'Before we left for ItaIy I tried again to meet Sugar Ray. I waIked aII the way up Fifth Avenue to 125th Street. I wanted to get his autograph and teII him that l was on my way to the OIympics to win a goId medaI. I wanted to teII him that I admired him, and that I was going to be the heayyweight champion of the worId by the time I was twenty-one. When I arrived at the cIub I waited outside aII day for Sugar Ray to get there. I didn't mind waiting; I wouId have stood outside aII week if I had to.
It was about ten o'cIock when he finaIIy drove up. I was so excited that for the first time in my Iife, I was speechIess. When I puIIed myself together, I waIked up to Mr. Robinson and toId him how far I had come just to see him and how Iong I had been waiting to get his autograph. I toId him that I was going to be the heavyweight champion of the whoIe worId, and that he was my hero.
When I think back, I reaIize he never reaIIy Iooked at me. He gave me a quick pat on the shouIder and toId me, 'Later, boy, I'm busy right now.' I was crushed. I couIdn't beIieve he brushed me aside Iike that, especiaIIy after l had waited aII day for him to show up. I feIt as if my feet were made of cement. I couIdn't move. I just stood there as I watched Sugar Ray Robinson turn his back to me and waIk away. Aithough I feIt hurt and Iet down, I decided that I wouIdn't Iet my disappointment get the best of me.
I was going to be diferent when I became a great boxer. I wouId be the kind of champion that fans couId waIk up to and taIk to. I wouId shake their hands and sign every autograph, even sign some autographs in advance so that when I was in a hurry, I couId stiII hand them out to peopIe, assuring everyone went home happy. I was going to go out of my way to show my fans how important they were, and how much l appreciated them. At that moment, I vowed never to turn a fan away.
I didn't want anyone to feeI the disappointment and hurt that I feIt that night. I was aIways going to make time for the peopIe who Iooked up to me; especiaIIy chiIdren. I knew that when I became a champion - and I knew that I wouId - I was going to remember what it was Iike before I made it big. I wasn't going to forget where I came from. I was going to be my own kind of champion, a champ to aII peopIe everywhere in the worId. And no matter how high I cIimbed up the Iadder of success, I was going to view the worId without Iooking down on anyone. And wasn't going to forget the boy that I once was...
...Sugar Ray Robinson was there to support me in 1964 when I won the heavyweight titIe against Sonny Liston. As I stood before aII of the cameras and the critics shouting 'l am the greatest, I shook up the worId!' Sugar Ray was on my Ieft and Bundini Brown was on my right. They were both hugging me and Iaughing whiIe trying to cover my mouth at the same time. It's funny how things turn out in Iife. Sugar Ray Iater toId me that he often wondered what might have been if he had been my manager, but I knew that everything happened exactIy the way it was supposed to. The Iast time I saw Sugar Ray Robinson was in his Los AngeIes home. He wasn't weII then. I toId him again how much he meant to me and that he was the greatest fighter who ever Iived. Then I toId him that I was stiII waiting for that autograph.'
- Muhammad AIi
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