Muhammad Ali was a philanthropist, actor, musician, and professional boxer. Muhammad Ali was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. His birth name was Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr but he decided to change later on in life for religious reasons.
Muhammad Ali
From a young age he was affected by racism“. He was once denied a glass of water at a store that really affected him”, said his daughter. Also count the murder of Emmet Till as strongly affecting him.
Ali was first directed to boxing by a Louisville police officer and boxing coach Joe E Martin who encountered Muhammad aged twelve, fuming about some thieves who stole his bike, he was saying how he would ‘whup them’. The officer said you have to learn how to fight first Ali. He initially declined but soon rethought it, when he saw an amateur fight documentary on a tv show tomorrow’s champions.
Ali made his debut in 1954 against Ronnie O’Keefe, and he went on to win six Kentucky golden gloves, and an Olympic amateur golden glove.
Soon Ali started to go professional, after his first 19 fights his record had an incredible 19|0. After those fights he started using trash talk to belittle his opponents. Many speculate he did this for a mental edge. Soon he had made a name for himself as a confident trash talker and a strong fighter. Ali didn’t always win his fights easily, some fights he barely won. Though in his prime that happened once every blue moon.
Was He The Greatest?
Ali’s place in boxing history as one of the greatest fighters ever is secure. His final record of 56 wins and 5 losses with 37 knockouts has been matched by others, but the quality of his opponents and the manner in which he dominated during his prime placed him on a plateau with boxing’s immortals.
Ali was one of the greatest fighters of all and a very inspirational man. Sadly he passed in 2016 and was relieved of the pain of declining health and painful hospitalization’s from Parkinson’s Disease.
