Frank talks on The Greatest

FRANK SKINNER ON MUHAMMAD ALI BBC1, 9pm

IT’S almost a year since the world learned that legendary boxer Muhammad Ali had passed away. His was a life filled with incredible stories, triumphs and challenges. Famous across the globe, enthralling and entertaining generations of fans both in and outside the ring, he was also an important figure in the American civil rights movement. And now superfan Frank Skinner has been granted unbelievable access to the people closest to Ali to find out what made him The Greatest. Visiting locations in the US and the UK, Frank meets his childhood neighbours in Louisville – back when he was Cassius Clay – and learns, even then, he had the confidence and swagger of a champ. He meets his first wife Khalilah, who stood by him when the champ refused to go to war in Vietnam and was stripped of his title and boxing licence. He talks to his business manager Gene Kilroy, who tells tales of life in Ali’s inner circle, and visits his old training camp in Pennsylvania. Then there’s the bizarre story of bareknuckle boxer Paddy Monaghan, who started a campaign for Ali that saw them become lifelong friends. Paddy would often stay at Ali’s house in America and the champ made more than a dozen visits to Paddy’s Oxfordshire council house to spend time with his family. Frank gets the background behind the Rumble in the Jungle fight in 1974 and learns from his former sparring partner, Larry Holmes, just what happened the night Ali lost the title to his great friend. Entertaining and informative, there are moments that reduce lifelong fan Frank to tears, as he recalls what Ali meant to him and his father. It’s a touching and fitting tribute to a truly remarkable man.

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