12 MAY 1984, Page 19

The Greatest

Sir: There is nothing wrong with Muhammad Ali's brain; nor has there ever been. Questioned by Harry Carpenter recently on the effects of receiving one of Henry Cooper's punches, Ali replied that his only difficulty had been in `recuperating'. The pun seemed lost on Carpenter. I think Alexander Chancellor (Television, 5 May) is right in suggesting that Ali's semi-catatonic slur is a new and appropriate technique for dealing with tedious interviewers, as is his habit of answering outstandingly banal questions by snoring. Were l an Oxford MA, the Greatest would get my vote for Professor of Poetry.

Alexander Elliot

5i Cardigan Street, Oxford