Muhammad Ali

For other people with similar names, see Muhammad Ali (disambiguation). For the 19th century politician, see Cassius Marcellus Clay

Muhammad Ali
Born	Muhammad Ali-Haj January 17, 1942 Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Nationality	US American
Other names	The Greatest
Statistics
Weight(s)	Heavyweight
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	61
Wins	56
Wins by KO	37
Losses	5

Muhammad Ali-Haj (Arabic: محمد على) born January 17, 1942 (as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.) in Louisville, Kentucky, nicknamed "The Greatest", is a retired American boxer. He is considered by many to be the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, as well as one of the world's most famous individuals, renowned the world over for his boxing and political activism. In 1999, he was crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated, and is considered by many to be one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century.

Ali had a highly unorthodox style for a heavyweight boxer. He carried his hands at his sides, rather than the orthodox boxing style of carrying the hands high to defend the face. Instead, he relied on his extraordinary reflexes and footwork to keep him away from his opponents' blows.

Biography

Professional career

File:GordonParksLife10231970.jpg

Gordon Parks portrait of Ali in 1970.

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, Duke Sabedong, Alonzo Johnson, George Logan, Willi Besmanoff, and Lamar Clark (who had won his previous 40 bouts by knockout), Doug Jones, and Henry Cooper. Among Clay's more impressive victories were against Sonny Banks (who knocked him down earlier in the bout), Alejandro Lavorante, and Archie Moore (a boxing legend who had won over 200 previous fights). Cassius became the number one contender for Sonny Liston's title. Liston was greatly feared, and some have said that he was the Mike Tyson of his era. Almost no one gave the young boxer a chance of beating Liston. The date was fixed for February 25, 1964; during the weigh-in, the boisterous Ali declared that he would "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee."

First title fight

Main article: Ali versus Liston

Clay, however, had a plan. Misreading Clay's exuberance as nervousness, Liston was over-confident, and unprepared for any result but a quick stoppage. In the opening rounds, Clay's speed kept him away from Liston's powerful head and body shots, as he used his height and reach advantage to effectively beat Liston to the punch with his jab. By the third, Clay was clearly on top, and had opened a large cut under Liston's eye. Liston regained some ground in the fourth, as Clay was blinded by a foreign substance. It is unknown whether this was something used to close Liston's cuts, or applied to Liston's gloves for a nefarious purpose. Partially-sighted, Clay passively sought to escape Liston's offensive. He was able to keep out of range until his sweat cleaned the ointment from his eyes, responding with a flurry of combinations near the end of the fifth round. By the sixth, he was looking for a finish and dominated Liston. The end came after that round, when Liston retired on his stool, later claiming his shoulder had become dislocated. Clay leapt out of his corner, proclaiming himself "King of the World", and demanding the writers eat their words!

Clay was duly crowned the heavyweight champion of the world. He would reconfirm his abilities when he knocked out Liston in the first round of their rematch in Lewiston, Maine on May 25, 1965, albeit controversially, as few observers saw the "phantom punch" that floored Liston. Because boxing insiders knew that Liston's career had been in part sponsored by organized crime interests, there were whispers that Liston had taken a dive. However, film analysis and eyewitness accounts indicate that Ali did land a short, hard right cross, too quickly for most spectators to see accurately. Ali himself suspected at first that Liston could have gotten up from the punch but stayed down; hence the famous photo of Ali, standing over the fallen Liston and shouting at him to get up. No evidence or testimony supporting a fix has ever been produced. It is possible that Liston was out of shape for the fight and had little faith that he could dent Ali's style any more than he had in Miami; so, when Ali knocked him down, he simply lost his will to continue. However, Liston did seem to rise on wobbly legs (referee Jersey Joe Walcott, possibly because of Ali's antics and scornful rebuke of Liston, hesitated at first to count Liston out), and Liston apparently offered no defense as Ali resumed the fight for a few seconds before Walcott retroactively declared the fight over. That November, Ali met and defeated former champion Floyd Patterson. Patterson had been a childhood hero of Ali's, and as such Ali was terribly hurt by the fact that Patterson refused to acknowledge the new name he had taken, his conversion to Islam, and Patterson's insistence that Ali was a bad role model for children. Ali resolved to humiliate Patterson in the ring, and Patterson, well past his prime, was helpless to do anything about it. The referee stopped the fight in Round 12, after Patterson had taken a terrible beating.

