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MUHAMMAD ALI
In all of boxing history, Muhammad Ali stands alone. In early boasts, he called himself "The Greatest," and by the time his storied career came to an end, most fight fans agreed. Ali had also become the best-known athlete in the world and, very possibly, the best loved as well.
Cassius Clay, who used his birth name until he became a Black Muslim in 1964, grew up in a quiet black neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. He had been focussed on boxing since he was twelve and trained with the single-mindedness of a future champion. He started boxing at the amateur level in his hometown and captured the AAU and Golden Gloves titles and eventually a gold medal in the light heavyweight division in the 1960 Rome Olympics. Ali first boxed professionally in 1960, at the age of eighteen, with a win over a boxer named Tunney Hunsaker. In subsequent early bouts, it was quickly apparent that Ali possessed unbelievable hand and foot speed for someone his size. As he developed, he displayed a stinging jab and a strong right hand. Ali liked to hold his hands low and evade punches to the head by simply bobbing out of harm's way. The brash young fighter's knack for self-promotion nearly rivalled his ring skills. He mugged for the cameras, talked in rhymes, and boasted that he was not only the greatest, but also the prettiest of all time. He began to predict, with unnerving accuracy, the round in which he would stop opponents ("They all fall in the round I call"). In a time when interest in boxing had waned, Ali dramatically revitalised the sport. He was a one-man show, full of swagger and contempt, and the press and public embraced him.
Ali faced the formidable Sonny Liston for the world championship in 1964. Many observers gave Ali little chance against big, bad Liston. But Ali dominated the fight despite being nearly blinded for two rounds by a foreign substance used by Liston's corner. (Perhaps liniment or a coagulant applied to a cut and then transferred to Liston's gloves). Muhammad Ali won the Heavyweight Title when Liston refused to answer the bell for the seventh round, claiming an injured shoulder.
After the victory, Ali announced that he had become a member of the Nation of Islam, the Black Muslim religion, and had changed his name. Ali's conversion upset some fans. The jokester had gotten serious about race and politics. It cost him some popularity and probably, though never acknowledged, influenced his future as a titleholder. When Ali agreed to give Liston a return match, the WBA took the title away ostensibly because the rematch contract was a violation of WBA rules. Ali continued to be outspoken, particularly in statements against the Vietnam War. In his second fight with Liston, Ali triumphed in one round, apparently using his famed "anchor punch." As with the first Liston fight, this rematch was shrouded in controversy. Some thought that Liston took a dive. After flooring Liston, Ali did not immediately move to a neutral corner. Liston eventually rose from the canvas and the fight resumed. It was only when Nat Fleischer, editor of The Ring, shouted from the ring-side that Liston had been down for at least a count of ten, that referee Jersey Joe Walcott stopped the fight.
Ali reclaimed the heavyweight championship in 1974 when he knocked out the previously unbeaten George Foreman. Dubbed the "Rumble in the Jungle," the match was held in Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali used his "rope-a-dope" strategy in which he leaned against the ropes and allowed Foreman to punch himself out. After Foreman tired, Ali knocked him out. Ali lost his title to the unproven Leon Spinks in 1978, but reclaimed it in the rematch later that same year. He then announced his retirement only to make ill-fated comeback attempts against Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick.
Plagued by ill health in retirement, Ali remains a respected public figure. The most recognised face in the world!
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