Muhammad Ali was one of the world’s greatest professional boxers. He is considered to be the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. In 1999, Sports Illustrated named him the Sportsman of the Century, while the BBC named him the Sport Personality of the Century. 

Who was Muhammad Ali?

Before he was known as Muhammad Ali, the heavyweight champion was born Cassisus Marcellus Clay on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. He was named after his father, who in turn had named himself after the 18 century Republican and abolitionist Cassisus Marcellus Clay. 

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Ali picked up boxing first around the age of 12 after being discovered by his to-be boxing coach Joe E. Martin. The young Ali was fuming over a thief that had stolen his bike. He made his amateur boxing debut in 1954. Ali recorded a total of 100 wins and five losses in his amateur career. He won gold in the light heavyweight category in the 1960 Rome Olympic Games. 

Clay went on to fight Sonny Liston in 1963 and beat him to claim the world heavyweight champion title. In 1965, he defended against former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson. 

Vietnam War

Despite registering himself for conscription into the United States military at the age of 18, Ali was not classified as 1-A (unrestricted military service). Instead, he was classified as 1-Y (service only in times of emergency). This put the boxer at odds with the US government as he was now able to be considered to be drafted for the Vietnam War. He declared himself a conscientious objector. Such was his objection to the Vietnam War that he was placed under a surveillance by the NSA and the FBI, who tapped his communications. Because of his refusal to serve in the military from 1966 onwards, every single state refused him a boxing license and stripped him of his passport. 

Ali retired in 1981, having taken an estimate of 200,000 hits. In 1984, the boxing legend was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Despite the diagnosis, Ali continued to be active until his health deteriorated on June 2, 2016 and he was hospitalised. While his diagnosis had seemed fair, it worsened and he died on June 3, 2016.