I think the difference for Ali was that, to
most people, Ali was a very likeable guy. His antics and showmanship were to hype the gates and not because of him being an ass. It was a totally different time and the media was not as pervasive as today. TV was still a relativley new medium into the 60's. Ali was totally "fresh" at the time and there were few people who really took him for being an "ass". I'm not sure if he could do the same today if he were just starting out but his antics for the times were "new" and entertaining and boxing was put front stage. Ali took a lot of his act from Gorgeous George the wrestler. Gorgeous George was a darling of the early television world and it is said his "act" sold more TV's in the 50's than any other. He had golden wavy hair, wore long fur collered robes and threw gold bobby pins out to the audience as he strolled to the ring. The women went crazy for him and wrestling grew in stature. I can still remember my grandmother loving wrestling and especially "my George"! If you took either Ali or George out of their times I don't imagine they would look any different than a 1000 other "acts" today.
