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Black History Icon: Muhammed Ali
Muhammad Ali
Fifty years ago today, Muhammad Ali (known at the time as Cassius Clay) became heavyweight champion of the world for the first time when he defeated Sonny Liston in Miami.
The 22-year-old entered the ring as a 7-1 shot, but a shock occurred in the seventh round when Liston threw in the towel.
It was a result that acted as the springboard for a glittering career, which Ali further enhanced with a host of famous quotes.
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; January 17, 1942) is an American former professional boxer, generally considered among the greatest heavyweights in the sport’s history. A controversial and polarizing figure during his early career, Ali is today widely regarded for not only the skills he displayed in the ring but also the values he exemplified outside of it: religious freedom, racial justice and the triumph of principle over expedience.[2][3] He is one of the most recognized sports figures of the past 100 years, crowned “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated and “Sports Personality of the Century” by the BBC.[4][5]
Born Cassius Clay, at the age of 22 he won the world heavyweight championship in 1964 from Sonny Liston in a stunning upset. Shortly after that bout, Ali joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name. He subsequently converted to Sunni Islam in 1975.
In 1967, three years after winning the heavyweight title, Ali refused to be conscripted into the U.S. military, citing his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War. The United States Government declined to recognize him as a conscientious objector, however, because Ali declared that he would fight in a war if directed to do so by Allah or his messenger (Elijah Muhammad). He was eventually arrested and found guilty on draft evasion charges and stripped of his boxing title. He did not fight again for nearly four years—losing a time of peak performance in an athlete’s career. Ali’s appeal worked its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where in 1971 his conviction was overturned on a technicality. The Supreme Court held that, since the appeal board gave no reason for the denial of a conscientious objector exemption to petitioner, it was impossible to determine on which of the three grounds offered in the Justice Department’s letter that board had relied.[6] Ali’s actions as a conscientious objector to the war made him an icon for the larger counterculture generation.[7][8]
Ali: The Boxer
Ali remains the only three-time lineal World Heavyweight Champion; he won the title in 1964, 1974, and 1978.
Nicknamed “The Greatest”, Ali was involved in several historic boxing matches.[9] Notable among these were the first Liston fight, three with rival Joe Frazier, and one with George Foreman, where he regained titles he had been stripped of seven years earlier.
Ali revolutionized the sport of boxing by sheer power and magnetism of his personality [10] At a time when most fighters let their managers do the talking, Ali thrived in — and indeed craved — the spotlight, where he was sometimes provocative, frequently outlandish and almost always entertaining.[11][12][13] He controlled most press conferences and interviews, and spoke freely about issues unrelated to boxing.[14][15] He transformed the role and image of the African American athlete in America by his embrace of racial pride and his willingness to antagonize the white establishment in doing so.[16][17][18] In the words of writer Joyce Carol Oates, he was one of the few athletes in any sport to completely “define the terms of his public reputation.”[19]
| Muhammad Ali | |
|---|---|
Muhammad Ali in 1967
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| Statistics | |
| Nickname(s) | The Greatest The People’s Champion The Louisville Lip |
| Rated at | Heavyweight |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1] |
| Reach | 80 in (203 cm) |
| Born | (1942-01-17) January 17, 1942 (age 72) Louisville, Kentucky, USA |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 61 |
| Wins | 56 |
| Wins by KO | 37 |
| Losses | 5 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
The Evolution! 