Muhammad ali biography facts

He appealed his conviction, and inthe New York State Supreme Court ordered his boxing license to be reinstated. Muhammad Ali was known to compose verses with which he would taunt his opponents in the boxing ring. He preferred iambic pentameter. Inhe recorded a spoken word album called I Am the Greatest. With each victory, Ali gained popularity and further solidified his reputation as heavyweight champion.

Across his 56 victories, he delivered 37 knockouts. After his license was reinstated, Ali worked his way back to the heavyweight championship. On 8 Marchhe entered the ring against the undefeated Joe Frazier. Frazier would defend his championship title, beating Ali in the final round. To ensure the fight would be viewed by an American audience, it took place at am.

Ali won in 8 rounds and regained his heavyweight title after losing it 7 years prior. He employed a new strategy against Foreman, leaning on the ropes to absorb the blows from Foreman until he was tired out. He was born in the American South of and the segregation era, taking his original name, Cassius Clay, from his father, a sign and mural painter.

Muhammad ali biography facts: Muhammad Ali was a three-time heavyweight

His mother, Odessa Clay, was a housemaid. The skinny year-old sought out local police officer Joe Martin to report his red bicycle as stolen in his home town of Louisville, Kentucky. Ali said he would whip the thief who had pinched his Christmas gift. Martin — who also ran a boxing gym — said Ali had better learn how to fight to come good on his threat.

Six years later, he won a gold medal in the pound division at the Olympic Games in Rome and launched his professional career. A title fight against Sonny Liston won him fame in Ali was an underdog who became world heavyweight champion by pounding his rival to defeat in six rounds — a big upset in sports history. On March 31, Ali suffers his second defeat, fighting 10 rounds with a broken jaw before losing a round decision to Ken Norton.

Muhammad ali biography facts: Muhammad Ali was an American

World mourns death of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. On Jan. He wins a round decision. Ali lounges on the ropes, letting the champ punch himself into exhaustion, and scores an eighth-round knockout as the crowd cheers, "Ali boma ye! Elijah Muhammad dies Feb. His son Wallace takes over the Nation of Islam, preaching a less strident message than his father's.

Eventually Ali will declare, "Wallace taught us the true meaning of the Koran. He showed us that color doesn't matter. But Ali scores regularly, too, and Frazier's eyelids become so swollen he is practically blind. His trainer, Eddie Futch, refuses to let him answer the bell for the 15th round. Ali is only slightly more able-bodied at the end: "It was," he says, "the closest thing to death that I could feel.

It will eventually become his primary home. In January, Ali divorces Belinda who by now had changed her name to Khalilah. In June, Ali marries model Veronica Porche. One of their two children, Laila, eventually becomes a professional boxer. On Feb. Ali will declare it the most disappointing moment of his career. Before a crowd of 64, in the New Orleans Superdome on Aug.

Louisville changes the name of Walnut Street to Muhammad Ali Boulevard, over some businesses' objections about the expense of changing addresses on company stationery. Obama: What Muhammad Ali meant to me. Ali, 38, comes out of retirement to face champion Larry Holmes on Oct. Holmes scores a technical knockout in the 11th round. It is the first time in Ali's 60 professional bouts that he fails to go the distance.

Ali's Parkinson's syndrome is made public. The symptoms include muscle tremors and slowed, slurred speech. He was also convicted for refusing induction into the army and sentenced to five years in prison. Over the course of those years in exile, Ali fought to appeal his conviction.

Muhammad ali biography facts: Ali was the first fighter to

He stayed in the public spotlight and supported himself by giving speeches primarily at rallies on college campuses that opposed the Vietnam War. InAli was allowed to fight again, and in late the Supreme Court reversed his conviction. InAli was finally able to get a boxing license. With the help of a State Senator, he was granted a license to box in Georgia because it was the only state in America without a boxing commission.

In Octoberhe returned to stop Jerry Quarry on a cut after three rounds. After a tough 14 rounds, Ali stopped Bonavena in the 15th, paving the way for a title fight against Joe Frazier. It featured two skilled, undefeated fighters, both of whom had reasonable claims to the heavyweight crown. The fight lived up to the hype, and Frazier punctuated his victory by flooring Ali with a hard left hook in the 15th and final round and won on points.

Frank Sinatra — unable to acquire a ringside seat — took photos of the match for Life Magazine. Legendary boxing announcer Don Dunphy and actor and boxing aficionado Burt Lancaster called the action for the broadcast, which reached millions of people. Frazier eventually won the fight and retained the title with a unanimous decision, dealing Ali his first professional loss.

Inafter a string of victories over the top Heavyweight opposition in a campaign to force a rematch with Frazier, Ali split two bouts with Ken Norton in the bout that Ali lost to Norton, Ali suffered a broken jaw. InAli gained a match with champion George Foreman. The fight took place in Zaire the Congo — Ali wanted the fight to be there to help give an economic boost to this part of Africa.

The pre-match hype was as great as ever. Against the odds, Ali won the rematch in the eighth round. Ali had adopted a strategy of wearing Foreman down though absorbing punches on the ropes — a strategy later termed — rope a dope.