Wednesday 8 June 2016

17 JAN 1942-3 JUN 2016 MUHAMMAD ALI

Muhammad Ali

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Cassius Clay" redirects here. For other uses, see Cassius Clay (disambiguation).
For other people named Muhammad Ali, see Muhammad Ali (disambiguation).
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali NYWTS.jpg
Ali in 1967
Statistics
Nickname(s)The Greatest
The People's Champion
The Louisville Lip
Rated atHeavyweight
(192–236 lb)[1]
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[2]
Reach78 in (198 cm)[2]
NationalityAmerican
BornCassius Marcellus Clay Jr.
January 17, 1942
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedJune 3, 2016 (aged 74)
Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights61
Wins56
Wins by KO37
Losses5
Websitemuhammadali.com
Cause of deathSeptic shock
Resting placeLouisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Monuments
EthnicityAfrican American
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationCentral High School (1958)[4]
ReligionSunni Islam
Criminal chargeDraft evasion[5]
Criminal penaltyFive years in prison, fined $10,000 and banned from boxing for three years.[5]
Criminal statusConviction overturned[5]
Spouse(s)Yolanda Williams (m. 1986–2016), Veronica Porché Ali (m. 1977–1986), Belinda Boyd (m. 1967–1977), Sonji Roi (m. 1964–1966)[4]
ChildrenLaila Ali, Hana Ali, Asaad Amin, Khaliah Ali, Muhammad Ali Jr., Rasheda Ali, Jamillah Ali, Miya Ali, Maryum Ali[4]
Parent(s)Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr. Odessa Grady Clay[4]
RelativesRahman Ali (brother)
Kevin Casey (son-in-law)
Awards
  • Olympic Gold Medalist
  • 5 time Ring magazine fighter of the year
  • Ring magazine fighter of the year at age 21
  • 2-time National AAU Champion
  • 6-time Kentucky Golden Gloves Champion
  • 6-time WBA amd WBC heavyweight champion
  • 3-time lineal heavyweight champion
  • Sports Illustrated 'Sportsman Of The Century'
  • BBC 'Sportsman Of The Century'
  • ESPN SportsCentury 3rd greatest athlete of the 20th century
  • CSHL Double Helix Medal Honoree (2006)
  • Presidential Citizens Medal
  • Presidential Medal of Freedom[6]
  • International Boxing Hall of Fame[7]
  • Hollywood Walk of Fame[8]
Muhammad Ali /ɑːˈliː/;[9] (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American Olympic and professional boxer and activist, widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated sports figures of the 20th century. From early in his career, Ali was known as an inspiring, controversial and polarizing figure both inside and outside the ring.[10][11]
Clay was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, and began training as a boxer when he was 12 years old. At 18 he won the Light Heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. At 22, he won the WBC and WBA heavyweight championships from Sonny Liston in an upset in 1964. Shortly after that, Clay converted to Islam, changed his "slave" name to Ali, and gave a message of racial pride for African Americans and resistance to white domination during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement.[12][13]
In 1966, two years after winning the heavyweight title, Ali further antagonized the white establishment by refusing to be conscripted into the U.S. military, citing his religious beliefs and opposition to American involvement in theVietnam War.[12] He was eventually arrested, found guilty of draft evasion charges and stripped of his boxing titles. He successfully appealed in the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned his conviction in 1971. By that time, he had not fought for nearly four years—losing a period of peak performance as an athlete. Ali's actions as a conscientious objector to the war made him an icon for the larger counterculture generation.[14][15]
Ali remains the only three-time lineal world heavyweight champion, as well as a 6-time WBA and WBC heavyweight champion. He is the only fighter to be named ring magazine fighter of the year 5 times. He is also one of only 4 fighters to ever win the ring magazine fighter of the year award. He is also ranked as the greatest athlete of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated and the 3rd greatest athlete of the century by ESPN sportscentury. Between February 25, 1964, and September 19, 1964, Ali reigned as the heavyweight boxing champion. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he was involved in several historic boxing matches.[16] Notable among these were the "Fight of the Century", "Super Fight II" and the "Thrilla in Manila" versus his rival Joe Frazier, the first Liston fight, and "The Rumble in the Jungle" versus George Foreman.
At a time when most fighters let their managers do the talking, Ali, inspired by professional wrestler "Gorgeous George" Wagner, thrived in—and indeed craved—the spotlight, where he was often provocative and outlandish.[17][18][19]
In 1984, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease attributed to brain injuries caused by his boxing career. As the condition worsened he made limited public appearances and was cared for by his family, until his death in 2016.

Ancestry, early life, and amateur career[edit]

Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. /ˈkæʃəs/ was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky.[20] He had a sister and four brothers.[21][22] He was named for his father, Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr., who himself was named in honor of the 19th-century Republican politician and staunch abolitionist, Cassius Marcellus Clay, also from the state of Kentucky. Clay's father's paternal grandparents were John Clay and Sallie Anne Clay; Clay's sister Eva claimed that Sallie was a native of Madagascar.[23] He was a descendant of slaves of the antebellum South, and was predominantly of African descent, with Irish[24] and English heritage.[25][26][27] His father painted billboards and signs,[20] and his mother, Odessa O'Grady Clay, was a household domestic. Although Cassius Sr. was a Methodist, he allowed Odessa to bring up both Cassius and his younger brother Rudolph "Rudy" Clay (later renamed Rahman Ali) as Baptists.[28] He grew up in racial segregation. His mother recalled one occasion where he was denied a drink of water at a store. "They wouldn't give him one because of his color. That really affected him."[12]

Ali at the 1960 Olympics
He was first directed toward boxing by Louisville police officer and boxing coach Joe E. Martin,[29] who encountered the 12-year-old fuming over a thief taking his bicycle. He told the officer he was going to "whup" the thief. The officer told him he had better learn how to box first.[30] For the last four years of Clay's amateur career he was trained by boxing cutman Chuck Bodak.[31]
Clay made his amateur boxing debut in 1954.[32] He won 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.[33] Clay's amateur record was 100 wins with five losses. Ali claimed in his 1975 autobiography that shortly after his return from the Rome Olympics he threw his gold medal into the Ohio River after he and a friend were refused service at a "whites-only" restaurant and fought with a white gang. The story has since been disputed and several of Ali's friends, including Bundini Brown and photographer Howard Bingham, have denied it. Brown told Sports Illustrated writer Mark Kram, "Honkies sure bought into that one!" Thomas Hauser's biography of Ali stated that Ali was refused service at the diner but that he lost his medal a year after he won it.[34] Ali received a replacement medal at a basketball intermission during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where he lit the torch to start the games.

Professional boxing[edit]

Early career[edit]

Clay made his professional debut on October 29, 1960, winning a six-round decision over Tunney Hunsaker. From then until the end of 1963, Clay amassed a record of 19–0 with 15 wins by knockout. He defeated boxers including Tony Esperti, Jim Robinson, Donnie Fleeman, Alonzo Johnson, George Logan, Willi Besmanoff, Lamar Clark, Doug Jones and Henry Cooper. Clay also beat his former trainer and veteran boxer Archie Moore in a 1962 match.
These early fights were not without trials. Clay was knocked down both by Sonny Banks and Cooper. In the Cooper fight, Clay was floored by a left hook at the end of round four and was saved by the bell. The fight with Doug Jones on March 13, 1963, was Clay's toughest fight during this stretch. The number-two and -three heavyweight contenders respectively, Clay and Jones fought on Jones' home turf at New York's Madison Square Garden. Jones staggered Clay in the first round, and the unanimous decision for Clay was greeted by boos and a rain of debris thrown into the ring (watching on closed-circuit TV, heavyweight champ Sonny Liston quipped that if he fought Clay he might get locked up for murder). The fight was later named "Fight of the Year".
In each of these fights, Clay vocally belittled his opponents and vaunted his abilities. He called Jones "an ugly little man" and Cooper a "bum". He was embarrassed to get in the ring with Alex Miteff. Madison Square Garden was "too small for me".[35] Clay's behavior provoked the ire of many boxing fans.[36]
After Clay left Moore's camp in 1960, partially due to Clay's refusing to do chores such as dish-washing and sweeping, he hired Angelo Dundee, whom he had met in February 1957 during Ali's amateur career,[37] to be his trainer. Around this time, Clay sought longtime idol Sugar Ray Robinson to be his manager, but was rebuffed.[38]

