By Larry Goldberg
After half a year covering a bill with his name on it, the last word should be his.
Muhammad Ali went to Congress more than once about this sport. By 2004, when he sat in a House hearing room for what turned out to be his final appearance on boxing reform, his voice would not carry, so Lonnie read his statement into the record.
What is striking, reading it now, is what he did not talk about.
He did not talk about championships. He did not talk about his own career, except once, to make a joke at his own expense about being one of the prettiest men on the face of the earth, which Lonnie read aloud and then said, “I didn’t add that.”
He talked about the people nobody watches.
Boxing, he told the subcommittee, “still attracts men and women from all walks of life to reach for glory in the ring. For many it is their first experience with hard work, determination and discipline. For still others it remains the only way up and out from a life filled with bad choices, failure or worse.”
And then: “Armed with the discipline they learned from boxing, many go on to achieve success or even greatness in other professions and raise children who do. They become doctors, lawyers,...