Muhammad Ali - the world's most talented boxer | Tunde Folawiyo

Muhammad Ali is a former boxer whom virtually all sports fans, including Tunde Folawiyo, are probably familiar with. Born in Kentucky in 1942, he was originally named Cassius Marcellus Clay. He became interested in boxing at the age of 12; by the time he turned 18, he had participated in 108 amateur bouts, and won two National AAU titles, two National Golden Gloves championships and six Kentucky Golden Glove championships.

He then entered the 1960 Olympics in Rome and fought the polish boxer Zbigniew Pietrzyjowski in the light-heavyweight division. He emerged victorious, and won the gold medal. As he had achieved all that there was to achieve in amateur boxing, he decided to turn pro.

He performed exceptionally well, winning one match after another; however, it was his fight against Sonny Liston in 1964 which led to his rise to fame. Prior to this match, Liston was the world heavyweight champion, and most people were sceptical regarding Clay's chances of beating him. However, his extraordinarily fast footwork and speedy fists allowed him to inflict a number of cuts and bruises on Liston's face, and deliver a powerful punch to the shoulder, which led to Liston retiring after the sixth round. Following this match, Clay converted to Islam and announced that his new name was Muhammad Ali.

Three years later, he received a draft notice, which required him to fight in the Vietnam War. Ali refused, on the grounds that his religion expressly forbade the killing of others. After a long court battle, he was fined, sentenced, stripped of his heavyweight title and banned from boxing for the next three years. As a fan of sports, Tunde Folawiyo might recall that Ali's comeback match took place in 1971 in Madison Square Garden, against Jerry Quarry. After his prolonged break from training, Ali was not at his best, and he ended up losing the match.

Over the course of the next 14 years, he fought many more times, but it was his 1974 fight against George Foreman, and his battle against Joe Fraizer the following year, which cemented Ali's reputation as the greatest boxer of his time. The former was entitled 'Rumble in the Jungle', and took place in Zaire. Ali unleashed a new technique known as 'rope-a-dope', which enabled him to absorb the punches delivered by his opponent, and perform quick, jabbing counterattacks that eventually knocked Foreman out during the eighth round.

His match against Fraizer - entitled 'Thrilla in Manila' was held in 1975. It was a vicious fight, during which both parties were badly injured. However, after 15 rounds, Fraizer's eyes had swollen shut and his manager refused to let him back in the ring, leading to Ali being crowned the victor. Nine years after this famous match, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's, and retired from boxing.