Muhammad Ali: Difference between revisions

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| education = [[Central High School (Louisville, Kentucky)|Central High School]] (1958)
| occupation = {{flatlist|
* [[Boxer (boxing)|Boxer]]
* [[activist]]
* [[actor]]
* [[singer]]
* [[poet]]
* [[philanthropist]]
* [[author]]
* [[orator]]
}}
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Sonji Roi|1964|1966|end=div.}}
* {{marriage|[[Belinda Boyd]]|1967|19771976|end=div.}}
* {{marriage|Veronica Porché|1977|1986|end=div.}}
* {{marriage|Yolanda "Lonnie" Williams|1986|<!--Omission per template instructions-->}}
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'''Muhammad Ali''' ({{IPAc-en|ɑː|ˈ|l|iː}};<ref>{{cite LPD|3|Ali |quote=the former boxer Muhammad Ali pronounces {{IPA|ɑːˈliː}}}}</ref> born '''Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.'''; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American [[professional boxer]] and activist.{{efn|"boxing champion and '''activist'''";<!ref>{{Cite news |last=Diaz |first=Johnny |date=2024-06-NOTE04 |title=Muhammad Ali's Childhood Home Goes on the Market |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/04/sports/muhammad-ali-childhood-home-sale.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604214318/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/04/sports/muhammad-ali-childhood-home-sale.html |archive-date=2024-06-04 |access-date=2024-12-01 |work=[[The leadNew sentenceYork shouldTimes]]}}</ref> stick"one toof whatthe hecountry’s wasmost primarilyrecognized knownanti-war '''activists'''"<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gorsevski |first1=Ellen forW. |last2=Butterworth |first2=Michael L. |date=2011-02-01 |title=Muhammad Ali's Fighting Words: The infoboxParadox isof thereViolence toin includeNonviolent additionalRhetoric occupations|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00335630.2010.536563 |journal=Quarterly Journal of Speech |volume=97 |issue=1 |page=57 |doi=10.1080/00335630.2010.536563 |issn=0033--5630}}</ref> Nicknamed "professional boxer and social '''activist'''";<ref>{{Cite EBO|title=Muhammad Ali|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Muhammad-Ali-boxer|access-date=2024-12-01|first=Thomas|last=Hauser}}</ref> "the Greatestprofessional boxer and '''activist'''",;<ref>{{Cite henews is|last=Ahmed regarded|first=Shanzeh as|date=2024-02-22 one|title=Daughter of theMuhammad mostAli significantcelebrates sportssuburban figuresmosque's of50th anniversary with a ceremony to honor the 20thboxing centurylegend |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/02/22/islamic-foundation-muhammad-ali/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301165803/https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/02/22/islamic-foundation-muhammad-ali/ |archive-date=2024-03-01 |access-date=2024-12-01 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref> "Muhammad WidelyAli regardedserves as onereminder that radical '''activist''' athletes can become mainstreamed."<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Townsend |first1=Stephen |last2=Osmond |first2=Gary |last3=Phillips |first3=Murray G. |date=2018-07-24 |title='Where Cassius Clay Ends, Muhammad Ali Begins': Sportspeople, Political Activism, and Methodology |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09523367.2018.1523146 |journal=The International Journal of the History of Sport |volume=35 |issue=11 |page=1150 |doi=10.1080/09523367.2018.1523146 |issn=0952-3367}}</ref>}} A global cultural icon, widely known by the epithet, “The Greatest," he is frequently cited as the greatest [[heavyweight]] boxersboxer of all time,. heHe held the ''[[The Ring (magazine)|Ring]]'' magazine heavyweight title from 1964 to 1970. He, was the undisputed champion from 1974 to 1978, and was the [[World Boxing Association|WBA]] and ''Ring'' heavyweight champion from 1978 to 1979. In 1999, he was named [[Sports Illustrated#Sportsman of the Century|Sportsman of the Century]] by ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' and the [[BBC Sports Personality of the Year#Sports Personality of the Century Award|Sports Personality of the Century]] by the [[BBC]].
 
