RONNIE O’SULLIVAN delivered some heavyweight blows at the English Open – and then talked of his love for iconic pugilist Muhammad Ali.
The greatest snooker cueist in history knocked in three centuries – 105, 109 and 122 – as he battered Welshman Jackson Page 4-1 in the first round in Brentwood.
Next up for the Essex man in the last 32 will be world championship semi-finalist Si Jiahui, 21, of China in a true battle of the generations.
O’Sullivan, who is getting a new tip for his cue, spoke post-match of his admiration for the late American sporting icon, a three-time heavyweight boxing world champion.
The Rocket, 47, said: “Muhammad Ali, for me, was the ultimate sportsman, the greatest of all time.
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“When you talk about the greats, the masters of their sport, you have to ask: ‘What else did they bring to the table?’
“I look at Muhammad Ali and I think everything about him meant he was amazing.
“He was the best talker. I’ve seen him on chat shows and people were in awe of him because he was a one-off. Especially for what he stood for.
“He was a proud man. He was happy. He was never a victim. One of those people that you were in awe of for everything he stood for.”
O’Sullivan is top of the World Snooker Tour rankings but only has a £5,000 advantage over world champion Luca Brecel.
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Unless he wins the event in Essex on Sunday, there is a good chance O’Sullivan may lose his position at the summit – maybe to Brecel or even world No3 Mark Allen.
Yet O’Sullivan, who has been top of the pile since April 2022 and been world No1 across five different spells, admits he has lost the buzz that comes with holding such lofty status.
He said: “Well, if I’d cared I’d have probably played in all of the events to try and keep my world No1 spot.
“I’m not bothered. It doesn’t mean anything. It did when I first got to No1. I was really buzzing. But it doesn’t mean anything to me.
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“Obviously, I get why Mark Allen and Luca Brecel really want to get to No1 because if you haven’t been there before, then to get there is a massive achievement.
“A lot of the time I’m quite flippant about my wins and what I have done in the game.
“When I first won the UK Championship 30 years ago, I was over the moon.
“Win the UK now and I’m like, that’s done, move on.
“I have to remind myself what it was like when I got to No1 and it was one of the best feelings of my life.
“I don’t want to sound like I don’t appreciate my success but once you have done everything there is to do, you don’t really get excited by it.
“I still love the game. I still love competing. That’s what inspires me to keep playing.”
