Muhammad Ali-Haj (born January 17, 1942 as Cassius Marcellus
Clay Jr.) is an American boxer. He is considered to be one of the
world's greatest heavyweight boxers, 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 reach (83 inches) to keep him away from his opponents' blows. Ali punched to the head much more than most boxers—a high-risk strategy since, over the duration of a long fight, punches to the body can be much more effective in tiring an opponent out.
At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, he won a gold medal as a light heavyweight boxer. Ali would later dispose of the medal in response to some racial slurs. He then turned professional under the tutelage of boxing legend Angelo Dundee and quickly became famous for his unorthodox style, his spectacular results, and his tireless self-promotion (the latter inspired in part by professional wrestler Gorgeous George and singer Little Richard). He made a name for himself as the "Louisville Lip" by composing poems predicting in which round he would knock out his opponent. He boisterously sang his own praises, with sayings like "I am the greatest" and "I'm young, I'm pretty, I'm fast, and no one can beat me."
In Louisville on 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). 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, sting like a bee."
First Title Fight
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, greater even than his
idols, Sugar Ray Robinson and Archie Moore, kept him away from Liston's
powerful head and body shots, as he used his height and reach advantage
to effectively counterpunch with the jab. As early as the third round,
Liston began to visibly tire, and Clay took full advantage, landing
several heavy punches. 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 was
able to keep out of range, and by the fifth and into the sixth, he
was looking for a finish. That came before the seventh, 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.
That November, Clay met and defeated former champion Floyd Patterson.
The referee stopped the fight in Round 12 after Patterson had taken
a horrible beating.
Clay becomes Ali
In between the two matches, he also became famous for other reasons:
he joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali,
although only a few journalists (most notably Howard Cosell) accepted
it. 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, he 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 him down
in their initial 1963 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.
In February of 1967, Ali faced Ernie Terrell in the Astrodome at Madison
Square Garden. Terrell had refused to acknowledge Ali's name and the
champ vowed to punish him 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. Ali's fight with the 35 year-old
Folley is regarded by many as his finest performance in the ring. He
showed what a breathtaking 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 he refused to serve in the American army during the Vietnam War as a conscientious objector, famously saying that he "got nothing against no Viet Cong" and "No Vietnamese ever called me a nigger." He was stripped of his championship belt and his license to box and sentenced to five years in prison. The sentence was overturned on appeal three years later, by a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court.
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 leaders Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X and declaring his allegiance to them 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 racial separatism.
In 1970, granted a license to box once more following his Supreme Court victory wherein he was granted his right to refuse military service for religious reasons, he began a comeback. But he suffered a setback when he lost his 1971 title fight, a bruising 15-round encounter with Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden. This fight, known simply as "The Fight," was perhaps 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. Ali split two bouts with Ken Norton 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
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. Foreman was the heavy
favorite. 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 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. By
the end of the sixth round, Foreman had punched himself out, and Ali
was able to attack a little more. 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, he 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 became one of the most well-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. Along with the "Rumble", his fights with Frazier are widely considered among the greatest in boxing history. 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 and many regard this as his worst fight. Ali was heavy and out of shape, refusing to take the young challenger seriously. Ali was awarded a unanimous decision, but it was widely booed by the crowd. Many who scored the fight at ringside thought Young deserved the decision. Even Ali's loyal trainer Angelo Dundee said this was his worst performance in the ring. In September, Ali faced Ken Norton in their third fight held at Yankee Stadium. Once again, the champion won a widely debated decision.
He would retain his title until a 1978 loss to 1976 Olympic champion Leon Spinks, who was fighting in only his eighth professional fight. He defeated Spinks in a rematch, becoming the heavyweight champion for the record third time. Then on June 27, 1979, he announced his retirement and vacated the title.
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, he 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 an examination at the Mayo Clinic and the results were shocking. He 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, against 5 losses.
In Retirement
Ali was diagnosed with pugilistic Parkinson's syndrome in 1982, following
which his motor functions began a slow decline.
Despite this, he remains a hero to millions around the world. In 1985, he was called on to negotiate for the release of kidnapped Americans in Lebanon. In 1996, he had the honor of lighting the Olympic flame in Atlanta, Georgia. At the same Olympics, Ali was also presented with a replacement gold medal. He had supposedly thrown the previous one, won in 1960, into the Ohio River after witnessing a white man being refused entry to a black church, confirming his own suspicions that black people were racist too.
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 is scheduled to open in downtown Louisville, Kentucky in the Fall of 2005. In addition to displaying his boxing memorabilia, the center will focus on core themes of peace, social responsibility, respect, and personal growth.
Muhammad Ali currently lives in Michigan. His current wife Lonnie Williams (his fourth) is also from Louisville. He has nine children: Maryum, Rasheeda, Jamillah, Hana, Laila, Khaliah, Miya, Muhammad Junior and Asaad.
This biography is courtesy of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia