Cassius
Marcellus Clay Jr. was born in
Louisville, Kentucky on January 17, 1942
to Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr. and
Odessa Grady Clay.
THE SPARK
Cassius Clay's interest in boxing began
at the age of twelve. Joe Martin, a
policeman and boxing instructor,
encouraged the idea after Clay's bike
was stolen.
THE AMATEUR
Clay won two National Golden Gloves
Titles, two National AAU Titles and the
1960 Olympic Gold Medal in the light
heavyweight division in Boxing. Up to
now Clay had 103 amateur fights, and
only lost five.
TURNING PRO
Turns Professional on October 29th, 1960
by decisioning Tunney Hunsaker in six
rounds in Louisville, Kentukey. Angelo
Dundee is hired on as his trainer prior
to his second fight and is there for the
rest of his career.
After winning Olympic
gold medal in 1960
THE TEST
Wins twice in 1960 and then eight times
in 1961 before fighting Sonny Banks in
Madison Square Garden in his first bout
of 1962. He is knocked down for the
first time in his career, but rallies to
stop banks in the fourth round. Clay
scores four more victories, then stops
veteran Archie Moore in four rounds in
his last fight of 1962 in his first
major test.
THE TEAR IN THE
GLOVE
Cassius Clay scores three victories in
1963, including a fifth-round TKO of
Henry Cooper after Cooper had dropped
him at the bell ending the fourth round
and a tear was discovered in Clay's
glove prior to the start of the next
round, prompting a longer than normal
break between rounds.
NOW "ALI" THE
CHAMPION
Clay enters the ring as a 7-1 underdog
to the feared Heavyweight Champion
Charles "Sonny" Liston for their title
clash on February 25th, 1964. Few
experts give him a chance, but Clay uses
his speed and movement to thoroughly
outbox the champion, who retires on his
stool after the sixth round, claiming a
badly hurt shoulder. Clay is the second
youngest heavyweight champion in
history. After the fight he tells the
world his name is now Muhammad Ali and
he has joined the Nation of Islam, a
move that will have a significant effect
on his career.
THE PHANTOM
PUNCH
On May 25th, 1965 Muhammad Ali fights
Liston in a rematch and scores a
dramatic first-round knockout after
landing what many people have described
as a "phantom" punch. Cries of a fix mar
the outcome, but the result stands. Ali
stops former champion Floyd Patterson in
his only other fight of the year.
"THE
GREATEST"
Ali defends his title five times in 1966,
including stopping Cleveland Williams in
three rounds on November 14th in the
Houston Astrodome in what many consider
to be Ali at his physical peak. He is
considered to be the fastest champion of
all time, and many are starting to
consider his claim of being "The
Greatest" as legitimate.
THE
CONTROVERSY
Early in 1967 Ali defends his title
twice, decisioning Ernie Terrell and
stopping Zora Folley in seven -- and
then controversy. He has been drafted by
the Army for induction into military
service to fight in the Vietnam War, but
on April 28th he refuses to step forward
when called on the grounds of his
religious beliefs. His is immediately
stripped of his heavyweight title, and
on June 25th he receives a five-year
prison sentence, which he immediately
appeals. Ali has no fights for the rest
of 1967, nor any fights in 1968 and
1969, as he loses his peak physical
years as a boxer to fighting his
conviction. He now makes money by doing
personal appearances and bit parts
acting.
THE RETURN
On June 20th, 1970 the Supreme Court
overturns his conviction, setting the
stage for his boxing return. On October
26th he fights Jerry Quarry in Atlanta,
and though he stops Quarry on cuts in
the third round, it is a different
looking Ali. He looks far from
impressive in stopping Oscar Bonavena in
the 15th round on December 7th, but this
sets up the first "Fight of the Century"
with the reigning Heavyweight Champion
-- 'Smokin' Joe Frazier.
FIGHT OF THE
CENTURY
On March 8th, 1971 Ali and Frazier fight
before a sold-out Madison Square Garden
crowd in the richest fight up until
then. Both are undefeated, and in
memorable battle Frazier knocks down Ali
in the fifteenth and final round to
capture a close but unanimous decision.
Ali vows to fight on and recapture the
crown.
FIGHTING ON
Ali wins three more fights in 1971,
including capturing the North American
Heavyweight Title, then wins six fights
in 1972 as he fights often and all over
the world pressing for a rematch with
Frazier.
