Get ready for the fight of the century

Now that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have clinched the presidential nominations for their respective parties, we can expect the gloves to come off and the mudslinging to begin.

How ironic it is that we’ve reached this point of the political season while mourning the loss of Muhammad Ali, the greatest boxer of all time. Known for his prolific, poetic swagger, Ali became the world heavy weight champion in 1964.

In 1971, he challenged then-heavyweight champion Joe Frazier in what’s been dubbed “The Fight of the Century.”

Now, in the political arena, it looks like we’re facing the presidential race of a lifetime.

Why do I say that? Because the Clintons and Trump are cut from the same cloth. They are wheelers and dealers who know how to win at all costs. They’re also well aware of each other’s foibles, and won’t rest until they tear one another to shreds.

Before Trump became a presidential candidate, it appeared he and the Clintons were the best of pals — the Clintons attending Trump’s 2005 wedding and Trump helping finance Hillary Clinton’s political ambitions.

At the Trump wedding, Clinton sat in the front row, of all places. Now the two stand on opposite sides of the political divide.

The term “Frenemies” is too mild for this situation. Trust me.

The insults are already flying. Clinton recently told NBC News that she will make the case that Trump is temperamentally unfit to be commander-in-chief.

“I’m going to talk about why he’s unqualified to be president based on his own words and his deeds,” she said.

Trump, meanwhile, has criticized everything from Bill Clinton’s sexual exploits to Hillary Clinton’s appearance.

"Do you think Hillary looks presidential?" he asked the crowd at one rally. "I don't think so."

And then he added: "I cannot stand her screaming into the microphone all the time."

What will make this presidential race unique is Trump’s inability to filter anything he says. He has no qualms about attacking based on race, gender or any other characteristic, no matter how politically incorrect. Early in his campaign, he even began spilling the beans about what goes on behind the scenes between political candidates and big donors like him. Talk about kiss and tell.

We can only expect more of the same over the next five months, with the Clintons hitting back with all the trash they have on Trump.

This is going to be a slugfest for the history books when it’s all said and done.

So get ready!

This story was originally published June 9, 2016 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Get ready for the fight of the century."