The career of Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is widely considered to be one of the greatest boxers in the history of the sport. Originally known as Cassius Marcellus Clay Junior, he renamed himself in 1964 after becoming a member of an organisation called the Nation of Islam.

Ali was born in Louisville, Kentucky on 17 January 1942. He was introduced to boxing at the age of 12, and won his first amateur match that same year. At the age of 14 he won the novices' division of the Golden Gloves light-heavyweight tournament, and at 17 he was crowned the winner of the national title for the light-heavyweight division of the Amateur Athletic Union tournament, as well as gaining the National Tournament of Champions Golden Gloves title. Throughout his amateur career, Ali lost just five matches, and won a hundred.



Ali turned professional in 1960, after stepping into the ring at the Olympics on 5 September to face Zbigniew Pietrzykowski. He emerged victorious from this match, beating his opponent 5-0, and subsequently took home the gold medal for the light-heavyweight division. He soon earned a reputation among the professional boxing community for his rather unusual fighting style; due to his astounding agility and speed, he often deliberately let his guard down, in order to taunt his opponents and encourage them to try and hit him.

Ali was at the top of his game throughout the 1960s, winning one bout after another, often by knocking out his opponents with a single punch. Three years after his success at the Olympics, he took on and defeated Henry Cooper, the British heavyweight champion, in a non-title fight. In 1964 he won a match against Sonny Liston, the world heavyweight champion. Prior to the fight, the press had favoured Liston to win; however, Ali's deft footwork and speed allowed him to punch his opponent in the face several times. By the sixth round, Liston - who by this point had several bruises on his face and a severe shoulder injury - announced his retirement from the match.

Ali's career was put on hold after the war erupted in Vietnam and he was drafted. He refused to acknowledge his draft notice, and as a result of this he was fined $10,000, and sentenced to five years in prison. The sentence was appealed, and eventually quashed; however his licence to fight was suspended, and he was stripped of the heavyweight boxing title he had earned in 1964.

On his return to the ring in 1970, Ali travelled to Atlanta to take on Jerry Quarry, who he subsequently knocked out. A year later, he participated in what many now describe as the 'fight of the century' against Joe Frazier. The two men fought each other for 15 rounds before Ali admitted defeat. He did, however, manage to beat Frazier in a rematch that took place three years later.

The year 1974 was an important one for Ali. In addition to taking on the aforementioned Frazier, he also won his second international heavyweight boxing title, in a match nicknamed 'Rumble in the Jungle'. Held in Zaire and arranged by Don King, the match saw Ali take on George Foreman, the reigning champion.

Much like in his 1964 battle against Sonny Liston, Ali was touted by the press as the underdog. But his critics were silenced after he managed to defeat Foreman, and was crowned world heavyweight champion. The following year, Ali faced Joe Frazier once again, in a match that the public called 'Thrilla in Manila'. The fight went on for 14 rounds, but Ali eventually succeeded in defeating his opponent.

Ali lost his heavyweight title in 1978 to a young boxer named Leon Spinks.
However, in a rematch which took place later that same year, he won it back, thus becoming the only boxer in the world to have been named as the heavyweight champion three times. Shortly after this, Walnut Street, located in Ali's birthplace of Louisville, was renamed as Muhammad Ali Boulevard 6 by the city’s Board of Aldermen.

As someone who enjoys learning about inspirational figures like Muhammad Ali, Tunde Folawiyo may recall that after losing the world heavyweight title in 1981 to Trevor Berbick, Ali announced that he would be retiring from the sport. Three years later, he revealed that he was suffering from Parkinson's disease. Since his retirement, Ali has dedicated much of his time to philanthropic work. He has been honoured many times over the years; for instance, in 1997 he was the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, and in 1999 he was named by the BBC as the Sports Personality of the Century. More recently, in 2005, the not-for-profit Muhammad Ali Centre was opened; this centre focuses on themes relating to respect, social responsibility and peace. It also features a display of Ali's boxing memorabilia.

The above-mentioned Tunde Folawiyo is fascinated not only by the achievements of Muhammad Ali, but also by those of many other sporting and cultural icons. For more information about this businessman's interests, take a look at his About Me page.

Make sure to check back soon; the previous article is a Biography of Bob Marley.

