brilliant.

After beating George Foreman in 1974,

the new world heavyweight champion

fought six successful defences in a
little over 12 months.

In 1976, the European heavyweight
champion,

Yorkshireman Richard Dunn,

was to get his chance at Ali's world
title.

The pair met shortly before the fight
at a London gym.

Ali came in. Right surprised.

And I'd made a bit of a poem up
about him.

And...and I got right up to his face

and I said, 'Muhammad Ali, I think
you're a square.

I'm gonna retire you to a rocking
chair.

At 34 you ain't so young,

you're gonna get whipped by Richard
Dunn.' And that was my poem.

(INDISTINCT SPEECH) That's right.

First round to Dunn.

Ali hit back with a typically
over-the-top press conference.

(INSTINCT SPEECH)

I agree with you. He's the one!

Every donkey likes to hear itself
bray.

He was blasting away and I just
said,

'Every donkey likes to hear itself
bray.'

He just jumped up.

I'm the champion of the world!

Ranting and raving. And I just sat
there,

just quiet and content, you know,
thinking,

'This is great. This is fantastic.'

Come on!

I'm sat here with the greatest
fighter in the world...

and he's getting upset and I'm not.

And as he was walking past me when
we'd finished he grabbed my elbow...

..and he says, 'Boy, are we gonna
make some mon-ey?' Then he was gone.

Unfortunately, the fight itself, held
in Munich,

was a less even contest than the war
of words which had gone before.

I was not interested in survival.

I was interested in winning the
heavyweight championship of the
world.

When the bell went, I went out to do
my best -

hit him as often and as hard as I
possibly could.

He just got harder and faster.

Instead of hitting me twice he'd hit
me three or four times.

I remember Richard Dunn was a big
tough guy...

and you're dealing with strength.

You don't fight strength with
strength but with agility.

My guy kept nailing him and he kept
going down.

I got up every time I got put down.

And I thought, 'Well, the fifth
round

I'm going to go straight out and
have a real good go at him here.'

Bang. Down I go again.

I was down five times altogether.

I got my arse kicked but that's
beside the point.

I enjoyed every single minute of it.

Dunn might not have pulled off a
shock result in the ring

but a surprise was in store for him
when he returned to Britain the next
day.

We got off the plane and there was

a big Rolls-Royce waiting for me,
open top.

And when we got to Bradford...

there was 10,000 people there that
day.

And I couldn't believe it. It was
fantastic.

The following year Ali flew into the
northeast of England to a rapturous
reception.

He'd been talked into travelling
there by Geordie painter and
decorator Johnny Walker

to raise money for local charities.

Some people thought you weren't
going to come.

Was there any reason for any doubts?
We always surprise people like
that.

They just can't believe that a...

common, everyday man like Johnny
Walker

can bring the world's greatest
fighter to Newcastle.

Ali visited a number of Tyneside
institutions including Grainger Park
Boys' Club...

..the oldest boxing gym in this part
of the world.

Norman Close joined the club as a
promising welterweight in 1951.

And by 1977, when Ali visited the
area,

he had been appointed head coach.

I was so happy, you know.

The world heavyweight champion, you
know, coming to Grainger Park.

Norman introduced Ali to the
Grainger Park boxers,

including his nephew, 19-year-old
Leslie Close.

I thought, 'Right, I've got to make
a name for myself.'

As he shook my hand that's when I
went for it.

He shook my hand and he knew he was
in for it.

And he backed off. That's what I
like about that.

I says, 'Hey, Leslie, he's the
champion of the world. Behave
yourself.'

Even when he was moving down the
line he was still giving me the eye.

There's me thinking, right, he's
coming back at us

and Uncle Norm's arm's round him,

'Come on now, Ali, you've got to
meet the other boxers.

You're not in Leslie's league yet.'

OK, lads. Get to your places. In the
ring, come on now.

First two in the ring.

Ali stayed on at the club for a
series of exhibition bouts organised
by Norman.

He was on the end of the ring just
watching

and he was giving it all...

as though he was dodging every blow,
doing it himself.

He was getting revved up to actually
be there.

I wanna box, I wanna box.

Leslie helped Ali into the ring.

I says, 'Will you put the gloves on
with one of the boys?'

