Muhammad Ali was born with the name Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942. Clay grew up in Louisville, Kentucky at a time when the south was segregated. His father, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr., supported his family by painting billboards and signs. 12-year-old Clay discovered the martial arts of boxing after his bike was stolen. Clay told a nearby police officer, Joe Martin, that he would beat up the thief. “Well, you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people” Martin replied.
Coincidentally, Joe Martin hosted boxing classes. Joe decided to offer the young Cassius how to fight. Clay's father was reluctant at first to let his son train with a white police officer, but the lessons were free. When Clay first started, the young boxer did not impress Martin. “He was just ordinary” the trainer recalled. Cassius showed a lack of talent when first starting; however, he did show enormous passion. 6 weeks after walking into Martin's gym, Clay had his first amateur fight weighing 87 pounds. He won that match by split decision. Moments later Clay announced to everyone that one day he will be called the greatest of all time. Cassius was a very braggy fighter that most would find to be narcissistic. He really believed in himself when no signs showed that he had talent. Clay even wanted to add muscle to his slimmer physique.
Cassius’s first fight in the Olympics is arguably the fight that “started” his career. His opponent Zbigniew Pietrzykowski was the only thing in the way for the young Clay from getting the gold medal. Despite being only 18, he won all four of his fights with no struggle whatsoever. In February of 1962, Clay got offered a fight against Sonny Banks in Madison Square Garden. Clay predicted that Sonny Banks would fall in the 4th round. In the first round, Clay was knocked down to the canvas before quickly getting back up. Clay was only knocked down 4 times in his 21 years of boxing. After some mild blows from Cassius, the ref called the match. Just like he predicted. Cassius went on to fight George Logan and Don Warner, both predicting and being right on winning In the 4th round. The young fighter had many more wins in the ring, and It was time that Clay had to fight the World Heavyweight Champion.
Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay, one of the greatest fights of all time. Clay was an 8–1 underdog. February 25, 1964, was the date that the bout began. In the first few rounds, Clay was dominating Liston. So bad that this was the first time in 34 years Sonny Liston has been cut. Round 4 approaches, during the round Liston got in a clinch with Clay and rubbed his gloves on Clay’s face. All of a sudden Clay can’t see clearly. At the end of the 4th round, Clay goes to his corner when he’s in pain and he can’t see. Clay screaming “cut the gloves off, I can't fight”. Clay's corner rubs his eyes the best they could and pushes him back into the fight. In round six, Clay’s eye is clear. Clay started punching Liston with all he got, after all, Liston tried to cheat! Before round 7 began, Clay told a reporter “I'm going to upset the world”. The fight was over before the 7th round began. As 1 trainer put in Liston’s mouthpiece, Liston spits it out. Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was the new heavyweight champion of the world!
Clay went on to have a rematch with Liston, it didn’t even go to the second round. This fight is where the iconic photo was born. Clay was reported saying “get up and fight, sucker”. Clay shocked the boxing world again by announcing that he had accepted the teachings of the Nation of Islam. On March 6, 1964, he took the name, Muhammad Ali. This name was given to him by his spiritual mentor, Elijah Muhammad. A few months later Ali got drafted for the Vietnam war, he refused to fight for his country. Ali was put in jail for 3 years and was fined $10,000.
Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali, the fight of the century. This trilogy would last for 3 whole fights. The first fight, however, was not on Ali’s side. March 8, 1971. The first and second round was scored in favor of Ali. But soon Muhammad starts to realize that he is not comfortable in the ring against Frazier, unlike his other fights. Ali is losing control, and Frazier takes advantage of that. After a long battle, Frazier takes the victory. This was Muhammad Ali’s first-ever loss. Since Ali has been out for so long, I believe this was the cause of the loss.
The second fight did however result in Frazier losing by unanimous decision. The two were set for one more bout to end the trilogy and determine who the victor was. October 1, 1975, was a big day for the 2 fighters. The outcome would determine who is the true champion in the heavyweight division. The first round begins, Ali and Fraizer both throw some nasty punches before clinching on to each other. (Ali and Frazier clinched 144 times in this fight!). Round number two begins at a fast-paced speed. Ali lands some powerful punches in Fraizer’s head, but Fraizer is tough as nails. This fight goes back and forth for a while until the 15th round. Muhammad Ali won by technical knockout.
Muhammad Ali had many more great fights such as George Foreman which resulted in Ali getting a KO in the 8th round. (October 30, 1974). Muhammad has accomplished a lot in his 21 years of boxing. Just to name a few would be 3-time World Heavyweight Champion, Gold medal, Rome Olympics, light-heavyweight boxing, Elected to Boxing Hall of Fame, Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Award, and 2-time National Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight Champion. Multiple Presidents have endorsed the fighter for his greatest outside the ring. Muhammad Ali even endorsed a few Presidents himself, one of them being Ronald Reagen. “He’s keeping God in schools and that’s enough” replied Muhammad Ali. Boxing legends Floyd Patterson and Joe Frazier also publicly declared their support for President Reagan.
The things Muhammad Ali has done not just inside the ring, but outside the ring, makes him deserve the title “The Greatest of All Time”. He has shaped the sport of boxing forever. Thank you so much for reading all the way to the end. I know that this was a long one. I spent around 7 hours in total making this article, so I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please leave a clap and comment if you have any questions. Have an amazing day my friend!
