The Louisville Lip
Ten years on from his passing, Muhammad Ali's story is told in his own words through rarely heard audio from the BBC archives.
Muhammad Ali is widely regarded as the greatest sportsperson who ever lived, his battles for civil rights outside the ring as celebrated as his bouts inside it. Ten years on from his passing in 2016, his story is told largely in his own words, through rarely heard audio from the BBC archives.
Featuring interviews, commentary, poetry and song, we follow Ali, the fighter formerly known as Cassius Clay, from his rise to stardom at the Olympics, through his exile from boxing during the Vietnam War, to his extraordinary reclaiming of the heavyweight championship in Zaire. His command of language was so dazzling it earned him the nickname the Louisville Lip. We hear what lay behind it - the wit, the fury, the faith, and the convictions that made him, to so many, simply The Greatest.
Producer: Sean Allsop
Executive Producer: Jo Meek
A TBone production for BBC Radio 4
On radio
Broadcast
- Sat 30 May 202620:00BBC Radio 4
