Muhammad Ali Research Paper

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Muhammad Ali is one of the greatest boxers in the history; he won the golden gloves title and an Olympic gold medal, among several other honors. Early in life boxer Muhammad Ali was born with the name of Cassius Marcellus Clay jr, on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. He was named after his grandfather. Ali grew up in the segregated South. He experienced racial prejudice and discrimination firsthand, which likely contributed to his early passion for boxing. At the age of 12, Ali discovered his talent for boxing through an odd twist of fate. His bike was stolen, and Ali told the police officer, Joe Martin, that he wanted to beat up the thief. “Well, you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people,” Martin reportedly…show more content…
In 1960, Ali won a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. He travelled to Rome and Italy to compete. Ali was known for his footwork, giving a powerful jab and non-stop talking. Ali won his first 3 bouts, then defeated Zbigniew Pietrzykowski from Poland to win the gold medal. Ali won and was considered as an American hero. He soon became a professional boxer. In the 1960’s he was considered unstoppable, winning all of his fights and majority of them were knockouts. In 1964, he fought Sonny Liston to become heavy weight champion of the world. Ali would call himself “The Greatest” and he would sing. He was known for boasting about his skills before a fight and for his catchy poets. Ali’s most famous quote was that he could “float like a butterfly, sting like…show more content…
At first he called himself “Cassius X”, eventually settling on the name of Muhammad Ali. Two years later, Ali refused to join the military service after being drafted. Ali said he was practicing his religion and that it religious beliefs prevented him from fighting in the Vietnam war. He was found guilty of refusing to be drafted to the military. The boxing association took away his title and suspended him from the sport for three and a half years. Returning to the ring in 1970, Ali won his first bout. The following year Ali took on Joe Frazier in what has been called the "Fight of the Century". Frazier beat Ali by decision. Ali beat Frazier in 1974 rematch. Another legendary Ali fight took place in 1974. Billed as the "Rumble in the Jungle", Ali fought the heavyweight champion George Foreman. Ali defeated Foreman and became the heavyweight champion of the world again. In 1981, Ali fought his last bout, losing his heavyweight title to Trevor Berbick. Ali announced that he has Parkinson's disease in 1984 and has been involved in raising funds for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Centre in phoenix, Arizona. Ali has also supported the Special Olympics and Make a Wish Foundation among other

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