I was looking for something on YouTube and then, as can all too easily happen, I found myself wandering down a path of video clips that I’d never heard of. One of them was Billy Crystal speaking at the funeral of Muhammad Ali. It was lovely piece and he mentioned in it the first time he met his friend and hero when he performed a piece called “Fifteen Rounds” and, of course, there it was in the list of videos beside the one I was looking at. I clicked, I watched and here it is … What a piece of work.
This is from someone who doesn’t like boxing and knows little of Muhammad Ali other than memories of watching fights from time to time and hearing him being interviewed. What I like about this is Crystal’s delivery and Muhammad’s reactions. He had, as I understand it at the time, no idea who Crystal was. They went on to form a deeply rooted friendship.
I enjoyed watching this!