three-time world he**yweight boxing champion muhammad ali,known for h** lyrical charm and boasts as much as for h** powerful f**ts,has moved far beyond the boxing ring in both influence and purpose.ali won an olympic gold medal and later tossed it into a river because he was d**gusted by rac**m in america.as a young man he was recruited by malcolm x to join the nation of **lam.he refused to serve in vietnam-a professional fighter willing to serve time in jail for h** pacif**t ideals.he has contributed to countless,diverse charities and causes.and h** later years h**e found him interested in world politics as he has battled to keep pa**nson's d**ease at bay.
muhammad ali was born cassius marcellus clay,jr.,on january 17,1942,and was ra**ed in a clapboard house at 3302 grand **enue in middle-class lou**ville,kentucky.he began boxing at the age of 12.a white lou**ville patrolman named joe martin,who had an early telev**ion show called"tomorrow's champions,"started ali wo**ng out in lou**ville's columbia gym,but it was a black trainer named fred stoner who taught ali the science of boxing.stoner taught him to move with the grace of a dancer,and impressed upon him the subtle skills necessary to move beyond good and into the realm of great.
after winning an olympic gold medal at 18,ali signed the most lucrative contract-a 50-50 split-negotiated by a beginning professional in the h**tory ofboxing,with a 12-member group of millionaires called the lou**ville sponsoring group.later,he worked h** way into contention for the coveted he**yweight title shot by boasting and creating media interest at a time when,by h** own adm**sion,he was only ranked number nine on the l**t of contenders.even from the beginning,it was clear that ali was h** own man-quick,strong-willed,original,and witty.in 1961 he told sports illustrated's gilbert rogin,"boxing ** dying because everybody's so quiet.what boxing needs ** more.clays."ali knew that h** rhymes and press-grabbing claims would infuse interest and money into the sport of boxing,and he was h** own best public relations man.in february of 1964 he told readers of sports illustrated,"if i were like a lot of.he**yweight boxers.you wouldn't be reading th** story right now.if you wonder what the difference between them and me **,i'll break the news:you never heard of them.i'm not saying they're not good boxers.most of them.can fight almost as good as i can.i'm just saying you never heard of them.and the reason for that ** because they cannot throw the jive.cassius clay ** a boxer who can throw the jive better than anybody.
the following month ali-then still cassius clay-fought sonny l**ton in a match of classic contenders for the he**yweight championship of the world.the miami fight almost single-handedly restored intelligence and balance to boxing.cassius clay had been chanting the war cry"float like a butterfly,sting like a bee"for weeks;he beat l**ton in a d**play of beautiful,controlled boxing.l**ton could hit with deadly power,but ali utilized h** skills and courage with forethought and aplomb.he won the fight to become he**yweight champion of the world.at the tender age of 22 ali knew that he was something above and beyond a great boxer:he had marketing sense,political finesse,and a feeling of noble purpose.
throughout h** career and life,ali has always professed to want to help other black americans-and he has,time and time again.when he returned from italy,h**ing just won an olympic gold medal,he was so proud of h** trophy that he wore it day and night and showed it to everyone,whether they wanted to see it or not.in the philadelphia inquirer ali's first wife remembered him saying"i was young,black cassius marcellus clay,who had won a gold medal for h** country.i went to downtown lou**ville to a five-and-dime store that had a soda fountain.i sat down at the counter to order a burger and soda pop.the waitress looked at me.'sorry,we don't serve coloreds,' she said.i was furious.i went all the way to italy to represent my country,won a gold medal,and now i come back to america and can't even get served at a five-and-dime store.i went to a bridge,tore the medal off my neck and threw it into the river.that gold medal didn't mean a thing to me if my black brothers and s**ters were treated wrong in a country i was supposed to represent.
while in miami,at the age of 21,ali was inspired by human rights activ**t malcolm x to become a member of the muslim faith.the following year malcolm x said of ali,as was quoted by houston horn in sports illustrated,"[he]will mean to h** people than any athlete before him.he ** than[first black major-league baseball player]jackie robinson was,because robinson ** the white man's hero.but cassius ** the black man's hero.do you know why?because the white press wanted him to lose[h** he**yweight championship bout].because he ** a muslim.you notice nobody cares about the religion of other athletes.but their prejudice against clay blinded them to h** ability."twelve years later,on face the nation,ali said"we don't h**e black muslims,that's a press word.we h**e white brothers,we h**e brown,red,and yellow,all colors can be muslims.i'm looking for peace one day with all people."cassius clay,jr.,was given the name muhammad ali by muslim patriarch elijah muhammad;it was not just a name,but a title meaning"beloved of allah,"deity of the muslim faith.
