Michigan Man Cherishes Memory Of Stepping In Ring With Muhammad Ali In 1975

LAKE ORION (WWJ) -- The world as a whole has mourned the loss of The Greatest Of All Time, Muhammad Ali, who passed away at the age of 74 on Friday.

Ali was a force inside and outside the boxing ring, leaving a mark on society that won't soon be forgotten.

One local man, Ron Gentry of Lake Orion, recalled a unique experience he had with Ali back in the 1970s -- the honor of going toe-to-toe with "The Champ" in the ring.

Though the two-round exhibition match was obviously one-sided, Gentry said he didn't get knocked out.

"He didn't get that serious about an exhibition fight," Gentry chuckled, "I actually did hit him with some jabs -- I had a pretty good left jab. I hit him with some jabs and then he really cranked his up and I couldn't hardly see because he hit me [with] so many jabs."

Gentry said Ali was affable and had a great sense of humor, but he has one regret -- not remembering a trash-talking poem he wrote to tease the legendary boxer.

"I tried a few things with him as far as my sense of humor and he was great with me,"  Gentry said. "He treated me wonderful and he had me come up to his hotel room, so he was great."

So how did Gentry earn the honor of facing off with Ali? He says he won the Detroit "Golden Gloves" in 1972 and Ali was coming to Detroit as part of a charity event to fight the "five baddest dudes" at Olympia Stadium.

He sent in his resume and later found himself in the ring with Ali.

Born Cassius Clay in 1942, Ali won three heavyweight titles and an Olympic Gold metal throughout his career. He famously refused to fight in the Vietnam War in 1967 and was stripped of his heavyweight title.

Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1984, a condition he lived with for 32 years. He was hospitalized in Scottsdale, Arizona this week with respiratory issues and later died late Friday night.