Biography
Early life
Cassius Clay, Jr., was born on January 17, 1942. His father, Clay Sr., painted billboards and signs, and his mother, Odessa Grady Clay, was a household domestic. Although Clay Sr. was a Methodist, he allowed Odessa to bring up both Clay boys as Baptists.[2]
Amateur career; Olympic gold
Clay was first directed toward boxing by Louisville police officer Joe E. Martin, who encountered the then twelve-year-old Cassius Clay fuming over the fact that his bicycle had been stolen.[3] However, without Martin knowing, Clay also began training with Fred Stoner at another gym.[who?] In this way, he could continue making $4 a week on Tomorrow's Champions, a TV show that Martin hosted,
while benefiting from the coaching of the more-experienced Stoner, who continued working with Clay throughout his amateur
career.[who?]
Clay's last amateur loss was to Kent Green of Chicago, who could say he was the last person to defeat the champion until
Ali lost to Joe Frazier in 1971 as a pro. Under Stoner's guidance, Cassius Clay went on to win six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two national Golden Gloves titles, an Amateur Athletic Union National Title, and the Light Heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.[4] Clay's record was 100 wins, with five losses, when he ended his amateur career.
Ali states (in his 1975 autobiography) that he threw his Olympic gold medal into the Ohio River after being refused service at a 'whites-only' restaurant, and fighting with a white gang. Whether this is true is still
debated, although he was given a replacement medal during the opening ceremony of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where he lit the torch to start the games.
Early professional career
After his Olympic triumph, Clay returned to Louisville to begin his professional career. There, on October 29, 1960, he
won his first professional fight, a six-round decision over Tunney Hunsaker, who was the police chief of Fayetteville, West Virginia.
Standing tall, at 6-ft, 3-in (1.91 m), Clay had a highly unorthodox style for a heavyweight boxer. Rather than the normal
style of carrying the hands high to defend the face, he instead relied on foot speed and quickness to avoid punches and carried
his hands low.
From 1960 to 1963, the young fighter amassed a record of 19-0, with 15 knockouts. He defeated boxers such as Tony Esperti,
Jim Robinson, Donnie Fleeman, Alonzo Johnson, George Logan, Willi Besmanoff, Lamar Clark (who had won his previous 40 bouts
by knockout), Doug Jones and Henry Cooper.
Clay built a reputation by correctly predicting the round in which he would "finish" several opponents, and by boasting
before his triumphs. Clay admitted he adopted the latter practice from "Gorgeous" George Wagner, a popular professional wrestling champion in the Los Angeles area who drew thousands of fans. Often referred to as "the man you loved to hate," George could incite the crowd with a few heated
remarks, and Ali followed suit.
Among Clay's victims were Sonny Banks (who knocked him down during the bout), Alejandro Lavorante, and the aged Archie Moore (a boxing legend who had fought over 200 previous fights, and who had been Clay's trainer prior to Angelo Dundee). Clay had considered continuing using Moore as a trainer following the bout, but Moore had insisted that the cocky "Louisville
Lip" perform training camp chores such as sweeping and dishwashing. He also considered having his idol, Sugar Ray Robinson, as a manager, but instead hired Dundee.
Clay first met Dundee when the latter was in Louisville with light heavyweight champ Willie Pastrano. The teenaged Golden Glove winner traveled downtown to the fighter's hotel, called Dundee from the house phone, and was asked
up to their room. He took advantage of the opportunity to query Dundee (who was working with, or had, champions Sugar Ramos and Carmen Basilio) about what his fighters ate, how long they slept, how much roadwork (jogging) they did, and how long they sparred.
Following his bout with Moore, Clay won a disputed 10-round decision over Doug Jones in a matchup that was named "Fight
of the Year" for 1963. Clay's next fight was against Henry Cooper, who knocked Clay down with a left hook near the end of the fourth round. The fight was stopped in the fifth due to deep
cuts over Cooper's eyes.
