He scored a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rome and made his professional boxing debut against Tunney Hunsaker on October 29, , winning the bout in six rounds. On February 25, , he defeated the heavily favored bruiser Sonny Liston in six rounds to become heavyweight champ. He stayed out of prison as his case was appealed and returned to the ring on October 26, , knocking out Jerry Quarry in Atlanta in the third round.
On June 28 of that same year, the U. Supreme Court overturned his conviction for evading the draft. On February 15, , Ali lost the title to Leon Spinks in a round split decision. However, seven months later, on September 15, Ali won it back.
In June , Ali announced he was retiring from boxing. He returned to the ring on October 2, , and fought heavyweight champ Larry Holmes, who knocked him out in the 11th round. So, what crime did Ali commit and what did it cost him? In , Muhammad Ali was called to join the Vietnam draft. He was an undefeated heavyweight champion at the time, so he understandably refused to join the U.
Ali refused to step forward for the draft on April 28, He was arrested that same day. A few months later, Ali was convicted of draft evasion. He was sentenced to five years in prison and banned from boxing for three years. Ali was systematically denied a boxing license in every state and was stripped of his passport. And it happened! In Georgia, of all places, and against a white man. So there are tremendous social implications.
But the focus has to be on Clay. In Atlanta, I have never sensed such electricity, such expectation in the streets. For the downtrodden, they need the high example — that their representatives, the symbol of their own difficulties, will win.
Is that illogical? Quarry was gone in the third round. His hands got soft, so he had to numb them before he got in the ring. Ali developed some fat, but his muscles were broader as well. With the time off, his legs weakened a bit. So he was no longer quick enough to dodge most punches thrown at him. Very bad in that it led to the physical damage he suffered later in his career; very good in that is eventually got him back the championship.
He discovered he could take a punch. So six weeks after the Quarry fight, Ali returned to New York City in December, and survived a punishing fight against Oscar Bonavena, whom he finally beat in the 15th round.
Ali was about to embark on the second act of a fight career that, given its captivating effect on the world — from the Americas, to Africa to the furthest reaches of Asia — would somehow exceed the first.
Contact us at letters time. What Did Ali Do? Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali stands over Sonny Liston and taunts him to get up during their title fight. By Alex Fitzpatrick. I wanted more than a building to house my memorabilia.
I wanted a place that would inspire people to be the best that they could be at whatever they chose to do, and to encourage them to be respectful of one another.
Actor Will Smith played Ali in the biopic film Ali, released in Ali died on June 3, , in Phoenix, Arizona, after being hospitalized for what was reportedly a respiratory issue.
He was 74 years old. In early , the athlete battled pneumonia and was hospitalized for a severe urinary tract infection. That he grew up during segregation, and that during his early life he was not free to be who he wanted to be.
But he never became embittered enough to quit or to engage in violence. Former President Clinton spoke about how Ali found self-empowerment: "I think he decided, before he could possibly have worked it all out, and before fate and time could work their will on him, he decided he would not ever be disempowered.
He decided that not his race nor his place, the expectations of others, positive, negative or otherwise would strip from him the power to write his own story. You shook up the world in life now you're shaking up the world in death. Now you are free to be with your creator.
We love you so much Daddy. Until we meet again, fly butterfly, fly. Ali's stature as a legend continues to grow even after his death. He is celebrated not only for his remarkable athletic skills but for his willingness to speak his mind and his courage to challenge the status quo.
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American athlete Laila Ali, daughter of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, has established her own reputation as a boxing champion and television personality. Elijah Muhammad rose from poverty to become the charismatic leader of the black nationalist group Nation of Islam, and mentor of Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan.
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