Remembering Barbara Walters’s Memorable Interview With Muhammad Ali

The trailblazing journalist delivered an iconic interview with the heavyweight boxing legend following his 1978 loss to Leon Spinks.

Barbara Walters, the pioneering television news broadcaster, correspondent and longstanding ABC News anchor died on Friday. She was 93.

According to CNN, Walters died peacefully in her home. “She lived her life with no regrets,” Walters’s spokesperson Cindi Berger told CNN in a statement. “She was a trailblazer not only for female journalists but for all women.”

Walters became the first female anchor of an evening news program and a dominant force in the media industry in becoming a co-host of “20/20” and launching “The View”.

While Walters delivered numerous high-profile interviews in her career that extended more than five decades along with 12 Emmy awards, her memorable 1978 interview with heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali stands out as one of her few ventures into the sports world. Ali had recently been defeated by Leon Spinks by split decision in February ’78.

Ali was slated to fight Spinks again in a rematch that year in September at the Superdome in New Orleans. When Walters asked Ali to envision what the next bout would look like with Spinks in the ring, the heavyweight boxer gave one of his classic poetic answers.

“Ali comes out to meet Spinks but Spinks starts to retreat. If Spinks goes back an inch farther, he’ll wind up in a ringside seat. Ali swings left, Ali swings a right, Ali carried the fight. Spinks keeps backing but there is not enough room, it’s a matter of time. There, Ali lowers the boom. Now Ali lands with a right, what a beautiful swing and the punch lifts Spinks clean out of the ring.

 Spinks is still rising. But the ref was afrown. For he can’t start counting until Spinks comes down. Now, Spinks disappears from view, the crowd is getting frantic, but our radar stations have picked him up, he is somewheres over the Atlantic. Who have dreamed that came to the fight that they witnessed the launching of the Black satellite?”

Ali would go on to win the rematch in September 1978.

In the interview, Ali spoke on faith, failure, records and the sport of boxing. He was one of dozens of celebrities that opened up to Walters over her long career as a journalist.