Muhammad Ali

2775 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Muhammad Ali achievements

Muhammad Ali
Also known as: Cassius Marcellus Clay, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., Cassius Clay
(1942- )

Professional boxer
Personal Information
Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; name changed to Muhammad Ali, 1963; born January, 17, 1942, in Louisville, KY; son of Cassius (a piano player) and Odessa Clay (both deceased); first wife, Belinda; second wife, Aaisha; third wife, Veronica Porche; fourth (and current) wife, Yolanda Williams, married in 1986; children: nine (one with Yolanda). Religion: Muslim. Addresses: Home--P.O. Box 187, Berrien Springs, MI 59103.
Career
Former world heavyweight boxing champion. Began professional career, 1960; initially became heavyweight champ, 1964; stripped of title and boxing license over refusal to participate in the Vietnam War, 1966; retired from boxing, 1981. Appeared in film The Greatest, 1976, and television film Freedom Road.
Awards
Olympic Gold Medal in boxing, 1960; six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles; National Golden Gloves titles, 1959-60; World Heavyweight Championship, 1964-67, 1974-78, 1978-79; U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, inductee, 1983; named the greatest heavyweight champion of all time, Ring Magazine, 1987; International Boxing Hall of Fame, inductee, 1990; Jim Thorpe Pro Sports Award, Lifetime Achievement, 1992; Muhammad Ali Museum, Louisville Galleria, opened 1995; Essence Award, 1997.
Writings
• (With Richard Durham) The Greatest: My Own Story, Random House, 1975.
Biographical Information
Three-time world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, known for his lyrical charm and boasts as much as for his powerful fists, has moved far beyond the boxing ring in both influence and purpose. Ali won an Olympic gold medal and later tossed it into a river because he was disgusted by racism in America. As a young man he was recruited by Malcolm X to join the Nation of Islam. He refused to serve in Vietnam--a professional fighter willing to serve time in jail for his pacifist ideals. He has contributed to countless, diverse charities and causes. And his later years have found him interested in world politics as he has battled to keep Parkinson's disease at bay.
Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., on January 17, 1942, and was raised in a clapboard house at 3302 Grand Avenue in middle-class Louisville, Kentucky. He began boxing at the age of 12. A white Louisville patrolman named Joe Martin, who had an early television show called "Tomorrow's Champions," started Ali working out in Louisville's Columbia Gym, but it was a black trainer named Fred Stoner who taught Ali the science of boxing. Stoner taught him to move with the grace of a dancer, and impressed upon him the subtle skills necessary to move beyond good and into the realm of great.

Show More
Related

  • Raging Bull Sparknotes

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    His mother was born to Italian immigrants while his father was an immigrant from Messina. He was sent to a reformatory for attempting robbery, where he learned Boxing. He began to wrestle professionally at the age of 19, in 1941.

    Read More

  • Symbols Of Jackie Jackson And Jackie Robinson Vs. Cassius Clay

    1875 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ali proved to be a strong-willed individual that did leave a huge impact on America, but what impact had increased as time continued and his faults have been somewhat forgotten. Those believing that Muhammad was more of a hero than Jackie Robinson most likely feel that Ali’s action of standing up against the United States government, when he was drafted, was an act of courage and bravery. The main reason why Ali didn 't wish to go to war in Vietnam was because he believed he shouldn 't be fighting for a country that ultimately didn 't support his own people within its own borders. Ali has developed into a figure of courage after the time that his happened. In the 1960s when this originally happened, Ali had more enemies as a result of his religious and social views and ideas than fans. Today we see that what he did may be considered heroic, but back when it actually occurred, Ali was seen as a nuisance to America. He was spreading word and influencing people to act against their own country in a time of war. Since Muhammad Ali’s retirement from boxing the course of time has faded criticism of Ali and left mostly just the positive parts of his life and career. As a society we’ve buried the controversial side of Ali’s existence in our minds and history simply remembers his greatness as an athlete. Robinson had an impact on

