Muhammad Ali: Boxing Champ & Role Model

Boxing Champ & Role Model b y T ho by h o ma homa mas S mas S.. O we w e ns wens ns

L LML by Thomas S. Owens

Content Consultant: Erik Arnold, boxing historian

Published by ABDO Publishing Company, 8000 West 78th Street, Edina, Minnesota 55439. Copyright © 2011 by Abdo Consulting Group, Inc. International copyrights reserved in all countries. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. SportsZone™ is a trademark and logo of ABDO Publishing Company. Printed in the United States of America, North Mankato, Minnesota 112010 012011

Editor: Chrös McDougall Copy Editor: Paula Lewis Series Design: Christa Schneider Cover Production: Emily Love and Christa Schneider Interior Production: Sarah Carlson and Carol Castro Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Owens, Tom, 1960Muhammad Ali : boxing champ & role model / by Thomas S. Owens. p. cm. — (Legendary athletes) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-61714-752-4 1. Ali, Muhammad, 1942- 2. Boxers (Sports)—United States—Biography. 3. Role models. 4. Sports—Biography. I. Title. GV1132.A4O84 2011 796.83092—dc22 [B] 2010046233

LV W   CHAPTER 1

Caterpillar Cassius, Butterfly Ali

6

“The Greatest” Growing Up

16

CHAPTER 3

Turning Pro

26

CHAPTER 4

Fighting for a Cause

34

CHAPTER 5

The US Army and Ali

44

CHAPTER 6

The Fight of the Century 52

CHAPTER 7

Rumble in the Jungle

58

CHAPTER 8

Thrilla in Manila

68

CHAPTER 9

A Different Kind of Fight 78

CHAPTER 10

Life after Boxing

86

Timeline

96

Essential Facts

100

Glossary

102

Additional Resources

104

Source Notes

106

Index

110

About the Author

112

CHAPTER 2

Before his 1962 fight with Archie Moore, Clay bragged that he would knock Moore out in four rounds. He went on to do so.

MUHAMMAD ALI

W&9*75.11&7W&88.:8F V:99*7+1>L1.

%

efore he was known as Muhammad Ali or called himself “the Greatest,” Cassius Clay might have been “The Loudest.” He

bragged, often in rhyme. He not only promised great wins, he often predicted the round in which he would win. His actions infuriated the boxing establishment and the American public. No other athletes at the time acted as he did. Further, few believed he was good enough to back up his words. Clay had begun his professional boxing career in 1960 after competing in the Olympic Games. Throughout the next four years, he beat—and belittled—every opponent in his path. But none of the wins convinced the public that he was a future titleholder. In June 1963, Clay went to London, England, seeking his nineteenth consecutive win. A crowd of 55,000 turned out to see him battle Henry Cooper. His opponent was referred to in London newspapers as “Our ’Enry,” a familiar form of his name borrowed from the working-class cockney

7

8

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

dialect of London. 1 Clay decided to show England how he wished to be known. He entered the ring dressed in a red robe adorned with the words, “Cassius the Greatest.” Before the fight, Clay’s image appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the daring headline “Cassius Invades Britain.”2 This was the first of 38 times that his image would be on the magazine’s cover. The magazine summed up Clay’s talkative scheme, “Cassius A Helpful Left Hook ,Q D  PDWFK DJDLQVW 6RQQ\ %DQNV &OD\ ZDV NQRFNHG RII KLV IHHW E\ D OHIWKRRNLQWKHILUVWURXQG ,Q WKDW PRPHQW ZLWK &OD\·V UHDFWLRQ WUDLQHU $QJHOR'XQGHHNQHZWKDW WKH ER[HU ZRXOG VRPHGD\ EHFKDPSLRQ  ´%DQNVKLW$OLZLWKWKH ILQHVW OHIW KRRN ,·YH HYHU VHHQ,WZRXOGKDYHIORRUHG .LQJ .RQJ $OL·V H\HV JOD]HG OLNH KH ZDV RXW RI LWDQGKLVNHHVWHUKLWWKH FDQYDV 7KHQ KH VSUDQJ EDFN XS EULJKWH\HG DQG EXVK\WDLOHG DQG VWRSSHG WKH JX\ FROG +H ZRQ E\ D NQRFNRXW 7KDW·V ZKHQ , NQHZ IRU VXUH , UHDOO\ WKRXJKWIRUDVSOLWVHFRQG WKDW %DQNV· SXQFK ZDV JRRGE\H WR HYHU\WKLQJ WKHQDQGWKHUHµ

in England applied the economic theory he has found so workable in the US: to sweeten the gate, you must first sour the people.” 3 Clay returned to America with a fifth-round knockout, just as he predicted. His continued success frustrated many boxing fans. But after 19 wins—with 15 knockouts—Clay finally got the title fight he had been seeking.

Sizing Up Sonny Eight months after beating Cooper, Clay faced Charles “Sonny” Liston for the heavyweight title. Liston’s

MUHAMMAD ALI

boxing education occurred behind bars. Armed robbery and assaulting police officers headlined Liston’s 19 career arrests. He took up the sport of boxing at the urging of two prison chaplains. Clay bragged that Liston, the world heavyweight champion, had met his match. But few others agreed; Clay was seen as the underdog. Many questioned whether fans would pay the sky-high ticket prices. On February 25, 1964, even Clay’s wild promises did not fill the Miami Beach Convention Center. Ultimately, the arena attracted just 8,300 paying fans, despite having capacity for 15,744. The mental battle between the two boxers began months before the first bell rang. In July 1963, Liston

3*(&7>PV*&7O When Clay compared Sonny Liston to a bear, he was not thinking of a teddy bear. Liston was born in Arkansas, the twentyfourth of twenty-five children (and the tenth Liston’s father had with Liston’s mother). The poor family did not even keep track of his birth date. Reporters guessed he was born between 1927 and 1932. Liston never attended school and never learned to read or write. Instead, his father sent him to work in farm fields at age eight

and gave him frequent beatings. Liston ran away to St. Louis, Missouri, to live with his mother. She had left the farm to work in a factory. In St. Louis, Liston joined a street gang and became involved in crime. He was sentenced to five years in prison for robbery when he was approximately 20 years old. When he became a professional boxer in 1953, men who had ties to organized crime bought his contract.

9

10

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

defended his title against Floyd Patterson in Las Vegas. After Liston’s win, Clay ran to announcer Howard Cosell in the ring and seized the microphone: “The fight was a disgrace! Liston is a tramp! I’m the champ. I How Clay Could Pay %R[LQJ UHSRUWHUV QRWHG WKDW 6RQQ\ /LVWRQ DV FKDPSLRQZDVIDYRUHGWR ZLQWKHILJKWDJDLQVW&OD\ 2GGVPDNHUV IDYRUHG /LV WRQ ² 3HRSOH ZKR EHW RQWKHOHVVHUIDYRUHG&OD\ WRZLQZRXOGUHFHLYHHLJKW GROODUV DQG WKHLU RZQ GROODU EDFN  IRU HDFK EHW RI RQH GROODU :KHQ RGGV DUH OLVWHG DW ² RU HYHQ PRQH\LWPHDQVWKDWWKH SHRSOH DFFHSWLQJ WKH EHWV IHHO WKDW SUHGLFWLQJ D ZLQQHUEHWZHHQWZRZHOO PDWFKHG ER[HUV LV QHDUO\ LPSRVVLEOH

want that big ugly bear!”5

Dancing with Bears Clay found a strategy. He could not compete with Liston’s size or his menacing background. Instead, Clay led up to the fight by haunting the champion with his outlandish personality, hurling insults, jokes, and more. The morning of the fight, both heavyweights were required to attend a weigh-in. Clay appeared wearing a denim jacket with the words: bear huntin’. Clay turned the weigh-in into a circus sideshow to scare Liston into thinking he would be fighting a crazy man.

MUHAMMAD ALI

Sonny Liston ducked low to escape a punch from Clay during the fifth round of their February 25 fight in 1964.

“Round eight to prove I’m great!” shouted Clay, predicting his victory round. “Bring that big, ugly bear on!” 6 Clay’s babbling threats stunned the boxing commission doctor. Clay’s pulse soared to 120 beats per minute—up from 54. Unless he calmed down, he

11

12

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

would not be allowed in the ring. Following Clay’s frenzy, the doctor questioned his fitness to fight for the championship. During workouts, even the night of the fight, Clay and cornerman Drew “Bundini” The Cornerman 7KH FRUQHUPDQ LV VLPL ODU WR D FRDFK :DLWLQJ RXWVLGH WKH ULQJ URSHV RQ WKH PDW DSURQ LQ WKH FRUQHU VRPHRQH OLNH 'UHZ %URZQ PLJKW JLYH DGYLFH %HWZHHQ URXQGV D FRUQHUPDQ ZLOO WUHDW D ILJKWHU·VFXWVDQGEUXLVHV +H PLJKW RIIHU D GULQN RU GU\ D ILJKWHU·V VZHDW\ IDFH ´7KURZLQJ LQ WKH WRZHOµLVDER[LQJSKUDVH :KHQ D ILJKWHU FDQQRW FRQWLQXH WKH FRUQHUPDQ ZLOOZDYHRUWKURZDWRZHO WR JHW WKH UHIHUHH WR VWRS WKH ILJKW ZKHQ WKDW VLGH KDVJLYHQXS

Brown stood toe to toe, shouting their motto: “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” 7 The catchy slogan proved to be a winning game plan. The Clay–Liston bout did not last long. Liston was nine years older than Clay, and it was clear that he had underestimated his opponent. Showing the effects of halfhearted training, Liston was wearing himself out trying to catch the fleet-footed Clay. However, the momentum quickly turned after the fourth round; suddenly it was Clay who looked doomed. After the bell, Clay returned to his corner. “I can’t see!” Clay

MUHAMMAD ALI

pleaded.8 He asked to have his gloves cut off. How could he fight someone he could not see? Trainer Angelo Dundee looked at his fighter’s agonized squinting. Dundee sponged water in Clay’s eyes. He touched the sponge to his own eyes—and shared the burn Clay felt. Some substance from Liston’s face or gloves was torturing Clay. Was it a muscle liniment, ointment for Liston’s cut face, or even a purposeful powder used to blind a surprising foe? Regardless of the problem, the trainer knew one solution. Dundee ordered Clay to go out there and run. He pushed the blinking boxer back into the ring. For one round, Clay danced, backpedaled, and avoided a boxer he could barely see. Sweat and tears cleansed his eyes by the end of the round. In a deciding sixth round, Clay skipped his fancy footwork, moved toward Liston, and delivered a flat-footed barrage of left hooks and right uppercuts until the bell sounded, ending the round. Liston remained seated as the bell rang for the start of the seventh round. He later claimed that his shoulder was injured. “My shoulder feel like it’s broke,” Liston said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with it.” 9 A doctor confirmed Liston’s torn tendon. However, some reporters questioned if Liston could have continued. Wounded pride was another explanation for Liston’s surrender.

13

14

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

At the ring’s other corner, Clay shouted to the crowd, “I am the king! King of the world!”10 To the reporters who once felt Clay had no chance, he yelled, “Eat your words!”11 Clay had become the heavyweight champion.

Changing Names One day later, on February 26, the victor announced to the world that Cassius Clay was no more. He said Clay was the name slave owners gave his ancestors to show whose property they were. The champion said he wanted to be called Cassius X. He also confirmed that he was a member of the Nation of Islam, a religion few Americans knew much about. Before his next fight, the religion’s leader gave the new champ a new name: Muhammad Ali, meaning “Praiseworthy One.” Ali would soon give America, and the world, more than a boxer. He would create one of the most controversial, unforgettable personalities in sports history.

After his win against Sonny Liston was announced, Clay had to be held back as he reacted in excitement.

At age 12 and at only 89 pounds (40.4 kg), Cassius made his amateur boxing debut in Louisville, Kentucky.

MUHAMMAD ALI

P-*7*&9*89O 74<.3,5

%

orn January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. spent lots of time with his brother

Rudy, who was two years younger. Rudy loved to tell people how his big brother honed his speed. Cassius would ask Rudy to throw rocks at him. Rudy claimed that he never hit his brother once, because Cassius dodged every one. When he was not playing with Rudy, Cassius kept neighborhood boys spellbound as a talkative, imaginative leader. His mother, Odessa, worked as a cook and housekeeper for many different families. His father, Cassius, painted signs and murals around Louisville. Many churches hired the senior Clay to paint religious murals, paying in cash or fried chicken dinners. Odessa recalled her firstborn son spending time on tiptoe. One cynical relative joked that Cassius was simply imitating his mother’s movement in high-heeled shoes. But Odessa credited his later speed and grace in the ring with

17

18

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

the way he learned to move in his early days. However, it was not until age 12 that the boy who would become Muhammad Ali accidentally stumbled upon boxing.

