By Jessica Brown

The name “Muhammad Ali” is associated with words like power, strength, fighter, champion and civil rights activist. In order to inform the younger generations of Muhammad Ali and his accomplishments, the University’s Cultural Center is holding a conference dedicated to him, called “The Greatest: From Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali,” held Nov. 13 and 14.

Broadcast journalist Ed Ingles, who covered Muhammad Ali throughout both of the men’s careers, is well versed in his life. Ingles had experience traveling worldwide with Ali to many of his legendary fights, both in the ring and out. Ingles got to know Ali, not only as a brutal fighter but a strong, determined activist and a champion of human rights.

“I found Ali in person to be quite fascinating, unpredictable, witty, charming, confident and very perceptive. I’ll never forget when I was interviewing him once, and before I even had an opportunity to ask him a question, he goes, ‘A lot of your colleagues have died lately.’ This of course was referring to the ongoing war. I was taken so off guard, but so impressed with his perception and blunt personality. His toughness,” Ingles remembered of Ali.

Ingles reminisced about the first time he ever met Ali: “When I first met the kid, we were in a coffee shop in Greenwich, he was about 20 years old, and he comes up to me and asks, ‘Where are all the foxes?’ He always had his issues with women,” explained Ingles, with a chuckle and a sly smile on his face.

Ingles was very aware of Ali’s controversial persona. “I got to see Ali change through the years. He went from carefree, funny, chasing women-he always loved the women-to a black Muslim, civil rights leader. He took a very unpopular stance on the [Vietnam] War at the time.”

Ali didn’t support the Vietnam War, and refused to fight when he was called up by the draft, citing religious reasons. His definitive political stance cost him his boxing career for a time, but it didn’t stop him from fighting. “You couldn’t ignore him, you couldn’t be neutral about Ali,” Ingles said.

When it came to Muhammad Ali’s boxing career, he was definitely unmatched. “Those were some brutal fights back then, you don’t see those kinda fights today. At times, I saw him fight and I winced-he could be real nasty in the ring. In Manila, that was such a brutal fight I thought Ali or Fraser would drop dead. It was so exhilarating but so frightening. The heat was so intense, and they were two of the best fighters in the world at the time. They fought such a long, hard fight. Neither of those guys was as good a fighter after that,” said Ingles.

When it all comes down to it, Ali has a lot to teach the younger generations of the world. He was one of the first athletes to use his career as a platform to reach out worldwide and speak on charity and human rights issues. “Young people really need to go to this conference Hofstra is hosting. Young people need to understand who and what [Ali] was all about,” Ingles said.

Asked to sum Ali up in just a few words, Ingles said, “Muhammad Ali had a way with people and was easy to like and love, but he was truly hated during his time as well. People were not neutral about Ali. He feared for his life until Malcolm X’s assassination. Young people today might not even realize Ali was so multifaceted in his personality and his beliefs.”