Muhammad Ali

 

Muhammad Ali was one of the most electric characters of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Unlike most boxers, who are from the underclass, Muhammad Ali had a middle-class background. Actually, his origins were black Southern middle class, which, according to writer Toni Morrison, “is not white middleclass at all.” Ali was born in 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, with the birth name of Cassius Clay. After winning the heavyweight title from Sonny Liston in 1964, he took on the name of Muhammad Ali—becoming a Muslim. As a toddler, Ali was a fast taker and the center of attention at all family gatherings. His father was a sign painter and part-time artist. The Clay family was troubled by his father’s drinking, bad temper, and infidelity. Years later, the famous boxer occasionally mentioned his dad’s roving eyes for women. Joking, Ali would talk about it: “My daddy is a playboy.” Nevertheless, it was apparent that his son had psychological scars, as a result of his father’s behavior.

Ali took up boxing when someone stole his bicycle—a new $60 red-and-white Schwinn. He began at the age of twelve in Martin’s gym on the south side of Louisville. Well-coordinated, quick on his feet, and fast with his hands, Muhammad Ali soon developed his well-known style of boxing, which entailed lightning jabs, circling the ring continually, and leaning back to avoid his opponent’s knockout punches. Ali had not only hand quickness and punching power, but the ability to see everything happening in the ring, as well as the capacity to think clearly when he was in trouble in a bout. Never panicking when caught by a hard punch, Ali had an iron chin and a powerful will to win, enabling him to win all but five of sixty-one professional fights. His boxing career stretched over twenty-one years—from 1960 to 1981. Muhammad Ali often taunted his opponents with insults and comments before and during his bouts, aimed at disrupting their concentration in the ring.

In 1964, challenger Muhammad Ali fought heavyweight champion Sonny Liston, a bruising puncher who was a seven-to-one favorite. Liston had soundly defeated the former champion, Floyd Patterson, in two first-round knockouts. Ali appeared to be very confident before the fight, as he repeatedly teased Liston with barbs like “Ugly bear”—in contrast to his unmarred good looks. The fight was a stunning upset, as Ali evaded Liston’s wild punches and repeatedly peppered him with sharp jabs and lightning combinations. Except for one round when the young challenger appeared to be blinded with a chemical in his eyes, Muhammad Ali completely dominated the hulking Sonny Liston. After taking a pounding in the sixth round, the bruised and battered Liston threw in the towel, citing a torn shoulder muscle.

After becoming heavyweight champion at age twenty-two, Muhammad Ali defended his belt eight times in the next four years. He easily defeated an array of challengers, including Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, George Chuvalo, Henry Cooper, Brian London, Cleveland Williams, Ernie Terrell, and Zora Foley. In March 1967, Ali refused to be inducted into the armed forces, stating that he had no argument with North Vietnam and stating bluntly that “no Viet Cong ever called me nigger.” Consequently, Muhammad Ali lost his boxing license in every state and was stripped of his heavyweight title. Ali did not fight for three and a half years—covering the prime years of his boxing career from the age of twenty-five to nearly twenty-nine.

In 1970, a federal court decision forced the New York State Boxing Commission to grant Ali a license to box. Public opinion had changed toward the former heavyweight champion, as opposition to the Vietnam War increased and Ali’s status as a spokesman for Afro-Americans grew. In his comeback, Muhammad Ali fought Jerry Quarry and Oscar Bonavena in tune-up bouts. Then he met the undefeated Joe Frazier in the “Fight of the Century.” The match was an action-filled contest, with Ali absorbing many hard shots from the hard-hitting Frazier. The fight was close until the fifteenth round, when Frazier knocked Ali down with a vicious left hook. Ali’s iron chin withstood the punch, and he was back on his feet within a few seconds. Nevertheless, Ali lost the fight by a unanimous decision—his first defeat ever. Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fought twice more in brutal, hard-fought contests, with Ali winning by close margins.

In 1975, Muhammad Ali fought a new champion, George Foreman, in Zaire, where Ali was favored by the Africans. The local people cheered Ali wherever he traveled, yelling “Ali bomaye” (Ali kill him). Sensing that Foreman tended to run out of gas in his matches, Ali employed the “rope-a-dope” strategy, in which he leaned against the ropes, allowing Foreman to pummel him. In the eighth round, Ali turned on Foreman with a flurry of punches that sent the latter to the canvas for the count. It was a monumental upset that rivaled Ali’s victory over Sonny Liston eleven years earlier.

Muhammad Ali continued to box well into the 1970s, fighting an assortment of journeyman boxers to earn paychecks. His opponents included Chuck Wepner, Joe Bugner, Jimmy Young, and even a Japanese martial artist—Antonio Inoki. Fighting the powerful Ken Norton in 1973, Ali lost a split decision and suffered a broken jaw. As time progressed, Ali’s boxing skills declined, and he absorbed more blows to the head from younger opponents than he had ever experienced in his career. In 1980, Ali was soundly defeated by Larry Holmes, getting struck in the head repeatedly. Medical experts assert that the one-sided Holmes fight probably contributed to Ali’s Parkinson’s syndrome—common to long-term boxers.

In retirement, Muhammad Ali was a well-known celebrity, adored by millions of fans all over the globe. He portrayed himself as the “people’s champion” and as a symbol of oppressed minorities in America and in the developing world. Ali sought a psychological edge over his opponents, using trash talk to disrupt their concentration. The King of Trash Talk employed this tactic against Sonny Liston back in 1964 by describing him as a “big ugly bear who even smells like a bear” and vowing to “donate Liston to the zoo after I beat him.” Ali’s unique swift-footed, rapid punching style was epitomized by his famous quote: “I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.” But Muhammad Ali’s most revealing quote was “I am an ordinary man who worked hard to develop the talent I was given. I believed in myself and I believe in the goodness of others.”