‘King Ali’ walked on petals on his arrival at Meenambakkam, recall veterans

The 1980 historical event organised by the then Tamil Nadu Amateur Boxing Association and a private sponsor, Ali took on former heavyweight champion Jimmy Ellis in an exhibition bout. H Mohana Krishnan, secretary of the association, took centre stage in organising the bout and his son M. Gunasekaran was melancholic, recalling the memorable day. 

“You are the boxing association’s secretary right, come let us have a fight, were the first words uttered by Ali to my father,” reminisced Gunasekaran. 

After exchanging pleasantries, the boxer, whose original name was Cassius clay, was motored to the hotel in an open bus. “I was 16 then. I remember running behind the bus and people had lined up on both sides of the roads to catch a glimpse of the King of Boxing,” Gunasekaran added. 

The decked up Nehru Stadium, the venue, was struggling to hold the crowd that was pouring in from noon. “My father and Ali had a shadow fight and then he was briefed about our then Chief Minister M G Ramachandran, an avid sports lover. Clippings and photos from MGR movies, where he acted as a boxer, impressed Ali, who spent a considerable time in soaking in the local culture,” Gunasekaran recalled.

For AK Karunakaran, a national boxer and the secretary of the boxing association, meeting Ali was akin to a grand festival. “As we loved boxing and wanted to make it a career, it was natural for us to have Ali as our role model. We were waiting for that great moment and joy gushed like flood in our hearts when the giant landed at Meenambakkam from Bombay, now Mumbai. We received him like a real king, showering petals on his path, with cheers of hail from fans and well-wishers,” he said. 

Ali had participated in exhibition bouts at New Delhi, Bombay (Mumbai) and Madras (Chennai) when he visited the country at the invitation of London-based NRI industrialist Lord Swaraj Paul, of the Apeejay group.

As a school boy, it was a dream come true for S Karunanidhi to watch Ali in action. “I have never seen such a reception given to any star in my life. It was thrilling to watch him in close quarters and every movement of his was recorded in hard disk (my mind). The crowd went berserk on seeing him land punches causing memories and not injuries in the hearts of fans,” Karunanidhi, youth secretary of Tamil Nadu Boxing Association, said.

The only regret for him was that there was no facility to click selfies and store them. “But, eyes and heart are more powerful camera and storage gadget you know,” was the parting shot of Karunanidhi.