Muhammad Ali:10 UKNOWN FACTS ABOUT THE LEGEND
On February 25, 1964, the brash 22-year-old boxer Cassius Clay dazed the games world by overcoming ruling heavyweight champion Sonny Liston in Miami Beach, Florida. The 7-1 underdog, who might get to be known as Muhammad Ali, satisfied his guarantee to "buoy like a butterfly, sting like a honey bee." Explore 10 amazing truths around one of the best donning figures of the twentieth century.
1. A red-and-white Schwinn bike dispatched his boxing career.When the 12-year-old Clay's darling bike was stolen in October 1954, he reported the burglary to Louisville, Kentucky, cop Joe Martin and pledged to pulverize the guilty party. Martin, who was likewise a boxing mentor, recommended that the annoyed adolescent first figure out how to battle, and he took Clay under his wing. After six weeks, Clay won his first session in a split choice.
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2. He was initially named out of appreciation for a white abolitionist.
The contender, similar to his dad, was named for Cassius Marcellus Clay, a nineteenth century rancher and abolitionist subjection crusader who liberated the 40 slaves he acquired from his dad. The abolitionist, a second cousin of Kentucky Senator Henry Clay, altered an abolitionist subjugation daily paper, ordered troops in the Mexican-American War and served as pastor to Russia under President Abraham Lincoln. In resisting Southern traditions of the time, Clay confronted more than death dangers. He was beaten, cut and shot by political rivals however lived to the age of 92.
3. Before getting to be known as Muhammad Ali, he changed his name to Cassius X.
The morning in the wake of crushing Liston, the new heavyweight champion affirmed reports that he had turned into an individual from the Nation of Islam. With Malcolm X next to him, the champ told columnists that he had denied his surname, which he called his "slave name," and would be known as "Cassius X" until Nation of Islam pioneer Elijah Muhammad gave him a blessed name. That name, Muhammad Ali, was offered on March 6, 1964.
READ ABOUT MOHAMMAD ALI ON THE NEW AMAZON KINDLE..ORDER NOW
The contender, similar to his dad, was named for Cassius Marcellus Clay, a nineteenth century rancher and abolitionist subjection crusader who liberated the 40 slaves he acquired from his dad. The abolitionist, a second cousin of Kentucky Senator Henry Clay, altered an abolitionist subjugation daily paper, ordered troops in the Mexican-American War and served as pastor to Russia under President Abraham Lincoln. In resisting Southern traditions of the time, Clay confronted more than death dangers. He was beaten, cut and shot by political rivals however lived to the age of 92.
3. Before getting to be known as Muhammad Ali, he changed his name to Cassius X.
The morning in the wake of crushing Liston, the new heavyweight champion affirmed reports that he had turned into an individual from the Nation of Islam. With Malcolm X next to him, the champ told columnists that he had denied his surname, which he called his "slave name," and would be known as "Cassius X" until Nation of Islam pioneer Elijah Muhammad gave him a blessed name. That name, Muhammad Ali, was offered on March 6, 1964.
READ ABOUT MOHAMMAD ALI ON THE NEW AMAZON KINDLE..ORDER NOW
4. Ali was banned from boxing for three years.
As the Vietnam War raged in 1967, Ali refused to serve in the U.S. military for religious reasons. The heavyweight champion was arrested, and the New York State Athletic Commission immediately suspended his boxing license and stripped him of his title. Ali was convicted of draft evasion, sentenced to the maximum of five years in prison and fined $10,000, although he remained free while the conviction was appealed. In 1970 the New York State Supreme Court ordered his boxing license reinstated, and he returned to the ring by knocking out Jerry Quarry in October 1970. The following year, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Ali’s conviction in a unanimous decision.
5. Ali starred in a Broadway musical.
During his 43-month forced exile from the ring, Ali took to the stage in the title role of the musical “Buck White.” The production opened inside New York’s George Abbott Theatre on December 2, 1969, but Ali’s stage career would be a brief one. “Buck White” closed four nights later after just seven performances. In spite of the limited run, Ali, who played a militant black lecturer, received decent reviews. “He sings with a pleasant slightly impersonal voice, acts without embarrassment and moves with innate dignity,” wrote a New York Times reviewer. “He does himself proud.”
