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Muhammad Ali Research Paper

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Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. better known as Muhammad Ali was born January seven tenth, 1942. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky during a time where segregation was a major factor; one where blacks weren’t able to drink from the same water fountain as whites,use the same restroom or eat within the same restaurants. When Cassius was twelve years old his bike was stolen while reporting what happened to police officer Joe Martin Clay said that he “wanted to beat up whoever had stolen his bike” and it just so happened that Martin trained young boxers at a local gym. Clay won his first amateur bout in 1954 by split decision, By the age of eighteen he won an Olympic medal at the 1960 Olympics. By the time he was eighteen Clay already had achieved …show more content…

Ali is well known for his message of African American pride and resistance to white domination was on the cutting edge of his era. In 1962 Ali joined the radical black civil rights movement. Muhammad Ali was a huge symbol of African American power and pride around the world. He was called an American hero; Ali delivered medical supplies to Cuba(Muhammad), Went to Iraq and secured the release of fifteen American hostages(Muhammad), and he also made goodwill missions to North Korea, and Afghanistan(Independent 23). Ali fought for people suffering injustices all across the globe. Ali’s impact on people was so strong that he even touch the heart of South African President Nelson Mandela (Muhammad). Mandela stated that while he was in prison, Ali was his Hope. Ali was given many honors outside of the boxing ring he was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 by President George Bush. As great as Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods are they never were able to move people's hearts the way Muhammad Ali did.

Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest sporting figures of the twentieth century. Muhammad Ali Started boxing because of an incident that happened when he was twelve. While he was reporting what happened to Officer Joe Martin, Ali vowed to beat up the …show more content…

Ali received his very first World Heavyweight Championship title match on February twenty fifth 1964. At the age of twenty-two Ali became the new World Heavyweight Champion after beating the reigning champion Charles “Sonny” Liston in a grueling six round war . He was the first ever boxer to become the World Heavyweight Champion at such a young age. Ali was also the only boxer to obtain the position of being the World Heavyweight champion three times. The first time he beat “Sonny” Liston in Miami, Florida, the second time he beat George Foreman in the great battle known as “The Rumble In The Jungle” in the summer of 1974 in Zaire, Africa which is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo , and the third and final time Ali beat Leon Spinks on September fifteenth, 1978 in a title rematch which Spinks was whom Ali had previously lost to in February 1978. Ali retired June 27, 1979, but returned to face the current champion Larry Holmes for a fourth attempt at the Heavyweight title but lose due to one of his advisors decisions. Then Ali retired again for a second time, but then made another comeback fight against Trevor Berbick in 1981 but loss by unanimous decision after ten rounds. I feel that Muhammad Ali is the greatest athlete to ever live because

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