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Lewis Njoroge

Mrs. Holan

English III

May 5, 2017

Muhammad Ali

Boxer philanthropist and social activist Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay

Jr, on january 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky. Ali had a long and illustrious career, and is

probably the greatest boxer of all time. In total, he fought in 61 bouts and 548 rounds. As for his

in ring performance, he was rarely challenged. In fact, the only boxers to ever challenge him

were Eddie Futch and Joe Frazier. He is also arguably the most celebrated athlete. Ali was also

known for his stance on the Vietnam war and his longtime battle with Parkinsons disease.

Ali had it rough growing up and that is because of the time period he was raised in. This

was a time when racism and prejudice was a big issue in the south. However, he persevered

through tough times. Muhammad Ali was the oldest of two brothers and the dad, Cassius Clay

Sr, earned a living by painting billboards, while the mom, Odessa Clay, stayed home raising the

kids. Ali got exposed to boxing at an early age, and it all started on that sunny sunday afternoon.

It was then that he got his bike stolen by a robber, which made him so mad that he told police

officer Joe Martin that he was going to beat him up. Then officer Martin suggested that young

Ali learns how to box. As a result, Joe ended up training him for a couple years and taught him

the fundamentals of the game.

Ali debut in the amateur boxing ring on october 29, 1960. This match was won by a six

round decision over Tunney Hunsaker. In this year, Ali won a gold medal in Rome despite only

being eighteen years old. He was such a stud and quickly grew into stardom winning his first 31
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matches. Of course, being six foot three inches, and having a seventy eight inch wingspan gave

him a great advantage over shorter boxers. He overwhelmed other boxers with his quick jabs and

shifty movements. No one could really stop him until he came across Joe Frazier. Ultimately, all

his success and accomplishments caused him to become arrogant. But then again, he had the

right to be. Besides, all his bravado earned him the nicknames, The Louisville Lip, and The

Peoples Champion. Ali also had some great quotes too. For instance, float like a butterfly,

sting like a bee, is his most famous quote and it is known pretty much worldwide.

During his boxing career, he was influenced alot by Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad.

They became his spiritual and political mentors. He even changed his name to Muhammad Ali

and threw away his original name Cassius Clay Jr. Then he decided to convert to Islam and join

their nation. Although, the Nation of Islam had second thoughts on letting him join, they figured

he could be a public figure of their beliefs. However, Malcolm X did not feel the same way as

them. He felt as though Muhammad was not the proper figure to portray their beliefs. He felt like

Ali was too arrogant and cocky. Thus causing Malcolm X to split from the Nation of Islam a

couple weeks after Ali joined.

To sum up, in the boxing ring, Ali has accomplished pretty much everything there is as a

boxer. For example, he is a multiple time light heavyweight champ, three time heavyweight, and

an olympic gold medalist. Outside of the boxing ring, he got awarded the Dr. Martin Luther King

Memorial award and a plethora of other awards also. As well as, inspiring and motivating

millions of people around the world. So to say that Muhammad Ali was accomplished in his life

is an understatement.

Unfortunately, after twenty one years of professional boxing, all the blows to the head

caught up to him. In the year 1984, Muhammad Ali was diagnosed with Parkinsons. This was
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his lifelong battle. On June 3, 2016, Ali suffered a septic shock and was found dead in Scottsdale

Arizona.

In conclusion, Ali was the most celebrated and most talked about athlete. He had to grow

up in a very rough period in time yet he still managed to become a such a big figure sports.

Many would even say that his actions outside the ring spoke louder than his actions in the ring.

Nevertheless, we can all agree that he paved the way for many more athletes to come.

Work Cited

http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/muhammad-ali-2411.php

http://sports.jrank.org/pages/96/Ali-Muhammad-Awards-Accomplishments.html

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/muhammad-ali
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http://www.biography.com/people/muhammad-ali-9181165

https://www.bustle.com/articles/164840-what-was-muhammad-alis-real-name-he-changed-it-for-

a-powerful-reason