Despite these close calls, Clay became the top contender for Sonny Liston's title. Despite his impressive record, however, he was not widely expected to defeat the champ. The fight was scheduled
for February 25, 1964 in Miami, Florida, but was nearly canceled when the promoter, Bill Faversham, heard that Clay had been seen around Miami and in other cities
with the controversial Malcolm X. At the time, The Nation of Islam — of which Malcolm X was a member — was portrayed as a "hate group" by most
of the media. Because of this, news of this association was perceived as a potential gate-killer to a bout where, given Liston's
overwhelming status as the favorite to win (7-1 odds[5]), had Clay's colorful persona and nonstop braggadocio as its sole appeal.
Faversham confronted Clay about his association with Malcolm X (who, at the time, was actually under suspension by the
Nation as a result of controversial comments made in the wake of President Kennedy's assassination, which he called a case
of "the chickens coming home to roost"). While stopping short of admitting he was a member of the Nation, Clay protested the
suggested cancellation of the fight. As a compromise, Faversham asked the fighter to delay his announcement about his conversion to Islam until after the fight. The incident is described in the 1975 book The Greatest: My Own Story by Ali (with Richard
Durham).
During the weigh-in on the day before the bout, the ever-boastful Clay, who frequently taunted Liston during the buildup
by dubbing him "the big ugly bear" (among other things), declared that he would "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee,"
and, summarizing his strategy for avoiding Liston's assaults, said, "Your hands can't hit what your eyes can't see."
First title fight
-
Clay had a plan for his first title fight. At the pre-fight weigh-in, Clay's pulse rate was around 120, more that double
his norm of 54. Liston, along with others, misread this as nervousness, and as such, was typically over-confident and unprepared
for any result other than a quick knockout victory in his favor. In the opening rounds, Clay's speed kept him away from Liston's
powerful head and body shots, as he used his height advantage to beat Liston to the punch with his own lightning-quick jab.
By the third round, Clay was ahead on points and had opened a cut under Liston's eye. Liston regained some ground in the
fourth, as Clay was blinded by a substance in his eyes. It is unconfirmed whether this was something used to close Liston's
cuts, or deliberately applied to Liston's gloves for a nefarious purpose; however, Bert Sugar (author, boxing historian and insider) has recalled at least two other Liston fights in which a similar situation occurred,
suggesting the possibility that the Liston corner deliberately attempted to cheat.
Whatever the case, Liston came into the fourth round aggressively looking to put away the challenger. As Clay struggled
to recover his vision, he sought to escape Liston's offensive. He was able to keep out of range until his sweat and tears
rinsed the substance from his eyes, responding with a flurry of combinations near the end of the fifth round. By the sixth,
he was looking for a finish and dominated Liston. Then, Liston shocked the boxing world when he failed to answer the bell
for the seventh round, later claiming a shoulder injury as the reason. Cassius Clay had indeed "Shook up the world!" just
as he had promised.
For the next three years, Ali dominated boxing as thoroughly and magnificently as any fighter ever had. In a May 25, 1965,
rematch against Liston, he emerged with a first-round knockout victory. Triumphs over Floyd Patterson, George Chuvalo, Henry
Cooper, Brian London, and Karl Mildenberger followed. On Nov. 14, 1966, Ali fought Cleveland Williams. Over the course of
three rounds, Ali landed more than 100 punches, scored four knockdowns, and was hit a total of three times. Ali’s triumph
over Williams was succeeded by victories over Ernie Terrell and Zora Folley.
