up next on a second look. >> i'm so great. >> reporter: the man who proclaimed himself the greatest that made a pretty good argument in the ring to back it up. >> i'm the heavyweight champion of the whole world. i've defeated everybody in the world. >> reporter: we look at the

legacy surrounding boxer muhammad ali. and we look into two names that will be forever inscripted into ali's name. and we look at two requests dr. king made. good evening this is a second look. although his last match was almost 30 years ago, muhammad ali is still one of the biggest athletes in the world. his life has been an amazing seven decade run. an olympic gold med -- medalist. he would fight professional 61 times. he would become the heavy weigh champion in the world. a virtual icon and center of controversy. born clashus clay, he changed his name. his brash style was enough to

make some root for his opponent whoever they were. through it all, he has remained the champ. the man who proclaimed he would float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. in 1991, ali drew a huge crowd when he showed up to sign photographed copies of his new book. >> reporter: telegraph has never seen anything like this before. in line around the corner, some got here six hours earlier. and here's the reason why. when muhammad ali was the number one champ. he danced around the boxing ring with amazing ingly savvy.

>> i'm pretty. i still got the world. he was witty and he became a symbol of black friday. it was muhammad ali because of his views during the world war ii world, it was ali who fought for the right to fight and then won his way to the olympics. but the ali who greeted the crowd, was not the same ali of different. he has trouble walking and has trouble talking. the once nonstop talker ali

said virtually nothing the entire two hours he was signing his new biography tonight. but people had plenty to say to him. >> thank you very much for what you have done to us, thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> i had him sign the milwaukee sentinell from 194. >> what does this mean to you? >> a lot. he's my idol. >> reporter: now his doctors say he is really -- >> when i think about muhammad ali i think about his jumping around the rink and you know, the chris -- ka charisma

that he had. >> i remember him the way he was. and that's it. he was the better, so i love him. >> reporter: most people bought ali's $25 book but this homeless man with no money just wanted to meet him. the man started walking away, but ali insisted on giving him a book. >> he looked me in the eye and he gave me this. it means a lot to me. >> oh god. oh, thank you so much. >> i'm so excited, oh god. i'm sorry. >> this was an honor beyond belief. >> he can no longer punch but muhammad ali still has the power. still to come, we hear from ali himself as

tonight on a second look we remember the career of muhammad ali who will turn 70 years old on tuesday. one of ali's shortest and most memorable fights was against sonny liston. >> reporter: i'm here to promote boxing and to promote clashus clay. i want all the people to be here to see the world's best fighter, the prettiest fighter. the only man to retire and listen to big ugly bear. >> do you really think you can beat sonny liston. >> i don't think i can beat him. i know i can beat him. >> how do you know how you can

beat him? >> i told the chump the exact round he was going down. >> have you got a poem for the bear. >> i have a good poem for the bear and i have a poem for those who support bear. >> ali was lighter but faster and in six rounds he would defeat liston. >> the man could not hurt me. the man could not hurt this pretty. it was arms so great. what made it so good all these hypocrites. i didn't stop the fight. the doctors had to stop it. oh i'm so pretty. >> it was after that fight that ali announced his conversion to

islam and that the black malcolm leader changed his name to muhammad ali. >> ali means the most high. and naturally, we who have been the slaves of the master who follow the muhammad are now free. but the master seems to not want to recognize you as being free and want to continue making the world think and my people think that we are still subject of them and we're not. clashus clay was the name of a white slave master. and if it was auctioned off to mr. smith then my was mr. smith. now that we're free, we're no longer slaves. white people no longer own us so i'm going back to the name

of a black man. now that i'm free, now that i'm no longer belong to white people. now i want to be called a disgrace. how would a russian be named george washington. and she's still white. how do you look named george washington black as coal. so now i'm free. i love muhammad ali. it's my name, it's connecting me to all my brotherless. brother -- to all my brothers. >> thinking about changing it legally? >> legally? who would have to -- who would i have to face? >> the judge. >> the judge is what color? >> i don't know. >> he's white. so in other words -- in other words i would have to ask a white man, may i call myself

muhammad ali bob? >> former clashus clay refused to take the induction into the army. he was immediately stripped of his title by the world fighting belt. clay faces several prosecutions and a possible five year sentence but $10,000 fines. later martin luther king praised clay's courage. in april 1967, muhammad ali refused to be inducted into the united states army. he sighted religious reasons. the boxing accomplishment immediately took away ali's title and he did not fight for three years. during that time, he also was convicted of draft evasion. fined $10,000, he stayed out of prison while he appealed his conviction and in 1971 the u.s. supreme court overturned it.

around the time his draft evasion case was still pending, muhammad ali visited oakland and talked about fighting here. >> you mention the name of floyd patterson of the gentleman you think you would opt fighting here in oakland. do you think any other fighters. >> yes, i said patterson because he is the most eager. he's fast. he's got up off the floor twice with jerry. he's young and strong. and will bout with anybody who accepts a challenge. a contender, i would hate to start calling names to put them on the spot saying if they will accept it or not accept it. but i said patterson would not turn down a fight.

