The heroes of my parents' generation were footballers, singers, Hollywood actors - and boxers. They idolised Willie Thornton, Billie Holiday, Paul Robeson, John Wayne, Joe Louis and Benny Lynch. I think they'd put Muhammad Ali up there with the greatest.
He was a great boxer and out of the ring a great role model for young men, especially young African-American men, who badly needed heroes in the 60s and 70s. He was courageous in the extreme: it takes great courage to stand up to the might of the US government, as he did when he refused to fight in Vietnam.
The tributes to him today all mention his skill and his nerve. What we don't mention is what he died of. Parkinson's is a horrible condition and Muhammad Ali had it for over 30 years. He may have lived to be 74, but his life was very badly affected long before that.
Over the years, we've come to realise that footballers - especially footballers from the old days when they played with a heavy leather ball - are prone to getting Motor Neuron Disease and that it's probably the result of heading the ball. It's upsetting to see the deterioration in Fernando Ricksen's condition because of MND, especially since he is only 40 and has a young family. There's no proof Muhammad Ali got Parkinson's because of boxing. It has many causes: in a small number of cases it's hereditary, but it's more likely to be caused by a genetic fault or by brain trauma.
What football and boxing have in common is that traditionally they offer success to young men with talent but who are usually born poor.
The difference with boxing is that - as a friend of mine once put it - the purpose of the sport is to disable your opponent.
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