WHEN I INTERVIEWED MUHAMMAD ALÍ IN VENEZUELA
On March 26, 1974, I had to cover for the newspaper El Mundo, the fight for the heavyweight world title between the titleholder George Foreman and the challenger Ken Norton. The fight was the star of the boxing program that served for the opening of El Poliedro de Caracas, which has been the center of the great shows that have been mounted in Venezuela.
The pugilistic evening was attended by an important group of personalities linked to world boxing led by what has been considered "The greatest" among the practitioners of this sport, Cassius Clay or Muhammad Ali. The winner between Foreman and Norton was to give a chance for the world belt to Ali who had reigned in the top division of pugilism and who was stripped of the crown for refusing to appear to the United States Army to participate in the Vietnam War.
I had the opportunity to interview Foreman, Norton and Muhammad Ali on their arrival on Venezuelan soil and the work was captured in the only evening newspaper in Venezuela. I also covered in detail the anteroom of El Gran Combate and its result. The previous ones to the program of The Poliedro of Caracas are still imbued in my mind and above all the interviews with other outstanding figures of the world boxing like Joe Louis, Ringo Bonavena, Archie Moore, all present in the scene Caracas.
The confrontation had a wide journalistic coverage and complete follow-up of the Venezuelan fanaticada. But the result was frustrating because the battle lasted barely lasted 2 rounds, making clear the superiority of Foreman who retained the global headband of the Full weights endorsed by the WBC and AMB, the two most important organizations of this sport discipline in the professional line.
It was the first great experience in my long career as a sports journalist and I was able to surround myself with men like Muhammad Ali and George Foreman who later measured themselves in Africa in a lawsuit that served to return the Heavyweight title to the man who has been for many , the main figure in the world of boxing rented.
I hope that this story has been to your liking, my dear friends Stemians and I hope to share very soon new anecdotes related to the exciting world of sports! Bye!!!
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