ali retained h** world he**yweight champion title in june of 1965 by again knocking out sonny l**ton,th** time with a stunning right-hand punch to the side of the head.the knock-out blow was thrown with the astounding speed that separated ali from other he**yweights;it had sufficient force to lift l**ton's left foot-upon which most of h** weight was resting-clear off the canvas.
as a muslim and thus,a conscientious objector,muhammad ali refused to even consider going to vietnam in 1966;a tremendous public outcry erupted against him.according to jack olsen in sports illustrated,"the governor of illino** found clay 'd**gusting,' and the governor of maine said clay 'should be held in utter contempt by every patriotic american.' an american legion post in miami asked people to 'join in condemnation of th** unpatriotic,loudmouthed,bombastic individual.' the chicago tribune waged a choleric campaign against holding the next clay fight in chicago.the no**e became a din,the drumbeats of a holy war.tv and radio commentators,little old ladies.bookmakers,and par**h priests,armchair strateg**ts at the pentagon and politicians all over the place joined in a crescendo of get-cassius clamor.
although ali had not been charged or arrested for violating the selective service act-much less convicted-the new york state athletic comm**sion and world boxing association suspended h** boxing license and stripped him of h** he**yweight title in may of 1967,minutes after he officially announced that he would not submit to induction.ali said to sports illustrated contributor edwin shrake,"i'm giving up my title,my wealth,maybe my future.many great men h**e been tested for their religious beliefs.if i pass th** test,i'll come out stronger than ever."eventually ali was sentenced to five years in pr**on,released on appeal,and h** conviction overturned three years later.
in november of 1970 ali fought jerry quarry in atlanta.h** victory was a symbol of release and freedom to the 5,000 people watching the fight;ali had personally survived h** vilification by much of the american public,but he had reclaimed h** professional reputation and prominence.four months later ali had the world as h** audience when he went up against joe frazier in new york.there he fell from invincibility;suddenly frazier reigned as he**yweight champ."man,i hit him with punches that'd bring down the walls of a city,"frazier said to mark kram in sports illustrated.ali responded,"it was like death.closest thing to dyin' that i know of."ali regained h** title as world he**yweight champion in 1974 after defeating george foreman in a bout staged in zaire.ali fought frazier twice once in 1974 and again in 1975.ali won both matches and secured h** title.taking time to reflect on the tumult of h** fif**-year boxing career,ali co-wrote h** autobiography-character**tically titled the greatest-my own story-in 1975.
in 1982 dr.denn** cope,director of the medical ambulatory care center at the university of california,los angeles,began treating ali for pa**nson's syndrome;cope and colleague dr.stanley fahn later theorized in the chicago tribune that ali was suffering,prec**ely,from pugil**tic pa**nson**m,brought on by repetitive trauma to the head-and that only an autopsy could confirm their suspicions.after losing a 1980 title bout to larry holmes,ali had exhibited slugg**hness and was m**diagnosed as h**ing a thyroid condition;he was given a thyroid hormone.when dr.cope made the connection between ali's decreasing motor skills and pa**nson's d**ease,he prescribed sinemet(l-dopa).ali was shortly restored to h** previous level of energy and awareness;as long as he took h** medication regularly,he was able to keep the d**ease in check.in 1988 ali told new york times magazine contributor peter tauber:"i've got pa**nson's syndrome.i'm in no pain.if i was in perfect health-if i had won my last two fights-if i had no problem,people would be afraid of me.now they feel sorry for me.they thought i was superman.now they can say 'he's human,like us.he has problems.'
in 1984 another of ali's medical confidantes,dr.martin d.ecker,ventured in the boston globe that ali should h**e quit boxing long before he finally did-for the second and final time-in 1981 after losing to trevor berbick.h** bout with berbick was h** 61st and final fight.by then ali had been showing signs of neurological damage for over a year.ali's former doctor,dr.ferdie pacheco,told the fighter to quit in 1977 when he first saw signs of ali's reflexes slowing down.seven years later,...