“Float like a butterfly, Sting like a Bee,” (“Muhammad Ali” Encyclopedia). On January 17 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky a legend was born. Boxing is a sport that was once really big in many cities. The excitement of an ultimate fight between two men or women until a knockout. This thrill was not always for all races but one man changed the boxing world. Muhammad Ali was one of the best boxers that ever lived and changed the racial world of boxing. Getting to be the best boxer he helped out young men and was a role model to many communities. He was a influential person through his boxing career, political advocacy, and tributes to African Countries.
Without question, Muhammad Ali transformed the world of sports. Even as a young man his boxing
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Although he refused to go into the draft. His reasoning was that they had done nothing wrong to him or called him racial slurs so why would he go kill those people.He says”Man, I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. No Viet Cong ever called me nigger”.(BBC news) Since Ali refused his title was taken away and was sentenced to 5 years in jail. He was then banned from boxing for three and a half years. This would kill him because youth is money in the boxing world because of the excessive punches taken to the body. That would not stop Muhammad however because as readers know he regained it years after. His refusal to be drafted started many antiwar movements. He even convinced Martin Luther King Jr. to speak out against the Vietnam War. Ali became a very influential speaker, speaking at universities and other places while in his sentence of “no boxing”. Another reasoning for Muhammad to to refuse the military draft is because of his Islamic faith. Ali says,” As a Muslim and a conscientious objector I refuse to serve, claiming an exemption as a minister of the Black Muslim religion”(Galenet). It says that is is against his religion and by law you cannot make him go against his religion. Since Ali refused because of religions beliefs and personal beliefs he was first considered an outlaw. He was fine with that because he knew what he wanted and had to follow his religion. Though he became an Activist he …show more content…
He was a huge inspiration and hero to many Africans. A popular chant in a match in Africa which is still a big deal today is “Ali Bomaye” which means, “Ali kill him”. He took his first visit to Africa in 1961 and toured Ghana, Nigeria, and Egypt. Upon his arrival while getting out of the plane he was met by a sea of African admirers. Thousands of Africans lined up and on the streets to catch a glimpse of the legend himself. His first tie to Africa was when he faught George Coleman to regain his heavyweight title. This was truly a big deal for Africans because they got to witness the champ at his prime and to get his title back. Many great boxer from Africa have stated that they have became great because of the inspiration of Ali. Muhammad also had a great impact on one the the most beloved humans on the African continent which was: Nelson Mandela. Mr. Mandela was a former boxer and a huge fan of Ali’s. Mandla described Muhammad as “ the hero of millions of young, black South Africans” (Galenet). He visited the African Continent many times throughout his life. In 1971 he visited Ivory Coast and delivered to 400 orphans who were refugees because they had flew the destruction of the Liberian Civil War. Later in his life he was diagnosed with a disease called Parkinson's Disease. Parkinson's is a disease that means that the effects the person will worsen as his life goes on. This disease involves a malfunction of the brain and
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
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
In the late 1980’s Muhammad changed his life around. He and his wife had separated, he converted to Islam, and he joined the U.S. Army (Biography, par 4). He later changed his name to Muhammad (Death, par 2). He was stationed in Washington State. There he married Mildred Green. They ended up having three children. Being in the army was good for Muhammad. He served in Germany and the Middle East and was skilled in marksman (Biography, par 4, 5).
The first reason Muhammad Ali isn't a hero is because he is violent. For almost all of his life he fought in boxing matches that all started when he was a boy because he wanted to beat up the kid who stole his bike. For 14 years, on-and-off, he was heavyweight champion and before that a lightweight champion. To do this, you had to have the rage to hurt your opponent. Muhammad Ali even said, “I believe in the eye-for- an-eye business, I got no respect for a man who won’t hit back. You kill my dog, you better hide your cat” (Myers 36). Now, in his 60’s,...
Boxer Muhammad Ali, was born as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., on January 17, 1942, he was the son of Marcellus Clay Sr. and Odessa Grady Clay. He lived in Louisville, Kentucky where he experienced discrimination and racial prejudice towards himself and his family, which led him to his fascination towards boxing. Later in his life, he would win the Olympic gold medal for boxing in 1960 and became the world heavyweight boxing champion in 1964, and was the first fighter to recapture heavyweight champion three times. But Clay was not only a boxer, he was also a philanthropist and social activist with astonishing effrontery, he spoke out against problems such as race, religion, and politics that cause him to become such a controversial figure.
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
When prominent boxers of the 20th century are discussed, many heavyweight champions are mentioned. Names like Floyd Patterson, Sonny Liston and Joe Frazier always find their way to the front of the conversation. But it is Muhammad Ali, a three-time heavyweight champion and political activist, who always seems to find the forefront of it all. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942, Ali came into the ring after his bike was stolen at the age of twelve. He brought up his anger to Officer Joe Elsby Martin Sr. who suggested he start boxing. Ali quickly became a star after winning a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics. At 6’3”, Ali demonstrated extraordinary speed and accuracy and he quickly became a contender for the heavyweight title.
As soon as Muhammad Ali was notified, upset, he declared that he would refuse to serve in the Army and told everyone himself a conscientious objector. He came out saying that the war is against the teachings of the Holy Qur’an and that he was not trying to dodge the draft. He claimed that due to his religion, Muslim, he is not supposed to take part in no wars unless the war has been declared by the Muslim God Allah. With his in mind, Muhammad Ali refused to step forward the first time when his name was called. Due to this he was ultimately committing a felony that was punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $10,000 maximum. For not coming forward a second time Muhammad Ali was ultimately arrested. On the same day following
Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. later known as Muhammad Ali, was a black boxer, and was proud of it. Many African Americans were ashamed of their color, but Ali was different. He was the first boxer to win the Heavyweight Championship 3 different times. He had a great personality and was liked by the people. During his life, he made big decisions that changed the course of his life completely. Muhammad Ali's journey through life was a great inspiration for African American people, but Ali himself deserves the admiration of everyone.
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.
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
Ali stood up for his rights when the army had drafted him into the the war so once Ali went to the place he refused to listen to the captain so the captain told him that if he doesn’t listen he his going to be face five years in jail so as Muhammad refused to listen to him they put him to jail and they suspended his boxing license for three years . Most the speeches Ali talked about was about how white people and black people were treating each other. Ali went to a white people restaurant and they didn’t give him a table. Muhammad Ali had converted to the nation Islam he went to the nation of Islam in the year of 1964.
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.
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...
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.