Stories by Bonnie V. Winston

‘A far greater human being than I ever thought’

Jesse Vaughan, the Richmond native and creative genius behind Virginia State University’s recent “Building a Better World” campaign, has won 27 Emmy Awards during the course of his career.

But Vaughan says the highlight of his nearly 40 years as a director and producer for television and film in Richmond, Washington and Los Angeles was directing “The Last Punch,” a feature film about Muhammad Ali’s last fight.

Filmed in Atlanta in 2013-2014 but not yet released, the movie tells the story about “The Drama in the Bahamas,’ the Dec. 11, 1981, fight in Nassau, Bahamas, against Canadian Trevor Berbick that capped Mr. Ali’s extraordinary 21-year professional boxing career.

Mr. Ali was about five weeks shy of his 40th birthday and already suffering with trembling hands and vocal stutters. Just a year earlier, Mr. Ali had attempted to regain the heavyweight title for an unprecedented fourth time and went into the ring against Larry Holmes. Mr. Ali lost miserably.

“He didn’t want to end his career on a sour note,” Mr. Vaughan explained. “But no one would grant him a license to fight again.”

James Cornelius, a street hustler and Ali groupie (who has since become a member of the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Ali Muhammad), took up the challenge of getting a license, finding investors and promoting the fight. The film, which is based on Mr. Cornelius’ book by the same name, details the struggles. Mr. Ali, who went 10 rounds with Mr. Berbick, lost the match by unanimous decision, ending his career with a 56 wins and five losses.

Mr. Vaughan took a six-month leave of absence from his job as director of Advance Creative Services Group at Virginia State University to work on the film. Post-production work was completed in both Richmond and Los Angeles.

The film, starring Tony Grant and Keith David, was screened Jan. 3, 2015, in Atlanta by the Ali Sports Foundation and premiered earlier this year at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Additionally, it was shown Feb. 20 at the Nation of Islam’s Saviours’ Day weekend in Detroit.

“I was told Mr. Ali saw the film and liked it,” Mr. Vaughan said. “He was proud of (Mr. Cornelius) because he, like Mr. Ali, accomplished something no one thought he could.”

Mr. Vaughan said researching Mr. Ali’s life and career for the film “made me realize he was a far greater human being than I ever thought. It rekindled my love and admiration for him.”

A gift from Ali:

A ring to Gov. Wilder

Former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder has a cherished memento from “The Greatest” — Muhammad Ali’s third championship ring.

The gift from Mr. Ali, a large onyx and gold ring commemorating Mr. Ali’s world championship rematch against Sonny Liston in May 1965, arrived the day after the Richmond native’s historic November 1989 win as the nation’s first elected African-American governor.

Inside, the ring is inscribed with the words “To Doug Wilder with respect.”

“I don’t wear it often,” Gov. Wilder told the Free Press Monday, adding that he was surprised when the gift arrived.

He recalled their first meeting in March 1986, when Gov. Wilder was presiding over the Virginia Senate as lieutenant governor.

Gov. Wilder invited Mr. Ali to the Capitol to speak to the Senate.

“He said, ‘Are you sure it’s alright with them?’ he recalled Mr. Ali asking.

Gov. Wilder, who was in charge, told Mr. Ali, “They have nothing to do with it.”

“He laughed, and said, ‘I like you.’

“I told him, ‘I like you, too.’ ”

The two would joke when they saw one another, Gov. Wilder said. “He would tell me, ‘I’m prettier than you are.’ ”

When Mr. Ali wowed the crowds at Gov. Wilder’s inaugural ball in January 1990, people followed him around the Richmond Coliseum, the bold asking for autographs.

“You would have thought the inaugural was his,” Gov. Wilder laughed.

Mr. Ali was among a rare group of people, like Nelson Mandela, leaders with worldwide impact, Gov. Wilder said.

“Unfortunately today, we have a diminishing of that spirit,” he said. “That’s why youngsters need to know who he was, what he was and how he was.”

