Facing Ali: The Opposition Weighs in

by Stephen Brunt

Book Overview

"Brunt does an excellent job of bringing his subjects out of the shadow of the Greatest, recounting their often poignant tales of life before and after their dates with the champ. In the end, of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585748293
• ISBN13: 9781585748297
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: Lyons Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

How Ali's Opponents Felt About Him (Then and Now)

This is one of the more fascinating studies of Ali's life because the stories are told from the perspective of those who faced him. Some harbor hostility (Joe Frazier), some admire him tremendously (Norton, Foreman, Coopman, Dunn), some attempt to demythologize him and show him to be a man with flaws (Holmes). Any Ali fan is going to want to have this book! Stephen Blunt does a good job of tracking down the fighters (some, like Jurgen Blin and Karl Mildenberger, are more anonymous and are remembered primarily for facing Ali and were not as easy to locate). Highly recommended.

A masterpiece of sports writing

Stephen Brunt's excellent book poignantly tells the stories of fifteen men who fought Muhammad Ali. Brunt tells us in his introduction that we generally only hear one side of the story - usually the side of the star of the show. Since there have been few stars who have shone as brightly as Ali in the boxing world (or in the world in general for that matter), the stories of his opponents, even the ones who were champions in their own right, have tended to be forgotten, if not completely ignored. The stories provide some fresh perspective on Ali, since many of these men developed a relationship with him that transcended their battle(s) with him in the ring, but the spotlight here is directly on the lives of these fifteen men. Each of their stories is unique. Some are funny, some are tragic, some offer us lessons if we care to look. All the stories show us how these men's lives were altered by their moment in the spotlight. With the exception of Joe Frazier, who gets the longest section of the book devoted to him, every man conveys a fondness and respect for Ali even if they had differences with him. Brunt is a great writer who is able to convey something essential about each of the men he dedicates a chapter to. There isn't a trace of sentimentality and every portrait comes across as being fair to it's subject. "Facing Ali" is a masterpiece of sports writing and belongs on the shelf of every boxing fan.

The Champ Is Here

A fan of Muhammad Ali may have seen some of the 15 fighters chronicled in the ring due to replays of numerous matches on the various ESPN channels. But what you have seen is only a fraction of the story, as author Stephen Brunt brings to life the real stories of those who battled Ali in classic bouts or had fleeting fame by stepping into the ring & fighting the long odds of going the distance. There is Chuck Wepner, who initially learned about getting the match through a newspaper article, and whose "underdog" match gave a screenplay idea to struggling actor Sylvester Stallone; Jurgen Blin, who had to go back to his job the day after the match and Ron Lyle, a tough fighter who came very close to pulling off an upset for the ages. It is expected that those interviewed would include Joe Frazier and George Foreman, but it's the stories from contenders like George Chuvalo, Joe Bugner and Henry Cooper & longshots like Tunney Hunsaker and Jean Pierre Coopman that makes the book so interesting. Ali is the thread in all these lives and inside the ropes of a sport that judges courage on the punishment one is willing to take. Most may not have been crowned champions in their pro ring careers, but each boxer took something away from their experiences in facing Ali.

Not what I thought, But one of the best books I ever read !!

I thought this book would be focused on what it was like to go againat ALI in the ring. I was wrong, but delightfully wrong. The book is about the PEOPLE, the boxers. Each chapter gives is interviewed and discussed where they are at currently, then goes back into a summary of their lives, which is wrirtten so well and so fascinating. It is funny, touching, sad, and inspiring. While Ali doesn't "Appear" in the book, Ali's prescence seems to hover over the entire book. It is incredible how all of these boxer's in the ring and out of the ring meetings with Ali has influenced their lives forever. The character of experiences of these men are so interesting. It had to be difficult to on what to choose to write about, for so many of the boxer's have had such interesting and unusual lives. For all lthose who simply want a great read as well as all sport's and of course boxing fans. A boxing masterpiece. Jon

Facing Ali

Have you ever wondered what happened to the many boxing opponents of Mohamed Ali?Perhaps you would like to know the other side of the story, what did they think about their matches with Ali or what did they think about one of the greatest boxers of all time?Whatever happened to George Chuvalo, Henry Cooper, Brian London, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Larry Holmes and many more who had the opportunity to demonstrate their pugilistic skills before millions of spectators?As Stephen Brunt, author of Facing Ali, states in the opening remarks of his book, Facing Ali, "in boxing, in everything else, only one side of the story tends to be told." Brunt writes a meaty book recounting his interviews with 15 boxers who had the good or bad luck, depending on how you would view it, in meeting up with Ali in the ring.Other authors may have cluttered these interviews with the relentless analysis of their bouts; however, Brunt avoids falling into this trap and concentrates on exposing the human side of these pugilists.The revelations are resonating even to the extent that when we put away the book they still linger on in our memories.How can you not sympathize with Joe Frazier who fought 47 rounds with Ali? After all, he was constantly been used as a verbal punching bag for Ali, subjected to insults and taunts, such as being called stupid, ignorant, and the worst insult of all, gorilla.As the book mentions, "with Frazier, it was different-different because Ali, no doubt sensing vulnerability, went straight for the heart, different because Frazier was unequipped to fight back, at least outside the ring." Today Frazier's bitterness is evident when asked whether he knew where Ali was, whether he knows how he was, he replies, "I don't think nothin' about him, I know one thing. He thinks about me. He thinks about me everyday when he gets out of bed." This latter comment, as Brunt points, out is in reference to Ali's infirmity, to his Parkinson's syndrome, and the part Frazier's left hook might have played in causing it.One of the reoccurring themes that keeps on popping up throughout the reading of the book is that no matter what accomplishments many of these boxers achieved throughout their career, we only seem to remember their Ali encounters. Such is the example of Jurgen Blin, who won the European boxing title, however was badly defeated by Ali. No doubt, Ali's insatiable fans will be snapping up Facing Ali, however, they may come away with a different picture of their hero. This review first appeared in the reviewer's own sitewww.bookreviews.com