Originally known as Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., Muhammad Ali was an American professional boxer and social activist who was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky, and passed away on June 3, 2016, in Scottsdale, Arizona. The world heavyweight championship was initially won by Ali, who also successfully defended it 19 times.
Ali also became the first fighter to do so. Muhammad Ali’s professional boxing record is 56-5. Ali fought 61 times between October 29, 1960, and December 11, 1981, winning 56 and losing 5. With 37 of those wins coming from knockout, 61% of Ali’s wins came from stoppage.
In his career, Ali fought a total of 548 rounds. Ali weighed in at 236 pounds with a height of 6’2. His reach was 198cm and his fighting stance was orthodox.
At least at this stage of his career in his early days before going pro, he competed in 105 amateur fights winning 100 of them set the stage for his dynamic career. Ali only weighed around 190 pounds and was agile on his feet unlike any other boxer in his class Allie moves similar to that of a middleweight rather than a heavyweight proving that his speed was too much for his opponents.
After recently becoming heavyweight champ Muhammad Ali converted to the teachings of Islam. Following this Ali dominated the boxing world as he defended his heavyweight championship belt eight times.
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US Military Vs Ali
At the peak of his career, Muhammad Ali was forced to enlist in the army by the US military. Going against the status quo Ali decided to fight this due to his religion he was exempt from going to war. Ali was quoted saying “I don’t want no quarrel with no Vietcong they haven’t done anything to me” this was one of the first times in history that an athlete of his status had fought against the US government. Due to this Muhammad Ali was harshly punished as he was sentenced to five years in prison and placed with a $10,000 fine.
Bill was probably paid and Ali spent no time in prison but due to his conviction, he was stripped of his heavyweight titles and his boxing license and was no longer allowed to box. Ali did not box for the next three years of his career. Due to Muhammad Alis’s notoriety, his appeal was pushed to the Supreme Court justice as they voted unanimously in his favor and Ali was able to return the boxing.
Joe Frazier
Muhammad Ali won his first fight back after returning from boxing but his eyesight sit on Joe Frazier the current heavyweight champion this fight was highly promoted and quickly became an instant classic. Joe Frazier landed a clean hit that knocks Muhammad Ali down by the world hasn’t seen prior and eventually won the fight by unanimous decision. Ali did not let this unsettle him as he eventually got his rematch against Joe Frazier beating him in 1974
In conclusion, Muhammad Ali had one of the most versatile and wild boxing careers we have ever seen. He faced a lot of adversity and was able to overcome it and was truly a People’s champ.
