Biography of Muhammad Ali
The great boxer was born on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. His parents, Odessa and Cassius Clay, were members of the black middle class. Her mother cleaned and cooked in the homes of wealthy white families, and her father, a talented artist, painted advertising signs and posters. Parents saved 4.5 thousand dollars and bought a cottage in a good area for African Americans.
At birth, Muhammad Ali was given the name Cassius Clay Jr. The ancestors of his father, who considered himself a descendant of the famous liberal politician Henry Clay, were freed from slavery by the planter and politician Cassius Marcellus Clay. Two years after the birth of Cassius Jr., his brother Rudolf Clay was born, who in the future would take the name Rahman Ali.
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Cassius Clay grew up and was brought up in an atmosphere of racial inequality. The boy saw with his own eyes all the injustice that reigned in American society in the 1950s. But his father made a decisive contribution to shaping the worldview of the future world champion, regularly showing his son a photo of the body of the racially murdered black teenager Emmett Till, whose killers escaped punishment and were acquitted.
Cassius's mother researched her ancestry and learned that her grandfather was Irish. She was proud that the blood of white people flowed in her veins, but this fact was extremely unpleasant for Clay Jr., who believed that this blood belonged to “rapist slave owners.” But in fact, the relationship of the ancestors was legitimized by marriage.
“I often asked my mother: “Why is everything good white?” Why is Jesus white and has blue eyes? Why is everyone white at the Last Supper? All angels are white. The Virgin Mary and her angels are also white. When we die, do we go to heaven?” She replied, “Of course we will go to heaven.” I asked, “Where are all the black angels then?” - recalled Muhammad Ali.
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As a child, he thought about issues of racial inequality and did not understand why all blacks were considered second-class citizens. In the future, Ali’s mother will tell the story of how one hot summer day, while waiting for a bus at a bus stop, she went to a nearby cafe and asked for a glass of water for her son, but they refused her and closed the door.
The stable income of his parents allowed young Cassius not to work, which was rare at that time, because in most cases the children of African-American families had to provide for their livelihood from an early age. Nevertheless, the future world champion found a part-time job at the University of Louisville, where he washed desks and blackboards. With the money he earned, 12-year-old Clay bought himself a red bicycle, but the very next day it was stolen from him. The upset teenager complained to police officer Joe Martin, saying he would find and beat whoever stole his bike. But Martin noted: “Before you beat someone, you must first learn how to do it.” And he invited him to his gym, where he trained talented boxers.
Just six weeks after his first boxing training, Cassius Clay appeared on television, becoming one of the participants in the “Future Champions” program. As part of the show, he made his debut in amateur boxing, defeated a white opponent and emotionally declared on camera that he would become a great boxer.
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Cassius Clay was one of America's most promising boxers. In addition to winning the prestigious Golden Gloves tournament in 1957, he scored 100 victories at the amateur level and 8 defeats. At the same time, Cassius invented his own unique fighting style, moving around the ring on his toes with his hands down and provoking his opponent to attack, easily dodging them. He was often criticized by experts for his fighting style.
Full immersion in boxing and training had a negative impact on school performance. One day he had to stay for a second year. In 1960, thanks to school principal Atwood Wilson, the aspiring boxer graduated from the school, receiving a certificate of attendance instead of a diploma. The principal believed that Clay's future successes would make his school popular.
Cassius aspired to go into professional boxing straight out of school when he was just 18 years old. But the coach finally persuaded him to take part in the 1960 Olympic Games, where a boxer of his talent had a high chance of winning. But another problem arose - Cassius suffered from a fear of flying since childhood and because of this he did not even want to participate in the qualifying tournament, which was held in San Francisco.
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Plucking up courage, he flew to San Francisco and won the tournament, then threw away his return plane ticket and took the train home.
Cassius initially wanted to travel by ship to the 1960 Olympics in Rome, and when he found out that this was impossible, he said that he was refusing to participate in the Games. The coach had to spend several hours persuading Clay and finding a way out of the situation. Cassius agreed to the flight, but only on the condition that he would fly with a parachute.
On the way to the final, Cassius Clay knocked out the Belgian Yvon Beko, defeated the Soviet boxer Gennady Shatkov and in an equal fight defeated the Australian Tony Madigan, whom he met back in 1959. In the final, Clay defeated Pole Zbigniew Pietrzykowski on points.