Richmond couple touched by ‘The Greatest’

For Dr. Jill Bussey and her husband, Dr. Monroe Harris, their memories of former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali are literally quite tangible.

When Dr. Bussey was 2, a young Cassius M. Clay Jr., then a recent Olympic gold medalist and friend of Dr. Bussey’s older sister, gave her a stuffed rabbit autographed with his name at the time.

Then 13 years ago, Dr. Harris purchased a pair of boxing gloves autographed by Mr. Ali during a fundraiser at the Atlanta home of fighter Evander Holyfield.

While the toy bunny is long gone, the gloves are prominently displayed in a shadow box in the couple’s Richmond home.

Dr. Bussey, 56, and Dr. Harris, 57, both grew up in the same neighborhood in Louisville’s West End as Mr. Ali. But what’s even more valuable than their Ali memorabilia, they said, is the legacy the renowned athlete left their hometown, the African-American community and the world.

“He was inspirational,” Dr. Harris said. “Even after he was infirmed, he continued to inspire people with his public appearances. That took a lot of courage.”

Dr. Bussey has hazy recollections of a young Mr. Ali, who would come to the backyard parties thrown by her sister, Connie Bussey Cosby, who is 16 years older.

What stands out the most is how big he was, she said. “He wouldn’t drink anything more than water, milk or juice. It shows how disciplined he was even then.”

While Mr. Ali attended Central High School, the longtime Louisville high school for African-American students, Connie and Dr. Harris’ cousin, Monroe Phelps, were among the first students to integrate Male High School, which had been all white.

On one occasion when Mr. Ali came by the house, he gave her the stuffed rabbit that he’d autographed. She kept it for years.

“I didn’t think about it being valuable one day,” Dr. Bussey said. “I’m so disappointed my parents didn’t put it away.”

Fast forward to 2003. Dr. Bussey and Dr. Harris, now married with children, have successful dental and oral and maxillofacial surgery practices in Richmond. Dr. Harris goes to Atlanta with a group of friends for the NBA All-Star Game and ends up at Mr. Holyfield’s house for a fundraiser.

“I don’t remember now what the fundraiser was for,” Dr. Harris said. “But they had an auction — a live auction and a silent auction. And Ali’s autographed gloves were in the silent auction.

“By being from Louisville and Ali being my idol, I bid on them. And I was lucky enough to get them.”

The winning bid: Around $600.

“It was a steal to get those gloves at a low price,” he acknowledged.

A check this week of SportsMemorabilia.com has single gloves autographed by Mr. Ali listed for sale between $3,000 and $9,000. One glove authenticated with Mr. Ali’s signature, a drawing and inscription, is listed at $45,464.

While Mr. Ali never wore these gloves, Dr. Harris said the Muhammad Ali Center, a museum a cultural center in Downtown Louisville, has on display gloves that the fighter wore during several bouts.

“I remember when he fought (Joe) Frazier” in 1971, Dr. Harris recalled. “I was sitting with my father listening to it on the radio.

“I was devastated when he lost. It was the first professional fight Ali lost. He was my hero, and when he got knocked down, I felt like the air was gone from me. He was just that popular and that great.

“For us in Louisville, he definitely had a special place in our hearts.”

Dr. Bussey is packing up her 96-year-old father, George Bussey, for the drive to Louisville to attend Mr. Ali’s memorial service Friday at the KFC Yum! Center in dowtown.

“Her father knew Ali’s dad and guys in Ali’s entourage,” Dr. Harris said.

Their nephew, Dr. Kevin W. Cosby, pastor of St. Stephen Baptist Church in Louisville, will be among the speakers at the service.

The motorcade of family and mourners that will wind through the streets of Louisville is scheduled to pass the house in the West End neighborhood where Dr. Harris grew up.

“I know the streets will be packed,” Dr. Harris said. “We’ll always look at him as ‘The Greatest.’”