Muhammad Ali: The World’s Greatest Boxer

1285 Words3 Pages

One Day in Louisville Kentucky an African American boy was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. on the 17th day of January in 1942. Chances are you and many others have heard of Cassius who started his boxing career at the age of twelve. By age seventeen almost one hundred and eighty pounds and a tall six feet in height he was crowned with the nations Golden Gloves heavyweight in the light division. Prior, while only fourteen years of age he held the title of Golden Gloves heavyweight light division for his home city of Louisville (Wilson). Cassius Clay has the boxing record of a champion where he won the heavyweight championship of the world for the first time in 1964 while only a young man at twenty two years of age. Cassius went on to win in the year 1974 and 1978. Marcellus total fights were sixty one with only five losses and fifty six wins. Clay has thirty seven knockouts to his credited fights. So just who is this person Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.? He “Floats like a butterfly, he stings like a bee. He refused to fight in the Vietnam War… so whom would he be?” (Dawn11).
Even though Ali’s boxing career started out as Cassius Marcellus Clay, he is known as the great Muhammad Ali changing his birth name after changing his religion to become a member of the Nation of Islam in the early sixties. “GG” (Myers2) was the nickname given to Muhammad as a baby because his parents stated he always repeated “gee, gee, gee, gee” (Myers2). Once a teenager and after winning the title of being the champion of the Golden Gloves he told his family he was letting them know that he was to be the Golden Gloves champion (Myers). Clay’s boxing career started early as a child once he had his bike stolen which infuriated him to the point that he to...

... middle of paper ...

...Clay, Jr. Also known as Muhammad Ali was not only the worlds greatest fighter in the boxing ring but recited poetry, welcomed fans with a smile and influenced people of America by living the example. Muhammad Ali not just the greatest boxer but one great man who is remembered as being great and made a difference for people of color and non color alike in America.

Works Cited

Ali, Hana and Ali Muhammad. The Soul of a Butterfly. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. Print

Edwards, Audrey and Wohl, Gary. The Picture Life of Muhammad Ali. New York: Franklin Watts, 1976. Print

Http://wikipedia.org/wiki/muhammad_ali

Myers, Walter Dean. Muhammad Ali: The People's Champion. New York: Harper Collins, 2010. Print

Myers, Walter Dean. The Greatest: Muhammad Ali. New York: Scholastic Press, 2001. Print

Wilson, Beth P. Muhammad Ali. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1974. Print

Show More
Related

  • 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

    “Float like a butterfly; sting like a bee ahhhh! Rumble, young man rumble ahhhh!” Those were the words echoed time and time again from Cassius Clay and his corner man David Brown. Better known as Muhammad Ali, he has a legacy of being the greatest fighter whoever lived.

    Read More

  • The Boxing Career of Sugar Ray Robinson

    963 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Pound for pound, the best." The claim has been used to describe many boxers, but it was invented for Sugar Ray Robinson.

    Read More

  • Muhammad Ali Is NOT a Hero

    541 Words  | 2 Pages

    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,...

    Read More

  • Boxer Muhammad Ali: The Struggle Between Clay And Liston

    1785 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    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 Biography Essay

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Biography of Muhammad Ali

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    Muhammad Ali was not always called by that name, born on January 17, 1942 in

    Read More

  • Muhammad Ali

    1608 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    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

  • Informative Speech On Muhammad Ali

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    He traveled to Rome, Italy to compete. He was the center of attention standing 6 foot 3 inches. Clay was well known for his beautiful footwork and stinging powerful jabs, which go with one of his famous quotes ‘Float like a butterfly, Sting like a bee.” He won all of his fights including defeating Zbigniew Pietrzkowski from Poland for the gold medal. Clay was an American hero after his Olympic victory. He turned professional with the Louisville Sponsor Group. In the 1960s, Clay was an unstoppable force that nobody could stop. He won majority of his fights by the ruling of knockout. He knocked out the British Heavyweight Champion Henry Cooper in 1963 and in the next year he knocked out Sonny Liston to become heavyweight champion of the world. Clay always referred to himself as "the greatest," He was not afraid to praise himself. He talked about his skills before a fight and he had colorful descriptions and phrases. Especially, his famous quote “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee

    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

  • 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: The World’s Greatest Boxer

Open Document