"I was Nervous and Scared" the confession of the G.O.A.T.

Reading time: 2 minutes

03/10/2022

Muhammad Ali is a name that will never be forgotten, and not only in the boxing world. In fact, considered by many as the G.O.A.T., which stands for Greatest of All Times, Ali is remembered for more than just technique.
In a matter of fact, before and during the matches Ali would try to mess up psychologically with his opponents. So, overall, he portrayed a very confident image of himself and his persona.
That's why hearing the words nervous and scared coming out of his mouth could be unbelievable.

Ali would insult heavily his opponents, mainly before the fight and during the interviews. It was part of his strategy to try to scare the other man even before the fight. His "trash talk" was inspired by "Gorgeous George", a professional American wrestler from the 1940s - 1950s.

"I was Nervous and Scared"

Given the context and his confidence, one may think that it was just his character. He called himself "The Greatest" (which was also the title of a book of his, and appeared publicly always as a very confident person.
To hear him admit that he felt very Nervous and Scared before his first fight was honestly quite a shocker.

Video uploaded by Reznick on his / her YouTube channel.

Nobody is born brave and courageous, we all feel fear, it's an animal condition. But it's not whether you feel or not the fear, it's about what you do with it if you decide to go through it or to leave.
And that's exactly the case. In fact, Ali was only 12 when he stepped into the Boxing World. In an interview with Oprah, he admitted that before that fight he was shaking completely from how nervous and scared he was.
That was his first approach with the Boxing World. Imagine what would have happened if he would let his fear overcome him and stay in his comfort zone. The World would have never seen the "People's Champ".
Ali then continued to pursue this scary sport and at the age of 18 did his first professional encounter.
The rest is history.