He says, 'Yeah. I want someone with
a bit of fire in his belly.'

Where's our Les?

Got Les in the ring and, of course,
got him gloved up.

'In this corner

is the world heavyweight champion
Muhammad Ali.

The challenger, from Grainger Park,
Les Close.'

(SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT)

And I don't know if you've ever seen
the speed of his fists.

He whizzes them around and then,
boomf, out it comes.

It's just unreal.

I've got one of these journalists on
the ringside saying,

'Calm down, calm down, you young
hoodlum. He's fighting next week.'

I'm thinking, 'No way. I'm 5'6".'

He could put us to bed any time he
wanted.

Shortly before the visit to the
Northeast

Ali had married for the third time...

and arranged to bless the wedding at
a mosque in South Shields.

19-year-old Mohamed Hussein was asked
by his father

to keep an eye on who was allowed
into the mosque.

The scene was just heads, people's
heads.

Thousands and thousands of people
all wanted to get inside the mosque

which I would only say can hold
about 200 people.

This is where his car came down.

It turned and parked just there.

(CHEERING)

He just looked great. Just white
suit, gold pendant, you know.

Looked like something off Shaft or
something it was great, you know.

(CHEERING)

All of a sudden people start coming
through the gate.

I got pushed by the sheer weight of
the crowd

and I ended up in the main prayer
room.

He made his way with Veronica. The
imam was waiting

and they conducted the service.

(IMAM SPEAKS IN NATIVE LANGUAGE)

It wasn't a wedding as such, it was
a blessing of the marriage.

He chose to do it in our mosque and,
you know,

we felt good about it.

Ali completed his visit to the
Northeast

by taking questions from an invited
audience at a Newcastle leisure
centre.

I'd like to take this opportunity to
welcome you

to the Eldon Square Recreation
Centre.

Could I ask you, Ali, what has been
your greatest impression

of the people in the city of
Newcastle since you arrived here?

Well, the greatest impression that
I've had here...

is the peace, the serenity,

the unity and the cleanliness.

I asked a policeman, 'Where's your
pistol?' He said, 'We don't need
that here.'

England is heaven compared to
America.

You all practice what people in my
country preach.

Coming up: Ali's health is called
into question on British
television...

All those heavyweight title fights.
Has it had any effect on you?

(SLURS) Yeah, it's made me...ten
times meaner,

the world's most recognised man.

..and one final emotional meeting

between the champ and a British
sporting hero.

It was quite poignant to see them,

both suffering in their own ways but
very happy to see each other.

By 1980 world heavyweight champion
Muhammad Ali

had been a professional fighter for
20 years.

The way he had stood up for his
beliefs

had won him millions of admirers in
Britain and around the world.

But his boxing career was drawing to
an inauspicious end.

Now 38 years old,

Ali defended his title

against his long-time sparring
partner Larry Holmes.

His body was... He looked like
Tarzan, for God's sake.

He looked like the old Muhammad,
with the build and everything.

But it was empty. It was an empty
tank.

I was sitting at the ringside and I
could see what was happening to Ali.

He was disintegrating before our
eyes.

COMMENTATOR: This is a sad Ali,
surely. He can't fight back.

And I have to say that was the only
time at any sporting event I've ever
shed a tear.

COMMENTATOR: Come on, Ali. Either
throw a punch or go down or...

He really can't linger like this.

He went back to his corner at the
end of the tenth round...

and Angelo Dundee, his trainer,

said, 'Look, I'm going to stop the
fight.'

Stop! It's over! Dundee has had the
compassion

to say that's it, he's the chief
second. He's right.

I think had Dundee not acted like
that,

Ali might well have lost his life
that night.

And that is a sad and sorry end for
Muhammad Ali.

Broke my heart...but it had to be. I
didn't want him to get injured.

So you do the best you can with what
you've got.

Ali retired from boxing shortly after
the Holmes fight

with a record of 56 wins in 61 bouts.

In 1983 the former heavyweight
champion returned to Britain.

He visited Birmingham for the naming
ceremony of the newly-opened

Muhammad Ali Centre in Handsworth.

(SLURS) I'm a real freedom fighter.

I am the greatest.

It wasn't just...it wasn't just
because I'm boasting.

I'm trying to say, 'We are the
greatest.'