From Biking to Boxing In 1954, Cassius and a friend rode their bicycles to the Louisville Home Show. Along with merchant displays, the show offered attendees free popcorn and candy. When it was time to leave the auditorium, Cassius discovered that his new red bike was stolen. Policeman Joe Martin came across the crying boy who wanted his bike back. Seeking action, he vowed to “whup” the thief. 1 The officer, a smiling white man with silver hair, asked Cassius if he knew how to fight. After all, he should know what to do if he planned to whup someone. Martin spent his spare time teaching boys how to box for the city’s recreation department. He showed Cassius Champion of Nicknames $V D FKLOG &DVVLXV·V SDU HQWVFDOOHGKLP**+LV PRWKHU VDLG WKRVH ZHUH WKH ILUVW ZRUGV &DVVLXV HYHU VSRNH /DWHU ZKHQ &DVVLXV EHFDPH DQ DPD WHXU ER[LQJ FKDPSLRQ LQ *ROGHQ *ORYHV FRPSHWL WLRQV KLV IDWKHU MRNHG WKDW KLV VRQ·V ILUVW ZRUGV ZHUHDSUHGLFWLRQ

the auditorium’s basement gymnasium where they trained. Martin created instant sports celebrities. He produced a local TV show called Tomorrow’s Champions. Clay showed the trainer endless determination even after suffering a bloody nose and mouth during his

MUHAMMAD ALI

19

first day sparring in the gym. After just six weeks of training, Cassius boxed his first match. He fought three rounds, one-minute each, with fellow 89-pounder (40.4 kg) Ronnie O’Keefe. Cassius won a split decision, meaning that he landed a few more punches than his foe. There was no knockout, and it was not a pretty win. But it was his first win.

Whistling in the Dark After that win, Cassius began shouting from the ring about his greatness. Martin did not believe Cassius’s rants. He felt that the bragging was a way the young boxer tried to overcome his fears. But Cassius never stopped doing it.

.,-9.3,947&):&9* One of Cassius’s earliest wins was earning a high school diploma. After his sophomore year at Louisville’s Central High School, he left school due to poor grades. When he returned, Cassius still was not an honor roll student. He ranked low in his senior class, 376th out of 391. Due to traveling the country in boxing tournaments, his attendance was spotty. Some teachers wanted to keep Cassius from graduating. However,

Principal Atwood Wilson made a speech to the faculty, begging that Cassius get a second chance. After that, an English teacher allowed the future heavyweight champion to give an oral report on the cities he had boxed in as an amateur, giving him just enough credit to pass. Fellow students remember Cassius at the 1960 graduation ceremony. While other boys wore shirts and ties under their robes, Cassius wore a T-shirt and his steel-toed work boots.

20

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Cassius’s endless appetite for boxing led him to Fred Stoner, who coached young boxing students in a gym in a church basement. But Cassius’s unwillingness to take suggestions resulted in Stoner banishing him from the group. Clay charmed his way back into Stoner’s graces and even worked out an evening option for more training. This was Cassius’s one hobby, his one passion. As his boxing ability grew, his school football coach showed interest in the athletic student. The invitation received a polite turndown. Cassius explained to more than one classmate, in all sincerity, that someone could get hurt playing football. At home, Cassius’s life was less predictable. His father had more than one encounter with the police. Most were from drinking-related offenses. Cassius’s boxing gave him a refuge from an emotionally explosive parent. Cassius also grew up during a time in which African Americans, like himself, were discriminated against in the United States. Louisville and other US cities were segregated. That meant many public facilities were designated whites-only or blacks-only. The whites-only facilities were usually of higher quality. Segregation deeply affected Cassius as he was growing up, and those feelings helped shape his extreme worldviews that garnered so much attention during the 1960s and 1970s.

MUHAMMAD ALI

Cassius met his future trainer, Angelo Dundee, in 1957.

Room Service Cassius’s boxing future was shaped by a daring act. In 1957, he learned that accomplished trainer Angelo Dundee was in town with future light heavyweight champion Willie Pastrano. Using the phone in the hotel lobby, Cassius was connected to Dundee’s room. Cassius introduced himself as Louisville’s Golden Gloves champion. Golden Gloves is an organization that puts on amateur boxing tournaments across the

21

22

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

nation. He went on to share outlandish promises of all the boxing titles he would win in the future. Finally, he asked the big question: Could he and his brother come upstairs and say hello? Pastrano and Dundee agreed to see the kids. Cassius and Rudy stayed more than three hours, quizzing Dundee on diet, sleep, and other training techniques for professional boxers. In 1959, Dundee and his fighter returned to Louisville for a match. Cassius, then age 17, found the trainer and Pastrano at a local gym. He begged to spar with the pro. Dundee feared A Boxer, Not a Bully

the teen could get hurt. But he

&DVVLXV QHYHU VHHPHG WR XVH KLV SXQFKLQJ SRZHU WR EXOO\ KLV SHHUV ZKLOH JURZLQJ XS +LJK VFKRRO FODVVPDWH ,QGUD %URZQ UHPHPEHUHG KHU IULHQG ILJKWLQJ RQO\ RQFH ZKHQ WZRER\VWDXQWHG&DVVLXV DFURVVWKHVWUHHWIURPWKH VFKRRO DW D GHOLFDWHVVHQ +H DVNHG WKHP WR OHDYH KLPDORQHWKH\FRQWLQXHG WRKDUDVVKLP  ´&DVVLXV ILQDOO\ ZHQW DIWHURQHRIWKHPµ%URZQ VDLG ´+H IORRUHG KLP $ ULJKW KDQG 7R WKH MDZ &DVVLXV DOPRVW FULHG , FRXOGWHOOE\KLVYRLFH%XW WKDW ZDV WKH HQG RI WKDW 7KH\ QHYHU ERWKHUHG KLP DJDLQµ

remembered Clay’s enthusiasm and dedication to the sport. After days of being asked, Dundee relented. The result stunned the trainer and the pro. Cassius dominated Pastrano for two rounds. Dundee stopped the sparring, thinking that his fighter was stale. Pastrano confessed that he could not do anything against this young unknown.

MUHAMMAD ALI

23

Flying Colors Cassius was soon challenging boxers throughout the United States. In a six-year career leading up to the 1960 Olympic Games, he registered 100 wins with only eight defeats. Two national Golden Gloves championships and two Amateur Athletic Union national titles highlighted his success. Cassius was seeing cities he had never imagined possible. However, he encountered the same prejudiced attitudes while on the road boxing. Martin’s wife drove Cassius and other amateurs to tournaments in the family station wagon. If they were not in a ring, they were in the car. The white driver was the only one who could go into segregated restaurants, bringing sandwiches to the car for the athletes to eat on the road. As an Olympian, Cassius faced another battle with travel. He had never flown before. Going by overland train to US amateur tournaments was different than going over the ocean to Rome, Italy, for the Olympics. Trainer Martin fought hard to convince Cassius to fly.

Fighting Brothers &DVVLXV ZDV FODVVLILHG DV DOLJKWKHDY\ZHLJKWZKHQ KH ZRQ KLV  2O\P SLF JROG PHGDO ,Q WKDW GLYLVLRQ KH ZHLJKHG  SRXQGV  NJ  +H ZDQWHG KLV EURWKHU 5XG\ WR TXDOLI\ IRU WKH 2O\P SLFV LQ WKH KHDY\ZHLJKW GLYLVLRQ 7KDW QHYHU KDS SHQHG &DVVLXV·V \RXQJHU EURWKHU WKHQ NQRZQ DV 5DKDPDQ $OL WXUQHG SUR LQ  +LV UHFRUG ZDV ²² ZLWK VL[ NQRFN RXWV +H UHWLUHG LQ  DIWHUFRQVHFXWLYHORVVHV

24

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

“But then he went to an army surplus store and bought a parachute and actually wore it on the plane,” Martin’s son told a Louisville newspaper. “It was a pretty rough flight, and he was down in the aisle praying with his parachute on.”3 Four Olympic bouts ended with four Cassius victories and the gold medal. The boy from Louisville faced older, more experienced boxers throughout the Olympics. The ultimate challenge came from Poland’s Zbigniew Pietrzykowski. A left-handed fighter, he had won a bronze medal in the 1956 Olympics. The Pole did not buckle to Cassius’s combinations until the climactic third round of the gold-medal bout. When Cassius returned to Louisville from the Olympics, approximately 300 fans met his airplane. The boxer had launched a rhyme or two for reporters in the past, but this was his defining poetic moment. He responded for all in attendance with a four-line poem: To make America the greatest is my goal. So I beat the Russian and I beat the Pole. And for the USA won the Medal of Gold. Italians said, “You’re greater than the Cassius of old.”4

Cassius Clay and the US boxing team returned from the 1960 Olympics in Rome wearing their gold medals.

On October 29, 1960, Clay made his professional boxing debut against Tunney Hunsacker. He won after six rounds.

MUHAMMAD ALI

:73.3,74

(

ighteen-year-old Cassius Clay had won a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. But he still had a lot to prove

on the professional circuit. He started out in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. The Louisville Sponsorship Group—11 local businessmen who pooled their money to bankroll Clay’s career— paired him against relatively unknown boxers. Clay’s first professional match was against Tunney Hunsacker, who worked days as the chief of a oneman West Virginia police department. Clay got off to a fast start as a professional boxer. After beating Hunsacker, he knocked out his second opponent in 1960 and then knocked out the four opponents he faced through April 1961. Occasionally, the rising star had showed his humor with rhymes or other taunts. In his sixth pro fight against Lamar Clark, Clay began to predict the round in which he would win his fights. He told anyone who would listen, “This Clark will fall in two.” Sure enough, a second-round knockout

27

28

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Three Early Stunners &OD\·V UHSXWDWLRQ DV D GHYDVWDWLQJ ILJKWHU VSUHDGIDVW,Q:LO OLH *XHODW QHYHU VKRZHG XS IRU D PDWFK LQ 0LDPL %HDFK &OD\ QHHGHG MXVW  VHFRQGV WR NQRFN RXW UHSODFHPHQW -LPP\ 5RE LQVRQ $IWHU &OD\ EHDW \HDUROG 'RQQLH )OHH PDQIRUZLQQXPEHUILYH )OHHPDQUHWLUHGIURPER[ LQJ /D0DU &ODUN ZLWK D ²UHFRUGIDFHG&OD\LQ WKH QH[W ILJKW $ VHFRQG URXQGNQRFNRXWFRPSOHWH ZLWK D EURNHQ QRVH FRQ YLQFHG D VHFRQG VWUDLJKW &OD\ YLFWLP WR UHWLUH LQ GHIHDW

occurred. But Clay’s outrageous trash talk grew to a new level after he appeared on a June 1961 radio program to promote his seventh professional fight.

Becoming a Showman Professional wrestler “Gorgeous George” Wagner was also on the program that day. Clay was captivated at how this athletic performer bragged and shouted about his own talent. Gorgeous George’s explanation of his behavior might have surprised Clay.

“A lot of people will pay to see someone shut your mouth,” the wrestling star told Clay. “So keep on bragging, keep on sassing, and always be outrageous.” 1 Clay realized the power of big talk when he learned that 15,000 people bought tickets to Wagner’s match after the rowdy radio appearance. Some believe Wagner was the inspiration for Clay to wear white trunks and boots (later with tassels)—finding another way to turn boxing tradition upside down. Clay was sold on the power of Gorgeous George and attended his next wrestling match. He later said:

MUHAMMAD ALI

Gorgeous George stopped to challenge a heckler before stepping into the wrestling ring.

The whole place was sold out when Gorgeous George wrestled. There was thousands of people, including me. And that’s when I decided I’d never been shy about talking, but if I talked even more, there was no telling how much money people would pay to see me.2 Clay continued to predict the winning round. This trash talk was unheard of. It angered, amazed, and sometimes frightened fans, reporters, and opponents. Some of the fear came from worries that the boxing matches were fixed. People wondered if criminals who bet on the bouts bribed the boxers to lose on purpose.

29

30

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Years later, Clay claimed that his first written poetry—as opposed to off-the-cuff rhymes—was penned for his bout against Archie Moore. Clay fought Moore, his onetime trainer and a former light heavyweight champion, on November 15, 1962, in Los Angeles, California. The extensive prefight TV coverage allowed Clay to show off his abilities. Like a TV theme song or commercial jingle, he kept repeating: When you come to the fight, don’t block the aisle, and don’t block the door. You will all go home after round four. 3 Indeed, Moore suffered a fourth-round knockout before a sold-out crowd. Clay later expressed amazement at his accuracy:

W1&>Q8385.7&9.43 “Gorgeous George” Wagner made professional wrestling one of the most-watched television programs of the 1950s. The wrestler began appearing on TV in 1947. He grew his hair down to his shoulders and dyed it platinum blond. Sometimes, his pre-match performance seemed to take longer than the wrestling. One assistant would spray the ring apron with insecticide for Wagner. Another would prepare the ring

flooring with perfume. He was always shouting and bragging, even taunting and arguing with audience members (who may have been actors hired by the wrestler). Wagner appeared in sequined robes while his entrance music was played. In matches, he played a cheating villain. Wagner died in 1963 of a heart attack. He was 48. Clay was influenced by Wagner’s showmanship.

MUHAMMAD ALI

31

And over the years, 17 out of 21 of my predictions came true. That’s a miracle. I don’t know how I did it. I started making predictions to sell tickets and my predictions started coming true. 4 Before a 1963 bout in New York City, Clay announced that he would beat his opponent, Doug Jones, with a sixth-round knockout. Later, he told a press conference before the match, “I’m changing the pick I made before. Instead of six, Doug goes in four.”5 Things did not go as Clay had planned. The referee finally announced Clay the winner after ten rounds. After the fight, Clay tried to explain the unexpected result. “I called it in six. Then I called it in four,” he claimed. “That’s ten, right?” 6 Nonetheless, Clay continued his rhyming and winning ways through 1963. He had won his three bouts that year, knocking out two of his opponents. The third win was against Henry Cooper in London, which set Clay up with the heavyweight title fight against Sonny Liston.