During his 43-month forced exile from the ring, Ali took to the stage in the title role of the musical “Buck White.” The production opened inside New York’s George Abbott Theatre on December 2, 1969, but Ali’s stage career would be a brief one. “Buck White” closed four nights later after just seven performances. In spite of the limited run, Ali, who played a militant black lecturer, received decent reviews. “He sings with a pleasant slightly impersonal voice, acts without embarrassment and moves with innate dignity,” wrote a New York Times reviewer. “He does himself proud.”
The loquacious Ali was boxing’s poet laureate, composing verses in which he taunted opponents and praised himself. His iambic pentameter was so popular that Columbia Records released a 1963 spoken word album called “I Am the Greatest” in which the 21-year-old rising star performed his poetry, backed my musical accompaniment, before an audience. The album also included two songs by the boxer, including a cover of the Ben E. King hit “Stand by Me.”
7. Ali has Irish roots.
Perhaps not surprising given Ali’s gift of gab, but his great-grandfather Abe Grady was an Irishman who emigrated to the United States and settled in Kentucky in the 1860s. There he married a freed slave, and one of their grandchildren was Ali’s mother, Odessa Lee Grady Clay. In 2009, Ali visited his great-grandfather’s ancestral hometown of Ennis, Ireland, and met fellow members of the O’Grady clan.
8. He fought one of his most famous bouts at 4 a.m.
In 1974, a 32-year-old Ali earned a title shot against undefeated 25-year-old champion George Foreman. Seeking to generate positive publicity for his country, Zaire’s dictatorial president Mobutu Sese Seko paid each fighter $5 million to stage the fight in his capital city of Kinshasa. In order for American audiences to watch the fight live in prime time, the bout began in the early morning hours before the sun dawned on Africa. In what was dubbed the “Rumble in the Jungle,” Ali won in an eight-round knockout to regain the heavyweight title that had been stripped from him seven years prior.
In 1974, a 32-year-old Ali earned a title shot against undefeated 25-year-old champion George Foreman. Seeking to generate positive publicity for his country, Zaire’s dictatorial president Mobutu Sese Seko paid each fighter $5 million to stage the fight in his capital city of Kinshasa. In order for American audiences to watch the fight live in prime time, the bout began in the early morning hours before the sun dawned on Africa. In what was dubbed the “Rumble in the Jungle,” Ali won in an eight-round knockout to regain the heavyweight title that had been stripped from him seven years prior.
9. His Olympic gold medal may be submerged on a river bottom.
After graduating high school, the 18-year-old fighter traveled to Rome and won the light heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics. Ali wrote in his 1975 autobiography that after returning to Louisville, he threw his gold medal off a bridge and into the Ohio River to protest the racism that he still encountered in his hometown. The account has been disputed, however, and it is believed that Ali lost the medal instead. During the 1996 Summer Olympics, at which he lit the cauldron in the Opening Ceremonies, Ali received a replacement gold medal.
After graduating high school, the 18-year-old fighter traveled to Rome and won the light heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics. Ali wrote in his 1975 autobiography that after returning to Louisville, he threw his gold medal off a bridge and into the Ohio River to protest the racism that he still encountered in his hometown. The account has been disputed, however, and it is believed that Ali lost the medal instead. During the 1996 Summer Olympics, at which he lit the cauldron in the Opening Ceremonies, Ali received a replacement gold medal.
10. The gloves he wore to defeat Liston earned him more money than the victory itself.
Almost 50 years to the day after Ali captured the heavyweight championship for the first time, an anonymous buyer purchased the gloves he wore to defeat Liston in the seventh-round technical knockout for $836,000. Ali only earned $630,000 for the victory itself.
Almost 50 years to the day after Ali captured the heavyweight championship for the first time, an anonymous buyer purchased the gloves he wore to defeat Liston in the seventh-round technical knockout for $836,000. Ali only earned $630,000 for the victory itself.
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