When I Was the Greatest

Ali goes to Malloy’s home, excited to tell him of his exploits in the fight. When he gets there the veteran already knows—word travels quickly in the neighborhood—and is not impressed. He makes Ali tell him what happened anyway. He is unsurprised Noodles froze but does not say more. Ali recalls Malloy forbidding him from bringing Noodles to learn to box because Noodles has “too much anger” (161).

Malloy diagnoses the injury as a hairline fracture and bandages it. Using a boxing analogy, he tells Ali that even though punching bags “don’t punch back” (161), they can still cause pain to anyone who approaches them with arrogance and carelessness. Ali deduces that Needles is the punching bag and Noodles is the one who will be hurt. Malloy gives a half-smile that Ali interprets as pride in him overcoming his fear of fighting, then sends him home to avoid inviting his mother’s wrath.

Ali ruminates on Malloy’s analogy on his way home but does not linger too long on his journey because he knows any watching neighbors will report back to Doris and worsen his punishment. Still, he pauses briefly by Noodles and Needles’s building, worrying about them both.