    Read More

  • Muhammad Ali Early Life

    1684 Words  | 4 Pages

    What they did not know was the self proclaimed greatest in the world was planning the one of the greatest changes in his life. Behind the scenes Cassius was studying Islam, he became good friends with Malcolm X and studied under Elijah Muhammad. Cassius took the name Muhammad Ali, saying he did not want to be called by a slave name any longer. He took Muhammed from the first prophet of Islam with the name meaning worthy of being praised, and the last name Ali which meaning is to be elevated. During a time where racial tensions were high people had a hard time accepting his new name. Often times the media would continue to call him Cassius, one didn't famed ABC sports reporter Howard Cosell, he respected Ali, because he too had changed his name from Cohen a Jewish name to Cosell, because in those time it was also a disadvantage to be Jewish. In 1965 Ai was scheduled to fight Floyd Patterson, who insisted on calling him Cassius, Patterson paid a big price for that, there is documentary footage which shows Ali giving Patterson the beating of a lifetime, making sure not to knock him out taking him through all 12 rounds repeating “now what’s my name

    Read More

  • Muhammad Ali: Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.

    1691 Words  | 4 Pages

    Muhammad Ali had gotten a little too carried away with his lavish lifestyle, and his wealth dwindled. Ali returned to boxing in 1980 to fight Larry Holmes for the World Boxing council title. Ali lost the fight to Larry, but still went home with a guaranteed 8 million dollar purse ("Muhammad Ali." Encyclopedia of World Biography). Ali fought for the last time in the ring in 1981 against Trevor Burdick, but he lost again and ended his boxing career for good. Muhammad Ali had a very successful boxing career, and it still to this day the only boxer to win the “heavyweight champion of the world” title three times ("Muhammad Ali refuses Army induction - Apr 28, 1967 - HISTORY.com." ).

    Read More

  • Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, And Wilma Rudolph

    1700 Words  | 4 Pages

    history in the 1950's and 1960's by hitting the society. Ali was a great boxer who was very confident in his boxing game. Ali wanted to make a change in society by trying to get rid of the racial discrimination in America. Ali was also against the war in Vietnam. Ali said “Unless you have a very good reason to kill, war is wrong.” Ali sent messages of hope to the African American community by telling them to have pride. Ali said “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people while so called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs?” Ali said “The Vietnamese had nothing against him” (Schwartz).When he was drafted to fight in the war, a lieutenant called Ali by his real name, Cassius Clay, and he said, “Sir that isn't my name, my name is “MUHAMMAD ALI!” Ali said, again “Sir that is a slave name my name is “MUHAMMAD ALI” (Muhammad Ali [HH:MM:SS]). After that, Ali refused to serve in the Vietnam War. This lead Ali to the Supreme Court, and he was five years in imprisonment. Ali was precluded from the athletic commissions for fighting in the United States for three and a half years. Even though Ali was released from his five year sentence, he still had a jail sentence of four years, which was overturned by the Supreme Court (Schwartz). Ali was also stripped of the heavyweight boxing title because he refused to serve in the draft Following his suspension, Ali reclaimed

    Read More

  • Muhammad Ali

    1608 Words  | 4 Pages

    Muhammad Ali was a man made to box. He had a great career before him since he made his first professional fight under President Eisenhower presidency. His Professional Career was really impressive. His had a great balance and was able to move his hands and feet in great speed and coordination. Ali was said to dance in the ring while destroying his opponents. Ali started fighting at a very short age, and his first teacher was Joe Martin (Hauser 18). Through hard work and discipline, he became a professional fighter and eventually the Heavyweight champion of the world. Although he lost the title twice, he regained it three times, putting him in the history books. His boxing career was put to an end when he started suffering from Parkinson's disease. This was the end of his boxing, but his greatness will never die.

    Read More

  • The Transformative Power of Sports In The American Civil Rights Movement

    2323 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hauser, Thomas. "The Importance of Muhammad Ali." The Glider Lehrman Institute of American History, n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.