An Early Prediction $WDDPDWHXUWRXUQD PHQW LQ &KLFDJR ,OOLQRLV &OD\ DQG WUDLQHU -RH 0DUWLQVWRRGQHDUGHIHQG LQJ FKDPSLRQ -LPP\ -RQHV DW WKH ZHLJKLQ &OD\ORXGO\DVNHG0DUWLQ LIKHZDVLQDKXUU\PDN LQJVXUHWKDW-RQHVFRXOG KHDU&OD\WKHQDQQRXQFHG WKDW KLV WUDLQHU FRXOG FKRRVH ZKHWKHU &OD\ VKRXOG NQRFN -RQHV RXW LQWKHILUVWURXQGVRWKH\ FRXOG JHW KRPH VRRQHU RU LI&OD\VKRXOGWDNHLWHDV\ RQ KLV RSSRQHQW DQG OHW WKH PDWFK FRQWLQXH IRU WKUHHURXQGV7KHDPXVHG WUDLQHU WROG &OD\ WR WDNH KLV WLPH +H GLG DQG KH EHDW WKH SV\FKHGRXW -RQHV LQ D WKUHHURXQG GHFLVLRQ

32

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Missing the Cut After defeating Cooper, Clay had a professional record of 19–0 with 15 knockouts. But Clay had more to worry about than boxing. During the 1960s, the military draft was a fact of life for US males. Everyone registered at age 18. Those whose names were drawn at random were required by law to serve in the armed forces. In 1962, a draft board committee classified Clay 1-A. That meant that he was seen as physically fit and ready to be called for service in the army. In January 1964, he took a mental aptitude test. The math and reading portions of the test overpowered the star boxer and he failed. That February, Clay won the heavyweight title for the first time when Liston refused to return for the seventh round, giving Clay a technical knockout. But soon the army insisted Clay retake the test. They thought he might be trying to fail on purpose. Clay, however, was doing his best. He was reclassified as 1-Y and not qualified for military service. “I said I was ‘the Greatest,’” he joked to the media, trying to avoid embarrassment. “I never said I was the smartest.” 7 He got off this time, but it would not be the last time Clay heard from the army. It did not take long for the new champion to cause more controversy. He immediately faced public scrutiny for his new affiliation with the Nation of Islam. He would soon face more scrutiny for his stance on the war, too.

Outside Sonny Liston’s practice gym, Clay shows the crowd how he plans on hitting Liston in the upcoming fight.

Muhammad Ali signs autographs while with Malcolm X, left, a leader in the Black Muslim Movement.

MUHAMMAD ALI

.,-9.3,+47&W&:8*

&

assius Clay had been intrigued by the Nation of Islam long before his first championship fight. He once asked a high

school teacher if he could write a report on Black Muslims. The answer was no. Clay was 19 when he secretly attended his first Nation of Islam meeting in 1961 in Miami, Florida. Remembering his initial trip to that mosque, he later told reporters that he had never felt so spiritual. He asked his brother Rudy to join him in Miami. Within a month, Rudy joined and became known as Rahaman Ali.

Boxing Believer The Nation of Islam differed from orthodox Muslim religion in two major aspects. First, under leader Elijah Muhammad, the nation preached racial separation. While the civil rights movement stressed equal rights of all races, Muhammad often referred to whites as devils. The Nation of Islam wanted a state or territory of their own to live

35

36

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Where Belief Began ,Q  $OL YLVLWHG KLV ILUVW PRVTXH WKH 0DV MLG $O$QVDU 0RVTXH LQ /LEHUW\ &LW\ )ORULGD ,Q  WKH ILUVW EXLOGLQJ LQWKH8QLWHG6WDWHVEXLOW VSHFLILFDOO\WREHDPRVTXH ZDV FUHDWHG LQ &HGDU 5DSLGV ,RZD 0RUH WKDQ  PRVTXHV DUH DFWLYH LQ WKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV DQG FDQ EH IRXQG LQ HYHU\ VWDWH

apart from those they disagreed with. Secondly, the Nation of Islam supported an alternative theory of creation. This view claimed that more than 6,600 years ago, an exiled scientist named Mr. Yacub created the first race of white people to take revenge on those who had banished him to the isle of Patmos.

The Nation of Islam’s belief also spelled out the upcoming end of the world that would begin with a wheel-shaped spaceship orbiting Earth. When Allah’s day of reckoning neared, pamphlets in Arabic would be dropped. These would direct the faithful where to hide for survival. Then, 1,500 planes would leave the spacecraft, dropping explosives that would destroy all others. These concepts were credited to Nation of Islam founder W. D. Fard and later to Elijah Muhammad but were not found in the Qur’an.

Going Public Following his 1964 title win over Sonny Liston, Clay told the press conference that his name was Cassius X and that he was no longer a Christian.

MUHA "MMA " D A L- I

Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam, had controversial views on black and white relations in the United States.

“I know where I’m going and I know the truth,” he said. “I don’t have to be what you want me to be. I’m free to be what I want.”1 Because he spoke out about his beliefs, the head of the Nation of Islam rewarded him with a new name. On a radio broadcast on March 6, 1964, ten days after Clay beat Liston, leader Elijah Muhammad said:

37

38

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

This Clay name has no divine meaning. I hope he will accept being called by a better name. Muhammad Ali is what I will give him for as long as he believes in Allah and follows me.2 Freedom of Religion 2GHVVD DQG &DVVLXV &OD\ KDG UDLVHG WKHLU FKLO GUHQ DV &KULVWLDQV DQG DWWHQGHG D %DSWLVW &KXUFK ZHHNO\ :LWK KLV GHFLVLRQ WR FKDQJH UHOL JLRQ$OLWKRXJKWKHPLJKW EHPLVXQGHUVWRRG:DVKH WXUQLQJKLVEDFNRQDUHOL JLRQDQGKLVPRWKHU"  ,WWRRNKLPVRPHWLPHWR ILQGZRUGVWRH[SODLQWKDW KH DQG KLV PRWKHU FDOOHG *RG E\ GLIIHUHQW QDPHV EXW VWLOO ZRUVKLSSHG WKH VDPH *RG $IWHU KHU LQL WLDO VKRFN KLV PRWKHU DFNQRZOHGJHG WKDW KHU VRQ ZDV PDNLQJ D FKRLFH JXDUDQWHHG E\ WKH )LUVW $PHQGPHQW WR WKH 86 &RQVWLWXWLRQ³IUHHGRP RI UHOLJLRQ

Ali would be known as a minister from the Nation of Islam. The newly named Ali made his new religion a priority in his schedule. In 1964, he made a month-long trip to Egypt and elsewhere in Africa, learning about Muslim worship in other countries. Villagers would chant Ali’s name. In turn, he would tell reporters that these were “my true people.”3 Ali later said that he had attended Nation of Islam meetings for three years prior to his championship fight with Liston. He had feared that boxing officials would not have granted him a championship if they knew his religious leanings.

39

MUHAMMAD ALI

Emotional Wins Ali continued fighting after he announced he was a member of the Nation of Islam. His next bout was a rematch with Liston on May 22, 1965. In a controversial ending, Ali knocked Liston out in the first round. Some people believed Liston threw the fight either due to his ties with organized crime or out of fear of retaliation from the Nation of Islam. In either case, Ali won and retained his

Tolerance Built Team Ali :KHQ UHSRUWHUV DFFXVHG $OL RI VXSSRUWLQJ UDFLVP WKURXJK KLV DIILOLDWLRQ ZLWK 1DWLRQ RI ,VODP $OL SRLQWHG WR WKH EDFN JURXQGVRIKLVDVVLVWDQWV $OL·V WUDLQHU $QJHOR 'XQGHH ZDV ,WDOLDQ %XQGLQL%URZQKLVDVVLV WDQW WUDLQHU ZDV EODFN DQG -HZLVK &DPS PDQ DJHU *HQH .LOUR\ ZDV ZKLWH)HUGLH3DFKHFRKLV ULQJ GRFWRU ZDV &XEDQ +RZDUG%LQJKDPDFORVH IULHQG ZKR SKRWRJUDSKHG $OL IRU \HDUV LQ DQG RXW RI WKH ULQJ ZDV D EODFN &KULVWLDQ

title. Ali’s next fight was against former champion Floyd Patterson on November 22, 1965. Ali showed up at Patterson’s training camp toting lettuce and carrots. He told the press Patterson was a scared rabbit. Patterson then told reporters that he was a Roman Catholic, explaining that his religion did not stress hate. Patterson vowed that he would reclaim the title for the United States and eliminate the Black Muslim influence from boxing. Instantly, Ali called Patterson an Uncle Tom. The insult implied that a black person tried overly hard to please whites. In the ring, Ali toyed with the already

40

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

injured Patterson. He pounded him for 12 rounds but never to the point of a knockout. Finally, Ali won with a technical knockout after the twelfth round. Afterward, reporters insisted that the winning Ali doled out extra punishment to the older boxer.

The Army Calls Again Ali’s controversial views came to the forefront again in 1966. As the war in Vietnam worsened, so did the need for US troops. In early 1966, minimum test score requirements were cut in half. That meant his failing grade was now a passing grade by 1 percent.

&2.1>.+* Some people were surprised when Ali married Sonji Roi in 1964. The two had met only weeks earlier, and Roi’s partying lifestyle did not fit well with Ali’s Islamic beliefs. Those who knew the couple were not surprised when Ali and Roi divorced two years later due to her reluctance to convert to Islam. Acquaintances also were not surprised when the 25-year-old Ali married 17-yearold Belinda Boyd in 1967. She had been raised a Black Muslim and was schooled at the University of Islam. Muhammad and Belinda had four children together but

divorced in 1977, partly because of Ali’s infidelity. He was known to have had many affairs and had two children out of wedlock. In 1975, during an affair with Veronica Porsche, Ali accidentally introduced her as his wife. Belinda divorced Ali after that, and he married Porsche. They had two children together, but ultimately divorced in 1986. Later that year, Ali married his fourth wife, Lonnie Williams. They adopted one child together. Unlike the other marriages, Muhammad and Lonnie remain together.

MUHAMMAD ALI

41

The army wanted Ali, but he did not want the army. His religion did not allow him to join. Again and again, he repeated to reporters or anyone who would listen, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong.” 4 The Viet Cong were the North Vietnamese guerrilla forces that the US Army was fighting in the war. Although few agreed with the Nation of Islam’s message, Ali’s defiance endeared him to the civil rights protesters who were opposed to the war. However, his views only further alienated him from many Americans. In 1966, Ali applied for conscientious objector (CO) status. That meant he refused military service because of his religion. But the draft board denied his claim and the controversy continued. Because of Ali’s views, few states agreed to host his fights that year. Four of his five fights in 1966 took place in other countries. But Ali kept winning, defending his title five times—four of which were by knockouts. Anger raged deep in Ali’s first fight in 1967 against Ernie Terrell. Terrell had been in Golden Gloves when Ali used his given name of Cassius Clay

Objecting Like Ali $OL ZDV QRW WKH RQO\ &2 GXULQJ WKH 9LHWQDP :DU 7KH JRYHUQPHQW UHFRJ QL]HG PRUH WKDQ  \RXQJ PHQ DV &2V $Q HVWLPDWHG  SHRSOH QHYHU UHJLVWHUHG IRU WKH GUDIW 6RPH EXUQHG WKHLU GUDIW FDUGV LQ SURWHVW $Q HVWLPDWHG  SHRSOHIOHGWR&DQDGDDQG 6ZHGHQ

42

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

and still thought of him by his old name. When it came time to promote the fight, Terrell The Ali Shuffle Debuts

continued to address Ali as Clay

$OL·V XQEHDWHQ VWUHDN JUHZ1RYHPEHU  +H IRXJKW &OHYHODQG ´%LJ &DWµ :LOOLDPV ZKR ERDVWHG D UHFRUG RI ²² $FURZGRIPDUNHG DQ LQGRRU UHFRUG IRU D ER[LQJ PDWFK 0RVW LPSRUWDQWO\ IRU WKH ILUVW WLPH $OL GLVSOD\HG WKH GDQFHOLNH PRYHPHQW KH QLFNQDPHG WKH ´$OL VKXIIOHµ EHIRUH NQRFNLQJ RXW :LOOLDPV LQ WKH WKLUG URXQG

because it seemed to irk his opponent. During the fight at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, Ali’s displeasure turned to hate. He broke a bone on Terrell’s left cheek and damaged his eye. Ringside reporters could hear Ali tauntingly ask before each punch, “What’s my name, Uncle Tom?”5 Ali dragged the fight out through the entire 15 rounds although he could have easily ended the fight much earlier.

Later, Terrell would claim Ali poked a thumb in his eye and rubbed the ring rope in his injured face. Ali continued to have success in the ring. He defended his title for an amazing ninth time in just more than three years by knocking out Zora Folley in March 1967. But his other opponent—the US government—did not let up. If Ali did not do what the army said, he faced a maximum punishment of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

On March 17, 1966, Ali visited the Louisville, Kentucky, Veterans building to appeal his draft classification.

After refusing to be drafted, Ali left the Armed Forces induction center with friends on April 28, 1967.

