Born
Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., in the year 1942, American boxer Mohamed Ali is considered,
one of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport. Graceful footwork and
powerful jabs marked Ali' s style.
Clay
was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He took to boxing at the age of twelve and has
an interesting tale behind it. It is said that when Clay was twelve, his bicycle
was stolen. A police officer suggested to him to learn boxing, perhaps in order
to be better equipped to handle unwanted people, and Clay took him seriously.
So seriously that by the time he was eighteen, Clay had blazed a record of 108
wins and only eight losses in amateur contests.
An Olympian record indeed and it included six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, the 1959 International Golden Gloves heavyweight title, and a gold medal as the light heavyweight champion at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Italy.
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The
Greatest
After capping the Olympics gold, Clay became a professional boxer. His
victory trails continued even in this new role, with Clay having recorded 19 professional
wins within the next four years. That was when he earned a chance to take on the
then heavyweight champion, Sonny Liston. Clay, who was twenty-two then was considered
an underdog, vowed that he would knock Liston out in the eighth round. As it turned
out, he did so in even shorter time and was crowned the world heavyweight champion.
He lost no time in declaring himself the greatest.
In
1965, he defended his title in another encounter against Liston. The bout lasted
only 2 minutes 12 seconds. During the first round Ali caught Liston with a hard
blow, so quick that it was dubbed the "phantom punch" because few fans
saw it. Clay, who had by now become Mohamed Ali after he converted to Islam, defended
his title five more times before 1967. In 1978 Ali became the first boxer to win
the world heavyweight championship title three different times.
A
blunt outspoken person, Ali frequently found himself in the midst of many a controversy.
During the Vietnam War, Ali refused to be inducted into the United States Army
on the grounds that he was a black Muslim minister and therefore a conscientious
objector against the war. He was accused of draft evasion, convicted and stripped
of his heavyweight title. He was also banned from fighting in the United States.
He filed many appeals and was finally allowed to return in 1970. He took on Joe
Frazier, who was then the world champion, but lost the fight.
However,
in the year 1974, Frazier (who had by then lost his title) and Ali battled for
twelve rounds at the Madison Square Garden in New York City. Finally Ali was declared
winner; he had gained the right to challenge Foreman for the heavyweight title.
He beat him and regained the lost world title. In the year 1975, Ali took on Frazier
again, in Manila, Philippines. He defended his stand as winner at the end of the
15-round battle.
Ali
defended his world title six times between 1976 and 1978, when he lost to Leon
Spinks in Las Vegas. He retired from boxing the following year, emerged in 1980
to challenge the title holder Larry Holmes, lost to him and to another challenger
Trevor Berbick in 1981 and then took off his gloves for good. When he retired,
his professional record read 56 wins (37 by knockout) and 5 losses.
After retirement from the ring, Ali got involved in various charities and humanitarian missions around the world. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990, and in 1996 he was awarded the honour of lighting the Olympic torch in Atlanta, Georgia, to mark the beginning of the Summer Olympic Games. His rich life has been encapsulated in an autobiography, The Greatest: My Own Story, which appeared in the year 1975. Truly, Mohamed Ali was one of the greatest sportsmen of his times.
