We loved Muhammad Ali almost unreservedly, yet we were never truly able to explain our affection. He could be cruel, arrogant, contemptuous and merciless, then he would turn a wicked phrase or smile a roguish smile, and the world would forgive him his trespasses, writes PATRICK COLLINS. ...read

PATRICK COLLINS: Fifty-two years have passed since that February dawn, yet still the cry comes ringing down the decades: ‘Ah shook up the world! Ah shook up the world!’ Within a few weeks, he had changed his name. Within a few years, Muhammad Ali had become the most celebrated individual on the planet. His fame evolved from his sporting excellence. The prize ring had never known a fighter — least of all a heavyweight fighter — who could move with such instinctive fluency or execute his strategies with such dramatic efficiency. Certainly it had never known a man capable of fulfilling to the letter even the most outrageous of his promises. Ali could do all of these things and very much more besides. ...read