Religion
After winning the championship from Liston in 1964, Clay revealed that he was a member of the Nation of Islam (often called the Black Muslims at the time) and the Nation gave Clay the name Cassius X, discarding his surname as a symbol of his ancestors' enslavement,
as had been done by other Nation members. On Friday, March 6, 1964, Malcolm X took Clay on a guided tour of the United Nations building (for a second time). Malcolm X announced that Clay would be granted his "X." That same night, Elijah Muhammad recorded a statement over the phone to be played over the radio that Clay would be renamed Muhammad (one who is worthy of praise) Ali (fourth rightly guided caliph). Only a few journalists (most notably Howard Cosell) accepted it at that time. Venerable boxing announcer Don Dunphy addressed the champion by his adopted name, as did British reporters. The adoption of this name symbolized his new identity
as a member of the Nation of Islam. Several times in his career, Ali would take out his anger on opponents who refused to call him by his name in the ring (such
as Floyd Patterson and Ernie Terrell) delivering them vicious beatings.
Many sportswriters of the early 1960s reported that it was Ali's brother, Rudy Clay, who converted to Islam first (estimating the date as 1961). Others wrote that Clay had been seen at Muslim rallies a few
years before he fought Liston. Ali's own version is that he would sneak into Nation of Islam meetings through the backdoor
roughly three years before he fought Sonny Liston. He was afraid that if others knew he wouldn't be able to fight for his
title.
Aligning himself with the Nation of Islam made him a lightning rod for controversy, turning the outspoken but popular champion
into one of that era's most recognizable and controversial figures. Appearing at rallies with Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad and declaring his allegiance to him at a time when mainstream America viewed them with suspicion — if not outright
hostility — made Ali a target of outrage, as well as suspicion. Ali seemed at times to provoke such reactions, with
viewpoints that wavered from support for civil rights to outright support of separatism. For example, Ali once stated, in relation to integration: "We who follow the teachings of Elijah Muhammad don't want to
be forced to integrate. Integration is wrong. We don't want to live with the white man; that's all."[6] And in relation to inter-racial marriage: "No intelligent black man or black woman in his or her right black mind wants
white boys and white girls coming to their homes to marry their black sons and daughters."[6] Indeed, Ali's religious beliefs at the time included the notion that the white man was "the devil" and that white people were not "righteous." Ali claimed
that white people hated black people.
Ali converted from the Nation of Islam sect to mainstream Sunni Islam in 1975. In a 2004 autobiography, written with daughter Hana Yasmeen Ali, Muhammad Ali attributes his conversion to the shift toward Sunni Islam made by W.D. Muhammad after he gained control of the Nation of Islam upon the death of Elijah Muhammad in 1975.
Vietnam War
In 1964, Ali failed the U.S. Armed Forces qualifying test because his writing and spelling skills were sub-par. However, in early 1966, the tests were revised and
Ali was reclassified as 1A. This classification meant he was now eligible for the draft and induction into the U.S. Army.
This was especially important because the United States was engaged in the Vietnam War. At the time when a reporter came and
said something about being reclassified 1A Ali said, "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong ...[7] The comment made headlines all over the world and cost him the right to fight in Illinois.[7]
Appearing for his scheduled induction into the U.S. Armed Forces on April 28, 1967 in Houston, he refused three times to
step forward at the call of his name. An officer warned him he was committing a felony punishable by five years in prison
and a fine of $10,000. Once more, Ali refused to budge when his name was called. As a result, on that same day, the New York State Athletic Commission suspended his boxing license and stripped him of his title. Other boxing commissions followed suit.
At the trial two months later, the jury, after only 21 minutes of deliberation, found Ali guilty. The judge imposed the
maximum sentence. After a court of appeals upheld the conviction, the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court. During this time, people turned against the war, and support
for Ali grew. Ali would not fight for three years, which should have been the greatest and most profitable of his career.
Ali financially supported himself by visiting many college universities to give speeches across the country and starring a
play called "Buck White." [7]
The Fight of the Century
-
In 1970, Ali was allowed to fight again. With the help of a state senator, he was granted a license to box in Georgia because it was the only state in America without a boxing commission. Ali returned but his skills had eroded. In October
1970 Ali fought Jerry Quarry, stopping him on cuts in round 3. Shortly after his comeback fight against Jerry Quarry, the New York State Supreme Court ruled that Ali had been unjustly denied a boxing license. Once again able to fight in New York, a rusty Ali fought Oscar Bonavena at Madison Square Garden in December 1970. After a tough 14 rounds, Ali stopped Bonavena in the 15th, paving the way for a title fight against Joe Frazier, who was himself undefeated.
