Herbert Muhammad, one of the most powerful figures in boxing
in the 1960s and 1970s when he was managing heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali's
career, died Monday in Chicago.
He never recovered after undergoing triple heart bypass
surgery. He was 78.
Muhammad, whose father, Elijah Muhammad, was the leader of
the Nation of Islam, began managing Ali's career in 1964, shortly after Ali
defeated Sonny Liston to win the heavyweight title.
Muhammad negotiated a $10 million purse for Ali to fight Joe
Frazier on March 8, 1971, in a bout many consider the biggest event in the
sport's history. It was known as "The Fight of the Century."
His negotiating skill on Ali's behalf helped to drive
up salaries for athletes in all sports, said Gene Kilroy, Ali's longtime friend
and his former business manager.
"He was a good guy and he never got his just due,"
Kilroy said. "He did a lot for Muhammad and he was a very, very sharp guy.
Back in those days, (NFL Hall of Famer) Jim Brown was making something like
$60,000 a year. The top baseball players were making around $50,000 or so.
"Ali started making those huge purses because of Herbert
and that helped raised salaries for all athletes."
In a brilliant April 25, 1988, piece about Ali's entourage
in Sports Illustrated, Gary Smith wrote of Muhammad's negotiating brilliance.
"The Manager had ushered in the era of million-dollar
sports contract, brilliantly playing promoters Don King and Bob Arum off
against each other," Smith wrote.
Smith later quoted Ali saying that Muhammad would be the
only non-family member he'd take with him if he could take five people on a
trip to the moon.
Muhammad also worked with Ali in his post-fighting career
and estimated Ali could have been making as much as $30 million a year in the
late 1980s had he been interesting in pursuing endorsement deals, which he was
not.
Kilroy
said Ali, who rarely speaks because of the effects of Parkinson's disease and
who did not release a statement regarding Muhammad's death, was aware of how
important his manager was in his career.
"Herbert
did so much for Muhammad that people don't know about, it's a crime,"
Kilroy said. "He deserves to be remembered for what
he did for Ali."
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