Biography of Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (birth name Cassius Marcellus Clay) is an American professional boxer who performed in the heavyweight category, one of the most famous boxers in the history of world boxing.
Champion of the XVII Summer Olympic Games in 1960 in the light heavyweight category, the absolute world champion in the heavyweight (1964-1966, 1974-1978), was recognized as the “Athlete of the Century” according to several sports publications.
The greatest, so he called himself Ali, and it’s not just words. It is difficult to meet a person who has not heard the name Muhammad Ali and his motto “Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee”.
There are people whom one can’t but admire, people who can’t be broken, who are convinced that everything is possible no matter what, those who believe in themselves even at the moment when everyone around has refused to bet on them, that was exactly Ali.
Now, looking at the recordings of the battles of Muhammad Ali, you can’t stop admiring his technique, moving around the ring, avoiding rivals, but at the beginning of the path of the great athlete, this was completely unusual for the audience. Hands lowered, flickering by them when striking, some half-jumping in the ring, all this caused bewilderment, why waste energy? But the boxer could afford it. “To become Mohammed Ali, you need to train like Muhammad Ali,” said his trainer, Angelo Dundee.
Few relied on Ali before the fight with world champion Sonny Liston, as it turned out in vain. Liston couldn’t even reach Ali, speed and moving around the ring, constantly passing jabs, excellent equipment and level of training made Muhammad Ali the youngest world champion in boxing history at that time.
Ali was not just a boxer, he became a political figure, he can be safely called a brand recognized throughout the world. Having joined the organization “The Nation of Islam”, he changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali and later performed under him.
At the peak of his career, he refused to serve in the U.S. Army, after which he was stripped of all titles and suspended from participation in battles for more than three years. Upon returning to the sport, he regained the world title in 1974 in a battle against the invincible George Foreman, who was 7 years younger than Ali.
No one believed in the success of Muhammad Ali, even his close circle. It is hard to imagine what was happening in the head of the great boxer, it was a moment of truth and when Foreman fell into the ring, Ali again led the audience into a state of euphoria and endless admiration.
And yet he is the greatest of all time.
