On this day, legendary boxer,philanthropist and social activist Muhammad Ali was born on January 17th, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Born Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali changed his name when he was influenced by the black Muslim group, The Nation of Islam in 1964 and eventually converted to orthodox Islam during the 1970’s.
From a very early age, Ali showed fierce determination and perseverance especially since he grew up in the highly segregated South where he experienced both racial discrimination and prejudice. He first discovered his talent for boxing at age 12, when his bike got stolen and told police officer, Joe Martin, that he wanted beat up the thief. The officer responded with great wisdom and said; “Well, you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people.”
Ali took this advice to heart and soon began learning how to spar with Martin who also trained young boxers at a local gym, which eventually led to the beginning of his boxing career and Ali welcomed success after success. In his first amateur bout in 1954, he won the fight by a split decision and went on to bag both the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions and the Amateur Athletic Union’s national title for the light heavyweight division.
His career just went uphill from that point on when Ali became an Olympic gold medalist in 1960 and went onto become world heavyweight boxing champion in 1964.
However, things changed when Muhammad Ali refused to serve in the Vietnam war in April 1967, on the grounds that he was a practicing Muslim whose religious beliefs prevented him from fighting. The self-proclaimed pacifist was then found guilty of violating Selective Service laws and almost immediately stripped of his world title and boxing license by the U.S Department of Justice.
Ali became an Olympic gold medalist in 1960 and the world heavyweight boxing champion in 1964. At 6′ 3″, Ali was a hard contender to ignore in the ring, but he quickly became well known for his lightning speed and fancy footwork which led to the creation of the phrase used to define his fighting style: “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”. Following his suspension Ali missed more than three prime years of his athletic career but eventually reclaimed the heavyweight title two more times during the 1970’s, when he defeated famed opponents Joe Frazier and George Foreman and this also led to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning his conviction.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, throughout the course of his career and right up to the time of his death in 2016, Muhammad Ali’s net worth was estimated at $80 million and had a career record of 56 wins, five losses and 37 knockouts before his retirement from boxing in 1981 at the age of 39.
In his retirement, regarded as one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century, Ali devoted much of his time to philanthropy. He supported the Special Olympics, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and in 1998, he was chosen to be a United Nations Messenger of Peace because of his work in developing nations.
Muhammad Ali was diagnosed with Parkinsons in 1984 and after many battles in the operation theater, the boxing legend passed away on June 3, 2016, at the age of 76 in Phoenix, Arizona after being hospitalized for what was reportedly a respiratory issue.
In a 1972 interview with David Frost, when asked, “What would you like people to think about you when you’re gone?”
Ali answered: “I’d like for them to say: He took a few cups of love. He took one tablespoon of patience. One tablespoon, teaspoon of generosity. One pint of kindness. He took one quart of laughter. One pinch of concern. And then he mixed willingness with happiness. He added lots of faith. And he stirred it up well. Then he spread it over a span of a lifetime. And he served it to each and every deserving person he met.”