Born and raised in [[Louisville, Kentucky]], he began training as an amateur boxer at age 12. At 18, he won a gold medal in the [[light heavyweight]] division at the [[1960 Summer Olympics]] and turned professional later that year. He joined the [[Nation of Islam]] in the early 1960s, but later disavowed it in the mid-1970s. He won the world heavyweight championship, defeating [[Sonny Liston]] in [[Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston|a major upset]] on February 25, 1964, at age 22. During that year, he denounced his birth name as a "[[slave name]]" and formally changed his name to Muhammad Ali. In 1967, Ali refused to be drafted into the military, owing to [[Religious views of Muhammad Ali|his religious beliefs]] and ethical [[opposition to the Vietnam War]], and was found guilty of [[draft evasion]] and stripped of his boxing titles. He stayed out of prison while [[Clay v. United States|appealing the decision]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]], where his conviction was overturned in 1971. He did not fight for nearly four years and lost a period of peak performance as an athlete. Ali's actions as a [[conscientious objector]] to the Vietnam War made him an icon for the larger [[counterculture of the 1960s]] generation, and he wasbecame a veryprominent, high-profile figure of racial pride for [[African Americans]] during the [[civil rights movement]] and throughout his career.
 
He fought in several historic boxing matches, including his highly publicized fights with Sonny Liston, [[Joe Frazier]] (including the [[Fight of the Century]], the biggest boxing event up until then), the [[Thrilla in Manila]], and his fight with [[George Foreman]] in [[The Rumble in the Jungle]]. Ali thrived in the spotlight at a time when many boxers let their managers do the talking, and he became renowned for his provocative and outlandish persona. He was famous for [[trash-talk]]ing, often [[Freestyle rap|free-styled]] with rhyme schemes and [[spoken word poetry]], and has been recognized as a pioneer in [[hip hop]]. He often predicted in which round he would knock out his opponent. As a boxer, Ali was known for his unorthodox movement, fancy footwork, head movement, and [[rope-a-dope]] technique, among others.
 
Outside boxing, Ali attained success as a [[spoken word]] artist, releasing two studio albums: ''[[I Am the Greatest (Cassius Clay album)|I Am the Greatest!]]'' (1963) and ''[[The Adventures of Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay]]'' (1976). Both albums received [[Grammy Award]] nominations. He also featured as an actor and writer, releasing two autobiographies. Ali retired from boxing in 1981 and focused on religion, philanthropy, and activism. In 1984, he made public his diagnosis of [[Parkinson's syndrome]], which some reports attributed to boxing-related injuries, though he and his specialist physicians disputed this. He remained an active public figure globally, but in his later years made fewer public appearances as his condition worsened, and he was cared for by his family.
 
==Early life==
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===Fight against Joe Frazier===
{{Main|Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali}}
Ali and Frazier's first fight, held at the Garden, was on March 8, 1971, while Ali's Supreme Court appeal was still pending. It was nicknamed the "[[Fight of the Century]]" due to the tremendous excitement surrounding a bout between two undefeated fighters, each with a legitimate claim to be heavyweight champion. Veteran U.S. boxing writer John Condon called it "the greatest event I've ever worked on in my life." The bout was broadcast to 36 countries; promoters granted 760 press passes.<ref name="Hauser 2004" />
 
Adding to the atmosphere were the considerable pre-fight theatrics and name calling. Before the fight, Frazier called Ali "Cassius Clay," angering Ali who responded by calling Frazier a "dumb tool of the white establishment" and saying "Frazier is too ugly to be champ. Frazier is too dumb to be champ." Ali also frequently called Frazier an "[[Uncle Tom]]." Dave Wolf, who worked in Frazier's camp, recalled that "Ali was saying 'the only people rooting for Joe Frazier are white people in suits, Alabama sheriffs, and members of the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. I'm fighting for the little man in the ghetto.' Joe was sitting there, smashing his fist into the palm of his hand, saying, 'What the fuck does he know about the ghetto?{{' "}}<ref name="Hauser 2004" />
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====''The Rumble in the Jungle''====
{{Main|The Rumble in the Jungle}}
The defeat of Frazier set the stage for a title fight against heavyweight champion [[George Foreman]] in Kinshasa, [[Zaire]], on October 30, 1974—a bout nicknamed ''[[The Rumble in the Jungle]]''. Foreman was considered one of the hardest punchers in heavyweight history. In assessing the fight, analysts pointed out that [[Joe Frazier]] and [[Ken Norton]], who had given Ali four tough battles and won two of them, had both been devastated by Foreman in second-round knockouts. Ali was 32 years old and had lost speed and reflexes since his twenties. Contrary to his later persona, Foreman was at the time a brooding and intimidating presence. Almost no one associated with the sport, not even Ali's long-time supporter Howard Cosell, gave the former champion a chance of winning.{{cn|date=November 2024}}
 
