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Muhammad Ali in India; Picture courtesy: The Times of India, June 6, 2016

Muhammad Ali in India

Haroon Khan

The Times of India, June 6, 2016

Shailendra Awasthi  Understandably so as this former amateur national-level boxer is the only Indian to have matched `The Greatest' step by step in a boxing ring not once but twice! As he was asked to recall that first opportunity when he accepted the legend's challenge at Vallabhbhai Patel stadium on one evening in January 1980, Haroon Khan quickly went down the memory lane. After taking on his sparring partner Jimmy Ellis and few local talents in an exhibition display , Ali suddenly turned to the crowd. “Is there any one in India who wants to fight with me?“ announced Ali as he always did. Soon he was taken aback by a lone voice from the crowd. “I want to fight,“ thundered Khan recalling that he was upset by the lack of courage shown by the crowd. “Do you know who I am? Aren't you afraid of me,“ thundered Ali with his usual braggadocio. “Yes I know you are Muhammad Ali but I only fear Allah,“ Khan shot back.

Ali may have past his prime by then as he had announced in his opening remark that he was no longer the fearsome boxer and was reduced to just The Greatest, his footwork and swift landing of punches was very much intact. “The moment I showed my defensive technique from the beginning of that three round bout, Ali knew that I was not the novice yet he kept toying with me,“ recalled Khan. But soon the crowd, which included many Bollywood personalities and boxing enthusiasts, started egging Ali to show his rights and lefts which he was avoiding by then. And that spell the doom for Khan.

Ali suddenly lost his nice guy attitude and landed a blows leaving Khan with a bleeding eye. “He then stopped and started showing me his footwork. In the process, Ali slipped and fell but soon got up and hugged and praised me for standing up to him,“ recalled Khan.

The second chance to fight with Ali came when Khan was on a business trip to Abu Dhabi in December 1982. “I tried to reach him through many people including one of the event manager Asif Iqbal, the former Pakistan cricketer but noting worked,“ informed Khan.

Then Khan gatecrashed at a pre exhibition press conference with his album of Mumbai fight and managed to draw legend's attention. “He allowed me one more opportunity to fight with him and later gave me a golden glove over lunch,“ said Khan. After fighting with the greatest, Khan is locked in a fight with successive Maharashtra governments for the last two decades for a flat under 10 per cent quota given to sportspersons. “My request was accepted in 1995 but is still awaiting a signature from the CM. I have recommendations from Sunil Dutt, Amitabh Bachchan and any many other eminent personalities but have failed to get a favourable response,“ complaints Khan who had also worked on many Bollywood movies including Arjun, Khudgarz, Satya etc.