MUHAMMAD ALI

-*L72>&3)L1.

2

n April 28, 1967, Ali faced his last chance to join the army. He reported to the US Armed Forces Examining

and Entrance Station in Houston, Texas. After a morning of physical exams and filling out forms, Ali was ushered into a ceremony room. Each draftee was to step forward when his name was called. This symbolic step indicated each young man’s official induction. But when Ali’s name was called, he did not move. The officer repeated his name. When Ali remained motionless, the officer asked for a written explanation of why Ali refused military service. His refusal to enter the draft raised many issues. First, he felt he should be exempt from military service as an active minister of the Nation of Islam. As an African American, he felt he could not kill other people of color. He also noted that his induction seemed unfair, because no blacks were on the Louisville, Kentucky, draft board.

45

46

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Many Americans supported the Vietnam War at the time. Reporters questioned how Ali could say no. Some speculated that Ali could probably avoid combat duty because of his celebrity status. During World War II, heavyweight champion Joe Louis entertained the troops with boxing exhibitions. Louis and Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play in Major League Baseball in 1947, agreed that anyone who had earned millions of dollars through the support of the US people should return the favor by serving in their country’s military. However, Ali chose not to follow their example. While many were appalled by Ali’s loud, public refusal to go to war and his affiliation with the Nation of Islam, others looked at him as a hero. Ali confidently stood up to the US establishment, quickly becoming a leader in the civil rights movement. Although few people agreed with the Nation of Islam, many other African Americans fought for equal rights during the 1960s, and many were also against the Vietnam War. To these African Americans and other civil rights activists, Ali became a high-profile leader in their movement. But he still had to deal with the federal government. Immediately, a lawyer from the Louisville Sponsoring Group visited Ali. He pointed out that more than a million dollars were at stake. Contracts for commercials and public appearances were in danger.

MUHAMMAD ALI

47

No one wanted an endorsement from a controversial war protester. Ali shrugged. His religion would not allow him to be in the military in any form. Ali went to court on June 19, 1967. He was charged with refusal to be inducted into the US Army. A jury needed just 21 minutes to decide that he was guilty. Ali told the judge he would appreciate an immediate sentence. Even though the US attorney prosecuting Ali asked for a lighter sentence, the judge responded with the maximum: five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

4*4:.8;*78:8L1. Boxer Joe “The Brown Bomber” Louis had retired long before Muhammad Ali fought his first match, yet the two faced off repeatedly. Louis, born on May 13, 1914, was a famous African-American heavyweight champion from 1937 to 1949. He had avoided making controversial statements during his career and enlisted in World War II as a private. In a charity dinner speech during World War II, Louis stated, “We’ll win, because we’re on God’s side.” 1 He boxed in 96 exhibitions as entertainment for 2 million troops. He also donated his pay from two championship fights to

the US Army Emergency Relief Fund, helping soldiers and their families. Louis asked why Ali could not do the same. Louis hinted that Ali was ungrateful to the country after making so much money from fights. Ali responded by labeling Louis as an Uncle Tom. Years later, he apologized to Louis. When Louis died in 1981, he was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. Because Louis grew up in Detroit, Michigan, the National Hockey League’s Detroit Red Wings named their arena the Joe Louis Arena in his honor.

48

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Grounded Ali was allowed to remain free on bail while his case was appealed. But he found that he no longer had a career as a professional athlete. The trouble started when the New York State Athletic Commission stripped Ali of his boxing license after he refused to step forward at his draft induction. Other states followed. They would not grant him approval to fight for pay. Meanwhile, the judge had taken away Ali’s passport, which was a common practice when someone was convicted of a felony. But not being able to travel stopped Ali from seeking work as a boxer outside the United States. He had Pro Athletes Avoiding Vietnam ,QD3HQWDJRQVWXG\ LQGLFDWHGWKDWSURIHV VLRQDO DWKOHWHV RI GUDIW DJH GXULQJ WKH 9LHWQDP :DU IXOILOOHG WKHLU PLOL WDU\GXWLHVE\MRLQLQJWKH 1DWLRQDO*XDUGRUWKH86 $UP\ 5HVHUYHV 2WKHUV VXFK DV 1HZ
earned several hefty paychecks competing in Canada, Germany, and England in 1966. Ali lost more than his boxing license when he refused to step forward. The World Boxing Association also stripped Ali of his championship title. Without boxing, Ali found another job: public speaking. He was paid to give lectures at college campuses. Young people disillusioned with the war welcomed the high-profile voice

49

MUHAMMAD ALI

of dissent. But Ali did not turn out to be the radical that some students had expected. Upon arriving at a college campus in New York, Ali saw that the walls were adorned with antiwar protest posters. He said he would not give his speech until the walls were cleared. Although the students wanted to believe Ali stood for all of the same radical viewpoints they did, that was not the case. He disagreed with the war for different reasons. In fact, Ali’s conservative views were much different than their free-spirited ways. He let everyone know that, because of his affiliation with the Nation of Islam, he did not believe in drug and alcohol use or interracial dating. For nearly four years, Ali’s boxing career remained at a standstill. But he was giving up more than millions of dollars in income. He was at the peak of his career, giving up his prime physical years as a boxer.

The History of Objection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

50

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

A Pacifist Boxer? To some, Ali’s willingness to continue in the bloody sport of boxing seemed contrary to being a Muslim. In December 1969, Illinois US House of Representatives member Robert Michel stood before Congress to protest Ali’s proposed return to pro boxing. He stated: It should be recalled that Mr. Clay gave as one of his excuses for not wanting to be drafted [to the Vietnam War] that he is in reality a minister and that even boxing is antagonistic to his religion. But apparently, he is willing to fight anyone but the Viet Cong.2

Conflict with the Nation In 1969, Ali’s plight hit a new low. Television reporters could not resist his talkative ways. Someone asked if he would ever consider a return to boxing. He admitted he would if the money was right. Elijah Muhammad was enraged. He did not want Ali or any Nation of Islam member to look to white America for support or approval. The Nation of Islam newspaper announced Ali’s one-year suspension: “We will call him Cassius Clay. We take away the name of Allah from him until he proves himself worthy of that name.”3 Only through the intervention of Elijah’s son Herbert Muhammad was the suspension lifted. Elijah had appointed Herbert as Ali’s manager years earlier.

Addressing a crowd at a Black Muslim convention in 1968, Ali later was at odds with the Nation of Islam in 1969.

Joe Frazier hits Ali during the fifteenth round of their heavyweight title fight at New York’s Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971.

MUHAMMAD ALI

-*.,-94+9-*W*39:7>

%

y 1970, Ali’s supporters had unsuccessfully spent nearly three years working to get some state to allow him

to fight. At last, Georgia seemed like a good possibility. There was no state boxing commission to interfere when Atlanta’s mayor gave permission. On October 26, 1970, Ali fought Jerry Quarry, the number one contender. After 43 months away from the professional ring, Ali was declared the winner when the fight ended in the third round with a technical knockout. The referee decided that serious facial cuts made it impossible for Quarry to continue. Six weeks later, Ali gained a state license to fight in New York again. The state commission, however, did not change its mind, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) filed suit. According to the lawsuit, the state had sanctioned bouts for 90 boxers convicted of crimes ranging from military desertion and armed robbery to murder.

53

54

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Why were they allowed to fight and not Ali? A judge ruled that Ali’s constitutional rights had been violated. A fight was scheduled for December 7, 1970. Ali went on to beat Oscar Bonavena by technical knockout in the fifteenth round.

Ali–Frazier During the time Ali had been banned from boxing, Joe Frazier, a new heavyweight, had emerged as Ali’s successor. Known as Smokin’ Joe, he was much different than Ali. Frazier was a quieter, less flamboyant man who pounded opponents with his strong punches. It was easy for those who disliked Ali to get behind Frazier. Ali and Frazier met for the first time on March 8, 1971, with Frazier’s heavyweight title on the line. It was the first time that an undefeated champion met an undefeated former champion. The bout at New York City’s Madison Square Garden Fierce for Frazier 2QHRI$OL·VILHUFHVWRSSR QHQWV GXULQJ KLV FDUHHU ZDV -RH )UD]LHU %HIRUH WKHLU ILUVW ILJKW LQ  $OLOHGXSWRWKHPDWFKE\ WU\LQJ IRU D SRHWLF NQRFN RXWVSRXWLQJ´7KLVPLJKW VKRFN DQG DPD]H \D %XW ,·P JRQQD GHVWUR\ -RH >)UD]\DK@µ

was one of the most highly anticipated boxing matches of all time. Approximately 300 million people around the world watched the fight. Heading into the fight, Frazier was slightly favored. However, Ali was confident he

MUHAMMAD ALI

55

could win his title back and predicted a sixth-round knockout. But the sixth round came and went without a knockout. Frazier showed tremendous quickness with his brute strength. Ali looked slightly slower than he had before his ban from boxing. Still, it was a close fight through the fourteenth round. Then Ali got a burst of energy. However, Frazier countered, even knocking Ali down. Ali jumped up, but he could not mount enough of a comeback. In what some called the Fight of the Century, Frazier won in a unanimous decision, handing Ali his first loss as a professional.

L1.Q8.)*0.(0 Part of Ali’s reputation as a speaker came from his many television appearances with Howard Cosell on Wide World of Sports. As the interviewer, Cosell became an unintentional comedic sidekick to the fast-talking boxer. Cosell often seemed older and sometimes wiser than Ali in their interviews. Ali always teased Cosell about using too many big words. Ali would also tease the host on the air about his toupee. Together, the odd couple intrigued the sports world. During one program in 1967, Cosell wanted Ali to confess that

he had stretched the fight with Ernie Terrell to the full 15 rounds just to punish him. “You are not a stupid boy,” Cosell began. “Thank you, Howard,” Ali interrupted. “You’re not as dumb as you look.” 2 Cosell scolded Ali frequently. Before a 1967 fight against Zora Folley, the journalist seemed shocked at the boxer’s accelerated bragging. “You’re being extremely truculent,” Cosell said. “Whatever ‘truculent’ means,” Ali replied, “if that’s good, I’m that.” 3

56

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Fighting to Get Back Ali might not have defeated Frazier, but on June 28, 1971, he was free at last. The US Supreme Court ruled 8–0 that Ali should not be forced to serve in the military because of his religious beliefs. Ali followed the Fight of the Century with ten wins over the next two years. But on March 31, 1973, Ali suffered the second loss of his career. A second-round, right-hand punch from Ken Norton broke his jaw. Ali did not give up, though. He fought ten more rounds before losing in a split decision. After six months of recuperation, the healed Ali got his rematch with Norton. It resulted in a twelfth-round decision for Ali. Ali and Frazier fought for the second time in 1974. By then, Frazier had surprisingly lost his heavyweight title to George Foreman. This Ali–Frazier fight was not as highly anticipated as their first fight, but it was heated between the boxers. The two men wrestled to a standstill during a joint, prefight, TV interview with Howard Cosell. When Ali called Religious in the Ring ,Q WKH ULQJ $OL ZRXOG WXUQWRDFRUQHUIRUDSUH ILJKW SUD\HU +H ZRXOG ERZ KLV KHDG DQG H[WHQG KLV JORYHV SDOPV XS $IWHU D ILJKW KH ZRXOG WHOO WKH LQWHUYLHZHUV WKDW KHZLVKHGWRWKDQN$OODK IRUKLVVXFFHVV

Frazier “ignorant,” Frazier lunged at him. Boxing officials fined each man $5,000. Still, Ali redeemed himself with a win. Following the second Frazier bout, Ali finally got another shot at the title.

In Ali’s 1973 fight with Ken Norton, Ali’s jaw was broken.

On September 11, 1974, Ali arrived in Zaire for his fight against heavyweight champion George Foreman.

MUHAMMAD ALI

:2'1*.39-* :3,1*

/

ater in life, George Foreman became known as the smiling, hairless spokesman for kitchen grilling machines. But in 1974,

he was the fierce roadblock stopping Muhammad Ali’s return to heavyweight glory. At 6 feet, 3 1/2 inches tall, Foreman held the heavyweight championship that Ali yearned to take back. Ali’s manager Herbert Muhammad insisted on finding a $5 million payday for his contender. Finding that much financial backing for a nonchampion in the United States could be tough. Flashy show promoter Don King dreamed up a scheme to pay the bills. He would take the whole affair to Africa. This black promoter spoke of an all-black extravaganza. He even devised a crazy title for the fight: The Rumble in the Jungle. King had gained financing from Zaire for a $10 million purse that the fighters would split. The controversial government had been accused of human rights abuses and was willing to pay for positive publicity. But King’s enthusiasm

59

60

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

frustrated the Zaire government more than once. King’s first misstep was a plan to sell the fight with a poster that read, “From the slave ship to the The “Rumble” Sponsor =DLUH SUHVLGHQW 0REXWX 6HVH 6HNR EDQNUROOHG WKH ILJKW EHWZHHQ $OL DQG )RUHPDQ %RUQ -RVHSK 'pVLUp0REXWXWKHIRUPHU DUP\RIILFHUDQGMRXUQDO LVW WRRN FRQWURO RI WKH FRXQWU\LQ/DWHUKH JDYHKLPVHOIDQDPHWKDW PHDQW DOOSRZHUIXO ZDU ULRU 0REXWX UHPDLQHG LQSRZHUIRU\HDUVDQG LV UHPHPEHUHG DV D GLF WDWRU +H RUGHUHG ULYDOV DQGFULWLFVH[HFXWHGZKLOH VWHDOLQJ IURP WKH FRXQ WU\·V FRSSHU DQG FREDOW UHVHUYHV WR PDNH KLP VHOIDPLOOLRQDLUH:KHQ 0REXWX FDPH XS ZLWK D  PLOOLRQ SXUVH IRU WKH $OL DQG )RUHPDQ ERXW UHSRUWHUV GLG QRW DVN PDQ\ TXHVWLRQV DERXW ZKHUH WKH PRQH\ FDPH IURP

championship.” 1 Ali’s bluster did not help. Even before reaching Africa, he ranted: All you boys who don’t take me seriously, who think George Foreman is gonna whup me; when you get to Africa, [President] Mobutu’s people are gonna put you in a pot, cook you and eat you.2 Zaire’s foreign minister called the Ali camp, objecting. The people of Zaire are not cannibals, he reminded them. The country was hosting the fight to improve its image and increase trade.

