Lew Freedman

While a student at Boston University, author Lew Freedman, who listened to Ali's fights on radio or watched them on television first encountered the fighter. Ali was banned from boxing and was hard up for money as he fought his court case and took on a series of challenges in exhibitions.Later, when Freedman became a full-time boxing reporter, Ali was in retirement, but was frequently around the fights and he met, observed and talked to the boxer several times. When Ali came out of retirement to fight Larry Holmes in 1980 in an attempt to regain the heavyweight crown, Freedman covered the bout. Any biography of Muhammad Ali will include the following highlights, but Freedman can add personal touches from behind-the-scenes, or off-the-beaten-track meetings, including watching Ali perform magic tricks for wide-eyed children in a hotel lobby in Minnesota.