'He had more than heart': Remembering the legendary Muhammad Ali

Iconic pictures of Muhammad Ali images from fights like the legendary Thrilla in Manila line the walls at P.E.I.'s KO-ed Boxing Club in Charlottetown.

At 69, head coach Howard Watts is just five years younger than Ali was when he passed away last week. According to a spokesperson, the boxing great died of "septic shock due to unspecified natural causes" after three decades of Parkinson's disease.

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Watts who has been involved in the boxing world for 55 years, serves as the head coach of P.E.I.'s Canada Games Boxing team and has coached internationally followed the trajectory of Ali's career over the years, including the boxer's fight with Sonny Liston for the title of world heavyweight champion in 1964.

He had more than heart ... he had everything. He had a big impact, right up until the day he died, he was an inspiration.- Howard Watts

"I think the world was shocked," Watts said.

"They didn't think it was going to happen because Liston was considered unbeatable, too powerful. [Ali] was talking the talk and it was a matter if he could walk the walk -- and he did, he did. And here he is today, he's a legend and I don't think he will ever be matched."

At the club, which Watts started with some friends in 1983, there's an unmistakable reverence to the history of the sport and to legends like Ali.

"He was a man of principles and what he said he stuck behind. I don't think there's a boxer today or back then that didn't want to be like Muhammad Ali."

Impact outside the ring

Boxers like Canada Games boxing champ Robert MacMillan grew up idolizing Ali.

MacMillan, who now teaches younger boxers the finesse and finer points of the game, says Ali's influence transcends the sport of boxing.

"I think he did a lot for people outside of boxing as much as inside boxing, really. Definitely he stood up for his beliefs, in turning down the draft, throwing away his medal after the Olympics," MacMillan said.

"He stood by what he believed the whole time through. It's a good way to be. Important to do what you believe in and follow what your beliefs are. That's probably the biggest thing he brought to boxing I think, was what he did outside of the ring really."

Bringing life to the sport

Colton Perry 15, and Connor Keating, 14, are both Canadian Golden Gloves champs.

They're the future of the sport in P.E.I., but make it clear that they are also learning from the past.

His legacy is going to live on forever. It's never going to die. He was one of the greatest.- Colton Perry

"I used to watch a lot of his old fights on the internet. I'd always watch him [Ali] and see what he did," Keating said.

"He was an entertaining fighter compared to the new ones nowadays. He'd bring life into the sport because now a lot of the boxing matches are boring.

"Back in his era there was more show to it. Just like the little movements he'd do and taunting and getting the crowd going. I find there are some entertaining fighters but they are not Muhammad Ali."

'More than heart'

Perry agrees Ali has had a significant impact on the sport of boxing and the world beyond.

"I think Muhammad Ali is one of the best. It's very sad that he passed away. I couldn't believe it, that he has passed away," Perry said.

"I just loved him. His rhymes and quotes. He was amazing. No one's ever going to forget him. Everyone knows him and his legacy is going to live on forever. It's never going to die. He was one of the greatest is one of the greatest."

For Watts, Ali's lasting legacy is not the strength he displayed in the ring but the strength he chose to show outside of it as a man of peace.

"His legacy is that he wanted peace in the world. And I think he was stressing that so much and I think people see it now," Watts said.

"He had more than heart ... he had everything. He had a big impact, right up until the day he died, he was an inspiration."

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