by Latricia C. Bailey
“Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.”
Proverbs 18:21 (MSG)
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. His hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see. Now you see me, now you don’t. George thinks he will, but I know he won’t.”
These are the chants and boastful words from prizefighter and champ, Muhammad Ali, taunted towards another notable fighter. On October 30, 1974, 32-year-old Muhammad Ali became the heavyweight champion of the world for the second time when he knocked out 25-year-old champ George Foreman in the eighth round of the “Rumble in the Jungle,” a match in Kinshasa, Zaire. The fight was impressive because of many reasons. But the thing that always makes the difference to me with any fight are the words that initiate it.
Professional boxers fight and often use trash talk to incite fear or doubt in their opponents. Muhammad Ali to me was the king of trash talk not because he wanted to hurt them, but because his strategy was to initiate fear of him in them. Continue reading