    Read More

  • Capitalism And Alienation And The Exploitation Of Labor By Karl Marx

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    Alienated labor takes away the meaning of life and that “life appears only as a means to life.” Living without creativity and only to subsist reduces humans to an animal-like status; they are alienated from the very things that distinguish them as humans” (Dillon, 2010, pg. 54). This can been vividly seen as the industrial revolution moved forward in society. Factory workers were very much alienated by their job. Below are some examples that correspond with Marx’s

    Read More

  • Informative Speech On Muhammad Ali

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    He was fearless. He was powerful. His footwork was more beautiful than a ballet dancer. He is an Olympic Gold Medalist. He is the G.O.A.T of boxing. He is… Muhammad Ali. I will inform you about the biography of Muhammad Ali of how people saw him in real life, the Movie Ali how it portrayed Muhammad Ali based on his life through screen write, and the Vietnam War. Muhammad Ali is considered one of the greatest athletes in boxing history, but before there was the Greatest of All Time or the acronym G.O.A.T World Heavy Champion Muhammad Ali, he was just a little kid that went by the name Cassius Clay.

    Read More

  • Muhammad Ali the Hero

    1397 Words  | 3 Pages

    At first, Muhammad Ali had no intension of boxing. After his bike was stolen, in the month of October 1954, when he was twelve, his whole life was set. Upon finding out that there was a police officer in the basement of a gym, Ali went down to the officer in a shocked state of mind demanding a "state wide bike hunt" for hsi stolen bicycle. But all the cop told him to do was to learn to fight. and that

    Read More

  • Karl Marx On Alienation: An Analysis Of Karl Marx On Alienation

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the video Karl Marx on Alienation Karl Marx has a very strong opposition to capitalism, “an economic system in which owners of private property compete in the marketplace in pursuit of profit” (Witt, 2016, p. 202). He believed that life chances, “the likelihood that our success is shaped by our access to valued material, social, and cultural resources” (Witt, 2016, p. 222) alienated these workers from the products of their labor. Because these labors were born without access to success they were forced to work long hours for a small profit that was often not even enough to afford them the fruits of their labor. From this alienation we start to see Marx’s idea of an elite model, “a view of society as being ruled by a small group of individuals

    Read More

  • Muhammad Ali Character Analysis

    284 Words  | 1 Pages

    Muhammad Ali's recent death has echoed far beyond the boxing ring that was where he spent the majority of his time.

    Read More

  • Muhammad Ali

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    Muhammad Ali, whose birth name was Cassius Marcellus Clay, was born in Louisville, Kentucky January 17, 1942. He was named for a white, Kentucky abolitionist, Cassius M. Clay, and received the name Marcellus from his father’s name. Ali’s father, Marcellus Clay was a mural painter who did a lot of work for many churches in the community and his mother Odessa (Grady) Clay was a domestic worker. As a young boy, Cassius Clay was full of energy and carried a loud mouth wherever he went. One day when Ali discovered that someone stole his bicycle, he became enraged and made loud threatening comments by exclaiming that he would “whup whoever stole it.” Upon hearing these threats, Louisville police officer Joe Martin persuaded Ali to take out his frustration in the boxing ring rather than on the dangerous streets of Louisville. At age 12, Ali’s boxing career had officially begun.

    Read More

  • Sports and Politics

    1309 Words  | 3 Pages

    Muhammad Ali is an example of an athlete who voiced his political ideologies in sports to advocate for the Civil Rights Movement and protest the War. As an Olympic gold medalist, heavy weight titlist, and many other victories, he used the fame to project his humanitarian efforts. Ali refused to serve in Vietnam due to his religion and as a result, he was stripped of his 1967 title . He retired in 1981 with an incredible 59 wins and five losses, but he will always known as symbol of courage, will power and strength, not for his career milestones, but for breaking racia...

    Read More

  • Sports and Politics

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    Muhammad Ali is an example of an athlete who used politics in sports to advocate for the Civil Rights movement and protest the war. As an Olympic gold medalist, heavy weight titlist, and many other victories, he used the fame for humanitarian efforts. Ali refused to serve in Vietnam due to his religion and as a result, he was stripped of his 1967 title. He retired in 1981 with an incredible 59 wins and five losses, but he will always known as symbol of courage, will power and strength, not for his career milestones, but for breaking racial barriers.

    Read More

More about Muhammad Ali

Open Document