Muhammad Ali

Fast Facts

• Born: 17 January 1942
• Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
• Best Known As: Heavyweight boxing champ called "The Greatest"
• Birth Name: Cassius Marcellus Clay
• Convert: Yes
• Sect: First Nation of Islam, then Sunni in 1975
  
• Converted By: Malcolm X
• Children: 7 Girls and 2 Boys
• Awards:
  
• Gold Medal in Boxing Rome 1960
• Presidential Medal of Freedom given by President Bush Nov 2005
• 1996 Olympics Main Torch Holder
• Sportsman of the Century
  
• Boxing Recod: Total bouts: 61 KO: 37 W: 19 L: 4 KO'd: 1

Ali and Islam

He was a strong advocate of his religion. Many people have seen the famous fight between Ali and George Foreman, and one of the most memorable moments there was after the match, when on every question the media asked, he replied "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messanger of Allah." Also, Citing his religion, he refused to fight in the Vietnam War. Next to Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali is probably the most famous American Muslim of all time.

Biography

Charismatic, outspoken and nicknamed "The Greatest," heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali was the dominant heavyweight fighter of the 1960s and 1970s. A fighter of exceptional speed, cunning and flair, Ali won the world heavyweight title on three separate occasions over a span of 15 years. He was born Cassius Clay, and under that name he won a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. After claiming his first title by defeating Sonny Liston in 1964, Clay joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. Citing his Islamic faith, Ali refused to serve in the U.S. military during the war in Vietnam; his title was revoked and he was sentenced to five years in prison for draft evasion. (The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the conviction in 1971.) He had a long-running rivalry with fellow heavyweight Joe Frazier, whom he fought three times: Ali lost the first match in 1971, but won rematches in 1974 and 1975. Ali also defeated George Foreman in the famous 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" held in Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali retired from boxing in 1981, but in the decades since has remained one of the world's best-known athletes.
In retirement Ali has suffered from Parkinson's Disease, a motor-skills illness which has slowed his movement and left him mostly unable to speak in public... In 1996 he was selected to light the ceremonial flame at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, bringing him again into the public eye... Ali was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990... He won his three titles by defeating Sonny Liston (1964), George Foreman (1974) and Leon Spinks (1978)... Sprinter Wilma Rudolplh won three gold medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics, the same games at which Ali won his boxing gold.

Links

• Muhammad Ali Official Site
  With news, biographical tidbits, and a list of all his fight results
• Ali at 60
  The BBC's terrific 2002 feature, with retrospectives of his famous bouts
• International Boxing Hall of Fame
  Ali's too-short entry, plus bios of other great boxers
• Courier-Journal: The Making of a Champ
  The champ's hometown paper presents a fine historic review of its Ali articles and photos

Quotes

A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.

A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he'll never crow. I have seen the light and I'm crowing.

Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.

Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up.

Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.

Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.

Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.

I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.

I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace.

I figure I'll be champ for about ten years and then I'll let my brother take over - like the Kennedys down in Washington.

I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.

I hated every minute of training, but I said, ''Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.''

I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin' hell, but as long as they ain't free, I ain't free.

I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want.

I run on the road, long before I dance under the lights.

I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world.

I'll be floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.

I'm the most recognized and loved man that ever lived cuz there weren't no satellites when Jesus and Moses were around, so people far away in the villages didn't know about them.

If you even dream of beating me you'd better wake up and apologize.

It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe.

It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.

It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.

It's not bragging if you can back it up.

It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.

Life is a gamble. You can get hurt, but people die in plane crashes, lose their arms and legs in car accidents; people die every day. Same with fighters: some die, some get hurt, some go on. You just don't let yourself believe it will happen to you.

Love is a net that catches hearts like a fish.

My way of joking is to tell the truth. That's the funniest joke in the world.

No one knows what to say in the loser's locker room.

Only the nose knows, Where the nose goes, When the door close.

Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.

Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams - they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do - they all contain truths.

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.

Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer.

The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.

The man who has no imagination has no wings.

There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people.

There are no pleasures in a fight but some of my fights have been a pleasure to win.

To be able to give away riches is mandatory if you wish to possess them. This is the only way that you will be truly rich.

Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.

We have one life; it soon will be past; what we do for God is all that will last.

What keeps me going is goals.

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References:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/muhammad_ali.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali

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Last Updated ( Thursday, 05 October 2006 )