Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

, Muhammed Ali, Mohammed Ali

original name Cassius (Marcellus) Clay. born 1942, US boxer, who was world heavyweight champion three times (1964--67; 1974--78; 1978)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Ali, Muhammad (b. Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.)

(1942–  ) boxer; born in Louisville, Ky. From 1956–60, as Cassius Clay, he fought as an amateur (winning 100 of 108 matches) before becoming the light-heavyweight gold medalist in the 1960 Olympics. Financed by a group of Louisville businessmen, he turned professional and by 1963 had won his first 19 fights. In 1964 he won the world heavyweight championship with a stunning defeat of Sonny Liston. Immediately after that, Clay announced that he was a Black Muslim and had changed his name to Muhammad Ali. After defending the championship nine times within two years, he was stripped of his title in 1967 when he refused induction into the U.S. Army on religious grounds. His action earned him both respect and anger from different quarters, but he did not box for three and one-half years when in 1971 he lost to Joe Frazier. A few months later the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed his right to object to military service on religious grounds and he regained the title in 1974 by knocking out George Foreman in Zaire, Africa. Ali defended his title ten times before losing to Leon Spinks in 1978. When he defeated Spinks later that same year, he became the first boxer ever to regain the championship twice. Famous for his flamboyant manner, his boasting predictions of which round he'd defeat his opponent, and his doggerel verse ("float like a butterfly, sting like a bee"), he was also recognized as one of the all-time great boxers with his quick jab and footwork. He compiled a career record of 56 wins, five losses, with 37 knockouts, before retiring in 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s he was arguably the best-known individual in the entire world due not only to his controversial career but also to his travels and deliberate reaching out to the Third World. In the 1980s it was revealed that he was suffering from a form of Parkinson's disease, but he made occasional appearances to the acclaim of an admiring public.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.