Heavyweight champion[edit]

Further information: Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston

Ali with The Beatles in 1964
By late 1963, Clay had become the top contender for Sonny Liston's title. The fight was set for February 25, 1964, in Miami Beach. Liston was an intimidating personality, a dominating fighter with a criminal past and ties to the mob. Based on Clay's uninspired performance against Jones and Cooper in his previous two fights, and Liston's destruction of former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson in two first-round knock outs, Clay was a 7–1 underdog. Despite this, Clay taunted Liston during the pre-fight buildup, dubbing him "the big ugly bear". "Liston even smells like a bear", Clay said. "After I beat him I'm going to donate him to the zoo."[39] Clay turned the pre-fight weigh-in into a circus, shouting at Liston that "someone is going to die at ringside tonight". Clay's pulse rate was measured at 120, more than double his normal 54.[40] Many of those in attendance thought Clay's behavior stemmed from fear, and some commentators wondered if he would show up for the bout.
The outcome of the fight was a major upset. At the opening bell, Liston rushed at Clay, seemingly angry and looking for a quick knockout, but Clay's superior speed and mobility enabled him to elude Liston, making the champion miss and look awkward. At the end of the first round Clay opened up his attack and hit Liston repeatedly with jabs. Liston fought better in round two, but at the beginning of the third round Clay hit Liston with a combination that buckled his knees and opened a cut under his left eye. This was the first time Liston had ever been cut. At the end of round four, as Clay returned to his corner, he began experiencing blinding pain in his eyes and asked his trainer Angelo Dundee to cut off his gloves. Dundee refused. It has been speculated that the problem was due to ointment used to seal Liston's cuts, perhaps deliberately applied by his corner to his gloves.[40]Though unconfirmed, Bert Sugar claimed that two of Liston's opponents also complained about their eyes "burning".[41][42]
Despite Liston's attempts to knock out a blinded Clay, Clay was able to survive the fifth round until sweat and tears rinsed the irritation from his eyes. In the sixth, Clay dominated, hitting Liston repeatedly. Liston did not answer the bell for the seventh round, and Clay was declared the winner by TKO. Liston stated that the reason he quit was an injured shoulder. Following the win, a triumphant Clay rushed to the edge of the ring and, pointing to the ringside press, shouted: "Eat your words!" He added, "I am the greatest! I shook up the world. I'm the prettiest thing that ever lived."[43]
In winning this fight, Clay became at age 22 the youngest boxer to take the title from a reigning heavyweight champion, though Floyd Patterson was the youngest to win the heavyweight championship at 21, during an elimination bout following Rocky Marciano's retirement. Mike Tyson broke both records in 1986 when he defeated Trevor Berbick to win the heavyweight title at age 20.
Soon after the Liston fight, Clay changed his name to Cassius X Clay, and then later to Muhammad Ali upon converting to Islam and affiliating with the Nation of Islam. Ali then faced a rematch with Liston scheduled for May 1965 inLewiston, Maine. It had been scheduled for Boston the previous November, but was postponed for six months due to Ali's emergency surgery for a hernia three days before.[44] The fight was controversial. Midway through the first round, Liston was knocked down by a difficult-to-see blow the press dubbed a "phantom punch". Ali refused to retreat to a neutral corner, and referee Jersey Joe Walcott did not begin the count. Liston rose after he had been down about 20 seconds, and the fight momentarily continued. But a few seconds later Walcott stopped the match, declaring Ali the winner by knockout. The entire fight lasted less than two minutes.[45]
It has since been speculated that Liston dropped to the ground purposely. Proposed motivations include threats on his life from the Nation of Islam, that he had bet against himself and that he "took a dive" to pay off debts. Slow-motion replays show that Liston was jarred by a chopping right from Ali, although it is unclear whether the blow was a genuine knock-out punch.[46]
Ali defended his title against former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson on November 22, 1965. Before the match, Ali mocked Patterson, who was widely known to call him by his former name Cassius Clay, as an "Uncle Tom", calling him "The Rabbit". Although Ali clearly had the better of Patterson, who appeared injured during the fight, the match lasted 12 rounds before being called on a technical knockout. Patterson later said he had strained hissacroiliac. Ali was criticized in the sports media for appearing to have toyed with Patterson during the fight.[47]

Ali in 1966
Ali and then-WBA heavyweight champion boxer Ernie Terrell had agreed to meet for a bout in Chicago on March 29, 1966 (the WBA, one of two boxing associations, had stripped Ali of his title following his joining the Nation of Islam). But in February Ali was reclassified by the Louisville draft board as 1-A from 1-Y, and he indicated that he would refuse to serve, commenting to the press, "I ain't got nothing against no Viet Cong; no Viet Cong never called me nigger."[48] Amidst the media and public outcry over Ali's stance, the Illinois Athletic Commission refused to sanction the fight, citing technicalities.[49]
Instead, Ali traveled to Canada and Europe and won championship bouts against George Chuvalo, Henry Cooper, Brian London and Karl Mildenberger.
Ali returned to the United States to fight Cleveland Williams in the Houston Astrodome on November 14, 1966. The bout drew a record-breaking indoor crowd of 35,460 people. Williams had once been considered among the hardest punchers in the heavyweight division, but in 1964 he had been shot at point-blank range by a Texas policeman, resulting in the loss of one kidney and 10 feet (3.0 m) of his small intestine. Ali dominated Williams, winning a third-round technical knockout in what some consider the finest performance of his career.
Ali fought Terrell in Houston on February 6, 1967. Terrell was billed as Ali's toughest opponent since Liston—unbeaten in five years and having defeated many of the boxers Ali had faced. Terrell was big, strong and had a three-inch reach advantage over Ali. During the lead up to the bout, Terrell repeatedly called Ali "Clay", much to Ali's annoyance (Ali called Cassius Clay his "slave name"). The two almost came to blows over the name issue in a pre-fight interview with Howard Cosell. Ali seemed intent on humiliating Terrell. "I want to torture him", he said. "A clean knockout is too good for him."[50] The fight was close until the seventh round when Ali bloodied Terrell and almost knocked him out. In the eighth round, Ali taunted Terrell, hitting him with jabs and shouting between punches, "What's my name, Uncle Tom... what's my name?" Ali won a unanimous 15-round decision. Terrell claimed that early in the fight Ali deliberately thumbed him in the eye—forcing Terrell to fight half-blind—and then, in a clinch, rubbed the wounded eye against the ropes. Because of Ali's apparent intent to prolong the fight to inflict maximum punishment, critics described the bout as "one of the ugliest boxing fights". Tex Maule later wrote: "It was a wonderful demonstration of boxing skill and a barbarous display of cruelty." Ali denied the accusations of cruelty but, for Ali's critics, the fight provided more evidence of his arrogance.
After Ali's title defense against Zora Folley on March 22, he was stripped of his title due to his refusal to be drafted to army service.[20] His boxing license was also suspended by the state of New York. He was convicted of draft evasion on June 20 and sentenced to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He paid a bond and remained free while the verdict was being appealed.