Ali and Frazier met in the ring on March 8, 1971, at Madison Square Garden. The fight, known as '"The Fight of the Century," was one of the most eagerly anticipated bouts of all time and remains one of the most famous. It featured two skilled,
undefeated fighters, both of whom had legitimate claims to the heavyweight crown. The fight lived up to the hype, and Frazier
punctuated his victory by flooring Ali with a hard left hook in the 15th and final round. Frank Sinatra — unable to acquire a ringside seat — took photos of the match for Life magazine. Legendary boxing announcer Don Dunphy and actor and boxing aficionado Burt Lancaster called the action for the broadcast, which reached millions of people.
Frazier retained the title on a unanimous decision, dealing Ali his first professional loss. However, Ali won a more important
victory on June 28, 1971, when the Supreme Court reversed his conviction for refusing induction by unanimous decision in Clay v. United States.
In San Diego, March 1973 Ali lost against Ken Norton, breaking Ali's jaw. Six months later Ali defeated Norton in a rematch.
Then continuing his comeback Ali fought Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden January 1974, in what was likely Ali's best post
exile performance.
The Rumble in the Jungle
-
In one of the most famous upsets in boxing history, Ali regained his title on October 30, 1974 by defeating champion George Foreman in their bout in Kinshasa, Zaire. Hyped as "The Rumble In The Jungle," the fight was promoted by Don King.
Almost no one, not even Ali's long-time supporter Howard Cosell, gave the former champion a chance of winning. Analysts pointed out that Joe Frazier and Ken Norton had given Ali four tough battles in the ring and won two of them, while Foreman had knocked out both of them in the second
round. As a matter of fact, so total was the domination that, in their bout, Foreman had knocked down Frazier an incredible
six times in only four minutes and 25 seconds. Going into the fight, Ali was 3-1 underdog. His fight doctor, Ferdie Pacheco,
had a jet ready to spirit Ali away to a neurological hospital in Spain after the fight.
During the bout, Ali employed an unexpected strategy. Leading up to the fight, he had declared he was going to "dance"
and use his speed to keep away from Foreman and outbox him. However, in the first round, Ali headed straight for the champion
and began scoring with a right hand lead, clearly surprising Foreman. Ali caught Foreman nine times in the first round with
this technique but failed to knock him out. He then decided to take advantage of the young champion's weakness: staying power.
Foreman had won 37 of his 40 bouts by knockout, mostly within three rounds. Eight of his previous bouts didn't go past the
second round. Ali saw an opportunity to outlast Foreman, and capitalized on it.
In the second round, the challenger retreated to the ropes - inviting Foreman to hit him, while counterpunching and verbally
taunting the younger man. Ali's plan was to enrage Foreman and absorb his best blows to exhaust him mentally and physically.
While Foreman threw wide shots to Ali's body, Ali countered with stinging straight punches to Foreman's head. Foreman threw
hundreds of punches in seven rounds, but with decreasing technique and potency. Ali's tactic of leaning on the ropes, covering
up, and absorbing ineffective body shots was later termed "The Rope-A-Dope."
By the end of the seventh round, Foreman was exhausted. In the eighth round, Ali dropped Foreman with a combination at
center ring and Foreman failed to make the count. Against the odds, Ali had regained the title. Many years later, Foreman
would become champ again at age 45. Muhammad Ali (Foreman's best friend at the time) did not attend the title bout. When asked
why, he said "I would deviate attention from George. It was his moment, not mine."
The "Rumble in the Jungle" was the subject of a 1996 Academy Award winning documentary film, When We Were Kings. The match was ranked seventh in the British television program The 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.