Savages in America Foreman came into the fight with a dazzling record. He was 40–0, winning 37 times by

MUHAMMAD ALI

61

knockout. Only three fighters had lasted an entire match against him. Reporters compared the boxers’ recent common foes. Ali battled to win twelfth-round decisions against Ken Norton and Joe Frazier. Foreman, meanwhile, pounded both men with second-round knockouts. He had skyrocketed to the championship in the Sunshine Showdown. Held in Kingston, Jamaica, on January 22, 1973, Foreman won the title by knocking down Frazier six times in the first two rounds.

47*2&3Q8V4=.3,W-.1)-44) Growing up in Houston, Texas, George Foreman endured life with an alcoholic stepfather. Street fights and gang brawls were common. His life as a ninth-grade dropout took a hopeful turn when he joined the Job Corps program. Sent to the Oregon forests, he learned how to lay bricks and build houses. Later, Foreman studied electronics at a California urban center and earned the equivalent of a high school diploma. However, he still picked fights with fellow trainees. A supervisor saw Foreman’s aggressiveness and felt boxing could help him contain his rage. The plan worked. Foreman won a 1968 Olympic gold medal in Mexico City, Mexico.

He wore a robe that read: George Foreman, the Fighting Corpsman. His first job was helping others as a Job Corps instructor. “Boxing is a real challenge, but I have bigger goals, like going to college,” he said. “If no one had taken notice of me I’d have gone down the drain. I want to be qualified to catch others before they go down.” 3 Following his retirement in 1977, Foreman became a minister. After being out of the sport for ten years, he tried boxing again. In 1994, Foreman recaptured the heavyweight title at age 45, becoming the oldest champion in history.

62

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Fans cheered for Ali as he drove through downtown Kinshasa, Zaire, on a sightseeing trip before his 1974 fight against George Foreman.

In Zaire in October 1974, Foreman kept to his airconditioned villa. As heavyweight champion, he had everything to lose and little to gain. Ali kept a high profile. He was everywhere, meeting with everyone. Close friend and personal photographer Howard Bingham tape-recorded Ali’s amazement. Ali said: I used to think Africans were savages. But now that I’m here, I’ve learned that many Africans

MUHAMMAD ALI

63

are wiser than we are. They speak English and two or three more languages. Ain’t that something? We in America are the savages.4 Ali even became an unofficial census taker by proclaiming that “28 million black people run this country, and not one white man is involved.” 5 The people of Zaire made their feelings known. “Ali bomaye!” they shouted. Translated, the chant meant, “Ali, kill him!” Winning Zaire’s support started weeks before the fight.

The Wrong Message :KHQ WUDLQLQJ LQ =DLUH *HRUJH )RUHPDQ EURXJKW WZR ODUJH GRJV IRU FRP SDQ\7KHKXONLQJOHDVKHG GRJV VHQW WKH ZURQJ PHVVDJH WR WKH ORFDO SRSXODWLRQ %HIRUH =DLUH HDUQHG LWV LQGHSHQGHQFH WKH WHUULWRU\ ZDV NQRZQ DVWKH%HOJLDQ&RQJR7KH IRUHLJQ IRUFH FRQWUROOLQJ WKH FRXQWU\ XVHG SROLFH GRJV DJDLQVW FLWL]HQV :KHQ )RUHPDQ DSSHDUHG ZLWK KLV GRJV WKH ORFDOV EHOLHYHG WKH ER[HU ZDV VHQGLQJDVWHUQPHVVDJH

Ali jogged everywhere and visited remote neighborhoods. Foreman heard the chants that greeted Ali and retreated more. If the sneering recluse resembled Sonny Liston in behavior, it was no accident. One of Foreman’s earliest breaks as a pro came working as Liston’s sparring partner.

64

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Just a week before the fight, Foreman suffered a cut below his eye in an accident with a sparring partner. The September 25 date for the fight was reset to October 30 to allow him to recover. The fight was scheduled to begin at 4:00 a.m. With the different time zones, US fans wanted to attend closed-circuit showings of the fight at a convenient prime-time hour. Reporters marveled at classic Ali, who even invented a name for the punch he had prepared to beat his rival: I got a punch for George. It’s called the ghetto-whopper, and the reason it’s called the ghetto-whopper is because it’s thrown in the ghetto at three o’clock in the morning, when me and George are gonna fight. 6

Rope-a-Dope Foreman’s disadvantage with Ali began before the first bell rang. Ali, a fan of horror movies, nicknamed Foreman the Mummy. Ali claimed the nickname was due to Foreman’s slow predictability. “There ain’t no mummy gonna catch me,” Ali said.7 Other times, Ali described Foreman as a “gang boy” and a “big old bully from Texas.” 8 Intense but quiet, Foreman had few verbal counterpunches for Ali. Listeners would never know from the one-sided exchanges that Foreman was favored with 3-to-1 betting odds before the fight.

MUHAMMAD ALI

65

The fight began with a packed stadium of 60,000 fans. Most did not care about the odds—they favored Ali, loudly. Ali rewarded their faith by starting the first round with a quick right-hand tag to Foreman’s head. But early in the second round, Ali retreated to the ropes, almost inviting Foreman to punch away. Shocked members of the Ali camp screamed for him to keep moving. Reporters gasped that the fight’s outcome must be fixed. Only Ali knew that everything was part of an impromptu plan. He saw Foreman’s eagerness to go for a knockout, especially after Ali got in the earliest first-round punch. So Ali covered himself, deflecting Foreman’s countless body blows. He suspected that Foreman would follow a traditional way of boxing. That meant trying to wear out his foe with repeated body punches before aiming for a knockout to the head. By no means did Ali sleep through the middle rounds. Counterpunching off the ropes, he gauged Foreman’s growing exhaustion. In the eighth round, Foreman missed with a right hand. Ali responded with a fivepunch combination of his own.

Reliving the Fight on Film :KHQ:H:HUH.LQJVZDV DQ PLQXWH GRFXPHQ WDU\ WKDW ORRNHG EDFN DW WKH5XPEOHLQWKH-XQJOH 7KH FRYHUDJH FRQWDLQHG IRRWDJH RI WKH ILJKW $ PDQ FUHZ SURGXFHG WKHILOP7KHILOPZDVQRW UHOHDVHG XQWLO  DQG ZRQ D %HVW 'RFXPHQWDU\ $FDGHP\ $ZDUG %RWK $OL DQG )RUHPDQ DFFRP SDQLHGWKHGLUHFWRUWRWKH FHUHPRQ\VKRZLQJWKDWD IULHQGVKLS HYROYHG ZKHQ WKHLUFDUHHUVHQGHG

66

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Each punch was thrown with astounding speed for someone Blame Game :KHQ *HRUJH )RUHPDQ ORVW VXIIHULQJ KLV ILUVW FDUHHUGHIHDWKHSURGXFHG PDQ\ H[FXVHV IRU UHSRUW HUV +H WKRXJKW WKH ULQJ URSHV KDG EHHQ ORRVHQHG WRDOORZ$OLWRUHWUHDWIDU WKHUIURPKHDY\SXQFKHV +H FODLPHG WKH UHIHUHH FRXQWHG WRR TXLFNO\ DIWHU KH KDG EHHQ NQRFNHG GRZQ 7KHQ KH FODLPHG KLV RZQ WUDLQHU KDG GUXJJHG KLV ZDWHU EHIRUH WKHILJKW/DWHU)RUHPDQ UHOHQWHG ´, ZDV GUXJJHG DOO ULJKW 0XKDPPDG JDYHPHDGRVHRIWKDWELJ ULJKWKDQGµ

who had spent the earlier rounds absorbing a pounding on the ropes. Ali toppled Foreman, winning back his championship with an eighth-round knockout. In later fights, Ali christened his strategy rope-a-dope. Ali’s staff left the Zaire stadium after 5:00 a.m., driving through a heavy rain. Ali’s personal doctor, Ferdie Pacheco, remembered seeing surges of movement near the road. “As we got into the deep jungle, we started to see natives coming out to the road, carrying

their children and covering them with palm fronds or corrugated tin sheets,” he recalled. “All they wanted to do was see Muhammad Ali pass by. Just see him. All the way to N’Zele the quiet natives lined the way, in order to someday tell their children that once, on a rainswept morning, they had seen pass by: The Greatest!”9

In their fight, Ali knocked out George Foreman, red shorts, in the eighth round.

The Thrilla in Manila fight between Ali and Joe Frazier was set up by Don King.

MUHAMMAD ALI

-7.11&.3 &3.1&

$

fter Elijah Muhammad’s death in February 1975, Ali became a Sunni Muslim. He abandoned the harsh tone of

the original Nation of Islam tenets. Looking back, he once said: When I was young, I followed a teaching that disrespected other people and said that white people were “devils.” I was wrong. Color doesn’t make a man a devil. It’s the heart and soul and mind that count. 1 But Ali still had no love for Frazier. Ali had

defended his title three times in 1975 before meeting Frazier for the third and final time. The October 1975 fight was not expected to live up to their first one. Both boxers were past their prime, and the 1974 fight left little doubt that Ali would win. As Don King had done for the Rumble in the Jungle, the promoter looked for the highest payday outside the United States to stage the fight. He found it just outside Manila in the Philippines.

69

70

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Frazier had supported Ali when he was banned from boxing. But since returning, Ali began a vicious feud with Frazier. Ali had called Frazier an Uncle Tom, among other things, before their first fight in 1971. Prior to their 1975 bout, Ali squeezed a small, rubber gorilla during a press conference and said, “It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manila.”2 Although both men were black, some deemed Ali as a bigot for his taunts referring to Frazier as a gorilla. Tension mounted when they met that October. The October 1, 1975, bout began at 10:45 a.m. local time Compassion $OL IRXJKW KLV ORQJWLPH VSDUULQJ SDUWQHU -LPP\ (OOLV IRU UHDO RQ -XO\   (OOLV D IRUPHU KHDY\ZHLJKW WLWOH FODLP DQW ZKLOH $OL ZDV VXVSHQGHGZDVDOVRIURP /RXLVYLOOH DQG ZDV DOVR PDQDJHG DQG WUDLQHG E\ $QJHOR 'XQGHH $OL DOORZHG 'XQGHH WR ZRUN IRU (OOLV LQ WKH ILJKW EHFDXVH (OOLV·V FRQWUDFW JDYH 'XQGHH D ODUJHU VKDUH RI SD\ $OL DQG 'XQGHHKDGEHHQWRJHWKHU IRU  ILJKWV %XW HYHQ ZLWKWKHFKDQJH$OLUHJ LVWHUHG D WZHOIWKURXQG WHFKQLFDONQRFNRXW

to account for US television viewers. What followed was an epic but exhausting battle. With temperatures reaching 107 degrees Fahrenheit (42°C), Ali dominated the first three rounds. Beginning with the fourth round, Frazier controlled the bout for the next seven rounds. After the tenth round, Ali looked defeated, but he found something more and began to dominate once again, despite his exhaustion.

MUHAMMAD ALI

An image from Ali and Joe Frazier’s dramatic fight was on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

71

72

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Ali won when Frazier’s manager refused to let his fighter start the fifteenth round. Later, Ali told his doctor that the fight was the closest thing to death that he had ever experienced. It was also a sign of what was to come. During the fight, fans began to see Ali’s slowed reflexes being hidden with his rope-a-dope technique.

A Tough Nut to Crack Ali was nearly 34 years old when he beat Frazier for the last time. He would continue boxing for six more

V*&9.3,9-*V&>433*V1**)*7 One of Ali’s least memorable wins made boxing history. Ali beat Chuck Wepner on March 24, 1975, to defend the heavyweight title he had won from George Foreman in 1974 in Africa. Wepner, who worked full-time as a liquor salesman, only trained at night. From Bayonne, New Jersey, Wepner was nicknamed the Bayonne Bleeder for the many deep cuts he had suffered during his matches. No reporters asked about Wepner winning. The only question was whether the challenger could survive in the

ring against Ali. The former Marine did. Ali did not get his knockout punch delivered until only 19 seconds remained in the fifteenth round. Sylvester Stallone, a littleknown actor, watched the fight. Inspired by how Wepner ignored impossible odds to endure the entire fight, Stallone wrote a screenplay and starred in the movie, Rocky, based on the battle. The 1976 movie was a major success and won three Academy Awards. Five sequels followed throughout the years.

