Muhammad Ali Biography

Muhammad Ali Biography (1942-2016)

ALSO LISTED IN                   :      Civil Rights Activists, Boxers
ALSO KNOWN AS                 :      Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.
NATIONALITY                       :      American    Famous American Men
RELIGION                               :      Sunni Islam
BORN ON                                :      17 January 1942 AD
BORN IN                                  :      Louisville
DIED ON                                  :      03 June 2016 AD
PLACE OF DEATH                  :      Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S
FATHER                                    :      Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr.
MOTHER                                  :      Odessa Grady Clay
SIBLINGS                                 :      Rahman Ali
SPOUSES                                  :      Yolonda Williams (m. 1986), Veronica Porsche Ali (m. 1977– 1986), 
                                                                              Belinda Boyd (m. 1967–1977), Sonji Roi (m. 1964–1966)
CHILDREN                               :      Laila Ali, Hana Ali, Asaad Amin, Khaliah Ali Muhammad Ali                                                               Jr., Rasheda Ali, Jamillah Ali Miya Ali, Maryum Ali
EDUCATION                             :      Central High School (1958)
NET WORTH                             :      $80 millionAWARDS: 2006 - CSHL Double Helix Medal 

Muhammad Ali (1942-) is an American former heavyweight champion boxer and one of the greatest sporting figures of the 20th century. An Olympic gold medalist and the first fighter to capture the heavyweight title three times, Ali won 56 times in his 21-year professional career. Ali’s outspokenness on issues of race, religion and politics made him a controversial figure during his career, and the heavyweight’s quips and taunts were as quick as his fists. Born Cassius Clay Jr., Ali changed his name in 1964 after joining the Nation of Islam. Citing his religious beliefs, he refused military induction and was stripped of his heavyweight championship and banned from boxing for three years during the prime of his career. Parkinson’s syndrome has severely impaired Ali’s motor skills and speech, but he remains active as a humanitarian and goodwill ambassador.

• In his first ever fight which took place in 1954 he won by a split decision. Following this, he won the 1956 Golden Gloves tournament for novices in the light heavyweight class.
• In 1959, he won the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, as well as the Amateur Athletic Union's national title for the light-heavyweight division.
• His outstanding achievements in his amateur years won him a seat in the US Olympic boxing team in 1960. He won the first three bouts to face Zbigniew Pietrzkowski from Poland. Crushing the latter, he earned his first gold at the event. The Olympic win garnered him a ‘hero’ status.
• His heroic wins, majority of which were through knockouts, made him the top contender for Sunny Liston’s title. As such, a fight was scheduled between the two in February 1964 in Miami.
• While Liston was the reigning champion, Clay seemed to be the underdog at the event, more so because his last fights against Jones and Cooper displayed lack of skills.
• Even before the fight began, the two turned the pre-fight weigh-in into a circus, demeaning and defaming each other, an incident which was the first-of-its-kind in the history of boxing. Enraged by the disparaging comments, Liston looked over for a quick knockout but lost the match in the sixth round
• Defeating Liston, he became the then youngest boxer to assume the title from a reigning heavyweight champion. Meanwhile, in 1964, he changed his name from Cassius Marcellus Clay to Muhammad Ali, converting to Islam.
• Following the conversion, a rematch was arranged between Ali and Liston. However, the second match bore the same result as the first one, except for the fact that it lasted for just about two minutes.
• His second title defence was against Floyd Patterson, who twice lost to Liston in first round knockouts. The match continued for 12 rounds post which he was declared the winner.
• In the following years, he won a match each against George Chuvalo, Henry Cooper, Brian London and Karl Mildenberger. His match against Cleveland Williams in the Houston Astrodome received much limelight, which he won convincingly in the third round TKO.
• In 1967, he stood against Terrell, who was the unbeaten heavyweight champion for five years. The fight prolonged for fifteen rounds, in which both the players displayed tremendous skill and prowess. Ali however won the fight in a unanimous decision.
• Ali was stripped of his title as he refused to render his services to the army in the Vietnam War. Not only was his boxing license suspended he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison along with a fine.
• After his period of exile, he made a comeback with a fight against Jerry Quarry on October 26, 1970.
• He was chosen as the top contender against heavyweight champion Joe Frazier. Nicknamed the Fight of the Century, it created a stir as two undefeated opponents were against each other. The fight took place on March 8, 1971. Though the initial rounds were neck to neck, in the latter Frazier took an advantageous lead and eventually won the contest. This was Ali’s first ever loss since his professional debut.
• In 1973, Ali lost the second fight of his career to Ken Norton, who broke his jaw. In their second bout Ali, won a controversial decision against Norton, thereby earning the right to fight against Joe Frazier, who had recently lost his title to George Foreman.
• Ali-Frazier rematch took place on January 28, 1974, and Ali won the bout.