Thrilla in Manila
-
After beating Foreman, Ali would have a successful string of title defenses. In October 1975, Ali fought Joe Frazier for the third time. The bout was promoted as the Thrilla in Manila by Don King, who had ascended to prominence following the Ali-Foreman fight. The anticipation was enormous for this final clash between
two great heavyweights. Ali believed Frazier was "over the hill" by that point, and his overconfidence may have caused him
to train less than he could have. Ali's frequent insults, slurs and demeaning poems increased the anticipation and excitement
for the fight, but also enraged a determined Frazier. Regarding the fight, Ali famously remarked, "It will be a killa... and
a chilla... and a thrilla... when I get the gorilla in Manila."
The fight lasted 14 grueling rounds in temperatures approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Ali won many of the early rounds,
but Frazier staged a comeback in the middle rounds. By the late rounds, however, Ali had reasserted control and the fight
was stopped when Frazier was unable to answer the bell for the 15th and final round (his eyes were swollen closed). Frazier's
trainer, Eddie Futch, refused to allow Frazier to continue. Ali, in one of the toughest fights of his entire career, was quoted
as saying, "It was the closest thing to death that I could feel." Another version had Ali saying, "It was like death. Closest
thing to dyin' that I know of."
An overconfident Ali lost the championship on February, 15 1978 to 1976 Olympic champion Leon Spinks. Seven months after losing the title Ali battles Spinks at the Louisiana Superdome on September 15, 1978. Ali defeats the
younger Spinks becoming boxing's first three-time heavyweight champion. He resigned the title, and came out of retirement
in October 1980 to fight Larry Holmes. Holmes dominated Ali, would lost in the 11th round after his trainer Angelo Dundee
refused to let him come out. Ali's last fight in 1981 was a loss to Trevor Berbick following which he retired.
Ali's legacy
Muhammad Ali defeated almost every top heavyweight in his era, which has been called the golden age of heavyweight boxing.
Ali was named "Fighter of the Year" by Ring Magazine more times than any other fighter, and was involved in more Ring Magazine "Fight of the Year" bouts than any other
fighter. He is an inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and holds wins over seven other Hall of Fame inductees. He is also one of only three boxers to be named "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated. He is regarded as one of the best pound for pound boxers in history. He was a masterful self-promoter, and his psychological tactics before, during, and after fights became
legendary. It was his athleticism and boxing skill, however, that enabled him to scale the heights and sustain his position
for so many years.
In 1978, three years before Ali's permanent retirement, the Board of Aldermen in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky voted 6–5 to rename Walnut Street to Muhammad Ali Boulevard. This was controversial at the time, as within a week 12
of the 70 street signs were stolen. Earlier that year, a committee of the Jefferson County Public Schools considered renaming Central High School in his honor, but the motion failed to pass. At any rate, in time, Muhammad Ali Boulevard—and Ali himself—came
to be well accepted in his hometown.[8]
He was the recipient of the 1997 Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
In retirement
A recent photograph of Ali
Ali’s later years have been marked by physical decline. Damage to his brain caused by blows to the head[citation needed] have resulted in slurred speech, slowed movement, and other symptoms of Parkinson syndrome. However, his
condition differs from chronic encephalopathy, or dementia pugilistica (which is commonly referred to as “punch drunk”
in fighters), in that he does not suffer from injury-induced intellectual deficits. Despite the disability, he remains a beloved
and active public figure. Recently he was voted into Forbes Celebrity 100 coming in at number 13 behind Donald Trump. In 1985, he served as a guest referee at the inaugural WrestleMania event. In 1987 he was selected by the California Bicentennial Foundation for the U.S. Constitution to personify the vitality of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights in various high profile activities. Ali rode on a float at the 1988 Tournament of Roses Parade, launching the U.S. Constitution's 200th birthday commemoration. He also published an oral history, Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times by Thomas Hauser, in 1991. Ali received a Spirit of America Award calling him the most recognized American in the world. In 1996, he had the honor of lighting the flame at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
He has appeared at the 1998 AFL (Australian Football League) Grand Final, where Anthony Pratt invited him to watch the game. He also greets runners at the start line of the Los Angeles Marathon every year.
