Eulogised on his death as a hero, it is easy to forget how reviled Ali once was in his homeland Neal Gabler

The fight itself certainly didn’t set the world on fire, but Muhammad Ali’s bout in Croke Park in 1972 was a sideshow for many who were simply in awe at having the man himself on their doorstep.

Ayumu Goramaru survived one Japanese earthquake four weeks before his international debut ten years ago and another four days afterwards. It taught him all about seismic shifts and the Richter Scale which measured the first at 6.6, the second at 5.8.

The gloves worn by Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston during their infamous 1965 rematch and a rare century-old signed photo of Shoeless Joe Jackson have fetched over $1.1m (€960,000) at an auction.

Having heard fellow columnist Derval O’Rourke sing the praises of David Epstein’s The Sports Gene, nothing would do me but to track the man down for a chat, and we made contact last week.

JOHN RIORDAN The second instalment of Ali-Liston may have produced one of the most iconic images of sport in the 20th Century but there’s a refreshing spontaneity in the boyish wonder of Cassius Clay when he won the world heavyweight title for the first time.

MUHAMMAD Ali standing over Sonny Liston, claiming the 1964 world heavyweight title, has always epitomised boxing for me: the look of cold, bloodthirsty hunger on his face, as he stood tense over his opponent, who was laid out.

All these years later and so much about them remains the same.

WHEN Bob Lipsyte was a kid in New York, he went to a total of two professional baseball games.

As Muhammad Ali turns 70 today, a nation honours a sporting hero that has come to define what it means to be American, writes John Riordan

THERE is no sweeter scent to the nostrils of country people than the smell of freshly cut grass in fields drenched with warm sunshine.

THERE are any number of ways to deal with defeat.

RICKY HATTON’S trainer Billy Graham has delivered a withering riposte to Floyd Mayweather’s brash proclamations of all-time greatness, insisting the unbeaten Grand Rapids man is no Muhammad Ali — neither inside nor outside the ring.

THE BOXER whose bloody but courageous battle against Muhammad Ali inspired the Rocky films is suing Sylvester Stallone for compensation.