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Muhammad Ali is a professional boxer and one of the greatest sporting figures of the 20th century. He was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky. Interestingly, it was Joe Martin a police officer from Louisville station, who influenced young Clay to become a boxer. Clay had received a brand-new bike and when he released someone had stolen it, he became very furious. He told Martin that he wanted to whip the thief and Martin suggested him to learn boxing first. Throughout his early stages of boxing, Martin was his coach, and in the last few years of amateur career, Cutman Chuck Bodak started training the young champ.
Having the advantage of being tall, at 6 feet 3 inches, he was impressive in the ring and was very well known for his powerful jab and smooth swift footwork. What made him different from other boxers were the values and ethics that he always believed in through his journey. After winning a gold medal at the heavyweight division and officially starting his professional career in 1960, he converted to Islam at the age of eighteen and later changed his name to Muhammad Ali. Being one of the most recognized figures for a long period, he surprised the world every time he stepped into the ring. As a teenager, Ali won the National Amateur Athletic Union and Golden Gloves championships.
In the 1960 summer Olympic held in Rome Italy, Ali competed in the light heavyweight division, where he won all his matches and was awarded gold medal. He shocked the world, when he knocked out the heavyweight champion Sonny Liston in the first round, at the age 22. After that match, there was no stepping back for this powerful fighter as he knocked out most of his opponents to win the titles. One of the greatest fights in Ali’s career was Rumble in the Jungle against the undefeated heavyweight champion George Foreman in 1974. He knocks out Foreman in the eighth round and become the heavyweight champion for the second time. Ali fought his last match on December 11, 1981, against Trevor Berbick In Nassau, Bahamas, losing a ten-round decision. Throughout his career in boxing, Ali won 56 matches with 5 losses where 37 of the wins came from knockouts.
On April 28, 1967, Ali appeared in Houston because of his induction in the U.S. Army. He repeatedly didn’t step forward as his name was called, even though the officer had warned him and told him that he was committing an offence which could get jailed for five years and fined $10,000. Due to his refusal of not joining the U.S. Army and fighting in the Vietnam war, he was arrested but stayed out of prison because his case was appealed. The Vietnam war was a cold war fought between the communist government of North Vietnam and its ally Russia and South Vietnam which were more democratic and allied with the United States. The state of New York suspended his license and banned him from boxing for three years. He was a heavyweight champion at the time and his title was taken away from him as well.
His refusal for not fighting in the war cost him 3 years of his career, which should’ve been his best years. United States was completely divided into two nations, some would support that the Americans should be contributing in the Vietnam war, whereas others like Ali was against it. As his appeal of conviction made its way through the court, Ali realised that there were many people who supported his decision. Since he was a very good at talking, he began to speak at colleges and give public speech across the nation, talking about justice, religion, and race.
In his refusal speech, Ali clearly explained why he refused to serve in the army because of his faith and belief. He stated that if he went to the war, it would mean that I have to go against my faith and belief, and I cannot do that. Ali stated: “There is one hell of a difference between fighting in the ring and going to war in Vietnam.” Another reason that he stated for not going to the war was that the Vietnamese people had never done anything wrong to him, so why would he go and fight against them, when my own people from my own country have been racist to me and called me wrong names.
After so much hard work and dedication, in 1970 things started to favour him. On August 1970, while his case was still in appeal, Ali was granted a boxing license. The next month, Judge Walter Roe Mansfield from District court of United States stated that New York’s athletic commission had violated Ali’s rights for banning him for 3 years. There were many more boxers, who were convicted of crime but still had license to fight, why can’t Ali have this right the Judge noted.
The supreme court overturned his conviction and the New York State Boxing Commission was forced to reinstate Ali’s boxing license.
After returning to the sport, Ali was very successful in overcoming the obstacles that he had been facing for quite some time. On October,1970 Ali made his first return in the ring after 3 and half years. This fight was against Jerry Quarry and Ali finished the fight in the third round. He fought Oscar Bonavena two months later and beat him in the 15th round. These two fights set Ali for the big fight called the ‘Fight of the Century’ on March 8, 1971 against the undefeated Joe Frazier. However, Ali lost this match in the last round by unanimous decision and this was his first professional defeat. He fought 31 fights after he got his boxing license again and lost only five of those matches.
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