because he knows if he the beats me he would be a real champion. >> you mentioned you want to fight in the coliseum in oakland. an outdoor fight instead of indoor. >> we contacted the honorable martin luther king. we contacted the leadership association, they will be managing the fight. i will only fight for $100. if we can get up a fight and make a good million or $500,000. and turn as much of it as possible if not all of it over to these people i will be very excited. >> you stand convicted for refusing to sign into if u.s. army. >> we have appealed that's all

i can say about that. my lawyer is handling our legal thought. you feel you can beat this wrap or are you concerned about possibly going to jail for five years? >> well, i don't feel that i'm out to just wrapping something. i am out to fulfill my god, i know i'm hot wrong or guilty of nothing. it's just the will of a god. i have no reason to feel guilty or feel criminal or hiding my face because as far as i'm concerned i'm right, i know i'm right. when we come back on a second look. >> the man that i'm watching is fraizer. two men who's names and careers are forever entwined with those of ali. fraizer and cossell. and later, remembering the words of martin luther king.

meet two men that were there for his most famous speech.

as we look back tonight at the life and foughts of muhammad ali. we think of two men who will forever be intwinned with ally. the first was fraizer. fraizer had gained a heavyweight championship in ali's absence. they would fight three times in five years. fraizer would win the first, ali the next one. but it was their third fight in 1975 called the thriller in manilla who would go down as one of the greatest of all time. up to 40 bound. fraizer's trainer stopped the fight saying their fighter was almost blind. joe fraizer tide lard session. not all of ali's combat was

with fists or blood. some of it was with words. and no one was a most formittable stand in was sports caster fosell. christopher jones had this look pack at his life and career. what did i do? told them like it was. >> reporter: that power c organize >> reporter: -- lasting almost 40 years from the 60s to his retirement, cosell marched to the beat of his own drum. cossell was not murderren by humility. this is how he evaluated his own job performance. >> the best there was at what

he did, quite kapbdicly. id had a full and complaint. it was a great time. >> reporter: cossell may have thought he was the greatest that there was. but it catapulted his career. >> i think that sports journalism has changed because howard was there to make the change. they owe him a lot. >> he was probably the most dynamic sports announcer that i can ever remember.

he was as himself and muhammad ali. he took it as it was. >> talk about all of the postulates that we have in this sports syndrome in this country. each of which is a natural. >> reporter: a former lawyer sometimes it seemed he never stopped arguing his case. after 13 years of cementing his fame as a commentator on abc's monday night football. in 1983 he call the name a stagnant bore. but somehow it all seemed a part of the howard cossell fabric. >> i was privileged to cover several games. that i don't think anybody else was privileged to cover. i loved it, most of it. >> reporter: not everyone who loved him. but even those who didn't had to agree with his former boar

boss. he was one of a kind. -- with his former boss. he was one of a kind. how two bay area men view --

tonight as we remember muhammad ali two days before his 70th birthday we also remember another african american leader. tomorrow is the day set aside each year to honor martin luther king jr. in 2003, bob mackenzie brought us this live report about king and the speech he delivered. august 28, 1963. 250,000 people descended on washington, d.c. coming from everywhere, by bus, train, and car. and thousands had walked. they marched to the washington mall where the 34-year-old

reverend martin luther king jr. already renowned as an orator and leader would make the speech of his life. >> i have a dream today. >> the reverend cecil williams was there. >> i just said, something exciting is really taking place today. because there were just hoards of people. people coming from every direction and i was so proud to be a part of that. it was, i i've never seen that many people before in my life. it was the form and the movement and the imagining and the commitment and finally the spirit of the people. martin luther king knew that his speech had to reach out beyond the immediate crowd to touch the parts of people everywhere. so after telling stories, he

ended up with one truth. >> we will be able to hugh out of the mountain of dispair a stone of hope. with this faith. we will be able to transform the tangling discord of our nation into a beautiful sin symphony of brotherhood. with this faith we'll be able to struggle together, to go to jailing. to stand up for freedoms together knowing that we will be free one day. >> the reverend brown of san francisco's third backtist church was also there as an organizer,he said much of king's message that day has been forgotten. >> 85% know that speech was about the wrongs of america. about this bad check that america had written on freedom.

that has bounced for african americans. he very well deleeuated. it was the coming hem, the wrapping it up. that was not the substanceover that speech. >> one of the remarkable as pents is that dr. lee rarefully glanced at his notes. he had memorized every world. >> when we let it ring from every state and every city. we will be able to speed up that day with all of our children, plaque men and white men, profession at that particular times and chocolates will be able to join hand and sing in the world of old negro spiritual. free at last, free at last, thank god all mighty we are free at last. >> when we got to the last part

about free at last, free at last, thank god all mighty we are free at all. people jumped and applauded and screamed and shouted. >> reporter: to re rend brown the dream has not yet materialized. >> we've made some strides but what has happened. we have a reaction fire, right wind though we have the law on the boat. but if i may use a parallel here and analogy. they are running the red light. all over this country. violating civil rights, attempting to turn the clock back. >> but reverend williams takes some more you have u views. >> i think the point is that we are now finding each other blacks and whites and hispanics and native persons and allegation americans and awl

kind of home. on the discovery of other each. the world will never be the same. so there's been great changes but we still got along great. >> that's it for this week's second look. i'm julie haener. thank you for watching. usa.gov maybe you'll be picked next. we've been caged together too long. we've been caged together too long.