Clay changes his name to Muhammad Ali

In between the two matches, he also became famous for other reasons: he revealed that he was a member of the Nation of Islam (often called the Black Muslims at the time) and changed his name to Cassius X. He was soon given the name Muhammad Ali by the leader of the Nation, Elijah Muhammad, who revealed the name to Ali as "his true name," although only a few journalists (most notably Howard Cosell) accepted it at that time. He thence travelled to Mecca to investigate orthodox Islam, thus converting to Sunni Islam. 1966 and early 1967 were a busy time for the champion. In a period of a year, he defended his title seven times. No other champion has had that many defenses in only a year. In March, 1966, Ali won a unanimous decision over tough Canadian champion George Chuvalo (who was never knocked down in his career). Ali then traveled to England to face "British Bulldog" Brian London, and Henry Cooper (who had knocked Clay down in their initial 1963, non-title match). Ali won both fights by knockout. He traveled to Germany next, to face southpaw Karl Mildenberger (who was the first German to fight for the title since Max Schmeling). In one of his tougher fights, Ali finally won by knockout in Round 12. In November, 1966, Ali returned to the United States to face Cleveland "Big Cat" Williams in the Houston Astrodome. Williams had one of the highest knockout percentages in history, and has often been ranked as one of the finest fighters who never won a title. Many felt he would give the champion a tough battle. However, Ali easily knocked him out in the third round. Many consider Ali's fight with Williams to be his finest performance. In February of 1967, Ali faced Ernie Terrell at Madison Square Garden. Terrell had refused to acknowledge Ali's name, instead referring to him as "Cassius", "Clay" or "Boy". The champ vowed to punish Terrell for this perceived insolence. Even though the fight went to a decision, Ali delivered a horrible beating and won every round. He kept taunting the challenger throughout the fight: after every hit, Ali hollered "What's my name?" Many called his treatment cruel and brutal. In March of the same year, and in the same location, he faced Zora Folley. He showed what a breath-taking fighter he was, by throwing every punch sharply and on target. He knocked out the challenger in Round 7.

It was also in this same year that he refused to serve in the American army during the Vietnam War as a conscientious objector, because "War is against the teachings of the Holy Koran. I'm not trying to dodge the draft. We are 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 "I ain't got no quarrel with those Vietcong." (This is often misquoted as "No Vietnamese ever called me a nigger"). Ali was stripped of his championship belt and his license to box, and was sentenced to five years in prison. The sentence was overturned on appeal four years later, by a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court.

In 2000, Ali's best friend, photographer Howard Bingham, collaborated with journalist Max Wallace on a behind-the-scenes chronicle of this period, Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight: Cassius Clay vs. the United States of America, published by M. Evans & Company. Ali himself wrote the foreword for the book, which contains many never before heard anecdotes about this period, including the fact that Ali was so broke after giving up his title that he resorted to pumping gas at a Chicago gas station.

File:AliEsquireCover1.JPG

Ali on the cover of Esquire Magazine

Ali's actions in refusing military service and aligning himself with the Nation of Islam, made him a lightning rod of controversy, turning the outspoken but popular former champion into one of that era's most recognizable and controversial figures. Appearing at rallies with Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad and declaring his allegiance to him at a time when mainstream America viewed them with suspicion—if not actual 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.

In 1969, Ali fought Rocky Marciano in computerized fight, known as, The Superfight: Marciano vs. Ali. This fight was under the promotion of Murry Woroner, a Miami boxing promoter, who ran a fantasy boxing radio show, filled with fantasy matches, with the blow by blow by Murry Woroner, himself.