MUHAMMAD ALI’S RETURN TO THE RING

After 43 months in exile, Ali returned to the ring on October 26, 1970, and knocked out Jerry Quarry (1945-1999) in the third round. On March 8, 1971, Ali got his chance to regain his heavyweight crown against reigning champ Joe Frazier (1944-2011) in what was billed as the “Fight of the Century.” The undefeated Frazier floored Ali with a hard left hook in the final round. Ali got up but lost in a unanimous decision, experiencing his first defeat as a pro.

Ali won his next 10 bouts before being defeated by Ken Norton (1943-). He won the rematch six months later in a split decision and gained further revenge in a unanimous decision over Frazier in a non-title rematch. The victory gave the 32-year-old Ali a title shot against 25-year-old champion George Foreman (1949-). The October 30, 1974, fight in Kinshasa, Zaire, was dubbed the “Rumble in the Jungle.” Ali, the decided underdog, employed his “rope-a-dope” strategy, leaning on the ring ropes and absorbing a barrage of blows from Foreman while waiting for his opponent to tire. The strategy worked, and Ali won in an eighth-round knockout to regain the title stripped from him seven years prior.

Ali successfully defended his title in 10 fights, including the memorable “Thrilla in Manila” on October 1, 1975, in which his bitter rival Frazier, his eyes swollen shut, was unable to answer the bell for the final round. Ali also defeated Norton in their third meeting in a unanimous 15-round decision.

On February 15, 1978, an aging Ali lost his title to Leon Spinks (1953-) in a 15-round split decision. Seven months later, Ali defeated Spinks in a unanimous 15-round decision to reclaim the heavyweight crown and become the first fighter to win the world heavyweight boxing title three times. After announcing his retirement in 1979, Ali launched a brief, unsuccessful comeback. However, he was overwhelmed in a technical knockout loss to Larry Holmes (1949-) in 1980, and he dropped a unanimous 10-round decision to Trevor Berbick (1954-2006) on December 11, 1981. After the fight, the 39-year-old Ali retired for good with a career record of 56 wins, five losses and 37 knockouts.

Awards & Achievements:

He was honored with a number of titles including, ‘The Greatest’, ‘Fighter of the Year’, ‘Sportsman of the Year’, Sportsman of the Century and ‘Sports Personality of the Century’.
He was the proud recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom, which he received in in 2005 by then President George W. Bush.
He was inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He is even honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.


MUHAMMAD ALI’S LATER YEARS AND LEGACY:

In 1984 Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s syndrome, possibly connected to the severe head trauma suffered during his boxing career. The former champion’s motor skills have slowly declined, and his movement and speech are limited. In spite of the Parkinson’s, Ali remains in the public spotlight, traveling the world to make humanitarian, goodwill and charitable appearances. He met with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (1937-2006) in 1990 to negotiate the release of American hostages, and in 2002 he traveled to Afghanistan as a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

Ali had the honor of lighting the cauldron during the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. In 1999 Ali was voted the BBC’s “Sporting Personality of the Century,” and Sports Illustrated named him “Sportsman of the Century.” Ali was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a 2005 White House ceremony, and in the same year the $60 million Muhammad Ali Center, a nonprofit museum and cultural center focusing on peace and social responsibility, opened in Louisville.

Ring Magazine named Ali “Fighter of the Year” five times, more than any other boxer, and he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Ali has been married four times and has seven daughters and two sons. He married his fourth wife, Yolanda, in 1986.