Muhammad Ali Biography (an Olympic and World Champion boxer)

Muhammad  Ali Biography:

Muhammad  Ali  (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. January 17, 1942 – 3 June 2016) was   an       Olympic        and   World Champion boxer, who also had a unique personality, based on  self-belief and strong    religious and political convictions. In 1999, Ali was crowned “Sportsman of  the   Century”     by Sports Illustrated.       He  won  the                 World Heavyweight Boxing championship three times        and  won             the   North        American Boxing Federation championship   as well as an Olympic gold medal.

“I’m       not      the          greatest;    I’m   the   double greatest.   Not    only   do     I knock ’em  out,   I pick the round. “

– Muhammad Ali

Ali     was         born      in Louisville, Kentucky   in 1942.    He  was        named after      his    father, Cassius     Marcellus   Clay,    Sr.,   (who      was named after the 19th-century abolitionist and     politician  Cassius       Clay).  Ali   would later change     his  name   after  joining     the Nation            of               Islam.             He  subsequently converted to Sunni Islam in 1975.

Early boxing career

Standing at 6’3″ (1.91 m), Ali had a highly unorthodox        style    for   a                  heavyweight boxer.      Rather  than        the     normal   boxing style of carrying the hands high to defend the     face,  he    instead   relied  on  his  quick feet   and          ability             to  avoid       a punch.  In Louisville, October 29, 1960, Cassius Clay won his first professional fight. He won a six-round                                decision            over         Tunney Hunsaker,   who        was the  police     chief  of Fayetteville,   West Virginia. From   1960 to 1963,       the      young    fighter            amassed       a record    of   19-0,          with 15    knockouts.  He defeated    such     boxers     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.     Among   Clay’s       victories were versus   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).

Muhammad _aliClay  won   a    disputed  10 round    decision  over     Doug     Jones,    who, despite being lighter than Clay, staggered Clay  as soon   as   the  fight   started  with a right   hand, and  beat      Clay   to   the    punch continually during the fight. The fight 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   5th round        due   to a deep      cut    on        Cooper’s face.

Despite     these    close calls  against    Doug Jones and Henry   Cooper, he became the top   contender for  Sonny  Liston’s    title. In spite of Clay’s impressive record, he  was not  expected to beat  the   champion.   The fight  was   to     be      held        on     February    25, 1964, in             Miami,              Florida.    During       the weigh-in   before      the    fight,   Ali frequently taunted   Liston.     Ali   dubbed  him “the   big ugly   bear”,  and    declared    that     he  would “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee,” Ali   was     ready to dance  around the    ring, as     he      said,    “Your    hands can’t   hit what your eyes can’t see.”

This   was      a      typical  buildup   for Ali,  who increasingly enjoyed playing to the crowd and creating a buzz before a fight. It was good  news  for fight promoters, who saw increased   interest   in     any fight   involving the bashful Ali.

Vietnam War

In   1964,  Ali    failed    the          Armed          Forces qualifying test    because   his    writing     and spelling skills were inadequate. However, in early  1966,    the tests were revised and Ali   was    reclassified  1A.       He    refused   to serve in the    United States    Army        during the      Vietnam  War             as    a    conscientious objector,         because     “War    is against     the teachings    of            the   Holy         Quran.  I’m not trying  to dodge       the  draft.       We   are          not supposed to take part  in   no wars  unless declared  by Allah  or  The  Messenger. We don’t  take part  in Christian wars   or wars of any      unbelievers.”  Ali  also            famously said,

Ali also famously said,

“I         ain’t           got             no        quarrel     with      those Vietcong”  and  “no  Vietcong        ever  called me nigger.”

Ali  refused to  respond to his name being read      out         as       Cassius     Clay, stating,  as instructed              by       his  mentors            from the Nation     of Islam, that Clay  was the name given to his  slave ancestors  by the white man.

“Cassius Clay  is     a   slave name.     I      didn’t choose         it       and   I       don’t   want            it. I      am Muhammad Ali,      a free name  – it means beloved of God  –   and I  insist people  use it when people speak to me and of me.”