In 1999, Ali received a special one-off award from the BBC at its annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award ceremony, namely the BBC Sports Personality of the Century Award in which he received more votes than the other four
contenders combined. His daughter Laila Ali also became a boxer in 1999, despite her father's earlier comments against female boxing in 1978: "Women are not made to
be hit in the breast, and face like that... the body's not made to be punched right here [patting his chest]. Get hit
in the breast... hard... and all that."
On September 13, 1999, Ali was named "Kentucky Athlete of the Century" by the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in ceremonies at the Galt House East.[9]
In 2001, a biographical film, entitled Ali, was made, with Will Smith starring as Ali. The film received mixed reviews, with the positives generally attributed to the acting, as Smith and supporting actor Jon Voight earned Academy Award nominations. Prior to making the Ali movie, Will Smith had continually rejected the role of Ali until Muhammad Ali personally
requested that he accept the role. According to Smith, the first thing Ali said about the subject to Smith was: "You ain't
pretty enough to play me."
On November 17, 2002, Muhammad Ali went to Afghanistan as "U.N. Messenger of Peace". He was in Kabul for a three-day goodwill mission as a special guest of the United Nations.[10]
He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony on November 9, 2005,[11] and the "Otto Hahn peace medal in Gold" of the United Nations Association of Germany (DGVN) in Berlin for his work with the US civil rights movement and the United Nations (December 17, 2005).
On November 19, 2005 (Ali's 19th wedding anniversary), the $60 million non-profit Muhammad Ali Center opened in downtown Louisville. In addition to displaying his boxing memorabilia, the center focuses on core themes of peace, social responsibility, respect, and personal growth.
According to the Ali Center website, "Since he retired from boxing, Ali has devoted himself to humanitarian endeavors around
the globe. He is a devout Muslim, and travels the world over, lending his name and presence to hunger and poverty relief, supporting education efforts of
all kinds, promoting adoption and encouraging people to respect and better understand one another. It is estimated that he
has helped to provide more than 22 million meals to feed the hungry. Ali travels, on average, more than 200 days per year."
At the FedEx Orange Bowl on January 2, 2007, Ali was an honorary captain for the Louisville Cardinals wearing their white jersey, number 19. Ali was accompanied by golf legend Arnold Palmer, who was the honorary captain for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade.
A youth club in Ali's hometown and a species of rose (Rosa ali) have also been named after him. On June 5, 2007, he received an honorary doctorate of humanities at Princeton University's 260th graduation ceremony.[12]
Ali lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with his 4th wife, Yolanda 'Lonnie' Ali.[13] They own a house in Berrien Springs, Michigan, which is for sale. On January 9, 2007, they purchased a house in eastern Jefferson County, Kentucky for $1,875,000.[14]
Ranking in heavyweight history
There is no consensus among boxing experts and historians as to who is the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. Ring Magazine, a prominent boxing magazine, named Muhammad Ali as number 1 in a 1998 ranking of greatest heavyweights from all eras[citation needed]. In a 1971 article, Nat Fleischer, the founder of the Ring who saw every heavyweight champion from Jim Jeffries to Joe Frazier, refused to include Ali in his all-time top ten, saying: "he does not qualify for rating with the greatest heavyweights of
all time".[15] Fleischer was writing after Ali's loss to Frazier, several years before his performance against Foreman and rematches
with Frazier.
Recently, Ali was named the second greatest fighter in boxing history by ESPN.com behind only welterweight and middleweight great Sugar Ray Robinson[citation needed]. In December 2007, ESPN listed its choice of the greatest heavyweights of all time. Ali was second
on this list also behind Joe Louis, despite the fact that the earlier poll placed Ali ahead of Louis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali
