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Muhammad Ali (1942 - ) Classed as one of the greatest boxers of all time and still revered world-wide, Muhammad Ali has led his life mainly in the limelight even through the progression of his illness, Parkinson's Disease. He also lit the Olympic flame at the start of the games in 1996 in Atlanta. What makes him such a loved and respected personality? Born Cassius Marcellus Clay on January 17th 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, to Marcellus and Odessa Clay, Muhammad's initial interest in boxing was from the age of 12 when a white policeman and boxing instructor, Joe Martin, encouraged him to get into it after his bike was stolen instead of just going off to beat whoever stole his bike. Joe's onus was on Cassius mastering the principle of boxing. It was however, a black trainer, Fred Stoner, that taught Muhammad the science of boxing. Muhammad progressed to claim 2 National Golden Glove titles, 2 National AAU titles and then a gold medal in the light heavyweight division during the 1960 Olympics in Rome. He turned professional on October 29th 1960 by beating Tunney Hunsaker in 6 rounds in Louisville, Kentucky. Angelo Dundee was hired as his trainer and remained as such for the rest of Muhammad's career. Dubbed as graceful yet extremely fast, Muhammad's record stands at 56 fights with 37 knock-outs and 19 successful title defences. Who could forget the legendary 'Rumble in the Jungle' against George Foreman in Zaire where he emerged victorious. He also managed to become Heavyweight Champion 3 times between 1964 - 1967, 1974 - 1978 and 1978 - 1979! The transformation from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali came when Cassius joined the Nation of Islam in 1964. He announced his change in name after winning the Heavyweight title fight against Charles 'Sonny' Liston on February 25th 1964. He was insistent that he would no longer be known by his slave name, hence Muhammad Ali became his new moniker and he helped propel the black community into a new era of black pride. The Honourable Elijah Muhammad gave Muhammad his name meaning 'beloved of Allah'. In August of 1964, Muhammad married Sonji Roi using the name Cassius Clay. Their marriage lasted just under 2 years and they had no children together. Controversy came again when Muhammad refused to join the United States Army, which preceded the anti-war movement of the 1960s. This resulted in him being stripped of his Heavyweight title in 1967, but the Supreme Court reversed the verdict on June 20th 1970. He was straight back into the ring and in March of 1971, Muhammad went up against the reigning Heavyweight champion at the time, Joe Frazier. He lost the fight, but fought on during the year and gained the North American Heavyweight title. 1967 saw Muhammd marry Belinda Boyd (also known as Khalilah). They had 4 children together namely, Maryum in 1958, twin girls Rasheeda and Jamilla in 1970 and a son Muhammad Jr in 1972. Their marriage lasted just under 10 years. Muhammad fought Joe Frazier again in 1974 and won the 2nd time around. It was the richest non-title fight in history, but later that same year, Muhammad was to fight for the heavyweight title against George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The 'Rumble in the Jungle' staged on October 30th was a well-publicised fight and Muhammad was classes as the underdog with odds of 3-1. In the 8th round, Muhammad floored George with a combination move and he was out for the count. It wasn't until after his fight with Joe Frazier on September 30th 1975, that people started saying Muhammad should retire as he was starting to show his age in the ring. The fight dubbed 'Thrilla in Manilla' was a taut one and the men went 14 rounds before Joe retired to his stool. After the fight, Muhammad collapsed with exhaustion and was quoted as saying that it was 'as close to death' as he could have ever imagined. In 1975, Muhammad co-wrote his autobiography entitled, 'The Greatest - My Own story' then on 1977 he got married for the 3rd time to Veronica Porsche. They had 2 daughters, Hana (1976) and Laila (1979). They divorced in July 1986. On June 27th 1979, Muhammad announced his retirement from the boxing profession and relinquished his title. However, it wasn't all over as he returned for a fight in October of 1980 against Larry Holmes who was the present champion at the time and Muhammad's ex-sparring partner. Muhammad had a rough time in the fight, but managed to go 10 rounds before retiring to his stool. He had one last fight against Trevor Berbick in December 1981 and lost before finally calling it a day. 4 months after divorcing Veronica, Muhammad married Lonnie Williams with whom he has an adopted son, Asaad Amin. They adopted him in 1991 and are still together as a couple living on a farm in Berrien Springs, Michigan. A lot of Muhammad's public attention these days is centred around his illness, Parkinson's, which is a neurological disease that causes a number of things such as loss of balance, memory lapses, tremors and confusion. Some doctors have said that the repeated blows to the head that Muhammad received during his boxing career brought it about. In reality, Muhammad did receive a lot of punches during his career, at least a few hundred in each match. In the fight against Larry Holmes in 1980, Muhammad took 125 punches in the 9th and 10th rounds alone! Although the disease he suffers from can at times be debilitating, Muhammad has retained a lot of his wit and his thought processes are clear. This is reflected in the fact that he travelled to Iraq in 1990 to speak with Saddam Hussein in an attempt to stop the war in the Persian Gulf. He was also a spokesperson for Operation USA in Rwanda when it was being ravaged with war. In Chicago there is the Muhammad Ali Community and Economic Development Corporation that teaches job skills to low-income public housing residents and the Muhammad Ali Museum was opened in Louisville, Kentucky in 1995. Muhammad's legendary 'Rumble in the Jungle' was documented in the 1996 movie, 'When We Were Kings'. This legendary boxer made more then $50 million during his career, but 2 thirds went to managerial expenses and taxes. Presently, Muhammad travels a lot as his personal appearances are his main source of income with charges being up to $200, 000 for an appearance. He is usually travelling 275 days out of the year, but enjoys a modest life on his farm. Sources: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/faces/ali/bio.html http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0108961.html http://www.howardbingham.com/ali/factoids.htm http://www.africana.com http://www.gale.com |
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