(CHEERING)

But there were growing concerns about
Ali's medical condition.

He was asked about the rumours on a
local news programme.

There were all sorts of stories
going on about Muhammad Ali's health

but no-one had come out and asked
him.

And there he is sitting in my
studio.

And I just felt the moment was right
to ask that question.

Muhammad, a lot of people over here
are worrying about your health

because there have been consistent
stories in the newspapers

over the last few weeks that you are
not well.

(SLURS) I heard that I'm brain
damaged.

That's right. I heard I'm drugged,
I'm on narcotics.

It's terrible. Are these stories
about your health true as far as
you're concerned?

What about my health? Well, the
business about whether it's had any
effect on you,

the punches that you've taken over
the years.

(SLURS) I...I don't recognise it.

The year after visiting Birmingham,

Ali revealed he was suffering from
the early stages of Parkinson's
disease.

As Ali's health has faltered over the
last three decades,

his visits to Britain have become
less frequent.

But his long relationship with this
country

and his amazing career in the ring

were to inspire generations of
British boxers.

When I was young, I was about eight,

and I was borderline getting myself
into trouble.

But my dad always loved Muhammad Ali

and he wanted me to get involved in
boxing

COMMENTATOR: We're due for the Ali
shuffle any moment.

It looks to me as though he's
loosening up.

I never had his skill, I never had
his rhythm,

but I just had the vision I wanted
to be like him when I grew up.

Ah, yes. Oh, this is a brilliant Ali
now.

This is really back to his best.

My first memories of Muhammad Ali, I
was about nine years old.

There was me and my five brothers
and my sister

all watching Ali in black and white.

COMMENTATOR: He starts the show-off
stuff. And he can afford to.

There was this guy on the TV,
dancing around

and it was just...just absolutely
brilliant to watch.

We'd watched other sports and seen
other athletes

but nobody had the sort of draw and
pulling power of Muhammad Ali.

COMMENTATOR: Ooh, that uppercut.
That was the damaging punch.

He was an inspiration when you saw
the videos

and all the great fights and what he
did for boxing.

COMMENTATOR: A repeated left-hand
there without reply.

People that didn't know boxing knew
Ali.

He is still the heavyweight champion
of the world.

Ali received the ultimate accolade
from the British public in 1999

when he was voted Sports Personality
of the Century

receiving more votes than all the
other contenders put together.

Thank you to the British people for
giving me such a great welcome.

I want to...thank all concerned for
the award.

I had a good time boxing.

I enjoyed it...and I might come
back.

(LAUGHTER)

Muhammad Ali made his last visit to
Britain in 2009.

One of the people he was determined
to meet was a man he encountered many
times

during his five-decade relationship
with this country...

Henry Cooper.

They asked Dad if he would go and
meet with Ali.

He was excited. He hadn't seen him
for a long time and had heard he was
quite poorly.

(APPLAUSE)

Dad made a fuss of him and there's a
picture of them driving around

and Dad's holding his hand up so he
can wave to the crowd.

He said to me when we were coming
back in the car,

'To think what a supreme athlete he
was

and to see him in the state that he
is now.'

He found it quite hard.

Henry Cooper had health problems of
his own

and passed away in 2011.

Dad had been diagnosed with a heart
problem.

It was poignant to see them
together, both suffering in their
own ways

but very happy to see each other.

Journalist Alan Hubbard had followed
Ali in Britain

since his first visit almost 50 years
ago.

2009 when he came here, I felt his
hand on my shoulder.

He looked down and said, 'It ain't
the same any more, is it?'

And he was right. He wasn't the same

and boxing wasn't the same. It never
has been.

DUNN: He was the greatest thing
since sliced bread.

There was no-one bigger in sport

anywhere in the entire world.

He was phenomenal.

The greatest fighter
ever, in my opinion.

History will remember him as the
greatest sporting icon of the 20th
century. The greatest.

As he celebrates his 70th birthday,

Britain can look back at a 50-year
connection with Muhammad Ali.

It's a strong bond which has played
its own crucial part

in the creation of the most famous
sportsman the world has ever seen.

I don't mean to be boasting. It's
just hard... (LAUGHTER)

it's just hard to be humble when
you're as great as I am. (LAUGHTER)

itfc subtitles