Round 8

To prove I am great
He will fall in eight

Truer words have never been spoken
And it took you
The Greatest to speak them

You came close
To proving your prediction
With the Big Ugly Bear

Until the Big Ugly Bear decided
He'd rather go to Heaven
With his refusal to come out
For round seven

Three years later
You had your greatest fight of all

The United States Government
Did what no man dared dream
Without first waking to apologise
Taking what they had no right to take
The crown of a true heavyweight

But, as we now know
Can't keep true greatness down
Like a Demigod
With the people's support
You returned
The people's champion now

The face of boxing had changed
Like an iceberg at sea
The Big Ugly Bear was dead
The Rabbit was slow
Two former champions
Contenders no more

At the glorious heights of sport
The Grilla
The Mummy and Norton were key
To proving Your prophecy

Three classic duels
With the Grilla in Manilla
Proved to be a great rivalry
Bringing out the best
Sometimes worst in you both
But, in the end
Parted brother's

Ken Norton was much underrated
As you learnt
In the battle of the broken jaw
Two bouts later
You whooped his ass
Showing a different class

The rumble in the jungle
Proved once and for all
You are the greatest of all

The Mummy wasn't laughing
While you played the rope-a-dope
But you often liked
To toy with fools

It was only a matter of time
Before you lowered the boom
And in round eight
To seal both your fates
Only one could be great

Making your prediction
From 1964
The greatest prophecy of them all