Exile and comeback[edit]

Main articles: Fight of the Century and Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II
In March 1966, Ali refused to be inducted into the armed forces. He was systematically denied a boxing license in every state and stripped of his passport. As a result, he did not fight from March 1967 to October 1970—from ages 25 to almost 29—as his case worked its way through the appeals process before his conviction was overturned in 1971. During this time of inactivity, as opposition to the Vietnam War began to grow and Ali's stance gained sympathy, he spoke at colleges across the nation, criticizing the Vietnam War and advocating African American pride and racial justice.
On August 12, 1970, with his case still in appeal, Ali was granted a license to box by the City of Atlanta Athletic Commission, thanks to State Senator Leroy R. Johnson.[51] Ali's first return bout was against Jerry Quarry on October 26, resulting in a win after three rounds after Quarry was cut.
A month earlier, a victory in federal court forced the New York State Boxing Commission to reinstate Ali's license.[52] He fought Oscar Bonavena at Madison Square Garden in December, an uninspired performance that ended in a dramatic technical knockout of Bonavena in the 15th round. The win left Ali as a top contender against heavyweight champion Joe Frazier.
Ali and Frazier's first fight, held at the Garden on March 8, 1971, was nicknamed the "Fight of the Century", due to the tremendous excitement surrounding a bout between two undefeated fighters, each with a legitimate claim as heavyweight champions. Veteran boxing writer John Condon called it "the greatest event I've ever worked on in my life". The bout was broadcast to 35 foreign countries; promoters granted 760 press passes.[34]
Adding to the atmosphere were the considerable pre-fight theatrics and name calling. Ali portrayed Frazier as a "dumb tool of the white establishment". "Frazier is too ugly to be champ", Ali said. "Frazier is too dumb to be champ." Ali also frequently called Frazier an "Uncle Tom". Dave Wolf, who worked in Frazier's camp, recalled that, "Ali was saying 'the only people rooting for Joe Frazier are white people in suits, Alabama sheriffs, and members of the Ku Klux Klan. I'm fighting for the little man in the ghetto.' Joe was sitting there, smashing his fist into the palm of his hand, saying, 'What the fuck does he know about the ghetto?'"[34]
Ali began training at a farm near Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1971 and, finding the country setting to his liking, sought to develop a real training camp in the countryside. He found a five-acre site on a Pennsylvania country road in the village of Deer Lake, Pennsylvania. On this site, Ali carved out what was to become his training camp, the camp where he lived and trained for all the many fights he had from 1972 on to the end of his career in the 1980s.
The Monday night fight lived up to its billing. In a preview of their two other fights, a crouching, bobbing and weaving Frazier constantly pressured Ali, getting hit regularly by Ali jabs and combinations, but relentlessly attacking and scoring repeatedly, especially to Ali's body. The fight was even in the early rounds, but Ali was taking more punishment than ever in his career. On several occasions in the early rounds he played to the crowd and shook his head "no" after he was hit. In the later rounds—in what was the first appearance of the "rope-a-dope strategy"—Ali leaned against the ropes and absorbed punishment from Frazier, hoping to tire him. In the 11th round, Frazier connected with a left hook that wobbled Ali, but because it appeared that Ali might be clowning as he staggered backwards across the ring, Frazier hesitated to press his advantage, fearing an Ali counter-attack. In the final round, Frazier knocked Ali down with a vicious left hook, which referee Arthur Mercante said was as hard as a man can be hit. Ali was back on his feet in three seconds.[34]Nevertheless, Ali lost by unanimous decision, his first professional defeat.
Ali's characterizations of Frazier during the lead-up to the fight cemented a personal animosity toward Ali by Frazier that lasted until Frazier's death.[34] Frazier and his camp always considered Ali's words cruel and unfair, far beyond what was necessary to sell tickets. Shortly after the bout, in the TV studios of ABC's Wide World of Sports during a nationally televised interview with the two boxers, Frazier rose from his chair and wrestled Ali to the floor after Ali called him ignorant.
In the same year basketball star Wilt Chamberlain challenged Ali, and a fight was scheduled for July 26. Although the seven foot two inch tall Chamberlain had formidable physical advantages over Ali, weighing 60 pounds more and able to reach 14 inches further, Ali was able to intimidate Chamberlain into calling off the bout. This happened during a shared press conference with Chamberlain in which Ali repeatedly responded to reporters with the traditional lumberjack warning, "Timber", and said, "The tree will fall!" With these statements of confidence, Ali was able to unsettle his taller opponent into calling off the bout.[53]
After the loss to Frazier, Ali fought Jerry Quarry, had a second bout with Floyd Patterson and faced Bob Foster in 1972, winning a total of six fights that year. In 1973, Ken Norton broke Ali's jaw while giving him the second loss of his career. After initially seeking retirement, Ali won a controversial decision against Norton in their second bout, leading to a rematch at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 1974, with Joe Frazier who had recently lost his title to George Foreman.
Ali was strong in the early rounds of the fight, and staggered Frazier in the second round. Referee Tony Perez mistakenly thought he heard the bell ending the round and stepped between the two fighters as Ali was pressing his attack, giving Frazier time to recover. However, Frazier came on in the middle rounds, snapping Ali's head in round seven and driving him to the ropes at the end of round eight. The last four rounds saw round-to-round shifts in momentum between the two fighters. Throughout most of the bout, however, Ali was able to circle away from Frazier's dangerous left hook and to tie Frazier up when he was cornered, the latter a tactic that Frazier's camp complained of bitterly. Judges awarded Ali a unanimous decision.

Heavyweight champion (second tenure)[edit]

Main articles: The Rumble in the Jungle and Thrilla in Manila
The defeat of Frazier set the stage for a title fight against heavyweight champion George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire, on October 30, 1974—a bout nicknamed "The Rumble in the Jungle". Foreman was considered one of the hardest punchers in heavyweight history. In assessing the fight, analysts pointed out that Joe Frazier and Ken Norton—who had given Ali four tough battles and won two of them—had been both devastated by Foreman in second round knockouts. Ali was 32 years old, and had clearly lost speed and reflexes since his twenties. Contrary to his later persona, Foreman was at the time a brooding and intimidating presence. Almost no one associated with the sport, not even Ali's long-time supporter Howard Cosell, gave the former champion a chance of winning.

Ali in 1974
As usual, Ali was confident and colorful before the fight. He told interviewer David Frost, "If you think the world was surprised when Nixon resigned, wait 'til I whup Foreman's behind!"[54] He told the press, "I've done something new for this fight. I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick."[55] Ali was wildly popular in Zaire, with crowds chanting "Ali, Bomaye" ("Ali, kill him") wherever he went.
Ali opened the fight moving and scoring with right crosses to Foreman's head. Then, beginning in the second round—and to the consternation of his corner—Ali retreated to the ropes and invited Foreman to hit him while covering up, clinching and counter-punching, all while verbally taunting Foreman. The move, which would later become known as the "Rope-A-Dope", so violated conventional boxing wisdom—letting one of the hardest hitters in boxing strike at will—that at ringside writer George Plimpton thought the fight had to be fixed.[34] Foreman, increasingly angered, threw punches that were deflected and did not land squarely. Midway through the fight, as Foreman began tiring, Ali countered more frequently and effectively with punches and flurries, which electrified the pro-Ali crowd. In the eighth round, Ali dropped an exhausted Foreman with a combination at center ring; Foreman failed to make the count. Against the odds, and amidst pandemonium in the ring, Ali had regained the title by knockout. In reflecting on the fight, George Foreman later said: "I thought Ali was just one more knockout victim until, about the seventh round, I hit him hard to the jaw and he held me and whispered in my ear: 'That all you got, George?' I realised that this ain't what I thought it was."[56]

President Jimmy Carter greets Ali at a White House dinner, 1977
Ali's next opponents included Chuck Wepner, Ron Lyle, and Joe Bugner. Wepner, a journeyman known as "The Bayonne Bleeder", stunned Ali with a knockdown in the ninth round; Ali would later say he tripped on Wepner's foot. It was a bout that would inspire Sylvester Stallone to create the acclaimed film, Rocky.
Ali then agreed to a third match with Joe Frazier in Manila. The bout, known as the "Thrilla in Manila", was held on October 1, 1975,[20] in temperatures approaching 100 °F (38 °C). In the first rounds, Ali was aggressive, moving and exchanging blows with Frazier. However, Ali soon appeared to tire and adopted the "rope-a-dope" strategy, frequently resorting to clinches. During this part of the bout Ali did some effective counter-punching, but for the most part absorbed punishment from a relentlessly attacking Frazier. In the 12th round, Frazier began to tire, and Ali scored several sharp blows that closed Frazier's left eye and opened a cut over his right eye. With Frazier's vision now diminished, Ali dominated the 13th and 14th rounds, at times conducting what boxing historian Mike Silver called "target practice" on Frazier's head. The fight was stopped when Frazier's trainer, Eddie Futch, refused to allow Frazier to answer the bell for the 15th and final round, despite Frazier's protests. Frazier's eyes were both swollen shut. Ali, in his corner, winner by TKO, slumped on his stool, clearly spent.
An ailing Ali said afterwards that the fight "was the closest thing to dying that I know", and, when later asked if he had viewed the fight on videotape, reportedly said, "Why would I want to go back and see Hell?" After the fight he cited Frazier as "the greatest fighter of all times next to me".