The 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. In October of 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 of 1970. Ali stopped Bonavena in the 15th round, 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. This fight, known as The Fight of the Century, is one of the most famous and eagerly anticipated bouts of all time, since 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 final round.

In 1973, Ali split two bouts with Ken Norton (in the bout that Ali lost to Norton, Ali suffered a broken jaw, but refused to quit), before beating Frazier on points in their 1974 rematch, to earn another title shot.

Ali's religious views also changed with time. He began to study the Qur'an, and converted to Sunni Islam, rejecting the teachings of the Nation of Islam.

The Rumble in the Jungle and Thrilla in Manila

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Ali on the cover of Sports Illustrated (December 23, 1974)

The incumbent, George Foreman, was a large, hard-hitting, undefeated young fighter who had previously demolished Frazier, KO'ing him in the second round of their championship fight. The fight was held in Zaire, and promoted by Don King as "The Rumble in the Jungle." In the October 30, 1974 bout, that would cement his reputation as "The Greatest", Ali boxed his best tactical fight. Leading with his "wrong" hand (the right hand lead, which Foreman would not have expected due to it being a normally slow and obvious move - but Ali had such fast hands that he could get away with it, and made Foreman furious as he did so) and playing "rope-a-dope" by leaning far back on the ropes, Ali absorbed everything Foreman could throw at him, whilst only occasionally throwing counter-punches and taunting Foreman to throw more and harder punches. By the end of the fifth round, all that activity and the weather conditions, (it was an extremely hot and humid night), had Foreman tired and reeling, and Ali was able to attack a little more, sometimes throwing light punches, sometimes landing hard, crisp combinations. Foreman kept advancing, but his blows were much less effective, and near the end of the eighth, Ali's right hand finally sent the exhausted Foreman to the floor. As a result of this fight, Ali was awarded the 1974 Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year, and Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award.

In 1975, Ali defeated Joe Frazier once more in the "Thrilla In Manila", in the Philippines. This fight surpassed their earlier bouts, and is one of the best-known heavyweight fights ever. After 14 grueling rounds, Frazier's trainer Eddie Futch refused to allow Frazier to continue, and Ali left, the winner by TKO. Ali was quoted after the fight as saying "This must be what death feels like". Ring Magazine called this bout 1975's Fight of the Year, the fifth year an Ali fight had earned that distinction. Many felt Ali should have retired after this fight; however, he continued to box. 1976 saw him knock out two largely unknown opponents, Belgian stonecutter Jean-Pierre Coopman and English boxer Richard Dunn. On April 30, 1976 Ali faced Jimmy Young in Landover, Maryland. Ali was heavy and out of shape and won a lackluster decision. In September, Ali faced Ken Norton in their third fight, held at Yankee Stadium. The champion won a unanimous decision, although it was highly disputed by some observers.

In September of 1977 Ali faced Ernie Shavers at Madison Square Garden. Ali won on points after 15 rounds.

Ali would retain his title until a February 1978 split decision loss to 1976 Olympic champion Leon Spinks, who was fighting in only his eighth professional fight. Stunned by the upset, Ali re-dedicated himself to his craft. He soundly defeated Spinks by unanimous decision in a September rematch in New Orleans at the Superdome, becoming the first man to win the world heavyweight championship three times. Then on June 27, 1979, he announced his retirement and vacated the title.