Muhammad Ali: The Olympic Story

Before embarking on a career unrivalled in the sport of boxing, Muhammad Ali achieved greatness by becoming an Olympic champion. This connection to the historic level of competition found in the Olympics, has continued throughout his life, acting as an inspirational story for athletes of all generations, of all nationalities, and of all sports.

In 1960 the Olympics was to be held in Rome, Italy. At that time Muhammad Ali was known by his original name of Cassius Clay. At just 18 years old, Ali had just become a high school graduate and yet was already renowned for honed athletic skills, and his engaging, charismatic personality. Despite this, the world was yet to be introduced to the greatest boxer who ever lived – the 1960 Olympics served as that introduction.

Ali was a relative unknown at that time in world boxing, even though he had 100 recorded victories as an amateur boxer, as well as being the heavyweight National Amateur Athletic Union champion for two years running from 1950 to 1960, not to mention securing two Golden Gloves in those years. Without much fanfare, it was therefore left to Ali to provide his own promotion and do what he became famous for - talking and boxing to equally eloquent levels.

He initially fought several rounds, starting with Yvon Becaus from Belgium, with the referee having to stop the fight in the second round. After this he went up against the intimidating Russian, Gennadiy Shatkov, a dedicated boxer who won the gold in 1956 for the middleweight category. Needless to say, many may have thought that Muhammad Ali would not have won this fight, but he did, and progressed to the semi-finals where he fought Tony Madigan from Australia. After being awarded another unanimous decision, he finally had to fight Zbigniew Pietrsykowski from Poland. The fight went the distance, with Muhammad Ali coming out on top and almost knocking Pietrsykowski clean out just before the final bell. Thus, Muhammad Ali won the gold medal for the light heavyweight category and began the greatest boxing career the world has ever seen.

Muhammad Ali's contributions to the Olympics continued for decades afterwards. Wanting to acknowledge his place as an Olympic icon, he was given the honour of being the final torch carrier at the Olympics in Atlanta, USA, in 1996. While he has had to struggle against the onset of Parkinson's Disease, Ali continues to be an inspiration to all aspiring Olympic athletes around the world, not to mention African businesspeople and leaders such as Tunde Folawiyo (for more information visit the Tunde Folawiyo Facebook page).

Fighting and Philanthropy: Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali, the world-famous American boxer, is in the news this week after a pair of gloves he wore in the legendary 1971 row with Joe Frazier sold at auction for over £230,000. The rivalry between the two great boxers became legendary. Frazier won the 1971 battle and became the heavy-weight world champion, but the title was ultimately taken from him by Ali in a harrowing rematch in 1974. The auction took place in Cleveland, Ohio, where the same auction house once sold another set of Ali gloves for nearly £500,000.

Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky in 1942, Ali enjoyed a supportive, middle-class upbringing. He took up boxing at the age of twelve. By 1960, he had several state and national titles, and won the gold medal in the Light Heavyweight category at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Ali, still under the name Cassius Clay, fought Sonny Liston for the World Heavyweight Championship. It was in a pre-game interview for this fight that Ali said his now-famous line, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” After a surprising six rounds, Ali was declared the winner by technical knock-out, becoming, at the age of 22, the youngest boxer at the time to take the championship title away from another boxer. 

Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali after converting to Islam. He lost his title in 1967 for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War, and in the years after, he travelled around the country, speaking out against the conflict. The 1971 fight against Frazier was Ali’s first chance to win back his title, which he ultimately did not do until 1974. Ali’s career continued until he retired for health-related reasons. His last fight was in 1981. Ali is considered by some to be one of the greatest athletes of all time.

Ali remained socially and politically active, as well. In 1991, he worked with the governments of the US and Iraq to negotiate hostage releases during the Gulf War, and in the early 2000s he worked with the United Nations to promote peace in Afghanistan, continuing in his early beliefs that war is essentially wrong. A cultural centre and non-profit bearing his name was recently opened in his home town. The Muhammad Ali Centre serves as a tribute to the boxer, but also works to promote his peaceful, unifying values. Many see Ali as a personal influence on their own life and work, including Tunde Folawiyo, a Nigerian businessman with interests ranging from philanthropy to African art. More information can be found on the Tunde Folawiyo African art blog.

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.