Later career[edit]


Ali being interviewed by WBAL-TV's Curt Anderson, 1978, Baltimore, Maryland
Following the Manila bout, Ali fought Jean-Pierre Coopman, Jimmy Young, and Richard Dunn, winning the last by knockout.
On June 1, 1976, Ali removed his shirt and jacket and confronted professional wrestler Gorilla Monsoon in the ring after his match at a World Wide Wrestling Federation show in the Philadelphia Arena. After dodging a few punches, Monsoon put Ali in an airplane spin and dumped him to the mat. Ali stumbled to the corner, where his associate Butch Lewis convinced him to walk away.[57]
On June 26, 1976, Ali participated in an exhibition bout in Tokyo against Japanese professional wrestler and martial artist Antonio Inoki.[58] Though the fight was a publicity stunt, Inoki's kicks caused bruises, two blood clots and an infection in Ali's legs.[58] The match was ultimately declared a draw.[58] After Ali's death, The New York Times declared it his least memorable fight.[59]
Ali fought Ken Norton for the third time at the Yankee Stadium in September 1976, which he won in a heavily contested decision, which was loudly booed by the audience. Afterwards, he announced he was retiring from boxing to practice his faith, having converted to Sunni Islam after falling out with the Nation of Islam the previous year.[60]
After returning to beat Alfredo Evangelista in May 1977, Ali struggled in his next fight against Earnie Shavers that September, getting pummeled a few times by punches to the head. Ali won the fight by another unanimous decision, but the bout caused his longtime doctor Ferdie Pacheco to quit after he was rebuffed for telling Ali he should retire. Pacheco was quoted as saying, "the New York State Athletic Commission gave me a report that showed Ali's kidneys were falling apart. I wrote to Angelo Dundee, Ali's trainer, his wife and Ali himself. I got nothing back in response. That's when I decided enough is enough."[34]
In February 1978, Ali faced Leon Spinks at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. At the time, Spinks had only seven professional fights to his credit, and had recently fought a draw with journeyman Scott LeDoux. Ali sparred less than two dozen rounds in preparation for the fight, and was seriously out of shape by the opening bell. He lost the title by split decision. A rematch followed shortly thereafter in New Orleans, which broke attendance records. Ali won a unanimous decision in an uninspiring fight, making him the first heavyweight champion to win the belt three times.[61]
Following this win, on July 27, 1979, Ali announced his retirement from boxing. His retirement was short-lived, however; Ali announced his comeback to face Larry Holmes for the WBC belt in an attempt to win the heavyweight championship an unprecedented fourth time. The fight was largely motivated by Ali's need for money. Boxing writer Richie Giachetti said, "Larry didn't want to fight Ali. He knew Ali had nothing left; he knew it would be a horror."
It was around this time that Ali started struggling with vocal stutters and trembling hands.[62] The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) ordered that he undergo a complete physical in Las Vegas before being allowed to fight again. Ali chose instead to check into the Mayo Clinic, who declared him fit to fight. Their opinion was accepted by the NAC on July 31, 1980, paving the way for Ali's return to the ring.[63]
The fight took place on October 2, 1980, in Las Vegas Valley, with Holmes easily dominating Ali, who was weakened from thyroid medication he had taken to lose weight. Giachetti called the fight "awful ... the worst sports event I ever had to cover". Actor Sylvester Stallone at ringside said it was like watching an autopsy on a man who is still alive.[34] Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee finally stopped the fight in the eleventh round, the only fight Ali lost by knockout. The Holmes fight is said to have contributed to Ali's Parkinson's syndrome.[64] Despite pleas to definitively retire, Ali fought one last time on December 11, 1981, in Nassau, Bahamas, against Trevor Berbick, losing a ten-round decision.[65][66][67]

Personal life[edit]

Marriages and children[edit]

Ali was married four times and had seven daughters and two sons. Ali met his first wife, cocktail waitress Sonji Roi, approximately one month before they married on August 14, 1964.[68] Roi's objections to certain Muslim customs in regard to dress for women contributed to the breakup of their marriage. They divorced on January 10, 1966.
On August 17, 1967, Ali married Belinda Boyd. After the wedding, she, like Ali, converted to Islam. She changed her name to Khalilah Ali, though she was still called Belinda by old friends and family. They had four children: Maryum (born 1968), twins Jamillah and Rasheda (born 1970), and Muhammad Ali, Jr. (born 1972).[69] Maryum has a career as an author and rapper.[70]
Ali was a resident of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, in the early 1970s.[71] He had two other daughters, Miya and Khaliah, from extramarital relationships.[69][72]
In 1975, Ali began an affair with Veronica Porché, an actress and model. By the summer of 1977, his second marriage was over and he had married Porsche.[73] At the time of their marriage, they had a baby girl, Hana, and Veronica was pregnant with their second child. Their second daughter, Laila Ali, was born in December 1977. By 1986, Ali and Porsche were divorced.[73]
On November 19, 1986, Ali married Yolanda ("Lonnie") Williams. They had been friends since 1964 in Louisville. They have one son, Asaad Amin, whom they adopted when Amin was five months old.
Another daughter, Kiiursti Mensah-Ali, which is Ali's biological daughter with Barbara Mensah whom he had a 20 year relationship with,[69][74][75][76][77] has also claimed to be the daughter of Muhammad Ali, citing photographs and a paternity test conducted in 1988. She said he accepted responsibility and took care of her, but all contacts with him were cut off after he married his fourth wife Lonnie. Kiiursti however claims to have a relationship with his other children. After his death she again made passionate appeals to be allowed to mourn at his funeral.[78][79][80]
Ali then lived in Scottsdale, Arizona, with Lonnie.[81] In January 2007 it was reported that they had put their home in Berrien Springs, Michigan, up for sale and had purchased a home in eastern Jefferson County, Kentucky for $1,875,000.[82] Lonnie converted to Islam from Catholicism in her late twenties.[83]
His daughter Laila became a boxer in 1999,[84] 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."[85]
Ali's son-in-law is UFC middleweight fighter Kevin Casey, who is married to Hana.[86]

Religion and beliefs[edit]

Affiliation with the Nation of Islam[edit]

Ali said that he first heard of the Nation of Islam when he was fighting in the Golden Gloves tournament in Chicago in 1959, and attended his first Nation of Islam meeting in 1961. He continued to attend meetings, although keeping his involvement hidden from the public. In 1962, Clay met Malcolm X, who soon became his spiritual and political mentor.[87] By the time of the first Liston fight Nation of Islam members, including Malcolm X, were visible in his entourage. This led to a story in The Miami Herald just before the fight disclosing that Clay had joined the Nation of Islam, which nearly caused the bout to be canceled.