As usual, Ali was confident and colorful before the fight. He told interviewer [[David Frost]], "If you think the world was surprised when Nixon resigned, wait till I whup Foreman's behind!"<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/1aGHpXt_hMc Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20140202235829/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aGHpXt_hMc Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aGHpXt_hMc |title=Muhammad Ali – The Rumble In The Jungle(Interview) |publisher=YouTube |date=March 22, 1967 |access-date=September 3, 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He told the press, "I've done something new for this fight. I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick."<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/dGk0R63C0eM Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130317021119/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGk0R63C0eM Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGk0R63C0eM |title=Muhammad Ali Inspirational Speech (Cassius Clay Boxing Motivation) |publisher=YouTube |date=September 14, 2012 |access-date=September 3, 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Ali was wildly popular in Zaire, with crowds chanting "Ali, bomaye" ("Ali, kill him") wherever he went.
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====Affiliation with the Nation of Islam====
Ali said that he first heard of the [[Nation of Islam]] when he was fighting in the Golden Gloves tournament in Chicago in 1959 and attended his first Nation of Islam meeting in 1961. He continued to attend meetings, although keepinghe kept his involvement hidden from the public. In 1962, Clay met [[Malcolm X]], who soon became his spiritual and political mentor.<ref name="Guardian Mitchell">{{cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Kevin |title=From the Vietnam war to Islam – the key chapters in Ali's life |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jun/04/muhammad-ali-key-chapters |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=June 4, 2016 |access-date=June 5, 2016 |archive-date=February 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202190150/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jun/04/muhammad-ali-key-chapters |url-status=live }}</ref> By the time of the first Liston fight, Nation of Islam members, including Malcolm X, were visible in his entourage. This led to a story in ''[[The Miami Herald]]'' just before the fight disclosing that Clay had joined the Nation of Islam, which nearly caused the bout to be canceled. The article quoted Cassius Clay Sr. as saying that his son had joined the [[African-American Muslims|Black Muslims]] when he was 18.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19640207&id=XF4bAAAAIBAJ&pg=5091,2145696 |newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press |title=Muslim Charge Clams Up Clay |date=February 7, 1964 |access-date=September 7, 2020 |archive-date=August 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828083315/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19640207&id=XF4bAAAAIBAJ&pg=5091%2C2145696 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
[[File:Elijah Muhammad and Cassius Clay NYWTS.jpg|thumb|left|Ali (seen in background) at an address by [[Elijah Muhammad]] in 1964]]
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In 2006, the documentary ''Ali Rap'' was produced by [[ESPN]], with [[Chuck D]] of [[Public Enemy]] as the host.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://thesource.com/2016/06/09/the-10-best-muhammad-ali-references-in-hip-hop/ |title=The 10 Best Muhammad Ali References In Hip Hop |last=Berry |first=Ben |date=June 9, 2016 |website=The Source |language=en-US |access-date=April 19, 2019 |archive-date=April 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419002903/http://thesource.com/2016/06/09/the-10-best-muhammad-ali-references-in-hip-hop/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Other rappers narrated the documentary as well, including [[Doug E Fresh]], [[Ludacris]] and Rakim who all spoke on Ali's behalf in the film.
 
Ali has been cited as an inspiration by many celebrated rappers, throughout the following decades, such as LL Cool J,<ref name="rollingstone1" /> Chuck D,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://andscape.com/features/muhammad-ali-the-original-rapper/ |title=Muhammad Ali: The original rapper – Legendary emcee Chuck D of Public Enemy talks Ali's impact on hip-hop |website=[[Andscape]] |date=June 9, 2016 |access-date=September 4, 2016 |archive-date=July 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702051928/https://andscape.com/features/muhammad-ali-the-original-rapper/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Jay-Z, [[Eminem]], [[Sean Combs]], [[Slick Rick]], Nas and [[MC Lyte]].,<ref name="cbsnews">{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jay-z-eminem-and-more-hip-hop-luminaries-remember-muhammad-ali/ |title=Jay Z, Eminem and more hip-hop luminaries remember Muhammad Ali |work=[[CBS News]] |date=June 9, 2016 |access-date=September 4, 2016 |archive-date=August 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812105446/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/jay-z-eminem-and-more-hip-hop-luminaries-remember-muhammad-ali/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Aliand hasis beenfrequently referencedmentioned in a number ofpopular hip -hop songs, including [[Migos]]' "Fight Night", Nas's "The Message", [[The Sugarhill Gang]]'s "[[Rapper's Delight]]", the [[Fugees]]' "[[Ready or Not (Fugees song)|Ready or Not]]", [[EPMD]]'s "You're a Customer" and [[Will Smith]]'s "[[Gettin' Jiggy wit It]]".<ref name="cbsnews" />
 
===In Ali's hometown===
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[[Category:American male boxers]]
[[Category:American male poets]]
[[Category:American male rappers]]
[[Category:American Muslim activists]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]