MUHAMMAD ALI

years, but Ali’s last blaze of glory may have come in one decisive round. He faced off against Earnie Shavers, owner of 54 victories, on September 29, 1977. The boxer with a shaved, somewhat pointy head was an easy target for the champion to give him a nickname. Ali branded Shavers “the Acorn” for their match at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Although Ali seemed to have been ahead for eight of the first 12 rounds, Shavers rallied. The onslaught wore Ali down. Despite glazed eyes and wobbly legs, Ali summoned a last burst of energy for the fifteenth round and belted Shavers against the ropes. Shavers had been fooled by Ali’s acting abilities. Thinking Ali was suffering far more than he was, Shavers did not feel the need to move in for the kill—until it was too late. After the fight, Shavers may have gotten the last laugh. The Acorn told Ali that he was one tough nut to crack.

On the Ropes Many people thought Ali should retire after defeating Shavers. By then, the boxer’s quickness and reflexes had clearly faded. After the fight, even the Madison Square Garden promoter encouraged Ali to retire. When Ali balked, the promoter said he would not book any more Ali fights.

73

74

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

The bad news grew. This was the last fight Doctor Ferdie Pacheco would work in Ali’s camp, too. He had received test results showing that Ali’s kidneys had suffered major damage. Ali needed to retire. Pacheco sent letters to Ali, his An Apology %HIRUH WKH WKLUG $OL² )UD]LHU ILJKW WKH  7KULOOD LQ 0DQLOD $OL·V WDXQWV ZHUH H[FHVVLYHO\ SHUVRQDO ZKLFK VRPH UHSRUWHUV GHHPHG UDFLVW $IWHU KLV ER[LQJ FDUHHU HQGHG$OLIRXQGQHZXVHV IRU SRHWU\ ,Q KLV ERRN 7KH 6RXO RI D %XWWHUIO\ $OLLQFOXGHGDSRHPWLWOHG ´7KH6LOHQW:DUULRUµ7KH SRHP DSRORJL]HG WR )UD ]LHUDQGKLVIDPLO\IRUWKH WDXQWVEHIRUHWKDWILJKW

wife Veronica Porsche, trainer Dundee, and manager Herbert Muhammad. All the warnings were ignored. Pacheco chose to quit, knowing the physical problems Ali would face from continued fighting. Fresh off a win, Ali believed that an upcoming bout with Leon Spinks would be an easy assignment. Spinks, a US Marine, had fought in just six pro bouts following his 1976 Olympic gold medal in boxing. Despite the lack of front teeth, Spinks charmed fans with a wide grin and the urge to wear his dress blue military uniform while not in the ring.

MUHAMMAD ALI

Ali went light on training, planning on recycling his rope-a-dope game plan. Instead, the 24-year-old boxer took away Ali’s title with a fifteenth-round decision on February 15, 1978. It was only Ali’s third professional loss. Ali earned a new slice of boxing history exactly seven months later in a rematch with Spinks. Approximately 65,000 fans packed the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, and witnessed the transformation. Millions more hovered by televisions for the live broadcast. Ali stayed off the ropes this time. He needed to score points by getting in some punches. To do that, Ali needed to go on the offensive. He survived the full fight, squeaking out a fifteenth-round win. He was the first man to win the heavyweight championship three times. Ali announced his retirement after that bout.

An Ambassador In 1980, US President Jimmy Carter sought Ali’s help. The United States was boycotting the Moscow Olympic Games due to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. Carter asked Ali to visit five African countries in hopes of getting other governments to join the US protest. The visit was not a success. Some African diplomats felt insulted because the United States did not bother to send a government official.

75

76

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Other African countries were still angry that the United States had not boycotted the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada. New Zealand had been Who Is the Real Ali? $OWKRXJK ER[LQJ IDQV FUDYH NQRFNRXWV UHSRUW HUV VDZ $OL LQ WZR ZD\V 6RPH IHOW $OL ´FDUULHGµ ILJKWHUV KRSLQJ QRW WR EHDWWKHPXQWLOWKHURXQG KH·G SUHGLFWHG $W RWKHU WLPHV$OLVHHPHGWRHDVH XS RQ D ILJKWHU ZKR ZDV FOHDUO\ ORVLQJ 0RUH WKDQ RQFH $OL DVNHG D UHIHUHH WR VWRS D ILJKW ´+RZ DP , JRLQ· WR VOHHS LI , NLOOHG DPDQLQIURQWRIKLVZLIH DQGVRQMXVWWRVDWLVI\\RX ZULWHUV"µKHDVNHG

allowed to participate despite sending its rugby team to play in South Africa. The South African government practiced systematic discrimination at the time, called apartheid, and was shunned by most of the world. Ali learned from his diplomatic failure. He told the media that he might not have volunteered if he knew the whole history of the US relationship with South Africa. However, it would not be the last time that he used his celebrity in search of the greater good.

Ali attended a White House dinner and was greeted by President Jimmy Carter on September 7, 1977.

Ali fought Trevor Berbick on December 11, 1981, in what was to be his last professional boxing match.

MUHAMMAD ALI

LM.++*7*39 .3) 4+.,-9

$

li retired from boxing in 1978 as a threetime world heavyweight champion. But to the dismay of many, he decided to mount

a comeback two years later. In 1980, Ali lost a humiliating fight to Larry Holmes. Ali lost by a technical knockout when the fight was stopped in the eleventh round. One year later, Ali came back again. This time he fought 26-year-old Trevor Berbick. Before that bout, a doctor from England made headlines by sharing his analysis of Ali’s taped interviews over the last 15 years. The doctor highlighted instances of slurred speech, claiming this was evidence of Ali suffering brain damage. Promoters released Ali’s recent medical results from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). They hoped to convince the ticket-buying public that Ali was not damaged goods at the age of 39. Using humor and bravado, Ali fought public attitudes before he fought Berbick. He admitted:

79

80

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

I’m tired. This is hard work for somebody my age. Naturally, I talk slower when I’m tired. But I still make sense, don’t I? I’m not one of them punchdrunk fighters. My face is still pretty, no marks on it. Besides, I went to some white doctors, so white people would believe me. Went to the Mayo Clinic. Went to Columbia, S.C. Went to New York. Went to UCLA. You can’t get better than that, can you? 1 Competing in the Bahamas, Ali lost to Berbick by decision after ten rounds. It was only the fifth loss in Ali’s career as a professional boxer. It would also be his last bout. Ali retired. Although he finished his career on a low note, fans realized Ali had been on top for longer than anyone could have imagined.

A New Opponent In 1984, nearly three years after his final fight, Ali checked into a New York hospital. With slurred speech and trembling hands, he told Parkinson’s Facts (VWLPDWHV VWDWH WKDW DSSUR[LPDWHO\  PLOOLRQ SHRSOH LQ WKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV ZHUH OLYLQJ ZLWK 3DUNLQVRQ·V GLVHDVH LQ  0HQ VHHPHG WR EH DW D VOLJKWO\ KLJKHU ULVN WKDQ ZRPHQ WR FRQWUDFW 3DUNLQVRQ·V2QO\LQ GLDJQRVHGZHUHXQGHUWKH DJHRI

reporters that he was tired. After a week of tests, a doctor told the public that Ali had slight symptoms of Parkinson’s syndrome, the precursor to Parkinson’s disease. The disease occurs when the brain cannot produce proper amounts of dopamine. This

MUHAMMAD ALI

81

substance helps the nervous system control the motor skills functions that Ali performed gracefully for so many years. Immediately after the announcement, former Ali associates and boxing commentators stated their feelings that Ali faced an inherited genetic condition. Boxing could not cause such problems, they insisted. Ali was one of the first to assert this theory. He said: I would have had Parkinson’s if I had been a baker. There aren’t many boxers that have Parkinson’s, and there are lots of people who have Parkinson’s who’ve never even seen a boxing match, let alone been in one. 2 However, they would soon find that might not to be true.

-* &3'*-.3)9-*M.8*&8* James Parkinson received little recognition in his lifetime for his medical discoveries. Born April 11, 1755, he was the son of John Parkinson, a surgeon and pharmacist. Married to Mary Dale and the father of six children, James Parkinson tried to help and represent the underprivileged. The disease he recognized was named after him some 60 years later. The well-studied man’s discoveries

ranged beyond medical science. Parkinson studied geology and paleontology, taking family and friends on research expeditions and fossil searches. He published several books about the study of fossils. He died in 1824. April 11 has become known as World Parkinson’s Disease Day. Organizations use Parkinson’s birthday as the day to raise awareness of the disease.

82

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Punch Drunk Punch-drunk is a common boxing expression. The phrase was first used to describe the dizziness a fighter who had taken too many blows to the head experienced. It later described boxers who had suffered noticeable brain damage. Ali’s fight doctor, Ferdie Pacheco, wrote with passion as he outlined his beliefs about the longterm physical damage Ali faced after too many fights. Pacheco believed that Ali’s Parkinson’s syndrome symptoms were a result of a punch-drunk syndrome rather than a genetic condition. His beliefs were supported by a 1957 study by Dr. M. Critchley in the British Journal of Medicine titled “The Medical Aspects of Boxing.” Pacheco and Critchley agreed that prolonged boxing could cause midbrain damage. A loss of balance, a flat expression (often described as a masked face by longtime Parkinson’s patients), slow speech, and tremors were some of the symptoms shown by former boxers. In 1991, Thomas Hauser wrote Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times with Ali’s cooperation. Ali even asked his doctors to answer Hauser’s questions, giving permission for his personal medical data to be released. Hauser chronicled Ali’s health. He also quoted Dr. Dennis Cope of the UCLA Medical Center, who had

MUHAMMAD ALI

83

been examining Ali four times a year. Cope disagreed with Ali’s theory that he would have had Parkinson’s no matter what. Cope blamed boxing for Ali’s physical state, saying, “So far as I know, if Muhammad hadn’t been a professional fighter, none of these problems would have occurred.” 3 There was no way to tally the toll of blows to Ali’s brain. But he absorbed an estimated 440 punches from Joe Frazier in their 1975 fight alone. Even sparring during practice sessions, boxing always had a potential risk. By his own estimation, Ali told reporters that he believed he had taken more than 1 million punches in his boxing career.

Living with Parkinson’s People with little knowledge of Parkinson’s did not always

Fellow Fighter Fox /LNH 0XKDPPDG $OL DFWRU 0LFKDHO - )R[ KDV IRXJKW D OHQJWK\ EDWWOH ZLWK 3DUNLQVRQ·V GLVHDVH 'LDJQRVHG LQ  )R[ WROG WKH SXEOLF LQ  /LNH $OL )R[ KDV UDLVHG PLOOLRQV RI GROODUV WR KHOS IXQG UHVHDUFK IRU D FXUH7KH\KDYHDSSHDUHG WRJHWKHU LQ VHYHUDO SXE OLF VHUYLFH DQQRXQFHPHQW FRPPHUFLDOV ,Q  $OL DQG )R[ DSSHDUHG DW D KHDULQJ LQ :DVKLQJWRQ '& XUJLQJ &RQJUHVV WR GHYRWH PRUH JRYHUQPHQW IXQGV IRU 3DUNLQVRQ·V UHVHDUFK

84

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

know what to think of Ali’s actions. Because the disease has lessened Ali’s physical movement, those he meets sometimes mistakenly believe he has mental problems or even deafness, due to his limited facial movement and slowed response times. Although Ali had to adjust to his new condition, he did have some help. Lonnie Williams had grown up across the street from Ali in Louisville, Kentucky. Their mothers were best friends. Lonnie was 15 years younger than Ali, but she was a well-educated woman who also shared Ali’s Muslim beliefs. When Ali divorced his third wife, Veronica Porsche, he and Lonnie became close again. They Fight Night Fun 6LQFH  0XKDPPDG DQG ZLIH /RQQLH $OL KDYH UDLVHGPRUHWKDQPLO OLRQ GXULQJ ´&HOHEULW\ )LJKW 1LJKWµ LQ 3KRH QL[ $UL]RQD 7KH PRQH\ EHQHILWV WKH 0XKDPPDG $OL 3DUNLQVRQ &HQWHU DW %DUURZ 1HXURORJLFDO ,QVWLWXWH LQ 3KRHQL[ $OL KHOSHG HVWDEOLVK WKH FHQ WHULQ,WLVDOHDGHU LQ UHVHDUFKLQJ D FXUH IRU WKH GLVHDVH &RQFHUWV DXFWLRQV DQG DSSHDU DQFHV IURP +ROO\ZRRG VWDUV PDUN WKH DQQXDO HYHQW

married in 1986. She was his fourth and final wife. As Ali’s health deteriorated, Lonnie became his caretaker. Because he has trouble speaking, he often chooses to have his wife comment for him, sometimes only whispering in her ear. She also joined him in leading efforts to support research, treatment, and awareness for Parkinson’s disease.

Ali’s wife, Lonnie, helps her husband deal with the difficulties of Parkinson’s disease.

In 1996, Ali lit the torch that signaled the beginning of that year’s Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.

