Does anyone know a lot about Muhammad Ali?

Question

I have to do a big project on Muhammad Ali for History Day, I do not even know where to begin. Someone please tell me some good places to get primary resources and good through information. I'll be sure to pick the best answer!!!

Answer 1

Muhammad Ali (b.January 17, 1942) was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky, and is a retired American boxer. In 1999, Ali was crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated. He is widely regarded to be the greatest heavyweight champion of all time and is one of the most heavily promoted athletes ever.

Named Junior after his father, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr., who was named for the 19th century abolitionist and politician Cassius Clay. Ali later changed his name after joining the Nation of Islam and subsequently converted to orthodox Sunni Islam in 1975.

Early boxing career
In 1954, Ali, who was then known as Cassius Clay, parked his bicycle in front of a Louisville department store. When he learned that his bicycle had been stolen, he approached a police officer named Joe Elsby Martin, Sr. and told him that he wanted to "whoop" the thief. Martin, the coach of the Louisville city boxing program, told Ali that if he intended to "whoop" someone, he should learn to fight. The next day, Ali appeared at Louisville's Columbia Gym and began boxing lessons with Martin. Ali credits Martin with teaching him how to "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." As an Olympic coach, Martin accompanied Ali to the Rome Olympics in 1960 where he won a Gold Medal in the light heavyweight division.

Standing at 6' 3" (1.93 m), Ali had a highly unorthodox style for a heavyweight boxer. He carried his hands at his sides, rather than the normal boxing style of carrying the hands high to defend the face. Instead, he relied on his ability to avoid a punch. In Louisville, October 29, 1960, Cassius Clay won his first professional fight. He won a six-round decision over Tunney Hunsaker, who was the police chief of Fayetteville, West Virginia. From 1960 to 1963, the young fighter amassed a record of 19-0, with 15 knockouts. He defeated such boxers as Tony Esperti, Jim Robinson (who weighed 160 pounds when he fought Clay), Donnie Fleeman (who had broken ribs going into the fight but fought Clay anyway), Alonzo Johnson, George Logan, Willi Besmanoff, Lamar Clark (who had won his previous 40 bouts by knockout), Doug Jones, and Henry Cooper. Among Clay's more impressive victories were versus Sonny Banks (who knocked him down during the bout), Alejandro Lavorante, and the aged Archie Moore (a boxing legend who had fought over 200 previous fights, and who had been Clay's trainer prior to Angelo Dundee).

Clay then won a disputed 10 round decision over Doug Jones, who, despite being lighter than Clay, staggered Clay as soon as the fight started with a right hand, and beat Clay to the punch in the later rounds of the fight where Clay seemed to tire. The fight was named "Fight of the Year" for 1963. Clay's next fight was against Britain's Henry Cooper, who knocked Clay down with a left hook near the end of the fourth round. However, the fight was stopped in the 5th round due to a deep cut on Cooper's face.

Despite these close calls against Doug Jones and Henry Cooper, he became the top contender for Sonny Liston's title. Liston was noted for his aggressiveness (during the early part of his boxing career, Mike Tyson was compared to Liston for this reason). In spite of Clay's impressive record, he was not expected to beat the champ. The fight was to be held February 25, 1964 and during the weigh-in on the previous day, the never-bashful Ali—who frequently taunted Liston during the buildup by dubbing him "the big ugly bear", among other things—declared that he would "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee," and, in summarizing his strategy for avoiding Liston's assaults, said, "Your hands can't hit what your eyes can't see."

Answer 2

I watched Muhammad Ali fight on television many times and thought that he was the VERY BEST!!! He was flamboyant and sure of himself! He took a licking and kept on ticking!! And he had a punch that probably would have killed most normal people! His name was Cacius Clay (sp?) when he started and there was some talk of not letting him fight because he said his religion would not let him fight in Vietnam... it was about this time that he changed his name (I don't know all of the politics surrounding it but I think he got railroaded out of a few fights because of the problems)...

Muhammad Ali is the ONLY fighter that I have ever liked to watch fight. He used to have a saying "Float like a butterfly, Sting like a bee!"...

I heard that most of the money he made as a boxer was misused by his financial manager so he was about broke when he retired...

In real life back in the late 60's and early 70's, Muhammad Ali was a very nice person and he treated people kindly... I'm not sure what he is like today.

In my opinion (but I don't follow boxing).. Muhammad Ali is the Greatest Boxer in all History.

Answer 3

(no longer ordered) a million. Mayweather Vs Antonio Margarito 2. Mayweather Vs. Kosta Tszyu 3. Juan Manuel Marquez Vs. Eric Morales 4. Chris John Vs. incredibly plenty each and every physique 5. Sugar Ray Leonard Vs. Aaron Pryor 6. Roberto Duran Vs. Alexis Arguello 7. Felix Trinidad Vs. Ike Quartey 8. Joe Calzaghe Vs. Sven Ottke 9. Mike Tyson Vs. the two Klitchko 10. those you reported.

Answer 4

Muhammad Ali was born in Louisville, Kentucky, USA on January 17, 1942. He is now 64 years old. His website is...
http://www.ali.com/

but you might like to also read from:
http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/ali01.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali
www.infoplease.com/spot/mali1.html
www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/muhammad_ali.html

Answer 5

google does!