If you have to read one long-form piece today, make it Wright Thompson’s piece on the autograph collector who, in the course of trying to get the signatures of all 50 of Muhammad Ali’s opponents ran into the dead end of one fighter’s life.
Today’s Must-Read: Ali’s Vanished Opponent
↵Jimmy Thompson fought Muhammad Ali as a sub in Miami in 1961, lost in a minute and a half, and then spent the rest of his life disappearing into the pool halls and flop houses of Miami’s desolate Overtown neighborhood. It’s part detective story, part meditation on boxing and death, and entirely enthralling. Go read it now. Seriously. Open a tab. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. It’s that good.
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