Ali at an address by Elijah Muhammad in 1964
In fact, Clay was initially refused entry to the Nation of Islam (often called the Black Muslims at the time) due to his boxing career. However, after he won the championship from Liston in 1964, the Nation of Islam was more receptive and agreed to publicize his membership.[87] Shortly afterwards, Elijah Muhammad recorded a statement that Clay would be renamed Muhammad (one who is worthy of praise) Ali (Ali is the most important figure after Muhammad inShia view and fourth rightly guided caliph in Sunni view). Around that time Ali moved to the south side of Chicago and lived in a series of houses, always near the Nation of Islam's Mosque Maryam or Elijah Muhammad's residence. He stayed in Chicago for about 12 years.[88]
Only a few journalists (most notably Howard Cosell) accepted the new name at that time. Ali later announced: "Cassius Clay is my slave name."[89] Not afraid to antagonize the white establishment, Ali stated, "I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me."[90] Ali's friendship with Malcolm X ended as Malcolm split with the Nation of Islam a couple of weeks after Ali joined, and Ali remained with the Nation of Islam.[91][92] Ali later said that turning his back on Malcolm was one of the mistakes he regretted most in his life.[93]
Malcolm X is holding a camera and taking a picture of Ali, who is sitting at a luncheonette counter
Malcolm X photographs Ali in February 1964, after his first defeat of Sonny Liston to become world heavyweight champion.
Aligning himself with the Nation of Islam, its leader Elijah Muhammad, and a narrative that labeled the white race as the perpetrator of genocide against African Americans made Ali a target of public condemnation. The Nation of Islam was widely viewed by whites and even some African Americans as a black separatist "hate religion" with a propensity toward violence; Ali had few qualms about using his influential voice to speak Nation of Islam doctrine.[94] In a press conference articulating his opposition to the Vietnam War, Ali stated, "My enemy is the white people, not the Vietcong".[94] In relation to integration, he said: "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".[95][96]
Writer Jerry Izenberg once noted that, "the Nation became Ali's family and Elijah Muhammad became his father. But there is an irony to the fact that while the Nation branded white people as devils, Ali had more white colleagues than most African American people did at that time in America, and continued to have them throughout his career."[34]

Later beliefs[edit]

Ali converted from the Nation of Islam sect to mainstream Sunni Islam in 1975. In a 2004 autobiography, written with daughter Hana Yasmeen Ali, he attributed his conversion to the shift toward mainstream Islam made by Warith Deen Muhammad after he gained control of the Nation of Islam upon the death of Elijah Muhammad in 1975.
He had gone on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in 1972, which inspired Ali in a similar manner to Malcolm X, meeting people of different colors from all over the world giving him a different outlook and greater spiritual awareness.[97] In 1977, he said that, after he retired, he would dedicate the rest of his life to getting "ready to meet God" through helping people, charitable causes, uniting people and helping to make peace.[98] By 2005, Ali had embraced Sufism, a spiritual form of Sunni Islam, inspired by the books of Hazrat Inayat Khan.[99]
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, he stated that "Islam is a religion of peace" and "does not promote terrorism or killing people," and that he is "angry that the world sees a certain group of Islam followers who caused this destruction, but they are not real Muslims. They are racist fanatics who call themselves Muslims". In December 2015, he stated that "True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so-called Islamic jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion", that "We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda," and that "political leaders should use their position to bring understanding about the religion of Islam, and clarify that these misguided murderers have perverted people's views on what Islam really is."[100]

Vietnam War and resistance to the draft[edit]

Ali registered for conscription in the United States military on his 18th birthday and was listed as 1-A in 1962.[101] In 1964, he was reclassified as Class 1-Y (fit for service only in times of national emergency) after two mental tests found his IQ was 78[102] (16th percentile), well below the armed force's 30th-percentile threshold.[101] (He was quoted as saying, "I said I was the greatest, not the smartest!")[101][102] By early 1966, the army lowered its standards to permit soldiers above the 15th percentile and Ali was again classified as 1-A.[20][101][102] This classification meant he was now eligible for the draft and induction into the United States Army during a time when the U.S. was involved in the Vietnam War.
When notified of this status, Ali declared that he would refuse to serve in the army and publicly considered himself a conscientious objector.[20] Ali stated: "War is against the teachings of the Qur'an. 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." He famously stated: "Man, I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong."[103] Ali elaborated: "Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?"[104]
Appearing for his scheduled induction into the U.S. Armed Forces on April 28, 1967, in Houston, Ali 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, he was arrested. On the same day the New York State Athletic Commission suspended his boxing license and stripped him of his title. Other boxing commissions followed suit. Ali would not be able to obtain a license to box in any state for over three years.[105]
At the trial on June 20, 1967, after only 21 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Ali guilty.[20] After a Court of Appeals upheld the conviction, the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the years between the Appellate Court decision and the Supreme Court verdict, Ali remained free. As public opinion began turning against the war and the Civil Rights Movement continued to gather momentum, Ali became a popular speaker at colleges and universities across the country, rare if not unprecedented for a boxer. At Howard University, for example, he gave his popular "Black Is Best" speech to 4,000 cheering students and community intellectuals, after he was invited to speak by sociology professor Nathan Hare on behalf of the Black Power Committee, a student protest group.[106][107]
On June 28, 1971, the Supreme Court of the United States in Clay v. United States overturned Ali's conviction by a unanimous 8–0 decision (Justice Thurgood Marshall recused himself, as he had been the U.S. Solicitor General at the time of Ali's conviction).[108] The decision was not based on, nor did it address, the merits of Ali's claims per se; rather, the Court held that since the Appeal Board gave no reason for the denial of a conscientious objector exemption to Ali, and that it was therefore impossible to determine which of the three basic tests for conscientious objector status offered in the Justice Department's brief that the Appeals Board relied on, Ali's conviction must be reversed.[109]

Impact of Ali's stance[edit]

Ali's example inspired countless black Americans and others. The New York Times columnist William Rhoden wrote, "Ali's actions changed my standard of what constituted an athlete's greatness. Possessing a killer jump shot or the ability to stop on a dime was no longer enough. What were you doing for the liberation of your people? What were you doing to help your country live up to the covenant of its founding principles?"[15]
Recalling Ali's anti-war position, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said: "I remember the teachers at my high school didn't like Ali because he was so anti-establishment and he kind of thumbed his nose at authority and got away with it. The fact that he was proud to be a black man and that he had so much talent ... made some people think that he was dangerous. But for those very reasons I enjoyed him."[110]
Civil rights figures came to believe that Ali had an energizing effect on the freedom movement as a whole. Al Sharpton spoke of his bravery at a time when there was still widespread support for the Vietnam War. "For the heavyweight champion of the world, who had achieved the highest level of athletic celebrity, to put all of that on the line – the money, the ability to get endorsements – to sacrifice all of that for a cause, gave a whole sense of legitimacy to the movement and the causes with young people that nothing else could have done. Even those who were assassinated, certainly lost their lives, but they didn't voluntarily do that. He knew he was going to jail and did it anyway. That's another level of leadership and sacrifice."[111]
In speaking of the cost on Ali's career of his refusal to be drafted, his trainer Angelo Dundee said, "One thing must be taken into account when talking about Ali: He was robbed of his best years, his prime years."[112]
Ali's resistance to the draft was covered in the 2013 documentary The Trials of Muhammad Ali.

NSA monitoring of Ali's communications[edit]

In a secret operation code-named "Minaret", the National Security Agency (NSA) monitored the communications of leading Americans, including Ali, Senators Frank Church and Howard Baker, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., prominent U.S. journalists, and others who criticized the U.S. war in Vietnam.[113][114] A review by the NSA of the Minaret program concluded that it was "disreputable if not outright illegal".[114]

Later years[edit]

On January 19, 1981, in Los Angeles, Ali talked a man down from jumping off a ninth-floor ledge, an event that made national news.[115][116]
Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's syndrome in 1984, a disease that sometimes results from head trauma from activities such as boxing.[117][118][119] Ali still remained active during this time, however, later participating as a guest referee at WrestleMania I.[120][121]

President Ronald Reagan with Ali in the Oval Office in 1983
In 1984, Ali announced his support for the re-election of United States President Ronald Reagan. When asked to elaborate on his endorsement of Reagan, Ali told reporters, "He's keeping God in schools and that's enough."[122]
Since 1974, when he visited a Palestinian refugee camp in Southern Lebanon, Ali had declared "support for the Palestinian struggle to liberate their homeland".[123][124] In 1985, he visited Israel to request the release of Muslim prisoners at Atlit detainee camp, which Israel declined.[125] In 1988, during the First Intifada, Ali participated in a Chicago rally in support of Palestine.[124]
Around 1987, the California Bicentennial Foundation for the U.S. Constitution selected Ali to personify the vitality of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Ali rode on a float at the following year's Tournament of Roses Parade, launching the U.S. Constitution's 200th birthday commemoration.
In 1990, Ali traveled to Iraq prior to the Gulf War, and met with Saddam Hussein in an attempt to negotiate the release of American hostages. Ali successfully secured the release of the hostages, in exchange for promising Hussein that he'd bring America "an honest account" of Iraq.[126][127] Ali published an oral history, Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times by Thomas Hauser, in 1991. In 1996, he had the honor of lighting the flame at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
Ali's bout with Parkinson's led to a gradual decline in Ali's health though he was still active into the early years of the millennium, even promoting his own biopic, Ali, in 2001. Ali also contributed an on-camera segment to theAmerica: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert.

