Who was Muhammad Ali?

Muhammad Ali was a heavyweight boxer. He also became one of the most recognizable faces in world history. During the course of his lifetime, he transcended boxing by standing up for what he believed in and not being afraid to air those views publicly.

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky, USA on January 17, 1942, the youngster, who would go on to be renamed Muhammad Ali in March 1964 following his membership application to the Nation of Islam being approved, grew up amid racial segregation. Ali’s experiences of this impacted his whole life. In 1954, aged 12, Clay took up boxing. He was trained by Joe E. Martin, a police officer who introduced him to the sport, Fred Stoner, and Chuck Bodak in Louisville.

Young Cassius enjoyed a successful amateur boxing campaign. It is said he finished with 100 wins to only five losses. He won the ultimate prize in amateur boxing in 1960 when he captured the gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. Later, in 1960, the first act of Clay’s professional boxing career began.

The boxer who would go on to be nicknamed “The Greatest” fought often and won his first 19 bouts. This led to him challenging heavyweight world champion Sonny Liston in February 1964. Clay entered the bout held at the Miami Beach Convention Center as a significant underdog but upset the odds by winning following Liston’s retirement after six rounds. Cassius Clay was now the heavyweight champion of the world.

Shortly after this, the boxer was renamed Muhammad Ali. With his new name, Ali made nine successful defenses of his title. Opponents included Henry Cooper, Floyd Patterson, Cleveland Williams, Ernie Terrell, and Zora Folley. Folly was beaten in March 1967 at Madison Square Garden in New York before Ali’s world changed dramatically. The boxer refused to be drafted into the United States Army for the Vietnam War, publicly stating that he was a conscientious objector.

At the time, this was regarded as a felony, and Ali’s stance saw him stripped of the heavyweight title. Every boxing commission in America refused to license him, and his passport was confiscated. Ali’s career was on hold. Ali’s stance initially made him the most hated man in America. He received death threats. It would be nearly four years before Ali would be allowed to return to boxing. As he could not box from ages 25 to 29, it is widely thought that the world missed out on witnessing Ali’s athletic peak.

After many appeals and much of the public coming around to Ali’s opinion on the conflict in Vietnam, the boxer was able to return to the sport in 1971. He wanted the world heavyweight title back. The second act of Ali’s professional boxing career consisted of 32 fights, some of which were the most famous boxing matches ever staged. Ali fought for the title in his third fight back. This was against Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden, New York in March 1971. Dubbed The Fight of the Century, Ali suffered his first professional defeat that night.

Muhammad would not get an opportunity to fight again for the prize he so desired until October 1974. His challenge took him to Kinshasa, Zaire, for a promotion labeled The Rumble in the Jungle. George Foreman was the man in possession of the title. Ali was given no chance to win by the boxing experts of the day, but he upset the odds again, knocking Foreman out in the eighth round. Ali defended the title ten times before he was defeated by Leon Spinks in 1978.

Ali retained the belt later that year by beating Spinks in a rematch. He fought twice more – suffering defeats to much younger fighters Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick in 1980 and 1981, respectively. When he called it a career, Ali’s professional ledger read 56 wins to 5 defeats. He won 37 of his contests by knockout.

After boxing, Ali remained a public figure by focusing on humanitarian efforts and philanthropy. In 1984, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s syndrome. As Parkinson’s took hold, Ali’s public appearances became less frequent. In 1999, he was named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated.

Muhammad Ali lived a full life. From amazing the world with his sporting prowess to standing up to the establishment in the face of adversity and helping those less fortunate than himself, Ali is fully deserving of his moniker “The Greatest.” Many books have been written about the life and career of Muhammad Ali. Perhaps the most in-depth publication is Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times by Thomas Hauser. Muhammad Ali died on June 3, 2016 of complications following a respiratory illness. He was 74-years-old.

Colin Morrison

A boxing fan since his teenage years, Morrison began writing about the sport in July 2016. He appreciates all styles of boxing and has nothing but respect for those who get in the ring for our entertainment. Morrison is from Scotland and can be found on Twitter @Morrie1981.

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