Muhammad Ali

Biography

Muhammad Ali, originally named Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky. He was an American boxer and activist, hailed as the greatest heavyweight boxer ever. Known as 'the Greatest,' Ali's professional record positions him among the top athletes in sports history. He held the Ring magazine heavyweight title from 1964 to 1970, was the world heavyweight champion from 1974 to 1978, and held the WBA and Ring heavyweight titles from 1978 to 1979. In 1999, Sports Illustrated named him Sportsman of the Century, and the BBC called him the Sports Personality of the Century.

Ali won a gold medal in the light heavyweight category at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome when he was 18 and went professional that year. On February 25, 1964, he surprised the boxing world by defeating Sonny Liston to win the world heavyweight title, considered a major upset. He soon announced his membership in the Nation of Islam and changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali, calling his birth name a 'slave name.' He later converted to Sunni Islam in the mid-1970s after Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad's death.

In 1967, Ali refused to join the United States Armed Forces, citing his religious beliefs and moral stance against the Vietnam War. He was convicted of draft evasion, lost his boxing licenses and titles, and was banned from professional boxing for about four years. His conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1971 in Clay v. United States. The enforced break cost him some of his best years in sports, but his role as a conscientious objector made him a significant figure for the antiwar movement and a symbol of racial pride during the civil rights era.

When he returned to boxing, Ali took part in some of the most famous fights in history. His rivalry with Joe Frazier included three legendary matches, like the 'Fight of the Century' in 1971 and the 'Thrilla in Manila' in 1975. His 1974 win over heavyweight champion George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire, called the 'Rumble in the Jungle,' where he used his renowned 'rope-a-dope' strategy, is considered one of boxing's greatest upsets and performances. Ali retired in 1981 with a record of 56 wins and 5 losses.

Later, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's syndrome, which he lived with for over three decades. Despite his declining health, he stayed active in humanitarian causes and earned many honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 and induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Ali passed away on June 3, 2016, in Scottsdale, Arizona, at 74. He was married four times, to Sonji Roi, Khalilah Ali, Veronica Porché Ali, and Yolanda Williams.