'Ali is a diamond'

THE Amalgamated Boys' Club welcomed a true legend on Wednesday night. You may not recognise the name of 80-year-old Mancunian Tommy Burke but you may have heard of the boxer to whom he was a cornerman for 22 years - Muhammad Ali. Burke was on holiday in the island this week and the true gentleman found time to speak to the island's young boxers about his time with Ali.

Words cannot do justice to the impact that 'The Greatest' has had on the world.

The BBC's 'Sports Personality of the Century' has won so many similar accolades and he is almost always the man whom people name as their sporting hero. But that is not just because of his feats in the ring.

The sheer personality and force of the three times heavyweight champion of the world transcended through the ropes. A champion of black rights, he shook up the system when he got rid of what he said was his slave name, Cassius Clay, to become Ali.

And his refusal to fight in Vietnam saw him banished from the sport for more than three years but helped established him as the icon that he is. But what does Burke think of the person who has been called 'the most recognisable man on Earth'?

'He's a diamond and one of the most understated human beings in the world,' he said.

Burke's journey to becoming part of Ali's inner circle began with a chance meeting with legendary trainer Angelo Dundee in 1952. Burke had been involved with boxing from an early age and was a respectable amateur.

'I met him when I was driving a taxi in Manchester,' he said.

'We got talking about boxing and when we got to where we needed to be, we continued talking for an hour. He said if I need you, I will send for you.'

And send for him he did as Burke left for the States to join Dundee at his famous Fifth Street Gym in Miami Beach. Ali asked Dundee to become his trainer when he turned professional after he had won gold at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

'He was a tyrant on fight day but apart from that he was a sweetheart and he was with all his fighters,' said Burke.

Burke was the assistant cornerman at 13 of Ali's fights. He said you would not have seen him on television as he was always down from the apron timing the rounds and looking after the equipment.

He was present when Ali won the heavyweight belt from Sonny Liston in 1964 and for the rematch a year later. He was also at Wembley on the night of 18 June 1963 when Ali fought Henry Cooper.

During what turned out to be an infamous clash, Cooper knocked Ali down at the end of the fourth round with his famed ''ammer'. The American got to his feet and was saved by the bell.

It was been widely suggested that during the break, in a bid to buy his boxer more time to recover, Dundee split Ali's glove on purpose and that allowed Ali to come back and stop the Londoner in the next round with a flurry of shots. Burke was coy as to what actually happened with the glove.

'I know how it happened but I'm not saying,' he said. 'All I'll say is that no one cut it.'

Burke was also in the corner for Ali's fights with George Chuvalo in Canada, Karl Mildenberger in Germany and George Foreman in Zaire. Known as the 'Rumble in the Jungle', it is one of the most historic sporting events ever.

'That was funny as we were staying at the president's palace,' said Burke.

'We had a bit of fun.'

But what was not funny was the prospect of facing Foreman. Ali went into the 1974 fight against the fearsome unbeaten champion with critics saying that he was a spent force. But he produced one of the best displays of sporting endeavour when he knocked out Foreman in the eighth round. The victory came on the back of Ali's 'rope-a-dope' strategy whereby he leaned back on the ropes to allow Foreman to pummel him with body shots.

With the ropes, which, it has been said, were slackened by Ali's camp, absorbing the power, Foreman tired himself out to allow Ali to catch him with a stinging combination. Legend has it that nobody knew what Ali what going to do and Burke said that is true.

'No one knew - only him,' said Burke.

'We saw Foreman coming, coming up and we were thinking, ?what's happening to our guy??. Then he exploded.'

Burke speaks to Dundee on the phone on a weekly basis but he most recently saw Ali when he was on holiday.

'I saw him five years ago when I was on vacation in Las Vegas and he was there doing a book signing,' said Burke.

'When he saw me, he dropped his pen and hugged me. I thought he was going to kiss me but I gave him a swerve.

While in Guernsey, Burke was staying with Anne Mahy. He met her and her late husband, John, who sadly passed away last year, while on holiday in Thailand a few years ago and they became great friends.

Guernsey boxing coach Clint Roberts invited Burke to the St Martin's hall to see the island's boxers train and Burke was impressed with what he saw.

'I think it's a fabulous gym, one of the best I've ever seen, because they are all working together.'

And he had some sound advice for the young ones starting out in the toughest sport of all.

'It takes a lot of courage to get into that ring - it's the loneliest place in the world,' he said.

'Always listen to your trainer because he knows more than you'll ever know and he sees more than you see. Listen to him - it will always be good advice.'