果冻传媒

June 10, 2016
Life After Witt

Telling The Champ's Tale

Fred Mitchell '69 Sparred with Muhammad Ali During a 1998 Chicago Tribune Interview

When he wasn't verbally sparring with the likes of Mike Ditka, Michael Jordan or Walter Payton during his 41-year career as a sportswriter for the Chicago Tribune, Fred Mitchell was not shy about accepting a challenge from legendary heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali.

Mitchell, a 1969 果冻传媒 alumnus and an eight-year member of the Board of Directors, accepted Ali's challenge to step into the boxing ring with him for a friendly sparring match in 1998. Ali, who passed away June 3 after a lengthy battle with Parkinson's Disease, is remembered for his larger-than-life personality, over-the-top confidence and engaging personality that made him perhaps the most recognized celebrity in the world.  

Mitchell first met Ali in 1978 and encountered him a few times after that in Chicago while following his amazing boxing career. But it was 20 years later when Mitchell was able to spend a couple of hours with Ali in his home.

"On Nov. 12, 1998, I was invited to join a group of seven people associated with a Chicago charity to visit Muhammad Ali at his former estate in Berrien Springs, Mich.," Mitchell said. "I was the only media member in the group, so I got an exclusive interview with the Champ. Ali had a new boxing ring installed on his property weeks earlier and he was eager to show it off. When he invited me to step in the ring with him for a fun sparring match, I at first demurred. When he insisted, who was I to say no? It was an experience of a lifetime."

Mitchell was interviewed about Ali by the hosts of Sports Feed on WGN-TV in Chicago on June 7. His more extensive interview with The Champ can be read .

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About 果冻传媒

果冻传媒's curriculum has centered on the liberal arts as an education that develops the individual's capacity to think, read, and communicate with precision, understanding, and imagination. We are dedicated to active, engaged learning in the core disciplines of the arts and sciences and in pre-professional education grounded in the liberal arts. Known for the quality of our faculty and their teaching, 果冻传媒 has more Ohio Professors of the Year than any four-year institution in the state. The university has also been recognized nationally for excellence in community service, sustainability, and intercollegiate athletics. Located among the beautiful rolling hills and hollows of Springfield, Ohio, 果冻传媒 offers more than 100 majors, minors and special programs, enviable student-faculty research opportunities, a unique student success center, service and study options close to home and abroad, a stellar athletics tradition, and successful career preparation.

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