Muhammad Ali: A Legend Boxer in 1942 to 2016
The original name of Muhammad Ali was Cassius Clay Jr. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. He was one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all the time. He fought about 61 matches, out of which he won 56 and losses 5 games. In 1960, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight category in Summer Olympics held in Rome.
He won the world heavyweight championship by defeating Charles L. “Sonny” Liston in 1964. He was the only boxer to be named in “The Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year” for six times. He was known as the greatest athlete of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated. He was recognized as the Sports Personality of the century by the BBC. He was regarded as the third highest athlete of the 20th century by ESPN Sports Century.
In 1974, the exciting match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman was held in Kinshasa, Zaire (the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Muhammad Ali won the match by knockout, putting Foreman down just before the end of the 8th round. It was famous with the name “The Rumble in the Jungle”. In 1975, another great match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Fraizer was held in the Philippines. Muhammad Ali won the match by knockout before 15th round. The match was named “Thrilla in Manila”.
Both the great matches were watched by a record-breaking estimated television audience of 1 billion viewers worldwide. Thus, it became the most significant sporting event of the 20th century.
In 1975, in his autobiography, he and his friends were refused to get service at the dinner due to race discrimination (Whites-only). Later on, he was so annoyed that he threw his Olympic gold medal into the Ohio River. In 1996 Olympic, he was honoured to lit the torch to start the games at Atlanta. During the 1996 Olympic held at Atlanta, he received a replacement medal.
In 1966, Muhammad Ali refused to serve in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He was sent to prison for five years and fined $10,000 by Appellate Court. Later on, the New York State Athletic Commission suspended his boxing license and stripped him of his title. In 1971, the case was reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court although Muhammad Ali remained free in the years between the Appellate Court decision and the Supreme Court ruling.
In 1969, he converted to Muslim from Christian. Muhammad Ali was a legend in the field of heavyweight boxing, but he sacrifices himself in the civil right movement which was against racism. Although he knew that his career would be destroyed as well as he might be sent to jail.
In 1970, Muhammad Ali was honoured with the annual Martin Luther King Award by civil rights leader Ralph Abernathy. Coretta Scott king told that Muhammad Ali was “a champion of justice, peace and unity”. Thus, he was nicknamed with “The Greatest”.