The real reason why this man is almost universaly admired as the greatest sportsperson of the 20th century is because he held true to his beliefs!
The man, whom he actually regards as the greatest boxer ever, 'the brown bomber', Joe Louis, did actually answer the call, where he did exhibitions for the US army during WW2. Eventually of course, this great man went broke from a huge tax demand by Uncle Sam. Indeed, his arch-nemisis and ultimately great friend ( who post WW2, where he had to fight for the Nazis, became a very successful businessperson), Max Schmelling, contributed towards his funeral expenses, Max lived well into his 90s!
How does Vietnam change, black civil rights change, Muhammed Change, The USA change and the world change, if the 'greatest' goes to 'fight' the people who never used the 'N' word against him?