Journalist who spent a week with Muhammad Ali speaks at Bengal Bouts finals

By MAGGIE EASTLAND editor-in-chief

Journalist and author c al Fussman spent a week with m uhammad Ali to write a front-page story for e squire m agazine in 2003. b y the week’s end, Fussman had no idea what to write about his childhood hero, who at that point was limited by age and the onset of Parkinson’s disease.

That’s when Fussman stepped into the boxing gym with Ali.

The two soon stood gloved up — toe-to-toe and eyeto-eye. A few moments later, Fussman watched the heavyweight champion dance around the ring once more.

“I thought I’d pushed him as far as I possibly could, but he had more to give,” Fussman said.

Illuminated by a spotlight and controlling the Joyce c enter ring with his words, Fussman highlighted Ali’s resiliency in his speech between bouts of the b engal b outs tournament finals. h e championed Ali’s mindset and said n otre d ame boxers display their own laudable ability to overcome obstacles.

Fussman tells full-circle story of Bengal champion Shawn Newburg

“I’ve been to a lot of boxing events, seen world champions and for the last 50 years, I have never seen anything like this,” Fussman said of the s aturday night final bouts. “It doesn’t stop here, because everything in this club keeps going forward.”

Fussman then told a story about s am Fuller and s hawn n ewburg, b engal b outs boxing teammates in 2002. Fuller, a novice and underdog, followed n ewburg’s coaching to win his bout over Jon Pribaz by split decision. According to The o bserver, “Fuller was knocked down, but rallied to win against Alumni’s Jon Pribaz” in a surprising comeback.

A few years later, as Fuller was applying for medical school, he met the father of his opponent, who just so happened to be the chief of surgery interviewing Fuller for a surgical residency spot at h arvard.

“‘Tell me something about n otre d ame,’” Fussman narrated in the voice of Pribaz’s father, the interviewer and chief of surgery.

According to Fussman’s story, Fuller responded:

“‘ o ne of my best moments at n otre d ame was beating your son in b engal b outs.’”

Fussman then explained that n ewburg tragically passed away in a car accident in 2006. h e is buried in n otre d ame’s c edar Grove c emetery, his headstone engraved with a boxing glove. n ewburg was a boxing captain in 2002 and 2003 for his junior and senior years. h e also wrote for The o bserver, primarily as a s cene film critic. h e became a three-time b engal b outs champion in 2003.

“It’s unique,” n ewburg told The o bserver in 2003. “We get in great shape, we make real friends and we can make a life-saving difference for people who need it halfway around the world.” n ewburg’s legacy lives on through a scholarship.

Jack “The Ghost” Phillips, the current b engal b outs president, is the recipient of that scholarship. This year, Phillips advanced to the semifinals, losing to Patrick “P s weet” s weet by split decision.

Though Phillips had only fought in one bout prior to this year due to study abroad, cov I d cancellation and food poisoning, Fussman said boxing will stick with him forever.

“What plays out in Jack’s life over the next decade is going to be tremendous,” Fussman said.

“I know how special this all is and how special Jack is because he changed my life by inviting me here to tell my m uhammad Ali story to all of you here in a boxing ring.”

Fussman relates time he met Muhammad Ali to ND boxing

The chance to write a feature on Ali arrived with the 70th anniversary of e squire m agazine. s ince Ali had been on the cover more than anyone else in those decades, e squire editors wanted Fussman to write an update, especially after the world watched him battle through shaking limbs to light the o lympic Torch for the 1996 o lympics.

“We want to put him on the cover and we want you to write a cover story. I’m thinking ‘ o h man, this is my childhood hero. I can almost not speak,’” Fussman recalled.

The first few encounters for the story were difficult.

“I say to him, ‘c hamp, champ, I want to find out all the wisdom you’ve accumulated in your life,’ but he doesn’t seem to be paying attention,” Fussman recalled. “ h is right hand is jangling from his elbows down to his fingertips. n ow both of his hands.” e ven in his later days, Ali displayed a lightheartedness.

“I said, ‘c hamp, champ, are you okay?’” Fussman recalled. “ s lowly, his head comes up and he looks me in the eye and he says, ‘ s cared you, huh?’”

Fussman became acquainted with Ali through days filled with wheelchair transport, labored breathing, reclining cushion chairs, spontaneous naps and Parkinson’s medication that dyed the boxer’s tongue orange. Although Ali could barely speak, he was still performing magic tricks for visitors. The week created a conundrum for Fussman, who was still unsure what to write.

“I’m thinking, ‘ h ow am I going to explain this in a magazine story?’” Fussman said.

Ali’s wife was the one who suggested Fussman and Ali visit the gym. When he stepped inside, Fussman said he noticed the gym looked barely used, without even a hint of sweat in the air. Photos of Ali’s iconic fights framed the space, many of them featuring another famed boxer, “ s mokin’ Joe” Frazier.

Fussman said the photos reminded him of how Frazier stood uncontested for three years when Ali could not fight due to a court case involving his stance as a conscientious objector to the v ietnam War. Ali eventually won his case in the s upreme c ourt and jumped back into the ring against Frazier — with a little rust on his punches.

“ o nly Ali is a little older, and he wasn’t as fast as he was, and he started to get hit,” Fussman said. The tide began to turn, however, when Ali’s corner started screaming, “‘The world needs the champ! Go in the well once more!’” s taring at those photos, Fussman knew his question: “What is still in the well?” s till unsure how to ask, Fussman gloved up and helped Ali glove up, too.

“Always, Ali would reach inside himself and find what he needed to raise himself to the next level,” Fussman said.

“ n ow I’m standing there, looking at m uhammad Ali with boxing gloves on,” Fussman remembered. m imicking the same show he gave Ali, Fussman began