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Arriving in the USA, Cassius did not part with his gold medal, not taking it off even while sleeping. The boxer was greeted very warmly in his homeland: hundreds of fans were waiting for him at the airport, holding a banner with the inscription “Welcome home, champion.” The mayor of Louisville gave a speech, setting Clay as an example to the younger generation.
But the euphoria of success faded immediately after Cassius visited a white restaurant and asked for a menu. He was refused service. The boxer pointed his finger at his gold medal, but this fact did not convince the establishment’s staff. Upset by this attitude towards himself, the Olympic champion threw the gold medal into the river. Only 36 years later, at the 1996 Olympics, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch would present Muhammad Ali with a duplicate.
"Mohammed Ali Syndrome"
Using statistics, author Jonathan Eig estimated that Ali received approximately 200,000 blows over 61 fights. About 100,000 of those blows probably landed on his head. Even for those for whom boxing is their whole life, this is a lot. Ali encouraged his sparring partners to hit his head in training to “strengthen the skull.” His fighting style during his performances was based on tactics according to which the boxer made dangerous attacks and opened up extremely, provoking his opponent to a rash blow. But often such blows reached the target, which was Mohammed’s head.
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Ali's doctor said that all these powerful blows to the head would lead to Parkinson's disease. But he could not convince Ali of this.
Muhammad Ali's best fights
In 1960, Cassius Clay moved to professional boxing and signed an agreement with 11 managers who invested $2,800 in the young athlete. This amount included the signing fee ($10 thousand) and the cost of flights and training.
The debut took place on October 29 in a fight against Tanny Hunsaker. Even then, Cassius did not hold back his words, provoking his rivals in various interviews and comments. For example, he called Hunsaker a bum, promising to knock him out. But despite Clay's complete dominance, Hunsaker remained on his feet until the end of the fight.
Soon Angelo Dundee became Cassius' coach, for the sake of training with whom the boxer left his hometown and moved to live in Miami.
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19-year-old Clay was so confident in himself that he challenged all the famous boxers. Once, Cassius met with the Swedish champion Ingemar Johansson and asked the managers to organize a sparring session for them, which eventually developed into a one-sided beating of the Scandinavian boxer. After the second round, the sparring was stopped.
Even before moving to Miami, Cassius managed to train under the guidance of the best light heavyweight of the generation, Archie Moore, whom he regularly provoked, convincing him to spar. But the veteran refused every time. Two years later, in 1962, they met in the ring, and Clay knocked out Moore in the fourth round.
Clay approached the fight with the strong Briton Henry Cooper on a streak of 18 victories in professional boxing. Easy victories turned his head, which Cooper took advantage of, sending the future legend to the first knockdown in his career. Observing the plight of his boxer, Clay's corner decided to cheat by tearing his glove. The referee stopped the fight and asked her to be replaced. While the seconds went to the locker room to get a new glove, Cassius fully recovered from the consequences of the knockdown, and in the fifth round he beat Cooper, causing a cut, because of which the referee had to stop the fight.
Next, Cassius was waiting for a fight for the world title, but he was unexpectedly drafted into the army. The boxer passed all physical tests, but failed the mental ability test, failing to answer the question: “How many hours does a person work from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. if he has an hour for lunch?” His IQ (78) was not enough to qualify for military service.
Despite low mental indicators, Cassius knew how to speak beautifully and became the founder of trash talk in the world of sports.
“Last week I killed a rock, buried a stone and sent a brick to the hospital. I'm so strong that I take pills. I'm fast! Last week I turned off the bedroom light and was in bed before it went out. You idiots will scream when I knock out Sonny Liston. I'll show you how great I am."
On February 25, 1964, Cassius Clay confirmed his words, finished Sonny Liston and became the absolute world champion. The fight ended between the sixth and seventh rounds when Liston refused to continue, citing a shoulder injury. The Ring magazine voted the fight the Fight of the Year, the Fight of the Decade and the Disappointment of the Decade.
After becoming a world champion, Cassius Clay joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name first to Cassius X and then to Muhammad Ali.