MUHAMMAD ALI

.+*&+9*7V4=.3,

:

ithout boxing and with declining health, Muhammad Ali’s future seemed uncertain. However, those

obstacles were not enough to keep the quotable celebrity from making news. Ali tried his hand at diplomacy again in 1985. He accompanied attorney Richard Hirschfield to Beirut, Lebanon. A Muslim protest group had taken four US citizens hostage. But two days produced no results. Defeat never discouraged Ali for long. In 1990, the United States was days away from entering the first Gulf War. However, Iraq had taken more than 300 US citizens hostage. They planned to use them as human shields in defense against a US attack. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invited Ali to the country. Ali met Hussein with a kiss to the cheek. They met for 50 minutes and even posed for photos. While Ali’s hope to help avert a full-scale war did not occur, he flew home with 15 freed Americans.

87

88

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Carrying a Torch Ali made a spectacular return to the world of sports in 1996. The Olympic Games were held that summer in Atlanta, Georgia. To the surprise of many, Ali was selected as the torchbearer who lit the cauldron that would stay aflame throughout all of the competition. The man who had been hated by many during the 1960s had become a national hero. Another chapter of Ali’s legend was completed at those Olympics. He was presented with a replacement medal for the 1960 gold medal. Although it has not been confirmed, Ali said he tossed his original gold medal into the Ohio River after he was denied service at a restaurant because he was black. The truth did not

-*47(-'*&7*7 The Olympic flame that Ali lit in 1996 is one of sport’s greatest symbols. According to legend, Prometheus stole fire from the Greek god Zeus. A flame was kept burning at the first Olympics in Greece. The practice was reintroduced in 1928. Since 1936, a torch relay from Greece to the site of the Olympic Games leads up to the competition. The first time a famous athlete was the final torchbearer who lit the fire

in the Olympic stadium occurred in 1952. The Olympics that year were in Helsinki, Finland. Paavo Nurmi, a runner who won nine gold medals for Finland, lit the cauldron at the start of the Olympics. Reporters saw irony in Ali’s second triumphant return in Atlanta as an Olympic torchbearer. Atlanta was the site of his 1970 comeback fight after being out of the ring for 43 months.

MUHAMMAD ALI

matter. Ali was at home in the US spotlight again. His head and hands trembled from his Parkinson’s disease. Ali seemed to pause more than once, taking time to admire both the torch and the sea of people following his every move. After experiencing and enduring the dangers of boxing, Ali lent his fame to improving his sport’s safety. He has

Autographs for Allah $OLQHYHUIRUJRWWKHYDOXH RI KLV FHOHEULW\ $OZD\V PREEHG E\ IDQV ZDQWLQJ DXWRJUDSKV $OL ZRXOG JUHHWIDQVZLWKSDPSKOHWV H[SODLQLQJ KLV UHOLJLRQ .QRZLQJ WKDW VWUDQJHUV PLJKW WKURZ RXW D PHUH UHOLJLRXV WUDFW KH DXWR JUDSKHG HYHU\ RQH HYHQ DGGLQJ D KHDUW RU VPLOH\ IDFH 7RGD\ WKHVH VLJQHG EURFKXUHV VHOO IRU  DQG XS RQ RQOLQH DXFWLRQ VLWHV

appeared in Washington DC during government hearings on boxing reform. Congress passed the first boxing law in 1996. The Boxing Safety Act created a computerized file that tracked boxers who had suffered a knockout. In the past, those boxers may have returned to the ring immediately in another state by fighting under a false name to avoid any safety regulations. He has also lent his name to humanitarian causes. In 1998, Ali and actor Edward Asner brought more than $1 million in medical supplies to Cuba. The United States bans travel to and trade with Cuba because of the country’s communist ties. But Ali was helping a humanitarian group deliver medicine needed to treat children suffering from cancer.

89

90

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

During a 1996 humanitarian trip to Cuba, Ali visited with children in a hospital.

Within weeks of his return, the United Nations (UN) honored Ali. He received the honorary title of UN Peace Messenger. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan bestowed the award. The Alis have also lent their famous name and financial support to the University of Louisville, resulting in the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice. Ali never attended the university. However, he has partnered with the school to empower a program

91

MUHAMMAD ALI

that offers teaching, research, and other assistance to those who further the cause of peace. From inner-city students in Louisville, Kentucky, to human rights workers in Africa, the Ali Institute is involved. In 1999, Wheaties, the Breakfast of Champions, honored Ali on the front of its cereal boxes. General Mills had not recognized Ali during his career. But because he continued to capture America’s imagination, even so many years after retiring, Ali was finally seen as a powerful force for corporate America. Despite his slower steps and quieter voice,

Farmer Ali $OL·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

Ali was asked to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange on December 31, 1999, to open that day’s stock market trading. Coca-Cola signed him as a spokesman in 2001. However, one of his best paying jobs after his retirement from boxing came from autograph signing. He received as much as $200,000 for one public appearance.

92

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

Where Ali Walked In 2005, the 96,750-square foot (8,988 sq m) Muhammad Ali Center opened in Ali’s hometown of Louisville. The center’s opening took place on the nineteenth wedding anniversary of Muhammad and Lonnie. The center serves as an interactive museum, allowing visitors to learn about Ali’s career and take part in hands-on exhibits. Like Ali, the center is about much more than boxing. Art is showcased at the center. Some of Ali’s poetry and sketches are on display. Going beyond sports, a 55-foot (16.76 m) wall entitled “Hope and Dream” exhibits artwork by children from 141 countries. Each piece answers the question, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” After all, at age 12, Cassius Clay knew he wanted to be a champion boxer. Other exhibits and galleries An Undefeated Daughter $OL OHIW ER[LQJ EHKLQG DIWHU KLV ILQDO ORVV LQ %XWKHZRXOGUHWXUQ WR WKH ULQJ DV D VSHFWD WRU \HDUV ODWHU 'DXJKWHU /DLOD $OL ZLWKRXW DQ\ HQFRXUDJHPHQW IURP KHU IDWKHU EHFDPH D SURIHV VLRQDO ER[HU 6KH UHWLUHG XQGHIHDWHG²$IWHUD VWLQWPRGHOLQJ/DLODZDV D FRQWHVWDQW RQ $%&·V 'DQFLQJZLWKWKH6WDUV

depict the historical backdrop of Ali’s life, detailing the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement. At the center’s opening, Ali’s health kept him from speaking to the crowd. Instead, he offered a written statement: I wanted a place that would inspire people to be the best that they could be at whatever

MUHAMMAD ALI

they chose to do, and to encourage them to be respectful of one another.1

More Recognition Many years after the brash, young boxer alienated fans with his arrogance and upset a nation with his reluctance to go to the Vietnam War, Ali became a revered member of US society. In 2005, President George W. Bush awarded Ali the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That is the highest honor granted to a US citizen not serving in the military. The text of Ali’s citation reads, in part: As the first three-time heavyweight boxing champion of the world, he thrilled, entertained, and inspired us. His deep commitment to equal justice and peace has touched people around the world. The United States honors Muhammad Ali for his lifetime of achievement and for his principled service to mankind.2 During the late 1960s, the federal government was ready to send Ali to prison over the military draft. In 2007, Representative Julia Carson, along with 54 cosponsors, introduced a resolution on the floor of the US House of Representatives “to honor Muhammad Ali, global humanitarian, on the occasion of his sixtyfifth birthday and to extend best wishes to him and his family.”3 The resolution passed unanimously.

93

94

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

During the 1960s, the NAACP pushed for a peaceful integration between African Americans and whites. Ali, on the other hand, reflected the beliefs of fellow Nation of Islam members, hoping for a separate, all-black society. However, as years passed, the NAACP grew in its appreciation of Ali’s courage, while Ali embraced new views of equality. In 2009, the NAACP honored Ali with their President’s Award. “Muhammad Ali inspired a generation,” NAACP president Ben Jealous said in 2009: We are honored to recognize the accomplishments of one of the most respected and admired men of all time, who earned a special place in our hearts and minds not only for his success inside the boxing ring but for his role as an outspoken, charming, and witty leader, activist, humanitarian, and artist. He is truly “The Greatest of All Time” and incredibly worthy of this award. 4 Many years after Ali proclaimed himself to be “the Greatest” with his flashy boxing and many years after Ali riled up a nation with his outspoken, controversial views, the former boxer has embraced his new, quieter life. He once told a Los Angeles Times reporter, “I’m more human now.” Spreading the fingers of his shaking left hand, Ali continued, “People aren’t scared of me no more. They believe I’m like them and that’s good.” 5

In 2005, Ali was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

96

1942

1954

1956

Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. is born on January 17 in Louisville, Kentucky.

After Cassius’s bicycle is stolen, he meets Louisville policeman Joe Martin, who coaches an amateur youth boxing program. Clay joins.

Clay wins his first Golden Gloves Championship.

1962

1963

1964

A military draft board classifies Clay as 1-A, ranking him as fit and making him available to be summoned into the US Army at any time.

In his first fight outside the United States, Clay wins a fifth-round knockout against Henry Cooper in London, England.

Clay is classified 1-Y, unfit for military duty.

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

1959

1960

1961

Clay wins the Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions title and the National Amateur Athletic Union lightheavyweight title.

In Rome, Italy, Clay wins an Olympic gold medal in boxing as a lightheavyweight. He wins his first pro fight in October.

Professional wrestler Gorgeous George Wagner encourages Clay to keep bragging to the media, because it sells more tickets.

1964

1966

1967

Clay wins the heavyweight title against Sonny Liston on February 25. Afterward Clay says he is a member of the Nation of Islam. He accepts the name of Muhammad Ali.

Ali files for conscientious objector status. The draft board denies his claim.

Ali refuses to be inducted into the army and is arrested. The New York State Athletic Commission removes Ali’s title, banning him from boxing.

MUHAMMAD ALI

97

98

1970

1971

1973

After legal troubles kept him out of the ring for 43 months, Ali returns in October, knocking out Jerry Quarry.

Ali suffers his first pro loss, to Joe Frazier. The Supreme Court agrees that he has a legitimate religious objection to his draft notice.

Ali’s second loss comes from Ken Norton. Norton breaks Ali’s jaw, but Ali fights for ten more rounds.

1981

1984

1990

The 39-year-old Ali loses a tenth-round decision to Trevor Berbick. The next day, Ali retires.

Ali tells the world that he has Parkinson’s disease.

Ali gains release of 15 US hostages from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

1974

1975

1978

In an eighth-round knockout against George Foreman, Ali regains the heavyweight title at the Rumble in the Jungle.

Ali defends his title in the Philippines. He wins a 14-round battle against Joe Frazier in the fight known as the Thrilla in Manila.

In February, Ali loses his title to Leon Spinks. In a rematch seven months later, he wins it back.

1996

1998

2005

Ali lights the flame at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.

Ali is named a UN Messenger of Peace by UN SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan.

Ali is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Muhammad Ali Center opens in Louisville.

MUHAMMAD ALI

99

DATE OF BIRTH -DQXDU\

PLACE OF BIRTH /RXLVYLOOH.HQWXFN\

PARENTS &DVVLXV&OD\DQG2GHVVD&OD\

EDUCATION /RXLVYLOOH&HQWUDO+LJK6FKRRO

MARRIAGES 6RQML5RLGLYRUFHG %HOLQGD%R\GGLYRUFHG  9HURQLFD3RUFKHGLYRUFHG 
CHILDREN 0XKDPPDG$OL-U$VDDG0L\D0DU\XP5DVKHGD.KDOLDK +DQD/DLOD-DPLOODK

100

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS 0XKDPPDG$OLZRQDJROGPHGDODWWKH2O\PSLF*DPHV $IWHUWXUQLQJSURKHZRQWKHKHDY\ZHLJKWFKDPSLRQVKLS LQUHJDLQHGWKHKHDY\ZHLJKWFKDPSLRQVKLSLQ DQGORVWDQGUHJDLQHGIRUDWKLUGWLPH WKHKHDY\ZHLJKW FKDPSLRQVKLSLQ+HZDVHOHFWHGWR,QWHUQDWLRQDO%R[LQJ +DOORI)DPHLQ,Q$OLOLWWKH2O\PSLFIODPHWRWKH RSHQLQJRIWKH2O\PSLF*DPHVLQ$WODQWD+HZDVDZDUGHGWKH 3UHVLGHQWLDO0HGDORI)UHHGRPLQ

SOCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS 0XKDPPDG$OLFUHDWHGWKH$OL&HQWHULQDQGKDVUDLVHG PLOOLRQVRIGROODUVIRU3DUNLQVRQ·VGLVHDVHWUHDWPHQWDQG UHVHDUFK

CONFLICTS 0XKDPPDG$OLUHIXVHGLQGXFWLRQLQWRWKH86$UP\LQ EDVHGRQKLVUHOLJLRXVEHOLHIV+HWRUPHQWHGER[HU-RH)UD]LHU DWWDFNLQJKLPZLWKUDFLVWODQJXDJHLQSUHILJKWLQWHUYLHZV

QUOTE ´:HDOOKDYHWKHVDPH*RGZHMXVWVHUYHKLPGLIIHUHQWO\ 5LYHUVODNHVSRQGVVWUHDPVRFHDQVDOOKDYHGLIIHUHQWQDPHV EXWWKH\DOOFRQWDLQZDWHU6RGRUHOLJLRQVKDYHGLIIHUHQW QDPHVDQGWKH\DOOFRQWDLQWUXWKH[SUHVVHGLQGLIIHUHQWZD\V IRUPVDQGWLPHV,WGRHVQ·WPDWWHUZKHWKHU\RX·UHD0XVOLP D&KULVWLDQRUD-HZ:KHQ\RXEHOLHYHLQ*RG\RXVKRXOG EHOLHYHWKDWDOOSHRSOHDUHSDUWRIRQHIDPLO\,I\RXORYH*RG \RXFDQ·WORYHRQO\VRPHRIKLVFKLOGUHQµ³0XKDPPDG$OL