THE BROKEN
JAW
Starts off 1973 with a decision victory
over contender Joe Bugner, then tragedy
strikes. Taking on little known Ken
Norton, Ali's jaw is broken in the
second round by the awkward ex-marine,
but Ali gamely battles on, losing by a
split decision. Many think Ali's career
is finished, but in September he fights
Norton in a rematch. Though he has
gotten himself in the best shape since
the Frazier fight, Ali is again troubled
by Norton's style, as he will be
throughout his career, but in another
tough fight he manages to avenge the
earlier loss with a split decision
victory.
THE BRAWL
Ali enters 1974 by beating Joe Frazier
in their much awaited rematch in the
richest non-title fight in history until
then in a fight more noted for its
pre-fight brawl in an ABC studio then
for the action in the ring. The two
aging ex-champions put on a good show,
Ali winning the fight on a unanimous
decision, but the spectre of the man
Frazier lost the heavyweight title to,
supposedly invincible George Foreman,
hangs over the fight.
RUMBLE IN THE
JUNGLE
On October 30th, 1974 Ali tangles with
Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire -- the
"Rumble in the Jungle". Ali is a 3-1
underdog, and many actually fear for his
safety against perhaps the hardest
puncher in heavyweight title history.
But Ali is in tremendous shape, and he
has spotted a weakness in Foreman's
armor. Letting Foreman punch himself out
by employing his now famous
"rope-a-dope", Ali covers up on the
ropes as Foreman exhausts himself before
the fight is even half over. In the
eighth round, Ali comes off the ropes
and stuns Foreman with a combination,
dropping him in the center of the ring
where he is counted out with two seconds
left in the round. Again Ali has done
the impossible, as he becomes only the
second man to ever regain the heavyweigt
crown.
THRILLA IN
MANILA
Ali defends the title three times by
mid-1975, then takes on Joe Frazier in
the rubber match of their series in the
"Thrilla in Manilla" on September 30th.
In a very gruelling battle in which both
men landed hard punches throughout the
fight, Ali retains his title when
Frazier retires on his stool prior to
the fifteenth and final round. Ali
collapses from exhaustion after the
fight of which he said was "as close to
death as I could imagine". Everyone
believes Ali should retire now as he has
nothing left to prove and his is
starting to show his age in the ring.
TITLE
DEFENSES
In 1976 Ali is only mildly interested in
getting into shape, and almost loses the
title. After an easy first title
defense, he weighs a career high 230 and
barely ekes out a decision from light
punching Jimmy Young in a fight many
feel he lost. He gets into better shape
for the next fight, then fights Ken
Norton again on September 28th in the
rubber match of their series. The Yankee
Stadium crowd sees Ali again troubled by
Norton's awkward style as he escapes
with the narrowest of decisions in a
fight many again feel he has lost. The
call for him to retire grows louder.
SPINKS
Two defenses in 1977, then he fights
novice professional but 1976 Olympic
Gold Medalist Leon Spinks on February
15th, 1978. Spinks clearly outhustles
and outfights the aging champion, and
when the crowd waits for Ali to turn on
the power and outlast the challenger
down the stretch, it's not there anymore
and Ali loses his title on a split
decision in a huge upset. But Ali rises
to the occasion one last time in his
career as he takes on Spinks in a
rematch seven months later. Ali becomes
the only man to win the heavyweight
crown three times as he outboxes the
champion Spinks, conserving his energy
for when its needed and making Spinks
punch at air or hit only arms and elbows
with his attacks. Ali's unanimous
decision win is the final victory of his
career.
RETIRED
He announces his retirement on June
27th, 1979, relinquishing his title,
then returns for a disastrous fight
against the present champion Larry
Holmes, on October 2nd, 1980.
Ali in
India to help with
charities
Ali is
dominated by his ex-sparring partner,
battered all over the ring for ten
rounds before he retires on his stool
before the eleventh round. It is the
only time Ali has not finished a fight
on his feet, and after one final fight,
another losing battle against marginal
contender Trevor Berbick in December of
1981, Ali finally calls it a career.
THE
RECORD
Ali ended his professional boxing career
with a record of 56 wins, 37 of them by
knockout, and only 5 defeats, and is
still the only man to hold the
heavyweight crown on three separate
occasions.
Ali
loves children [he has 9 of his own] and
raises money for children's charities
regularly
