Muhammad Ali: Difference between revisions

* {{marriage|[[Belinda Boyd]]|1967|19771976|end=div.}}

* [[Bangladesh]] {{small|(honorary)

}}}}

'''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=2024-06-04 |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 New York Times]]}}</ref> "one of the country’s most recognized anti-war '''activists'''"<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gorsevski |first1=Ellen W. |last2=Butterworth |first2=Michael L. |date=2011-02-01 |title=Muhammad Ali's Fighting Words: The Paradox of Violence in Nonviolent Rhetoric |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> "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 professional boxer and '''activist'''";<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ahmed |first=Shanzeh |date=2024-02-22 |title=Daughter of Muhammad Ali celebrates suburban mosque's 50th anniversary with a ceremony to honor the boxing legend |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 Ali serves as reminder 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>}} NicknamedA "'''theglobal cultural Greatest'''"icon, hewidely isknown regarded as one ofby the mostepithet, significant“The sportsGreatest," figureshe ofis thefrequently 20th century. Widely regardedcited as one of 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.

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.

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>

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" />