By  refusing to respond to this name, Ali’s personal  life  was   filled with controversy. Ali  was   essentially banned from  fighting in the United States and forced to accept bouts abroad for most of 1966.

From his    rematch   with   Liston                in May 1965,    to  his    final  defence     against  Zora Folley          in   March 1967, he defended     his title   nine     times.     Few other heavyweight champions        in         history   have  fought     so much in such a short period.

Ali             was            scheduled         to   fight                 WBA champion   Ernie Terrell   in        a      unification bout in  Toronto  on March       29,   1966,  but Terrell backed out and Ali won a 15-round decision      against    substitute           opponent George Chuvalo. He then went to England and   defeated  Henry  Cooper  and            Brian London by      stoppage    on   cuts. Ali’s   next defence  was    against German southpaw Karl Mildenberger,           the    first     German to fight for the title since Max Schmeling. In one   of the    tougher    fights   of     his  life, Ali stopped his opponent in round 12.

Ali      returned          to  the         United    States         in November    1966  to fight    Cleveland      “Big Cat” Williams in the Houston Astrodome. A     year   and          a      half          before      the      fight, Williams had been shot in the stomach at point-blank   range by  a Texas policeman. As  a   result,    Williams  went   into  the fight missing   one  kidney, 10   feet of  his   small intestine,      and  with   a       shrivelled  left   leg from   nerve    damage   from   the  bullet.   Ali beat Williams in three rounds.

On    February   6,  1967,    Ali      returned   to    a Houston     boxing   ring    to        fight  Terrell    in what became one      of  the  uglier   fights  in boxing. Terrell had angered   Ali by  calling him    Clay,         and   the  champion    vowed  to punish       him     for   this       insult.   During    the fight,   Ali      kept  shouting at   his opponent, “What’s       my  name,   Uncle  Tom   … What’s my   name.”  Terrell  suffered 15  rounds  of brutal      punishment,               losing 13     of            15 rounds on two judges’ scorecards, but Ali did not knock him out. Analysts, including several who spoke to ESPN on the sports channel’s  “Ali      Rap”       special,  speculated that the fight  only  continued  because  Ali chose not   to   end    it,  choosing instead to further punish Terrell.  After  the fight, Tex Maule            wrote,  “It                 was    a          wonderful demonstration       of    boxing      skill   and              a barbarous display of cruelty.”

Ali’s   actions    in refusing    military   service and  aligning       himself   with   the Nation of Islam        made    him   a    lightning      rod             for controversy, turning    the          outspoken but popular former champion into one of that era’s                           most                  recognisable                     and controversial figures. Appearing at rallies with Nation    of Islam leader  Elijah Hazrat Muhammad   (SWA)        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,           and suspicion as well. Ali seemed at times  to even       provoke          such            reactions,          with viewpoints   that    wavered       from    support for    civil             rights  to  outright          support  of separatism.

Near the end  of 1967, Ali was stripped of his   title        by                 the        professional  boxing commission and would not be allowed to fight   professionally    for more  than   three years. He was also convicted for refusing induction into the army and sentenced to five years    in  prison.   Over   the     course  of those years   in exile, Ali fought    to  appeal his conviction.    He        stayed  in  the     public spotlight and supported himself by giving speeches  primarily at  rallies     on     college campuses  that         opposed        the    Vietnam War.

“Why  should    they  ask        me    to   put   on     a uniform   and go 10,000 miles from  home and     drop  bombs      and    bullets   on brown people    while     so-called  Negro people      in Louisville are treated like dogs?”

–    Muhammad  Ali    –   explaining   why      he refused to fight in Vietnam

In 1970, Ali     was allowed      to   fight   again, and     in       late   1971            the   Supreme   Court reversed his conviction.

Muhammad Ali’s comeback

In  1970,    Ali       was     finally     able  to get           a boxing license. 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. In            October 1970, he returned      to         stop Jerry   Quarry on a cut after three  rounds. Shortly       after  the     Quarry     fight, the  New York   State Supreme Court ruled     that    Ali was     unjustly denied   a  boxing             license. Once  again  able to  fight    in New  York, he 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.

