The strange sound came again and as I turned around, I saw the hand that had been making the noise. It was Ali’s. You can imagine my surprise.
Ali, who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s a few years earlier, was paying a visit to Don King at his training facilities just outside of Orwell, Ohio. The prankster had put his fist near my ear and was rubbing his thumb against the end of his index finger, creating the grinding sound. He couldn’t speak but was still sharp as a tack.
Those who had seen Ali play the little prank told him that I had formerly been managed and trained by his former nemesis, Smokin’ Joe Frazier. And I could see the flash in his eyes as he pulled his head back, tucked in his lip and went into his famous routine where he jokes about what he’s going to do to his opponent. I’d seen it many times — Ali joking about Frazier — and it always came out “Fraze-ya…Smokin’ Joe Fraze-ya.”
And then he brought up his hands, the right at chest level, and his left held low, as he always did. He started moving, mimicking visions of his former self. I got into my Smokin’ Joe crouch, arms crossed to block those famous uppercuts as Frazier had done — most famously in the “Thrilla in Manila.”
When our brief bout was over, Ali put his hands down but that glint in his eyes was still there. He was completely still there, just as aware and bright as ever, even if his body was giving out on him. He patted me on the head, as if to touch me with the magic he had, perhaps knowing he’d be creating a memory to last a lifetime.