Who is Muhammad Ali?

In 1999, Sports Illustrated named Muhammad Ali Sportsman of the Century. Not Boxer of the Century. Sportsman of the Century. Not of the year. Not even of the decade. Of the century. He needs no further introduction. He is one of the greatest sports heroes in history. Period.

But it is not just because of these accolades that Ali is one of our heroes. In and out of the ring, he was our superhero: bold, confident, abrasive, opinionated, a man of conviction and a model for children and adults everywhere. There were times when we loved to hate him, but always we admired and respected him.

What Made the Ali

Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky to Odessa Grady Clay and Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. His love affair with boxing began when he was 12 years old. His bicycle was stolen from in front of a department store. A very upset young Clay found a policeman, Joe Elsby Martin, Sr., coach of the Louisville city boxing program. Clay told Martin what had happened and that he wanted to whup whoever had stolen his bike. Martin was quick to respond that Clay should learn to fight if he really intended to whup someone. The 89-pound boy showed up at Louisville’s Columbia Gym the very next day.

He started taking boxing lessons from Martin, who taught him the moves that would someday lead to his famous saying, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

From that fateful day in 1954, Clay approached boxing with a more determined and committed attitude than most of the other young fighters. He was victorious in 100 out of 108 matches during his amateur career, winning six Kentucky (Golden Gloves championships, two National Golden Gloves championships and two National Amateur Athletic Union titles before he reached the age of 18. He also took home a light heavyweight gold medal from the I960 Olympics in Rome, just a few months after he turned 18.

Throughout his professional boxing career, Clay never lost his sass. He was always running his mouth and was dubbed The Louisville Lip. Not only did he constantly dog his opponents, but he also spoke in front of the media, which was rare in the days when managers usually talked on behalf of their fighters. Clay’s big mouth certainly threw some fighters off their game, as did his unorthodox heavyweight boxing style of relying on his reflexes and footwork rather than his hands to protect himself from getting hit in the face.

Clay’s distinctive and unusual style of fighting would eventually lead him to become one of the best, if not the best, heavyweight boxers of all time. He won his first professional fight on October 29, I960, in Louisville, and, from I960 to 1963, his record was 19-0, with 15 knockouts. In 1964, Clay was the No. 1 contender for Sonny Liston’s title. He beat Liston in the seventh round and shocked the world even further by announcing the next day that he had joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Cassius X. Soon after, Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation, gave Clay his true Islamic name: Muhammad Ali.

That same year, Ah failed the qualifying exam for the Armed Forces. But he was reclassified 1A in early 1966 when the exam was revised. However, as a result of his beliefs in the Quran, which teaches against fighting in Christian wars, Ah refused to serve in the army during the Vietnam War. He was pretty much banned from boxing in the United States and could only accept fights in other countries for almost all of 1966.

After defending his title against Liston, whom he knocked out in the seventh round, on May 25, 1965, in Lewiston, Maine, and then defeating former champion Floyd Patterson in November of that same year, Ah defended his title another eight times. The force that eventually stopped him was not another fighter, but rather the Professional Boxing Commission, which took the championship title away from him near the end of 1967 because of his refusal to be drafted for the Vietnam War. The commission refused to let him fight professionally for more than 3 years, during which time Ali earned wages by speaking at rallies on college campuses that were against the war.

Eventually regaining his boxing license, Ali fought his first match against the undefeated champion, Joe Frazier, on March 8. 1971. at Madison Square Garden. The fight was coined The Fight of the Century or. more simply, The Fight. Frazier beat him in points, knocking him down with a hard left hook in the last round.

However, a few years later, Ali beat Frazier in points at their 1974 rematch. He was on his way to another shot at the title.

This shot, The Rumble in the Jungle, would prove to be the most important one of Ali’s career. The fight was against George Foreman and was one of the first matches to be promoted by Don King. It was set for October 30, 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali beat Foreman by a knockout in the eighth round to regain the championship title.

In 1975, Ah converted from the Nation of Islam to orthodox Sunni Islam and won what many of his fans felt should have been his last fight before retirement. He fought Joe Frazier on October 1 in Quezon City, Philippines, and won by a technical knockout after 14 rounds, when Frazier’s trainer refused to let him continue fighting. The fight, coined The Thrilla in Manila, became the fifth Ali match to be named Fight of the Year by Ring Magazine.

Legacy of Muhammad Ali

Ali finally retired permanently after he lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Trevor Berbick on December 11, 1980, in the Bahamas. He left the world of professional boxing with a career record of 56 wins (37 by knockout) and 5 losses.

After Ali’s retirement, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s syndrome in the early 1980s. Doctors argued about whether or not his symptoms had been caused by boxing and he was finally diagnosed with Pugilistic Parkinson’s syndrome, a variation of the disease that plagues professional boxers due to receiving multiple blows to the head.

Ah has managed to accomplish much since stepping out of the boxing ring. In practicing his Islamic duty of carrying out good deeds, he has donated millions of dollars to organizations and disadvantaged people of all religious denominations. He has also been involved in work that is political and moral at the same time. He went to Iraq in 1990 to meet with Saddam Hussein and was able to negotiate the release of 15 hostages. He also asked the U.S. government and its people to come to the aid of the refugees in Rwanda. It has been estimated that Ali has helped to feed more than 22 million people who are afflicted by hunger.

On November 19, 2005, the doors of the $60 million nonprofit Muhammad Ali Center opened in downtown Louisville. The center not only showcases Ali’s boxing memorabilia but also promotes the themes of peace, respect, social responsibility and personal growth. In addition, he has received the following awards:

• Ellis Island Medal of Honor (1986)

• United Nations Messenger of Peace Award (1998)

• BBC Sports Personality of the Century Award (1999)

• Living Legend Award, Library of Congress (2000)

• Presidential Medal of Freedom (2005)

Ali has also written an autobiography, called The Greatest, and tried his hand at acting when the book was adapted into a film. He received positive reviews for his work in the movie. He has been married four times and has seven daughters and two sons. He currently resides at a small farm in Michigan with his wife, Yolanda “Lonnie” Ali.

Amongst all his activities, boxing has always remained an important part of Ali’s life. According to the documentary When We Were Kings, when asked about whether he had regrets about boxing because of the disorder he developed, Ali said that if he had not become a boxer, he would still be a painter in Louisville. But Muhammad Ali remains a boxer at heart, and he will remain in the hearts of others throughout the world long after he is gone.

Courtesy

For a deeper look inside the life of the man who called himself The Greatest, make sure to read his daughter’s first book, More Than a Hero: Muhammad Ali’s Life Lessons Presented Through His Daughter’s Eyes, Atria, 2000.