“Cassius Clay is a slave name. I didn't choose it and I don't want it. I am Muhammad Ali! Free name. It means 'beloved of God' and I insist that people use it when talking to and about me."
Then a rematch between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston was being prepared, but the Massachusetts Boxing Commission did not issue a license for the fight, having information about the possible influence of criminals on the result. As a result, the battle took place in the small town of Lewiston. This time, Muhammad Ali needed less than two minutes to knock out the former champion. Liston found himself on the ring floor after a barely noticeable blow. Muhammad Ali shouted, “Get up and fight, you bastard!” Nobody will believe this! The referee forgot to start the count, trying to control Ali, who was jumping around the ring. Liston then rose to his feet and the fight continued. But the editor of The Ring magazine suggested to the judges that Liston lay for over 17 seconds. The judges decided to end the fight and give the victory to Muhammad Ali.
In 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War, Muhammad Ali conspicuously refused military service, saying that it was contrary to his faith. The refusal led to serious sanctions from the authorities - the boxer was deprived of his license for three years. At the same time, Muhammad Ali ended up in prison against his will, having spent 10 days there for driving a vehicle with a license of the wrong category.
“Prison is a bad place. I was there for a week before they let us go for Christmas and it was terrible. You're locked, you can't get out. Bad food and nothing to do. You look out the window at people and cars, and everyone looks so free. Little things like taking a walk down the street or getting a good night’s sleep become unavailable,” Ali said.
Muhammad Ali - Joe Frazier
In 1971, for the first time in boxing history, an undefeated defending champion and an undefeated former champion met. All tickets for the fight were sold out. The confrontation was broadcast live in 35 countries.
The fight turned out to be the most difficult in the career of peak Muhammad Ali. He was never able to find the key to Joe Frazier and lost to him on points, being knocked down in the last 15th round.
Muhammad Ali's second defeat was inflicted by the little-known Ken Norton, who was lucky enough to break the former world champion's jaw with a precise blow at the beginning of the fight. Muhammad Ali did not give up and boxed all 12 rounds, but lost by split decision. The doctor who operated on Muhammad Ali's jaw did not hide his surprise at the boxer's resilience, not understanding how he could continue to box with such an injury.
In 1974, Muhammad Ali got even with Joe Frazier for losing their first fight. Having worked on his mistakes, Ali changed his tactics and no longer lingered at the ropes, focusing on moving around the ring and throwing an accurate jab. The tactics yielded results - Ali almost finished Frazier in the second round, but the opponent was saved by the referee’s mistake, who prematurely sent the boxers to the corners, thinking that the round was over. However, Joe was never able to recover and lost the fight on points.
A year and a half later, the legends held a third fight, called “Thriller in Manila.” Promoter Don King reached an agreement with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who provided the boxing stars with a fee of $14 million (9 million for Ali, 5 million for Frazier). The fight, which took place in 30-degree heat, was recognized as one of the best in boxing history. The boxers did not spare each other for 14 rounds. During the break before the final three minutes, Frazier's trainer refused to let his fighter out, citing a hematoma covering his left eye and general vision problems (Fraser was shown three fingers, but he only saw one). It is interesting that in his opponent’s corner there were exactly the same sentiments before the final round - immediately after the end of the fight, Muhammad Ali lost his creation.
He advocated killing
In 1975, in an interview with a famous magazine, Muhammad Ali said: “When you are right, no one will remember, but when you are wrong, everyone will remember.” Many people forgot about this interview, but by the way, in it Ali clearly expressed his opinion on how to deal with interracial marriages. People in such marriages, according to the boxer, should simply be hanged.
“A black man should be killed if he dates a white woman,” Ali said. He was an ardent opponent of interracial couples and advocated their lynching, and was also a member of organizations that supported such an idea.
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Ali believed that if a Muslim woman gives birth to a child not of her own skin color, then “then the child should be killed, like his mother.” He believed that such harsh methods of maintaining demographics were rooted in the past.
For years, Ali promoted himself as the "true black man" and considered himself superior to other black athletes who did not share his views. Terry Foster recalled that while feuding with Joe Frazier, Ali branded his opponent a “traitor to the black people” for allegedly tolerating white society. He also called Fraser "Uncle Tom" and mimicked him in the manner of a monkey. During a 1974 talk show interview, Ali said that black and white people were engaged in "spiritual warfare."
