It was one of Mike Willesee’s biggest risks and it yielded one of his biggest rewards.
In 1975, as heavyweights Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier prepared for their ultimate showdown in the Thriller in Manila, Willesee flew to the Philippines on spec to try to secure an interview with the man who’d become arguably the most celebrated sports figure in history.
Once he’d cajoled himself past the minders, Willesee was told he’d have a couple of minutes with The Greatest. Instead he got three hours one-on-one and an access-all-areas pass to Ali’s backroom antics and scalding training sessions.
The result is one of the most extraordinary profiles of Ali ever assembled. Dressed in a bathrobe and lying down on his hotel sofa, Ali spars and swings and ducks and weaves with Willesee through a range of incendiary topics – race, money, religion, sex and death.
And unsurprisingly he speaks his mind.
Now, as the world mourns the death of Ali, Sunday Night presents this phenomenal encounter with him, the story behind the story and Willesee’s contemporary reflections on what made the champion such an inspirational and important figure. It is a profoundly revealing portrait of a monumental man.
This edition of SUNDAY NIGHT hosted by Melissa Doyle airs on Sunday at 8.20pm on Seven.
