Surrounded by heavyweights. Nelson Mandela is seen here with (from left) boxer Mike Tyson, box promoter Don King, New York Mayor David Dinkins and Olympic gold medal boxer Joe Frazier.
He had the opportunity to meet them on a trip he took to the United States after he was released from prison in 1990. Mandela was a boxer in the heavyweight division when he as a student at at Fort Hare University, but it was not until he lived in Johannesburg that he took up the sport in earnest. ‘I was never an outstanding boxer.
I had neither enough power to compensate for my lack of speed nor enough speed to make up for my lack of power. I did not enjoy the violence of boxing so much as the science of it. I was intrigued by how one moved one's body to protect oneself, how one used a strategy both to attack and retreat.’ ‘Boxing is egalitarian. In the ring, rank, age, color, and wealth are irrelevant.
I never did any real fighting after I entered politics. My main interest was in training; I found the rigorous exercise to be an excellent outlet for tension and stress.’ ‘After a strenuous workout, I felt both mentally and physically lighter.
It was a way of losing myself in something that was not the struggle. After an evening's workout I would wake up the next morning feeling strong and refreshed, ready to take up the fight again.’
"You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.” ~ Nelson Mandela
An emotional Brenda Fassie, South African pop diva, embraces Mandela....
Madiba laughs as his shoe comes off while kicking a soccer ball....
In 1991, Nelson Mandela received an Honorary Doctorate at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg for his commitment to the country ...
Mandela and other activists had an array of supporters that came to the court each time defendants were summoned. Pictured is a young Madiba...