MUHAMMAD ALI

101

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·VSURSKHW NQRFNRXW :KHQDER[HULVNQRFNHGWRWKHFDQYDVDQGLVXQDEOHWRULVH IRUWKHUHIHUHH·VFRXQWRIWHQ PRVTXH $Q,VODPLFSODFHRIZRUVKLS

102

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

PRWRUVNLOOV 7KHDELOLW\WRPDNHSXUSRVHIXOPRYHPHQWV SURPRWHU 7KHSHUVRQLQFKDUJHRIVFKHGXOLQJSODQQLQJDQGVHOOLQJ WLFNHWVWRDQHYHQWVXFKDVDER[LQJPDWFK WRWKHSXEOLF 4XU·DQ 7KH,VODPLFKRO\WH[WVLPLODUWRWKH7RUDKRI-XGDLVPRUWKH %LEOHLQ&KULVWLDQLW\ UHIXJH $VDIHSODFH URXQG $SHULRGRIWKUHHPLQXWHVLQER[LQJ3URIHVVLRQDOPDWFKHV DUHVFKHGXOHGIRUWRURXQGV VHJUHJDWLRQ :KHQRQHSDUWRIVRFLHW\H[FOXGHVDFHUWDLQUDFHRISHRSOH VXFKDV$IULFDQ$PHULFDQV VSDUULQJ %R[LQJWKDWLVGRQHLQSUDFWLFH VSOLWGHFLVLRQ 2QO\WZRRIWKUHHER[LQJMXGJHVUXOHLQDER[HU·VIDYRU WHFKQLFDONQRFNRXW :KHQWKHUHIHUHHUXOHVWKDWDER[HULVSK\VLFDOO\XQDEOHWR FRQWLQXHDPDWFK WUXFXOHQW $JJUHVVLYHO\DUJXPHQWDWLYH

.U M 6H )A "M .M .A "D %" A L- I*

103

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY $OL0XKDPPDGZLWK+DQD
FURTHER READINGS ´$OL&HOHEUDWLQJ
104

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

WEB LINKS 7ROHDUQPRUHDERXW0XKDPPDG$OLYLVLW$%'23XEOLVKLQJ &RPSDQ\RQOLQHDWZZZDEGRSXEOLVKLQJFRP:HEVLWHV DERXW$OLDUHIHDWXUHGRQRXU%RRN/LQNVSDJH7KHVHOLQNVDUH URXWLQHO\PRQLWRUHGDQGXSGDWHGWRSURYLGHWKHPRVWFXUUHQW LQIRUPDWLRQDYDLODEOH

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

M6 . U) H" A. M. M" A% D
A " -L *I

105

CHAPTER 1. W&9*75.11&7W&88.:8FV:99*7+1>L1.

0RLUD3HWW\´+HQU\&RRSHU·VKHDULQJKDGVXUYLYHG 0XKDPPDG$OL³EXWLWZDVDJHLQJQHUYHVWKDWODQGHGWKH NQRFNRXWEORZµ0DLO2QOLQH$VVRFLDWHG1HZVSDSHUV/WG -XO\:HE2FW ´&0DUFHOOXV&OD\(VTµ6SRUWV,OOXVWUDWHG-XQH 3ULQW ,ELG ´7KH*UHDWHVW,V*RQHµ7LPH0DJD]LQH)HE 3ULQWQSDJ 'DYLG5HPQLFN.LQJRIWKH:RUOG1HZ
CHAPTER 2. P-*7*&9*89O74<.3,5

7KRPDV+DXVHU0XKDPPDG$OL+LV/LIHDQG7LPHV 1HZ
106

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

CHAPTER 3. :73.3,74

'DYLG5HPQLFN.LQJRIWKH:RUOG1HZ
CHAPTER 4. .,-9.3,+47&W&:8*

'DYH.LQGUHG6RXQGDQG)XU\7KH7ZR3RZHUIXO/LYHV 2QH)DWHIXO)ULHQGVKLS1HZ
CHAPTER 5. -*L72>&3)L1.

5LFKDUG%DN-RH/RXLV7KH*UHDW%ODFN+RSH'DOODV'D &DSR3UHVV3ULQW 7KRPDV+DXVHU7KH/RVW/HJDF\RI0XKDPPDG$OL 7RURQWR216SRUW&ODVVLF%RRNV3ULQW 7KRPDV+DXVHU0XKDPPDG$OL+LV/LIHDQG7LPHV 1HZ
.U M 6H )A "M .M .A "D %" A L- I*

107

W      W   M CHAPTER 6. -*.,-94+9-*W*39:7>

7KRPDV+DXVHU0XKDPPDG$OL+LV/LIHDQG7LPHV 1HZ
CHAPTER 7. :2'1*.39-* :3,1*

7KRPDV+DXVHU0XKDPPDG$OL+LV/LIHDQG7LPHV 1HZ
CHAPTER 8. -7.11&.3 &3.1&

7KRPDV+DXVHUDQG0XKDPPDG$OL+HDOLQJ6DQ )UDQFLVFR&ROOLQV3XEOLVKHUV3ULQW 5LFKDUG(YDQV´7RS7HQ0XKDPPDG$OL4XRWHVµ6SRUW FRXN0HGLD&RUSRUDWLRQSOF)HE:HE6HSW  7H[0DXOH´*RWWR/RRN*RRGWR$OODKµ6,9DXOW6SRUWV ,OOXVWUDWHG1RY:HE6HSW

108

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

CHAPTER 9. LM.++*7*39 .3)4+.,-9

*HRUJH9HFVH\´$W$OL+DV0RUH3RLQWVWR3URYHµ1HZ
CHAPTER 10. .+*&+9*7V4=.3,

´0XKDPPDG$OL5HWXUQVWR/RXLVYLOOHWR2SHQ1HZ 0XKDPPDG$OL&HQWHUµ0XKDPPDG$OL&HQWHU0XKDPPDG $OL&HQWHU1RY:HE6HSW 2IILFHRIWKH3UHVV6HFUHWDU\´&LWDWLRQVIRU5HFLSLHQWVRI WKH3UHVLGHQWLDO0HGDORI)UHHGRPµ7KH:KLWH+RXVH 3UHVLGHQW*HRUJH:%XVK7KH:KLWH+RXVH1RY :HE6HSW ´+5HV7RKRQRU0XKDPPDG$OLJOREDO KXPDQLWDULDQRQWKHRFFDVLRQRIKLVWKELUWKGD\DQGWR H[WHQGµJRYWUDFNXV&LYLF,PSXOVH//&-DQ:HE 6HSW ´0XKDPPDG$OLWR5HFHLYH3UHVLGHQW·V$ZDUGDW ¶WK1$$&3,PDJH$ZDUGV·µ1DWLRQDO$VVRFLDWLRQIRUWKH $GYDQFHPHQWRI&RORUHG3HRSOH1DWLRQDO$VVRFLDWLRQIRUWKH $GYDQFHPHQWRI&RORUHG3HRSOH)HE:HE1RY  'DYLV0LOOHU´$OL6WLOO1LIW\DWµ/RV$QJHOHV7LPHV /RV$QJHOHV7LPHV-DQ:HE6HSW

MUHAMMAD ALI

109

$OL/DLOD 6HHDOVR$OL0XKDPPDG  FKLOGUHQ $OL0XKDPPDG  ´$OLVKXIIOHµ  DZDUGV  ER[LQJOLFHQVH  &DVVLXV;  FKLOGKRRG²  FKLOGUHQ  &OD\&DVVLXV-U²  ²  FRPHEDFN²  GLSORPDWLFUROH²  HGXFDWLRQ  ILUVWPDWFK  ILUVWSURIHVVLRQDOPDWFK  KHDY\ZHLJKWWLWOH²    KXPDQLWDULDQFDXVHV²  PDUULDJHV  PLOLWDU\GUDIW²  ²  QDPHFKDQJH²  QLFNQDPHV  3DUNLQVRQ·VGLVHDVH²  UHOLJLRQ²    UHWLUHPHQW²  VHJUHJDWLRQ  WRUFKEHDUHU² $OL5DKDPDQ6HH&OD\5XG\ EURWKHU $PDWHXU$WKOHWLF8QLRQ QDWLRQDOWLWOHV $UPHG)RUFHV([DPLQLQJDQG (QWUDQFH6WDWLRQ86 $UP\86

110

%DQNV6RQQ\ %HUELFN7UHYRU² %LQJKDP+RZDUG %RQDYHQD2VFDU %R[LQJ6DIHW\$FW %R\G%HOLQGDZLIH  %ULWLVK-RXUQDORI0HGLFLQH %URZQ'UHZ´%XQGLQLµ %URZQ,QGUD %XVK*HRUJH: &DUWHU-LPP\ ´&HOHEULW\)LJKW1LJKWµ FLYLOULJKWVPRYHPHQW  &ODUN/DPDU² &OD\&DVVLXVIDWKHU   &OD\2GHVVDPRWKHU   &OD\5XG\EURWKHU   FRQVFLHQWLRXVREMHFWRUV &RRSHU+HQU\ &RVHOO+RZDUG 'XQGHH$QJHOR²  (OOLV-LPP\ )LJKWRIWKH&HQWXU\² )OHHPDQ'RQQLH )ROOH\=RUD )RUHPDQ*HRUJH² )R[0LFKDHO- )UD]LHU-RH´6PRNLQ·-RHµ ²² *ROGHQ*ORYHV *XHODW:LOOLH

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S

+DXVHU7KRPDV +LUVFKILHOG5LFKDUG +ROPHV/DUU\ +XQVDFNHU7XQQH\ +XVVHLQ6DGGDP -RQHV'RXJ .LOUR\*HQH .LQJ'RQ /LVWRQ&KDUOHV´6RQQ\µ² ²² /RXLV-RH´7KH%URZQ %RPEHUµ² /RXLVYLOOH.HQWXFN\  /RXLVYLOOH6SRQVRUVKLS*URXS  0DGLVRQ6TXDUH*DUGHQ 0DUWLQ-RH² 0DVMLG$O$QVDU0RVTXH 0LFKHO5REHUW 0RRUH$UFKLH 0XKDPPDG(OLMDK²  0XKDPPDG+HUEHUW 0XKDPPDG$OL&HQWHU 0XKDPPDG$OL,QVWLWXWHIRU 3HDFHDQG-XVWLFH 1DWLRQRI,VODP² ² 1DWLRQDO$VVRFLDWLRQIRUWKH $GYDQFHPHQWRI&RORUHG 3HRSOH 1HZ
2O\PSLF*DPHV² ² 3DFKHFR)HUGLH 3DVWUDQR:LOOLH² 3DWWHUVRQ)OR\G² 3LHWU]\NRZVNL=ELJQLHZ 3RUVFKH9HURQLFDZLIH   3UHVLGHQWLDO0HGDORI )UHHGRP 4XDUU\-HUU\ 5RELQVRQ-DFNLH 5RELQVRQ-LPP\ 5RFN\ 5RL6RQMLZLIH  5XPEOHLQWKH-XQJOH² 6HNR0REXWX6HVH 6KDYHUV(DUQLH 6SLQNV/HRQ² 6WRQHU)UHG 6XSUHPH&RXUW86 7HUUHOO(UQLH² 7KULOODLQ0DQLOD² 7RPRUURZ·V&KDPSLRQV 8QLWHG1DWLRQV 9LHWQDP:DU² ²² :DJQHU´*RUJHRXV*HRUJHµ ² :HSQHU&KXFN :KHQ:H:HUH.LQJV :LGH:RUOGRI6SRUWV :LOOLDPV&OHYHODQG :LOOLDPV/RQQLHZLIH  :LOVRQ$WZRRG :RUOG%R[LQJ$VVRFLDWLRQ

MUHAMMAD ALI

111

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 7KRPDV62ZHQVLVWKHDXWKRURIPRUHWKDQERRNVIRU VWXGHQWVPDQ\DERXWVSRUWV+HOLYHVLQ,RZDZLWKKLVZLIH

PHOTO CREDITS 'DYLG%RRNVWDYHU$3,PDJHVFRYHU+DUROG30DWRVLDQ$3 ,PDJHVVWI$3,PDJHVERWWRP $3,PDJHV WRS  WRSOHIWDQGULJKW WRS 'DQ*URVVL$3,PDJHV)6 $3,PDJHV+DUU\+DUULV$3,PDJHV+RUVW)DDV$3 ,PDJHV-DPHV0F*UDWK1<'DLO\1HZV$UFKLYHYLD*HWW\ ,PDJHV6,&RYHU6SRUWV,OOXVWUDWHG*HWW\,PDJHV 0DULRQ67ULNRVNR/2&(G5HLQNH$3,PDJHV'RXJ 0LOOV$3,PDJHVERWWRPOHIW -RUJH5H\/LDLVRQ*HWW\ ,PDJHV0DUN:LOVRQ*HWW\,PDJHVERWWRPULJKW 

112

L E G E N D A R Y AT H L E T E S