How much support did Muhammad Ali receive from Black people PRIOR to winning the title?

[WesCrook]

What was it like in real time leading up to his fight with Sonny Liston?

Was he well-known, well-liked, and was he taken serious? Did the majority of Black folks really pull for him when he was pursuing Sonny?

I get the feeling it may have been split down the middle where the older generation of Black people and Black boxing fans at time as a whole as they may have dismissed him as a "loud mouth youngsta".....even to the point where they hoped he'd lose, while on the flipside, they younger crowd may have gravitated towards Ali/Clay.

I don't believe the support was across the board unequivocally though.

 

[I AM WE ARE]

Bruh people loved him. He was always charismatic and always showed love plus he was approachable. He was in the streets with his fans. Imagine him im the social media era

fukk that, he WAS social media

 

[patscorpio]

he had support but in the 60s there were older black people that werent necessarily big fans of him..the ones from the joe louis generation

 

[MJ Truth]

Who the hell here do you think is qualified fo answer this question??

 

[Kenny West]

We got 60+ year olds on this forum?

 

[Spiritual Stratocaster]

Who the hell here do you think is qualified fo answer this question??

@Art Barr

 

[Art Barr]

wow,....
I should have indepthly known to ask about this to my pops before he died.
yet he was such a huge ali guy.
I think he may have found it past inquisitive during that time.
this whole doubt legends in secret shyt.
i only became familiar with from Glenn Thurman.
plus the old guard shielded scrutiny from alot of these guys.
I do know before bill Russell lit a fire under those guys with Kareem.
it was a bit of division there tho.

I know how a few of them, were perceived by revolutionaries before then.
also urban intellectualism is lacking from a guard in that era In Spots as well.
so i would have to reach out to someone closer to my pops with urban Intellectualism and who was a revolutionary frfr. To get some real knowledge.
about the social complexion and acceptance.
of ali in general from a general black person perspective.


with ali my dad was profoundly into him.
so, if scruntiny came. It came well after my gateway.
where esteem held for ali. Especially in the drawing decline of the sport.
where I would have gotten an answer closer to real time. before the bill and Kareem stepped up and stepped in.


art barr