Seven Species Of Negro Boxer

                         (i) Muhammad Ali (Second And Third Thoughts)

I used to be a great fan of his until I became politically aware.
After the Berbick fight I remember saying, perhaps to myself:
Yes, I used to really admire Muhammad Ali,
But I wouldn’t cross the road to see him now.

I think I’ve changed yet again because,
In spite of all the histrionics,
The posing,
The unnnecessary mouthing off,
In spite of all the anti-white shit he used to come out with,
In spite of his countless times making a complete asshole
of himself,
I think he was and still is, basically a nice guy,
And, contrary to popular opinion, a man of
not exceptional intelligence;
Certainly he was incredibly naïve.

He had too many hangers on,
Too many leeches,
And he was used,
He was used left, right and centre,
Especially left,
Not to mention being built up by the controlled media.

I don’t, and never will acknowledge him as The Greatest;
Larry Holmes has earned that right (so far),
But I think I do, and always will, like him,
Not what he stands for (or what he thinks he stands for), but
the man himself.

                        (ii) Larry Holmes

Larry Holmes is King,
At least, inside the ring,
But if he makes a faux pas
Now and then outside,
Because he’s Champ, we’ll overlook
His faults and won’t deride
Him.

Larry Holmes is King,
Unbeat, but past his prime,
Guy, do the clever thing:
Don’t take on Father Time.

                        (iii) James (Bonecrusher) Smith

He’s fought the Champ, fought bugger-alls,
He’s not the best, but he’s got balls,
He shrugged off Bruno with a laff,
And sorted the wheat from the chaff.

                        (iv) Marvis Frazier

Question: What do Marvis Frazier and Julian Lennon have in common?

Answer: Marvis Frazier can’t sing;
Julian Lennon can’t box.
And they’ve both got famous daddies.

                        (v) Thomas (Hit Man) Hearns

Wham! Bam!
Thank you, ma’am,
Out went the lights for poor Duran.
Undoubtedly Hagler will stop him,
Should he be brave/foolish enough to step up a weight,
But even Marvelous Marvin will have his hands full coping
with this Mean Machine if and when he takes him on.

                        (vi) Sugar Ray Leonard

Hi folks, my name’s Sugar Ray!
I’m your loveable, bendable, ever-so-perfect all-American black kid who made good.
I keep my end up (never mess with white girls),
eat Mom’s apple pie,
support my country and throw seven punches per second.
No reasonable Klansman would object to my living next door to him.

Many good judges consider me to be the greatest of all time,
But you’ll never hear me say that because along with
all my other talents,
I possess overwhelming modesty,
Not to mention charisma, charm...
Yes, many folks consider me to be the greatest of...
Uh oh, here he comes again,
That mean lookin’ nigger with the bald head;
Time I wasn’t around.

                         (vii) Marvelous Marvin Hagler

There’s world champions;
There’s undisputed world champions,
And there’s Marvin Hagler.

[Click here for background.]

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