ONLY GOD IS THE GREATEST

He was whipped by Muhammad Ali,
He was downsized by George Foreman,
He did not have the guts to fight,
Liston the "Big Bear" or even Ken Norton.
Smokin' Joe's smoke was extinguished,
Long before it could turn into a flame,
He is dead and gone and his name,
Will also end up as one who perished.
Very few shed tears for Frazier,
The cancer-gripped warrior,
While millions still yell "Ali, Ali"
As he is the real conqueror,
Of all the great guys of boxing,
Ali is the better human being,
And the real king of the ring.
Yet Ali too will one day leave us,
And millions will miss the PLUS,
He means to combative fighting.
I bear no hate for old Joe,
Or make a god of Ali.
To me Allah is the Greatest,
Forever and ever the Latest.
Ali and Joe Frazier,
Are but His creation,
And without His Will,
none would have been champion.
So I will yell and proclaim everywhere,
Only God is the Greatest heir.
(Written and posted by Muhammad Naveed Ahmed (Emmenay) on Nov 22, 2011).

Author's Notes/Comments: 

Joe Frazier thought he was better than Muhammad Ali all along as he lived even though he was given the beating of his lifetime in the historic and brutal third boxing bout between the two in Manila -- dubbed as the "Thrilla in Manila". Ali loves to call himself the "greatest" even though he is also bound to die, like all of us human beings, one day or the other. So, reflecting upon frail human egos, the thought of the fact that only God (Allah) is the Greatest emerged and made me write this poem. However, I would like to make it clear to one and all, that when Muhammad Ali refers to himself as 'The Greatest" he only means that he happens to be the greatest heavyweight prizefighter of all time. He has explained this in several interviews emphasizing that his claim of being "The Greatest" was not only a "ploy" he used to attract people to his bouts, it also means that he is "the greatest" boxer of all time (Watch his interviews which are in plenty on the Youtube...with late Howard Cossell, David Frost and Robert Lipsyte, among several others).

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