Muhammad Ali was the heavyweight champion with a record of 56 wins. He is also known for his public stance on the Vietnam War.
Who was Muhammad Ali?
Muhammad Ali was a boxer, philanthropist, and social activist who is widely regarded as one of the best athletes of the 20th century. Ali won an Olympic gold medal in 1960 and a world weight champion in 1964.
When he was suspended for refusing military service, Ali won the heavyweight title twice in the 1970s, winning popular titles against Joe Frazier and George Foreman along the way. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984, Ali spent most of his time in aid work, winning presidential independence in 2005.
Early Life
Muhammad Ali was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky. Cassius Marcello Clay Jr.’s birth name.
At a young age, young Clay showed that he wasn’t afraid to shop, in or out of the ring. Raised in the divided South, he was persecuted and discriminated against outright.
At the age of 12, Clay discovered his boxing skills through various crafts. When he steals his bike, Clay tells police officer Joe Martin that he wants to beat up the thief.
“Well, you better learn to fight before you start challenging people,” Martin said then. In addition to being a police officer, Martin trains boxers at a local gym.
Clay began working with Martin to learn how to make spars and immediately started boxing. In his first amateur match in 1954, he won the fight by separate decision.
Clay went on to win the 1956 Golden Glove competition for beginners in the heavyweight division. Three years later, he won the national gold cup competition, as well as the national Amateur Athletic Union title for the heavyweight division.
Olympic gold
In 1960, Clay won a place on the United States boxing team and traveled to Rome, Italy to compete. At six feet and three inches long, Clay is famous for his rings, but he has also become known for his speed and thought-provoking work. After winning his first three rounds, Clay beat Zbigniew Pietrzkowski of Poland to win the Olympic weightlifting title.
After his Olympic victory, Clay was hailed as an American hero. He soon turned pro with the support of the Louisville Sponsor Group and won all opponents in the ring.
Convert to Islam
Clay joined the Black Muslim Nation of Islam in 1964. He wore Cassius X before living on behalf of Muhammad Ali. The boxer converted to Orthodox Islam in the 1970s.
Vietnam case in Supreme Court
Muhammad Ali started the war and his interesting ideas were against the Vietnam War.
Enlisted in the army in April 1967, he refused to serve because he was a devout Muslim and could not fight the war. He was arrested for a crime that soon destroyed the world’s reputation and his boxing abilities.
The United States Department of Justice has sued Ali, denying his request for conscientious objection. He was convicted of violating the service law and sentenced to five years in prison in June 1967, but he is still awaiting his appeal.
So far, not being able to compete professionally, Ali has missed more than three important years of his playing career. Ali returned to the ring in 1970 with a Jerry Quarry victory, the United States Supreme Court finally overturning the case in June 1971.
Muhammad Ali: Record
Muhammad Ali had a career record of 56 wins, five defeats, and 37 knockouts before retiring in 1981 at the age of 39.
Fights
Often referred to as “The Greatest”, Ali is not afraid to sing his song. He is known for bragging about his art before fighting it off with beautiful details and sentences.
In one of his most famous remarks, Ali told reporters that he could “swim like a butterfly, run like a bee” in the ring. Some of the more popular games include:
Sonny Liston
When Muhammad Ali won gold at the 1960 Olympics, Ali went up against British heavyweight champion Henry Cooper in 1963. He went up against Sonny Liston in 1964 to become the world heavyweight champion.
Joe Frazier
In 1971, Muhammad Ali joined Joe Frazier in “Fight of the Age”. Frazier and Ali entered in the 14th minute before Frazier Ali fired with a bad left hook in the 15th minute. Ali quickly won, but the judge handed Frazier a verdict, giving Ali his first professional win in 31 wins.
After Ken Norton’s victory, Ali defeated Frazier in the 1974 replay.
In 1975, Ali and Frazier blocked another tournament in Quezon City, Philippines. Known as “Thrilla and Manila”, the fight is almost long, with two men approaching and receiving fierce punishment. However, teacher Frazier rose after the fourteenth round, giving Ali a strong win.
George Foreman
Muhammad Ali’s most famous fight took place in 1974 against George Foreman’s unprotected heavyweight championship. Funded by “Rumble in the Jungle”, sponsor Don King organized the competition and performed in Kinnasa, Zaire.
At one point Ali was seen as a young man, a great team leader, but he ended his criticism with a great job. He forced Foreman to use a “rope-a-dope” tactic to throw a boar, before hitting his opponent with an eighth-round shot to regain his weight.
Leon Spinks
After making a name for himself with Leon Spinks in February 1978, Ali won the September 1978 replacement, becoming the first boxer to win the heavyweight title three times.
Larry Holmes
After a brief retirement, Ali returned to the ring to face Larry Holmes in 1980 but beat the junior champions.
After a final defeat in 1981, against Trevor Berbick, the boxer retired from the sport at the age of 39.
Wife and children
Ali has been married four times and has nine children, two of whom are unmarried.
Ali married his first wife, Sonji Roi, in 1964; they separated a year later when she refused to accept Islamic clothing and culture.
Ali married his second wife, 17-year-old Belinda Boyd, in 1967. Boyd and Ali have four children together: Maryum, born in 1969; Jamillah and Lebanon, born in 1970; by Muhammad Ali Jr .; was born in 1972. Boyd and Ali divorced in 1976.
At the same time, Ali Boyd married and frequently traveled with Veronica Porche, who became his third wife in 1977. The couple had two daughters together, including Laila Ali, who followed in Ali’s footsteps by becoming a boxer. Porche and Ali divorced in 1986.
Ali married his fourth wife and Yolanda (“Lonnie”) in 1986. The couple has known each other since Lonnie was only six and Ali was 21; their mothers were good friends and raised their family on the same path. Ali and Lonnie remained married until his death and had a son, Asaad.
Death
Ali died on June 3, 2016, in Phoenix, Arizona, after being hospitalized for respiratory problems. He is seventy-four years old.
The boxing legend suffers from Parkinson’s disease and spinal injuries. In early 2015, the athlete had complications with pneumonia and was hospitalized for an acute urinary tract infection.
