November 2000
CBZ Masthead

"The Last Hurrah" 

by Tom Smario 

He grew old
like most of us
and like most of us
it damn near killed him
to admit it.  Here he was,
God forbid, middle-aged
destroying the last of our
illusions.  It was the end
of the tenth round against
Larry Holmes and they had him
propped up in his corner like
Joe Louis propped up in his
wheelchair.  He sat there a
tired beaten old man with
Bundini Brown bawling his
eyes out and Angelo Dundee
who looked sorry to be part
of it.  Muhammad Ali sat there
as sad and pathetic as some
of those bums he used to
annihilate three or five
or ten at a time back in
1966 when he was the greatest
athlete in the world.  He
used to lead cheers for
himself between rounds and
predict when his opponents
would fall.  And they'd fall.
But this wasn't 1966 and they
had him propped up like Joe Louis
in his wheelchair.