Ali, Muhammad (1942–)

Three-time world heavyweight boxing champion, selfproclaimed as “the greatest,” whose athletic ability, skill at self-promotion, and personal qualities made him one of the most widely known people in the world during the 1960s and 1970s. Ali has been recognized as a leading role model for young people, as well as a humanitarian for his work in support of various social causes.

Born Cassius Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky, the future Muhammad Ali started boxing at age twelve. While in his teens, Clay won two national Golden Glove middleweight championships. After winning an Olympic gold medal in 1960, Clay entered professional boxing under the sponsorship of a group of Louisville millionaires. Over the next four years, he won each of his nineteen professional fights. In March 1964, he defeated Sonny Liston in Miami, Florida, to become the world heavyweight champion.

Clay's braggadocio and witty wordplay leading up to the title match were widely reported in the media. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” his personal anthem while training for the Miami match against Liston, became a famous description of his graceful, quick boxing style. He also proudly boasted that he was “the Greatest.”

The day after dethroning Liston for the heavyweight championship, Clay announced that he had joined the Nation of Islam and had changed his name to Muhammad Ali. During the next few years, Ali defended his heavyweight title on several occasions, including a June 1965 rematch with Liston.

In 1967, Ali, who had earlier expressed his opposition to the Vietnam War, refused induction into the U.S. Army on religious grounds. Amid much public outcry against the athlete, the World Boxing Association stripped him of his heavyweight title, and the New York State Athletic Commission barred him from boxing. Ali later was sentenced to five years in prison for draft evasion, but he was released after his conviction was appealed.

After the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Ali's conviction, and after the National Association for [Page 37]the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) successfully sued to have his boxing license restored, Ali returned to the ring in 1970. In March 1971, he was defeated in an attempt to regain the heavyweight championship from Joe Frazier (who had succeeded to the title upon Ali's disqualification in 1967). Ali defeated Frazier on both of their two subsequent bouts, in 1974 and 1975. Meanwhile, he regained his heavyweight title by defeating George Foreman in a bout fought in Kinshasa, the capital of Zaire, in 1974.

Ali cowrote an autobiography, The Greatest: My Own Story, which was published in 1975. He played himself in the 1976 film version of the book, titled The Greatest. In 1977, Ali's doctor observed that his reflexes had slowed and advised him to quit boxing. Ali retired as world champion in 1979, but he returned to the ring in 1980 and 1981, suffering defeats. He was later diagnosed with Parkinson's syndrome.

Despite his impaired speech and physical powers as a result of Parkinson's, Ali has remained active in missionary work and in public appearances in support of social and political causes. He has been the subject of numerous books and documentary films. The 2001 feature film Ali, starring Will Smith, traced the boxer's career from 1964 to 1974.

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