The Fight of the Century

Ali   and       Frazier      fought    each      other      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   reasonable  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 and won on        points.    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  eventually           won      the     fight        and retained     the      title   with         a             unanimous decision, dealing Ali his first professional loss.                                                Despite        an              impressive performance,              Ali   may         have still been suffering  from      the effects  of  “ring  rust” due to his long layoff.

In  1973, after    a string    of    victories      over the         top    Heavyweight       opposition        in   a campaign      to     force                 a          rematch  with Frazier,           Ali  split   two        bouts         with   Ken Norton (in the bout that Ali lost to Norton, Ali suffered a broken jaw).

Rumble in the Jungle

In       1974,            Ali  gained        a            match          with champion      George       Foreman.   The     fight took  place    in       Zaire      (the  Congo)    –       Ali wanted     the  fight to be  there  to help give an economic boost  to this part  of Africa. The pre-match          hype   was     as  great       as ever.

“Floats like a butterfly, sting like a bee, his hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.”

Muhammad Ali         –   before the 1974 fight against George Foreman

Against  the odds,  Ali  won the rematch in the       eighth    round.  Ali        had      adopted         a strategy         of        wearing        Foreman        down though    absorbing  punches  on the ropes – a strategy later termed – rope a dope.

This gave Ali another chance at the world title against Frazer

“It      will be          a  killer,         and a    chiller, and  a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manila.”

– Ali before Frazer fight.

The fight lasted 14 rounds, with Ali finally proving victorious  in   the  testing     African heat.

Muhammad Ali in retirement

Ali           was            diagnosed     with    Parkinson’s disease in          the          early  1980s,     following which his motor   functions   began a slow decline. Although Ali’s  doctors disagreed during the       1980s            and         1990s         about whether      his symptoms were   caused  by boxing and   whether   or   not  his condition was              degenerative,      he     was  ultimately diagnosed          with     Pugilistic       Parkinson’s syndrome.  By      late 2005   it  was reported that                        Ali’s           condition          was        notably worsening.                   According                              to                  the documentary     ‘When          We       Were      Kings’ when     Ali was    asked  about      whether   he has any regrets  about  boxing due    to   his disability, he    responded    that  if   he  didn’t box          he  would  still       be               a     painter          in Louisville, Kentucky.

Speaking of his own Parkinson’s disease, Ali remarks how it has helped him to look at life in a different perspective.

“Maybe   my Parkinson’s   is  God’s      way of reminding         me      what   is         important.          It slowed me down and caused me to listen rather          than       talk.       Actually, people    pay more     attention        to      me  now because        I don’t talk as much.”

“I always          liked      to         chase      the                girls. Parkinson’s     stops    all that. Now    I    might have a chance to go to heaven.”

Muhammad Ali, BBC

Despite        the         disability,   he   remained       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,   Hazrat    Muhammad    (SWA) Ali:     His    Life   and         Times with         Thomas Hauser,      in 1991.    Ali  received  a   Spirit  of America     Award           calling   him    the     most recognised   American          in    the      world.   In 1996,   he   had    the  honour   of lighting   the flame at  the   1996    Summer    Olympics  in Atlanta, Georgia.

In    1999,  Ali  received         a special      one-off award  from   the BBC        at   its   annual  BBC Sports Personality   of      the    Year           Award ceremony,      which        was   the    BBC  Sports Personality of     the              Century  Award. 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.

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      Hazrat Muhammad (SWA)   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”.

He       received    the     Presidential      Medal of Freedom at a White House  ceremony   on November      9, 2005,        and the prestigious “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,       Kentucky.     In addition                         to           displaying       his     boxing memorabilia,   the centre focuses on core themes   of     peace,      social    responsibility, respect, and personal growth.

According to   the Muhammad    Ali  Center website in 2012,

“Since  he        retired   from  boxing,    Ali       has devoted      himself        to                               humanitarian endeavours   around   the    globe.        He     is a devout Sunni    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.”

Muhammad      Ali          died     on  3   June 2016, from a   respiratory  illness,         a         condition that   was   complicated           by        Parkinson’s disease.

“Will    they ever  have another    fighter who writes  poems,         predicts       rounds,     beats everybody, makes       people  laugh,   makes people cry and    is  as tall  and extra  pretty as me?”