Ali in his later years
On November 17, 2002, Ali went to Afghanistan as the "U.N. Messenger of Peace".[128] He was in Kabul for a three-day goodwill mission as a special guest of the UN.[129]
On September 1, 2009, Ali visited Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, the home of his great-grandfather, Abe Grady, who emigrated to the U.S. in the 1860s, eventually settling in Kentucky.[130] A crowd of 10,000 turned out for a civic reception, where Ali was made the first Honorary Freeman of Ennis.[131]
On July 27, 2012, Ali was a titular bearer of the Olympic Flag during the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He was helped to his feet by his wife Lonnie to stand before the flag due to his Parkinson's rendering him unable to carry it into the stadium.[132] In 2014, Ali tweeted in support of Trayvon Martin and the Black Lives Matter movement.[133]

Health issues and death[edit]

In February 2013, Ali's brother, Rahman Ali, said Muhammad could no longer speak and could be dead within days.[134] Ali's daughter, May May Ali, responded to the rumors, stating that she had talked to him on the phone the morning of February 3 and he was fine.[135]
On December 20, 2014, Ali was hospitalized for a mild case of pneumonia.[136] Ali was once again hospitalized on January 15, 2015, for a urinary tract infection after being found unresponsive at a guest house in Scottsdale, Arizona.[137][138] He was released the next day.[139]
Ali was hospitalized in Scottsdale on June 2, 2016, with a respiratory illness. Though his condition was initially described as "fair", it worsened and he died the following day, aged 74, from septic shock.[140][141][142][143]
Ali was mourned globally, and a family spokesman said the family "certainly believes that Muhammad was a citizen of the world … and they know that the world grieves with him."[144] Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer stated, "Muhammad Ali belongs to the world. But he only has one hometown."[144]
Public memorial services for Ali at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville are planned followed by later private interment in Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetery.[145][146]

Boxing style[edit]


Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves are preserved in the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History.
Ali had a highly unorthodox boxing style for a heavyweight, epitomized by his catchphrase "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee". Never an overpowering puncher, Ali relied early in his career on his superior hand speed, superb reflexes and constant movement, dancing and circling opponents for most of the fight, holding his hands low and lashing out with a quick, cutting left jab that he threw from unpredictable angles. His footwork was so strong that it was extremely difficult for opponents to cut down the ring and corner Ali against the ropes.
One of Ali's greatest tricks was to make opponents overcommit by pulling straight backward from punches. Disciplined, world-class boxers chased Ali and threw themselves off balance attempting to hit him because he seemed to be an open target, only missing and leaving themselves exposed to Ali's counter punches, usually a chopping right.[147] Slow motion replays show that this was precisely the way Sonny Liston was hit and apparently knocked out by Ali in their second fight.[148] Ali often flaunted his movement and dancing with the "Ali Shuffle", a sort of center-ring jig.[149] Ali's early style was so unusual that he was initially discounted because he reminded boxing writers of a lightweight, and it was assumed he would be vulnerable to big hitters like Sonny Liston.
Using a synchronizer, Jimmy Jacobs, who co-managed Mike Tyson, measured young Ali's punching speed versus Sugar Ray Robinson, a welter/middleweight, often considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in history. Ali was 25% faster than Robinson, even though Ali was 45–50 pounds heavier.[150] Ali's punches produced approximately 1,000 pounds of force.[151] "No matter what his opponents heard about him, they didn't realize how fast he was until they got in the ring with him", Jacobs said.[152] The effect of Ali's punches was cumulative. Charlie Powell, who fought Ali early in Ali's career and was knocked out in the third round, said: "When he first hit me I said to myself, 'I can take two of these to get one in myself.' But in a little while I found myself getting dizzier and dizzier every time he hit me. He throws punches so easily that you don't realize how much they hurt you until it's too late."[35]
Commenting on fighting the young Ali, George Chuvalo said: "He was just so damn fast. When he was young, he moved his legs and hands at the same time. He threw his punches when he was in motion. He'd be out of punching range, and as he moved into range he'd already begun to throw the punch. So if you waited until he got into range to punch back, he beat you every time."[34]
Floyd Patterson said, "It's very hard to hit a moving target, and (Ali) moved all the time, with such grace, three minutes of every round for fifteen rounds. He never stopped. It was extraordinary."[34]
Darrell Foster, who trained Will Smith for the movie Ali, said: "Ali's signature punches were the left jab and the overhand right. But there were at least six different ways Ali used to jab. One was a jab that Ali called the 'snake lick', like cobra striking that comes from the floor almost, really low down. Then there was Ali's rapid-fire jab—three to five jabs in succession rapidly fired at his opponents' eyes to create a blur in his face so he wouldn't be able to see the right hand coming behind it."[153]
In the opinion of many, Ali became a different fighter after the 3½-year layoff. Ferdie Pacheco, Ali's corner physician, noted that he had lost his ability to move and dance as before.[34] This forced Ali to become more stationary and exchange punches more frequently, exposing him to more punishment while indirectly revealing his tremendous ability to take a punch. This physical change led in part to the "rope-a-dope" strategy, where Ali would lie back on the ropes, cover up to protect himself and conserve energy, and tempt opponents to punch themselves out. Ali often taunted opponents in the process and lashed back with sudden, unexpected combinations. The strategy was dramatically successful in the George Foreman fight, but less so in the first Joe Frazier bout when it was introduced.
Of his later career, Arthur Mercante said: "Ali knew all the tricks. He was the best fighter I ever saw in terms of clinching. Not only did he use it to rest, but he was big and strong and knew how to lean on opponents and push and shove and pull to tire them out. Ali was so smart. Most guys are just in there fighting, but Ali had a sense of everything that was happening, almost as though he was sitting at ringside analyzing the fight while he fought it."[34]

"Talking trash"[edit]

Ali regularly taunted and baited his opponents—including Liston, Frazier, and Foreman—before the fight and often during the bout itself. He said Frazier was "too dumb to be champion", that he would whip Liston "like his Daddy did", that Terrell was an "Uncle Tom" and that Patterson was a "rabbit." In speaking of how Ali stoked Liston's anger and overconfidence before their first fight, one writer commented that "the most brilliant fight strategy in boxing history was devised by a teenager who had graduated 376 in a class of 391."[150]
Ali typically portrayed himself as the "people's champion" and his opponent as a tool of the (white) establishment (despite the fact that his entourage often had more white faces than his opponents'). During the early part of Ali's career, he built a reputation for predicting rounds in which he would finish opponents, often vowing to crawl across the ring or to leave the country if he lost the bout.[20] Ali admitted he adopted the latter practice from "Gorgeous" George Wagner, a professional wrestling champion who drew thousands of fans to his matches as "the man you love to hate."[20]
ESPN columnist Ralph Wiley called Ali "The King of Trash Talk."[154] In 2013, The Guardian said Ali exemplified boxing's "golden age of trash talking."[155] The Bleacher Report called Clay's description of Sonny Liston smelling like a bear and his vow to donate him to a zoo after he beat him the greatest trash talk line in sports history.[156]

Legacy[edit]