Muhammad Ali - George Foreman
A year earlier, an equally intriguing fight took place, which went down in history under the name “Rumble in the Jungle.” Muhammad Ali set his sights on regaining the WBC and WBA titles, which were then held by George Foreman, who took them away from Joe Frazier, knocking out bitter rival Ali in two rounds.
Don King took charge of organizing the superfight, who reached an agreement with the Zairian dictator Mobutu and held the first title fight in boxing history on the African continent. The boxers received $5 million each and showed the best fight of 1974.
Before the fight, Muhammad Ali, trying to get his opponent emotional, came up with two bright phrases that will forever go down in boxing history.
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!” His hands will not strike what his eyes cannot see.”
“I saw George Foreman shadowbox and the shadow won.”
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From the first seconds, the undefeated George Foreman rushed to beat Ali, throwing punches and pinning him against the ropes. But in the African heat and high humidity, the champion quickly got tired. Muhammad Ali spent the entire fight waiting for the moment to launch a devastating counterattack, and in the eighth round, a tired Foreman stagnated and gave the challenger such a chance.
In the second half of the 70s, Muhammad Ali was far from his best condition and demonstrated his signature boxing style in the ring less and less often. An unexpected defeat from 22-year-old Leon Spinks gave rise to rumors about the imminent end of the great boxer's career. But The Greatest did not accept defeat, returned to the ring and defeated Spinks in a rematch.
During his professional career, Muhammad Ali earned over $50 million. At that time this was a significant amount. But towards the end of his career, it turned out that almost all the money earned was spent on surrounding the legend, and only a small part of it was invested in business and brought profit. Needing money, Ali agreed to fight another high-profile fight. His opponent was the current WBC world champion Larry Holmes.
Young and motivated, Holmes pummeled the 38-year-old veteran for 10 rounds. During the break before the 11th round, Angelo Dundee refused to release Muhammad Ali, deciding to keep him healthy. Ali earned $8 million for this fight.
Deeply unhappy son
The great world boxer had a son, Muhammad Ali Jr. He did not have a happy childhood. Ali Sr. had a busy schedule that left no free time for activities with his son. Since his mother was an actress and constantly busy, his son was largely raised by his grandparents. Talking in an interview about his childhood, he could not remember that the whole family had dinner at the same table.
Ali Jr. was the epitome of fun as a child, performing various tricks, running around in masks and making other children laugh. Hooligans constantly wanted to fight with him, and it was difficult for him to distinguish friends from enemies. According to him, he did not know who really loved him.
The father brought great sorrows into the life of Ali Jr. At the end of his life, the boxer fell ill with Parkinson's disease, which further complicated their interaction. Also financially, his son claimed that he could barely make ends meet and was finding it difficult to even care for his wife and two children. Everything changed dramatically as soon as his father died. Mohammed Jr. inherited $6 million and divorced his wife after his father's funeral.
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Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson first met Muhammad Ali in 1977 in a juvenile detention center. The great boxer visited such institutions, trying to guide troubled children on the right path in life and showing them the film “The Greatest: My Story,” in which the boxer played himself.
After losing to Larry Holmes, Tyson's trainer Cus D'Amato contacted Muhammad Ali by phone and introduced the legend to the aspiring boxer from Brooklyn.
“Don't worry, champion. When I grow up, I will knock him down for you,” said 14-year-old Tyson, consoling Ali.
Eight years later he would do it and become the first boxer to knock out Larry Holmes.
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In 1989, Muhammad Ali became the hero of Arsenio Hall's TV show, in whose studio Mike Tyson and Sugar Ray Leonard unexpectedly appeared. The host compared Tyson and Ali, and then asked Iron Mike's opinion.
“In the ring, I saw him as a killer, and he fought killers. For example, Foreman, with fighters who are tougher than me, and he took their hard shots. That's why he became a champion. I watched his fights and it gave me the deepest confidence in myself. I was sure that no one could beat me. I grew up hearing what he said and did from a very young age. I saw all his predictions come true. With his character, he put so much pressure on his opponents that they believed in his invulnerability. That was a huge inspiration for me,” Mike said.