"The Greatest" is gone

That retirement was short-lived, however, and on October 2, 1980, he challenged Larry Holmes for the WBC's version of the world Heavyweight title. Looking to set another record, as the first boxer to win the Heavyweight title four times, Ali lost by technical knockout in round eleven, when Dundee would not let him come out for the round. The Holmes fight, promoted as "The Last Hurrah", was a fight many fans and experts view with disdain, because of what many viewed as a "deteriorated version" of Ali. Holmes was Ali's sparring partner when Holmes was a budding fighter; thus, some viewed the result of the fight as a symbolic "passing of the torch." Holmes even admitted later that, although he dominated the fight, he held his punches back a bit out of sheer respect for his idol, and former employer. It was revealed after the fight that Ali had been examined at the Mayo Clinic, and the results were shocking. He had admitted to tingling in his hands, and slurring of his speech. The exam revealed he actually had a hole in the membrane of his brain. However, Don King withheld this report, and allowed the fight to go on.

Despite the apparent finality of his loss to Holmes and his increasingly suspect medical condition, Ali would fight one more time. On December 11, 1981, he fought rising contender and future world champion Trevor Berbick, in what was billed as "The Drama in the Bahamas." Because Ali was widely viewed as a damaged fighter, few American venues expressed much interest in hosting the bout, and few fans expressed much interest in attending or watching it. Compared to the mega-fights Ali fought in widely known venues earlier in his career, the match took place in virtual obscurity, in Nassau. Although Ali performed marginally better against Berbick than he had against Holmes fourteen months earlier, he still lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Berbick, who at 27 was twelve years younger.

Following this loss, Ali retired permanently in 1981, with a career record of 56 wins (37 by knockout) and 5 losses.

In retirement

Ali was diagnosed with some type of Parkinson's syndrome in the early 1980s, following which his motor functions began a slow decline. This was eventually determined to be Pugilistic Parkinson's syndrome, but in the 1980s [1] and even into the late 1990s [2] some doctors (and Ali himself for a time) suggested the the ailment was not degenerative, not Pugilistic Parkinson's, and even that it was unrelated to boxing - positions now largely abandoned.[3] By late 2005 it was reported that Ali's condition was notably worsening.[4]. According to the documentary When We Were Kings, when Ali is asked about whether he has any regrets about boxing due to his disability, Ali responds that if he didn't box he would still be a painter in Louisville, Kentucky.

Despite the disability, he remains a hero to millions around the world. In 1985, he served as a guest referee at the inagural WrestleMania event. Later that year, he was called upon to negotiate for the release of kidnapped Americans in Lebanon. In 1996, he had the honor of lighting the flame at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Every public appearance by Ali is treasured, including his appearance at the 1998 AFL Grand Final, where NFL Hall of Famer Anthony Pratt recruited him to watch the game. He also greets runners at the start line of the Los Angeles Marathon every year.

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." The $60 million Muhammad Ali Center opened in downtown Louisville, Kentucky on November 19, 2005 (his 19th wedding anniversary). In addition to displaying his boxing memorabilia, the center focuses on core themes of peace, social responsibility, respect, and personal growth. Muhammad Ali currently lives in Michigan with his fourth wife, Yolanda Williams.

He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony on November 9, 2005 ^[5].

Personal life

Muhammad Ali has been married four times. His first wife was Sonji Roi, whom he married on August 14, 1964, and she had his first two children, they divorced on January 10, 1966. His second wife was Khalilah 'Belinda' Ali, whom he married on August 17, 1967; and she had four of his nine children, they divorced in 1977. His third wife was Veronica Porsche Ali, whom he married on August 19, 1977, and she had two children with him, one of which was Laila Ali; they divorced in July, 1986. His fourth and current wife is Lonnie Ali, whom he married on November 19, 1986, and they adopted a son named Asaad. His children are: Rasheedah, Jamilla, Maryum, Miya, Khalilah, Hana, Laila, Muhammad Jr. and Asaad. He also learned Taekwondo from Jhoon Rhee.

External links

• Muhammad Ali official website
• Muhammad Ali Center
• United Athletes Magazine Ali's physical qualities and abilities.
• Muhammad Ali's profile at FamousMuslims.com
• Muhammad Ali's Career Record
• http://www.boxing-memorabilia.com/aliirish.htm - Muhammad Ali's Irish Heritage
• Muhammad Ali Fights List