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One other funny story about him is that he was sent to cover the historical "Rumble in the Jungle" Muhammad Ali vs Frasier fight but he "chose to float in his h

One other funny story about him is that he was sent to cover the historical "Rumble in the Jungle" Muhammad Ali vs Frasier fight but he "chose to float in his hotel pool, a bottle of hooch in hand, while the great fight took place, and he was unable to file anything." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rumble_in_the_Jungle#Reactions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rumble_in_the_Jungle#React...

yes_or_gnome 11y ago
Having spent a lot of my youth in Louisville, I admire both men. For those that don't know, both Hunter and Ali come from Louisville. Both men had troubled youth, but that's about where the similarities end. Hunter was forced into the military to avoid jail time and, after that, went to Columbia (TIL, apparently, he only audited classes), and to write Hell's Angels, etc. Ali (Cassius Clay) was several years younger than Hunter, and grew up half a city away (https://goo.gl/maps/f76SJ https://goo.gl/maps/f76SJ). But, under similar, difficult circumstances. Found boxing at 12yo because he wanted to beat up a kid for stealing his bike. I know that Hunter S. Thompson was a big fan of boxing (and football), and that he had stated Ali as a hero of his. But, I feel that it's sad and unfortunate to read something like this. It seems that Hunter spent a lot of his middle years floating in a pool. It really wasn't until they made the movie Fear and Loathing that he had a resurgence. I can only look backwards through documentaries and commentary, but I find it quite surprising that the two only met once for an interview. Hunter was embarrassed that Ali didn't know who he was; http://bloguin.com/queensberryrules/2014-articles/when-hunter-met-muhammad.html http://bloguin.com/queensberryrules/2014-articles/when-hunte.... It just seems odd that these two people that were hugely influential (Ali more-so) during the 60s and 70s for civil rights and similar political beliefs, that they never actually met one another.

yes_or_gnome 11y ago

Having spent a lot of my youth in Louisville, I admire both men. For those that don't know, both Hunter and Ali come from Louisville. Both men had troubled youth, but that's about where the similarities end. Hunter was forced into the military to avoid jail time and, after that, went to Columbia (TIL, apparently, he only audited classes), and to write Hell's Angels, etc. Ali (Cassius Clay) was several years younger than Hunter, and grew up half a city away (https://goo.gl/maps/f76SJ https://goo.gl/maps/f76SJ). But, under similar, difficult circumstances. Found boxing at 12yo because he wanted to beat up a kid for stealing his bike. I know that Hunter S. Thompson was a big fan of boxing (and football), and that he had stated Ali as a hero of his. But, I feel that it's sad and unfortunate to read something like this. It seems that Hunter spent a lot of his middle years floating in a pool. It really wasn't until they made the movie Fear and Loathing that he had a resurgence. I can only look backwards through documentaries and commentary, but I find it quite surprising that the two only met once for an interview. Hunter was embarrassed that Ali didn't know who he was; http://bloguin.com/queensberryrules/2014-articles/when-hunter-met-muhammad.html http://bloguin.com/queensberryrules/2014-articles/when-hunte.... It just seems odd that these two people that were hugely influential (Ali more-so) during the 60s and 70s for civil rights and similar political beliefs, that they never actually met one another.