Cassius Clay "The Louisville Lip" Muhammed Ali Haj, by which ever moniker you wish to put him, he put boxing on the world stage.
From the 1960 Olympics where he won gold at light heavy, through to the shambolic money earner against Larry Holmes, Ali was a genius.
Lighter than most his speed of hand and mobility endeared him to a post war America, that was still enamoured with the Kennedy clan.
After the demolition of the "unbeatable" Sonny Liston, Clay reigned supreme. As pointed out elsewhere he discovered his religious peace through Malcolm X and the Muslim faith.
This segregated him from a great deal of the public and after refusing the draft was stripped of his title.
What is little known is that it was his arch rival "Smokin' Joe Frazier, that gave him money to clothe and feed him and his family, so it was understandable that when they met Joe was slightly miffed and beat Ali.
In 1974 when Foreman was champion, he and Ali met in Zaire for the "Rumble in the Jungle" - a small aside here, if you get the chance read Norman Mailer's book "The Fight" which is a journal of that momentous occasion.
After defeating Foreman he then fought Frazier in 1975 in the "Thriller in Manila" which he won when Frazier refused to come out for the last round due to heat exhuastion. If you get a chance to see a video of the fight do, as it is stunning to watch.
He lost the title and then regained it against Leon Spinks in 1977, becoming the first fighter to hold the belt on three separate occasions.
After that and getting older he lost the belt, and finally humiliated by Larry Holmes (an ex-sparring partner) in I think 1983, and wandered in to retirement.
In 1999 the BBC honoured him by bestowing the title of "Sports Personality of the Century" upon him, which probably he deserved.
Ali has yet to be bettered in my opinion as a tactician of the sport (Foreman 74) and warrior (Frazier 75) although up until he began to dominate the sport people could name 10 or 20 worthy heavyweights. Now you are lucky if you can name one.
2007-01-16 00:37:23
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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Muhammed Ali is boxing, he is the reason there is so much money in it today, if Ali flew round the world in a plane and at any time jumped out he would be instantly recognised where ever he landed,
He was in my eyes wrongly stripped from his title for refusing to fight in vietnam, all boxing bodies banned him, thus dispelling the politics and sport myth, He was picked on by the Americans, he said why did the american govt, conscript him when he paid the equilvent tax of 1000 men the year before to the govt.
One contradictive thought i pose is on Ali's view of black supermancy, his gt grandmother was a white irish emigrant that went to america for a better life, while Ali was in Ireland fighting during his ban he never mentioned this,
2007-01-16 08:29:23
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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I like some of the answers here except for the first one. Don Troll guy look up conscientious objector in the dictionary. Ali also brought attention to the fact that millions of people are still being treated as second class citizens and people. He was and is a great symbol for millions of people regardless of race.
Edit: To Charlie Says -----Joe Frazier did not and I repeat did not refuse to answer the 15th round. His trainer Eddie Futch would not let him go out. Frazier couldn't see well and he was beat up but he would have gone back out. He was a great fighter and never a quiter.
2007-01-15 05:04:47
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answer #3
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answered by gman 6
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Ali won the light heavyweight gold at the olympics in 1960. He went on to win the heavyweight championship of the world in 1964 by beating Sonny Liston. He had his title and boxing license stripped in 1968 for refusing to go to Vietnam due to religious beliefs. In 1971 it was overturned and he re-gained the world title by beating George Foreman in 1974. He lost his title to Leon Spinks in 1978 and won it back in the re-match in the same year,becoming the first boxer to win the title 3 times. Many regard him as the greatest fighter of all times, and he very probably was. He had a total of 63 fights with 58 wins. He was also never defeated in his prime.
2007-01-15 01:39:26
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answer #4
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answered by evs 3
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Don't listen to that f.a.g. Don Trollio. Muhammad Ali is viewed by many as the greatest fighter in boxing history. He beat everybody from Floyd Patterson to Joe Frazier. He was the youngest person ever to win a heavyweight championship (before Tyson broke that record), and he revolutionized the sport of boxing.
2007-01-14 23:57:44
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answer #5
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answered by straightouttasd 2
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,Ali is the greatest boxer of all time and sportsman of any kind of sport, his achievements was how he boxed, he boxed so well that was an acheivment in itself and the probably the best achievment in his life, it is wonderfull to see a heavy weight move like he did and throw punches as fast as he could (for an heavy weight) try doing the ali shuffle and throw punches that connect and hurt all at the same time and you will realise how good he was
2007-01-15 06:33:32
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answer #6
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answered by Anonymous
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Probably one of the greatest exponents of pugilism that ever was and it would be extremely difficult to attempt to seek comparison with any past, present or future heavyweight boxing world champion. He was born Cassius Clay in Louisville Kentucky. He was very cleverly articulate and constantly lightheartedly ridiculed his opponents with verse/limericks. Sadly because he refused to take up arms he was stripped of his crown and was much maligned. He showed how classy, skilled and determined he was by eventually regaining his title and went on to fight many more hugely entertaining, courageous and memorable bouts. He is now 65 and suffers from Parkinson's disease but is held in very high esteem worldwide. It is pretty well generally accepted that his skills were unique and that his likes may never grace the boxing ring again
2007-01-15 04:28:08
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answer #7
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answered by bosco 2
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Muhammed Ali is "The Greatest".
2007-01-17 03:58:38
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answer #8
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answered by Iron Man 6
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Ali is a reason I will never be prejudiced, if he walked in the room I would kiss his boots. I love the man!
2007-01-15 07:27:05
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answer #9
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answered by Tallboy 4
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un less this is a wind up mohamed ali ( cassius clay ) was and still is the finest haevy wheight boxer of all time, and sportsmen of the century.
2007-01-15 03:16:11
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answer #10
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answered by Anonymous
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