Black History Month celebrated at Muhammad Ali camp near Deer Lake
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Feb. 25—DEER LAKE — Harold Hazzard Sr. recalled how boxing legend Muhammad Ali wanted to hire him to be his personal aide and driver.
"I laughed because I thought he was kidding," Hazzard said.
Hazzard, of Philadelphia, was one of many speakers Saturday at the Black History Month celebration at Ali's former training camp, Fighter's Heaven, near Deer Lake. The event was attended by important figures in the boxing world, including boxers Larry Donald, Tim Witherspoon and Nate Miller; Lynne Carter, the first Black female boxing judge; and Veronica L. Michael, a boxing promoter. It also celebrated other prominent Black figures and their accomplishments in society.
"Black history is American History," Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Carolyn H. Nichols said. She is the only Black woman to hold one of the appellate court seats in Pennsylvania.
Hazzard served as Ali's personal aide for nine years. He recalled, at the age of 23, that his boss told him to pick up Ali in a limousine from the Philadelphia International Airport. He said they exchanged small talk during the 30-minute ride before making a detour to Hazzard's house to meet his mother
"She looked at him and almost fainted," Hazzard said.
He said his relationship with Ali wasn't just boss and employee, but one of mutual respect.
"Ali didn't treat me as a worker. He treated me as a brother," Hazzard said.
About 200 people attended the event, organized by Pottsville native Aaron Snowell, a renowned boxing trainer who was inducted into the National Boxing Hall of Fame in 2018.
"He believed in people regardless of color or creed or anything," Snowell said.
Contact the writer: amarchiano@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6023