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Muhammad Ali, illness
In 1984, the world was shocked by shocking news. Muhammad Ali was hospitalized due to deteriorating hearing, speech and motor functions. After passing all the tests, doctors gave the boxer a terrible diagnosis - Parkinson's disease. Experts recognized that the disease was the result of numerous brain injuries received during his professional career.
Ali was prescribed a special drug that eliminates movement disorders. From that moment on, the boxer began to actively engage in charity work.
Career going into sunset
It was always very painful for Ali's children to watch their father's career. His daughters even prayed that their father would lose and his dangerous career would end quickly.
Perhaps Ali should have retired in 1971. That's when Dr. Ferdie Pacheco first noticed "the first signs of brain damage" in Ali. He had just fought in the ring against Joe Frazier and lost. Hoping to make “quick money,” Ali fought 13 more fights in a short time.
Ali's money disappeared almost as quickly as he received it. The boxer wasted mountains of cash on his marriages and borrowed huge sums to friends. In 1976, his wallet was noticeably empty. Between fights, weddings and divorces, Ali's health deteriorated and he began to lose his grip.
Muhammad Ali: achievements and records
• 1960 Olympic champion in light heavyweight. • Absolute world heavyweight champion (1964-1966, 1974-1978). • Six-time winner of the title “Boxer of the Year” according to The Ring (1963, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978). • Winner of the title “Boxer of the Decade” according to The Ring (1960s). • Author of 38-year-old records for the number of defeated opponents for the world heavyweight title (21) and victories in fights for the status of absolute world champion, regardless of weight category (14). • Inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1990 - inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Personal life of Muhammad Ali
The great boxer was married four times. Muhammad Ali registered his marriage with his first lover Sonji Roy a month after the first meeting. But soon the relationship deteriorated and the couple divorced. The girl did not want to convert to Islam, continuing to appear in public in revealing, according to the boxer, outfits.
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In 1967, Ali connected his life with Belinda Boyd, who converted to Islam, changing her name to Khalilah Ali, and gave birth to the boxer four children: three daughters and one son. In 1974, Khalila suspected Muhammad of treason while she was with him in Zaire, where her husband was about to fight George Foreman. And she turned out to be right. During preparation, Muhammad Ali began an affair with fashion model Veronica Porsch, who was filming for the fight poster. Three years later, Khalila and Muhammad divorced.
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The new wife of the great boxer was Veronica Porsche, who at the time of their wedding in 1977 was already pregnant with her second child from Ali. The first was born a year before the wedding. After nine years of marriage they divorced.
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In late 1986, Muhammad Ali married his childhood friend Lonnie Williams. The couple adopted a five-year-old child.
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In total, Muhammad Ali has nine children: seven daughters (two illegitimate) and two sons (one not his own).
Ali beat his first wife
In 1964, Herbert Mohammad, son of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Mohammad, introduced Ali to waitress Sonji Roy. Ali proposed his hand and heart to her right on the first date. Although she professed a religion different from Islam and did not fall under the canons of a Muslim woman: formal clothing, a face without makeup and other attributes.
Despite this, Ali married her a month after their first meeting. About 10 months after they got engaged, Ali filed for divorce. The first reason for this was the pressure on Ali from her mentors - the Nation of Islam, and the second was Roy's behavior, which clearly did not correspond to the behavior of a Muslim woman. In court during her divorce proceedings, Ali complained that people could see “the seams of her underwear” through her tight trousers. He criticized Roy's choice of clothing, her red dresses and red lipstick, calling it "lust for the eyes and embarrassment for me."
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One day Ali was so enraged by his disobedient wife that he hit her in a fit of rage. He later repented, saying that "that slap hurt me more than it hurt her." Of course, these words are questionable, since Ali was a professional boxer. Despite her husband's control, Roy did not want a divorce. But the Muslim brothers forced Ali to choose between love and religion.
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“My hardest battle is with Parkinson's disease. No, it doesn't hurt. It is hard to explain. It’s as if I’m being tested: will I continue to pray, will I keep the faith? God tests all great men."
On June 3, 2021, Muhammad Ali lost the last and hardest fight of his life, which lasted 32 years.
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Nevertheless, boxing fans do not forget about the great champion thanks to his official Instagram page, where they regularly post retro photographs from the life of Muhammad Ali with wise quotes from the Greatest.