As Mrs. Lonnie Ali looks on, President George W. Bush embraces Muhammad Ali after presenting him with the Presidential Medal of Freedomon November 9, 2005, during ceremonies at the White House.
Muhammad Ali defeated 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 was an inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and held wins over seven other Hall of Fame inductees. He was one of only three boxers to be named "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated.
In 1978, three years before Ali's permanent retirement, the Louisville 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 (Kentucky) considered renaming Central High School (Louisville, Kentucky) 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.[157] In 1993, the Associated Press reported that Ali was tied with Babe Ruth as the most recognized athlete, out of over 800 dead or living athletes, in America. The study found that over 97% of Americans over 12 years of age identified both Ali and Ruth.[158] He was the recipient of the 1997 Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
In 1999, Time magazine named Ali one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century.[159] He was crowned Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated.[160] Named Sports Personality of the Century in a BBC poll, he received more votes than the other contenders (which included Pelé, Jesse Owens and Jack Nicklaus) combined.[161] 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.[162]
On January 8, 2001, Muhammad Ali was presented with the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Bill Clinton.[163] In November 2005, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush,[164][165]followed by the Otto Hahn Peace Medal in Gold of the UN Association of Germany (DGVN) in Berlin for his work with the U.S. civil rights movement and the United Nations (December 17, 2005).[166]

The Muhammad Ali Center, alongside Interstate 64 on Louisville, Kentucky's riverfront
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. On June 5, 2007, he received an honorary doctorate of humanities at Princeton University's 260th graduation ceremony.[167]
Ali Mall, located in Araneta Center, Quezon City, Philippines, is named after him. Construction of the mall, the first of its kind in the Philippines, began shortly after Ali's victory in a match with Joe Frazier in nearby Araneta Coliseum in 1975. The mall opened in 1976 with Ali attending its opening.[168]

Ranking in heavyweight history[edit]

Ali is generally considered one of the greatest heavyweights of all time by boxing commentators and historians. Ring Magazine, a prominent boxing magazine, named him number 1 in a 1998 ranking of greatest heavyweights from all eras.[169] Ali was named the second greatest fighter in boxing history by ESPN.com behind only welterweight and middleweight great Sugar Ray Robinson.[170] In December 2007, ESPN listed Ali second in its choice of the greatest heavyweights of all time, behind Joe Louis.[171] The Associated Press voted Ali the No. 1 heavyweight of the 20th century in 1999.[172]

In the media and popular culture[edit]

Main article: Muhammad Ali in media and popular culture
As a world champion boxer and social activist, Ali was the subject of numerous books, films and other creative works.

Muhammad Ali pop art painting by John Stango
Ali appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on 37 different occasions, second only to Michael Jordan.[173]
Ali had a cameo role in the 1962 film version of Requiem for a Heavyweight, and during his exile, he starred in the short-lived Broadway musical, Buck White (1969).
In 1963, Ali released an album of spoken word on Columbia Records titled I Am the Greatest, and in 1964, he recorded the song "Stand by Me".[174][175] I Am the Greatest reached number 61 on the album chart and was nominated for aGrammy Award. He later received a second Grammy nomination, for "Best Recording for Children", with his 1976 novelty record, The Adventures of Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay.[176]
Ali appeared in the documentary film Black Rodeo (1972) riding both a horse and a bull. His autobiography The Greatest: My Own Story, written with Richard Durham, was published in 1975.[177] In 1977 the book was adapted into a film called The Greatest, in which Ali played himself and Ernest Borgnine played Angelo Dundee.

Ali and Michel, 1979
The film Freedom Road, made in 1978, features Muhammad Ali in a rare acting role as Gideon Jackson, a former slave and Union (American Civil War) soldier in 1870s Virginia, who gets elected to the U.S. Senate and battles other former slaves and white sharecroppers to keep the land they have tended all their lives. On the set of Freedom Road Ali met Canadian singer-songwriter Michel Pagliaro, and subsequently helped create Pagliaro's album entitled The First Flight of the Gizzelda Dragon and the hour-long television show With Love From Muhammad Ali.[citation needed]
Ali was the subject of This Is Your Life (UK TV series) in 1978 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.[178] Ali was featured in Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, a 1978 DC Comics comic book pitting the champ against the superhero. In 1979, Ali guest-starred as himself in an episode of the NBC sitcom Diff'rent Strokes.
He also wrote several best-selling books about his career, including The Greatest: My Own Story and The Soul of a Butterfly. The Muhammad Ali Effect, named after Ali, is a term that came into use in psychology in the 1980s, as he stated in his autobiography The Greatest: My Own Story: "I only said I was the greatest, not the smartest."[177] According to this effect, when people are asked to rate their intelligence and moral behavior in comparison to others, people will rate themselves as more moral, but not more intelligent than others.[179][180]
When We Were Kings, a 1996 documentary about the Rumble in the Jungle, won an Academy Award,[181] and the 2001 biopic Ali garnered an Oscar nomination for Will Smith's portrayal of the lead role.[182] The latter film was directed by Michael Mann, with mixed reviews, the positives given to Smith's portrayal of Ali. Prior to making the film, Smith rejected the role until Ali requested that he accept it. Smith said the first thing Ali told him was: "Man you're almost pretty enough to play me."[183]
Ali was an influential figure in the world of hip hop music. As a "rhyming trickster", he was famous for his "funky delivery", "boasts", "comical trash talk", and "endless quotables".[184] According to Rolling Stone, his "freestyle skills" and his "rhymes, flow, and braggadocio" would "one day become typical of old school MCs" like Run–D.M.C. and LL Cool J,[176] the latter citing Ali as an influence.[184]
In 2002, for his contributions to the entertainment industry, Ali was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.[185] His star is the only one to be mounted on a vertical surface, out of deference to his request that his name not be walked upon.[186][187]
The Trials of Muhammad Ali, a documentary directed by Bill Siegel that focuses on Ali's refusal of the draft during the Vietnam War, opened in Manhattan on August 23, 2013.[188][189] A made-for-TV movie called Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight, also in 2013, dramatized the same aspect of Ali's life.

Professional boxing record[edit]

