Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali punches challenger Joe Frazier in the head during their 1975 heavyweight title fight in Manila, Philippines.

Ali, Muhammad or Clay, Cassius (1942- ), African American heavyweight prizefighter, antiwar protester, and international ambassador of goodwill. As the dominant heavyweight boxer of the 1960s and 1970s, Muhammad Ali won an Olympic gold medal, captured the professional world heavyweight championship on three separate occasions, and successfully defended his title 19 times. Muhammad Ali's extroverted, colorful style, both in and out of the ring, heralded a new mode of media-conscious athletic celebrity. Through his bold assertions of black pride, his conversion to the Muslim faith, and his outspoken opposition to the Vietnam War (1959-1975), Muhammad Ali became a highly controversial figure during the turbulent 1960s. At the height of his fame, Muhammad Ali was described as "the most recognizable human being on earth."

Muhammad Ali's 1981 retirement from boxing did not diminish his status as an international public figure. Despite suffering from Parkinson's disease, Muhammad Ali has remained on the world stage as an adherent of the Nation of Islam, an advocate of children and war victims, and a proponent of international understanding.

Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky. He was the son of Marcellus Clay, a sign painter, and Odessa (Grady) Clay, a domestic worker. He was named for white Kentucky abolitionist Cassius M. Clay. Muhammad Ali began boxing at the age of 12 under the tutelage of white Louisville policeman Joe Martin. Muhammad Ali became enraged one day after discovering that his bicycle was missing, and he resolved to "whup whoever stole it." Martin, aware of the problem of undisciplined adolescent belligerence in Muhammad Ali's tough neighborhood, convinced the boy that such verbal boasts were best complemented by a mastery of the principles of boxing.

An indifferent academic student who graduated 376th in his high school class of 391, Muhammad Ali passionately devoted himself to amateur boxing, appearing in 108 bouts between 1955 and 1960. During this time, he won six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two national Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championships, two National Golden Gloves crowns, and the gold medal in the light heavyweight division in the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome, Italy.

Returning triumphantly to Louisville, Muhammad Ali was bitterly disappointed that he was not welcomed as an American hero in his segregated hometown. According to one story, Muhammad Ali threw the Olympic medal into the Ohio River after being refused service at a Louisville diner while wearing the medal around his neck.