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Essay on Muhammad Ali: The Man, the Myth, and the Legend

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Muhammad Ali: The Man, the Myth, and the Legend Muhammad Ali is one of the most decorated athletes in American history. For decades he dominated the boxing world going against any and every opposition that came before him. His stamina and charisma has yet to be matched by any athlete since him. The Vietnam War drove many Americans into the vicious battle. Many served faithfully but Muhammad Ali refused to serve his country in that way. His career was threatened and he was on the verge of being named one of the great villains of American history simply because he refused to fight in a war that his religion did not believe in and that most Americans would find in bad taste just years later. Muhammad Ali started off as Cassius Clay of…show more content…
Muhammad Ali’s career began after he became the owner of a prized red Schwinn bicycle. Ali spent his first day of ownership riding around with his buddy showing off his new possession. They soon found themselves getting free food from a merchant’s exhibition. After the event was over Ali soon realized that his prized bike had been stolen and confronted an officer at the basement of the local boxing gym (Edmonds 18). The man that he ran into was Joe Martin, a police officer whose actual passion was boxing. He offered to give the young lad boxing lessons so he could “whup” the person who took his bike. Ali initially refused but eventually decided that he would take the lessons after he saw some of the kids Martin had taught on television (Edmonds 18-19). As Ali grew as a man so did his skills in the ring. He danced around opponents and countered their attacks with vicious assaults on their openings (Edmonds 43). He faced many dangerous opponents who tested his will and ability to fight in the ring but none more than Sonny Liston. Liston was one of the few people who actually gave Ali a challenge in a boxing match and some would go far enough to even say that he was his rival, at least for the early part of his career. Muhammad Ali won against Liston in a seven round fight that ended with Liston saying that he could no longer fight the young Ali. As this happened Ali’s
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