56 wins (37 knockouts, 19 decisions), 5 losses (4 decisions, 1 KO)[2][190]
No.Res.RecordOpponentTypeRd., TimeDateAgeLocationNotes
61Loss56–5Canada Trevor BerbickUD101981-12-1139 years, 328 daysThe Bahamas Nassau, Bahamas"Drama in the Bahamas"[191]
60Loss56–4United States Larry HolmesTKO10 (15)1980-10-0238 years, 259 daysUnited States Las Vegas, NVLost The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
For WBC World Heavyweight title.
59Win56–3United States Leon SpinksUD151978-09-1536 years, 241 daysUnited States New Orleans, LAWon WBA, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles;
Vacated WBA title on 1979-09-06.
58Loss55–3United States Leon SpinksSD151978-02-1536 years, 29 daysUnited States Las Vegas, NVLost WBC, WBA, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
57Win55–2United States Earnie ShaversUD151977-09-2935 years, 255 daysUnited States New York, N.Y.Retained WBC, WBA, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
56Win54–2Uruguay Alfredo EvangelistaUD151977-05-1635 years, 119 daysUnited States Landover, MDRetained WBC, WBA, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
55Win53–2United States Ken NortonUD151976-09-2834 years, 255 daysUnited States The Bronx, N.Y.Retained WBC, WBA, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
54Win52–2United Kingdom Richard DunnTKO5 (15)1976-05-2434 years, 128 daysWest Germany Munich, West GermanyRetained WBC, WBA, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
53Win51–2United States Jimmy YoungUD151976-04-3034 years, 104 daysUnited States Landover, MDRetained WBC, WBA, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
52Win50–2Belgium Jean-Pierre CoopmanKO5 (15)1976-02-2034 years, 34 daysPuerto Rico San Juan, Puerto RicoRetained WBC, WBA, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
51Win49–2United States Joe FrazierTKO14 (15), 0:591975-10-0133 years, 257 daysPhilippines Quezon City, Philippines"Thrilla in Manila";
Retained WBC, WBA The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
50Win48–2United Kingdom Joe BugnerUD151975-06-3033 years, 164 daysMalaysia Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaRetained WBC, WBA, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
49Win47–2United States Ron LyleTKO11 (15)1975-05-1633 years, 119 daysUnited States Las Vegas, NVRetained WBC, WBA, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
48Win46–2United States Chuck WepnerTKO15 (15), 2:411975-03-2433 years, 66 daysUnited States Richfield, OHRetained WBC, WBA, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
47Win45–2United States George ForemanKO8 (15), 2:581974-10-3032 years, 286 daysZaire Kinshasa, Zaire"The Rumble in the Jungle";
Won WBC, WBA, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
46Win44–2United States Joe FrazierUD121974-01-2832 years, 11 daysUnited States New York, N.Y."Ali-Frazier II".
Retained NABF Heavyweight title, vacated later in 1974.
45Win43–2Netherlands Rudie LubbersUD121973-10-2031 years, 276 daysIndonesia Jakarta, Indonesia
44Win42–2United States Ken NortonSD121973-09-1031 years, 236 daysUnited States Inglewood, CAWon NABF Heavyweight title.
43Loss41–2United States Ken NortonSD121973-03-3131 years, 73 daysUnited States San Diego, CALost NABF Heavyweight title.
42Win41–1United Kingdom Joe BugnerUD121973-02-1431 years, 28 daysUnited States Las Vegas, NV
41Win40–1United States Bob FosterKO8 (12), 0:401972-11-2130 years, 309 daysUnited States Stateline, NVRetained NABF Heavyweight title.
40Win39–1United States Floyd PattersonTKO7 (12)1972-09-2030 years, 247 daysUnited States New York, N.Y.Retained NABF Heavyweight title.
39Win38–1United States Alvin LewisTKO11 (12), 1:151972-07-1930 years, 184 daysRepublic of Ireland Dublin, Ireland
38Win37–1United States Jerry QuarryTKO7 (12), 0:191972-06-2730 years, 162 daysUnited States Las Vegas, NVRetained NABF Heavyweight title.
37Win36–1Canada George ChuvaloUD121972-05-0130 years, 105 daysCanada Vancouver, CanadaRetained NABF Heavyweight title.
36Win35–1United States Mac FosterUD151972-04-0130 years, 75 daysJapan Tokyo, Japan
35Win34–1West Germany Jürgen BlinKO7 (12), 2:121971-12-2629 years, 343 daysSwitzerland Zurich, Switzerland
34Win33–1United States Buster MathisUD121971-11-1729 years, 304 daysUnited States Houston, TXRetained NABF Heavyweight title.
33Win32–1United States Jimmy EllisTKO12 (12), 2:101971-07-2629 years, 190 daysUnited States Houston, TXWon vacant NABF Heavyweight title.
32Loss31–1United States Joe FrazierUD151971-03-0829 years, 50 daysUnited States New York, N.Y."The Fight of the Century";
Lost The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
For WBA & WBC World Heavyweight titles.
31Win31–0Argentina Oscar BonavenaTKO15 (15), 2:031970-12-0728 years, 324 daysUnited States New York, N.Y.Retained The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
30Win30–0United States Jerry QuarryTKO3 (15)1970-10-2628 years, 282 daysUnited States Atlanta, GARetained The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
Suspension
29Win29–0United States Zora FolleyKO7 (15), 1:481967-03-2225 years, 64 daysUnited States New York, N.Y.Retained WBC, WBA, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles;
Stripped of titles on April 28, 1967.
28Win28–0United States Ernie TerrellUD15 (15)1967-02-0625 years, 20 daysUnited States Houston, TXRetained WBC, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
Won WBA title.
27Win27–0United States Cleveland WilliamsTKO3 (15)1966-11-1424 years, 301 daysUnited States Houston, TXRetained WBC, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
26Win26–0West Germany Karl MildenbergerTKO12 (15)1966-09-1024 years, 236 daysWest Germany Frankfurt, West GermanyRetained WBC, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
25Win25–0United Kingdom Brian LondonKO3 (15)1966-08-0624 years, 201 daysUnited Kingdom London, U.K.Retained WBC, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
24Win24–0United Kingdom Henry CooperTKO6 (15), 1:381966-05-2124 years, 124 daysUnited Kingdom London, U.K.Retained WBC, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
23Win23–0Canada George ChuvaloUD151966-03-2924 years, 71 daysCanada Toronto, CanadaRetained WBC, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
22Win22–0United States Floyd PattersonTKO12 (15), 2:181965-11-2223 years, 309 daysUnited States Las Vegas, NVRetained WBC, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
21Win21–0United States Sonny ListonKO1 (15), 2:121965-05-2523 years, 128 daysUnited States Lewiston, ME"Ali vs. Liston (II)"
Retained WBC, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles.
20Win20–0United States Sonny ListonTKO7 (15)1964-02-2522 years, 39 daysUnited States Miami Beach, FL"Clay Liston I",
Won WBA, WBC, The Ring & Lineal Heavyweight titles;
Stripped of WBA title on June 19, 1964.
19Win19–0United Kingdom Henry CooperTKO5 (10), 2:151963-06-1821 years, 152 daysUnited Kingdom London, U.K.
18Win18–0United States Doug JonesUD101963-03-1321 years, 55 daysUnited States New York, N.Y.
17Win17–0United States Charlie PowellKO3 (10), 2:041963-01-2421 years, 7 daysUnited States Pittsburgh, PA
16Win16–0United States Archie MooreTKO4 (10), 1:351962-11-1520 years, 302 daysUnited States Los Angeles, CA
15Win15–0Argentina Alejandro LavoranteKO5 (10), 1:481962-07-2020 years, 184 daysUnited States Los Angeles, CA
14Win14–0United States Billy DanielsTKO7 (10), 2:211962-05-1920 years, 122 daysUnited States New York, N.Y.
13Win13–0United States George LoganTKO4 (10), 1:341962-04-2320 years, 96 daysUnited States New York, N.Y.
12Win12–0United States Don WarnerTKO4 (10), 0:341962-03-2820 years, 70 daysUnited States Miami Beach, FL
11Win11–0United States Sonny BanksTKO4 (10), 0:261962-02-1020 years, 24 daysUnited States New York, N.Y.
10Win10–0West Germany Willi BesmanoffTKO7 (10), 1:551961-11-2919 years, 316 daysUnited States Louisville, KY
9Win9–0Argentina Alex MiteffTKO6 (10), 1:451961-10-0719 years, 263 daysUnited States Louisville, KY
8Win8–0United States Alonzo JohnsonUD(10)1961-07-2219 years, 186 daysUnited States Louisville, KY
7Win7–0United States Duke SabedongUD101961-06-2619 years, 160 daysUnited States Las Vegas, NV
6Win6–0United States LaMar ClarkKO2 (10), 1:271961-04-1919 years, 92 daysUnited States Louisville, KY
5Win5–0United States Donnie FleemanTKO7 (8)1961-02-2119 years, 35 daysUnited States Miami Beach, FL
4Win4–0United States Jim RobinsonKO1 (8), 1:341961-02-0719 years, 21 daysUnited States Miami Beach, FL
3Win3–0United States Tony EspertiTKO3 (8), 1:301961-01-1719 years, 0 daysUnited States Miami Beach, FL
2Win2–0United States Herb SilerKO4 (8)1960-12-2718 years, 345 daysUnited States Miami Beach, FL
1Win1–0United States Tunney HunsakerUD6 (6)1960-10-2918 years, 286 daysUnited States Louisville, KY

See also[edit]

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Muhammad Ali
Professional Boxer
Muhammad Ali /ɑːˈliː/; was an American Olympic and professional boxer and activist, widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated sports figures of the 20th century. Wikipedia
Born: January 17, 1942, Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Died: June 3, 2016, Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
Children: Laila Ali, Rasheda Ali, Hana Ali, Asaad Amin, Maryum Ali,Jamillah Ali, Khaliah Ali, Muhammad Ali Jr., Miya Ali
Spouse: Lonnie Ali (m. 1986–2016), more
Siblings: Rahman Ali
Quotes

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.
The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.
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Muhammad Ali and Yolonda Williams were married for 29 years (until 2016).
Yolonda Williams
Spouse

Laila Ali is Muhammad Ali's daughter.
Laila Ali
Daughter

Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson

Muhammad Ali and Veronica Porsche Ali were married for 9 years (until 1986).
Veronica Porché Ali
Former spouse

Rasheda Ali is Muhammad Ali's daughter.
Rasheda Ali
Daughter
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