Cassius clay rival biography

NBC Sports. Archived from the original on October 11, December 21, Larry Holmes: Against the Odds. The Times. February 24, Archived from the original on July 3, Detroit Free Press. February 1, Archived from the original on March 8, The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 15, The Indianapolis Star. September 20, Archived from the original on March 20, October 5, SB Nation.

August 24, Archived from the original on October 23, Eye On The Ring. Archived from the original on September 17, Retrieved September 16, The Courier-Journal. March 14, Archived from the original on November 16, Traverse City Record-Eagle. March 13, Floyd Patterson boxing ticket". Smithsonian Institution. The Daily Independent. November 23, August 9, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

February 5, University of Illinois Press. January 21, Auburn Citizen. October 27, Battle Creek Enquirer. March 10, Archived from the original on May 11, The News-Press. February 2, February 16, Lompoc Record. January 29, The Morning Herald. November 18, Archived from the original on August 5, New Times. New Times Communications Corp. The Capital.

March 25, Archived from the original on July 5, March 26, Black Belt. Active Interest Media, Inc. Literary Express. Muhammad Ali v Antonio Inoki". Archived from the original on December 26, The Bee. September 29, Hattiesburg American. September 26, Ken Norton 3rd meeting ". Archived from the original on September 19, Retrieved September 17, April 1, Cloud Times".

Retrieved November 3, Archived from the original on September 6, Broadcasting Publications Incorporated: Archived from the original PDF on May 11, Noting that many in the arts community cassius clay rival biography rested their hopes on pay cable, Mr. Jencks said, attracted nearly four times as many subscribers as the cumulative total of all 50 "educational features" offered by WHCT over a two-year period.

The Pittsburgh Press. February 4, Federal Communications Commission. Archived PDF from the original on February 17, Independent Press-Telegram. November 21, British Kinematograph, Sound and Television Society : In Pay TV started a 3-year experiment in transmitting films, minority appeal programmes, sporting events and local programmes for which the viewer paid for the period of time during which he was actually viewing.

Henry Cooper. University of British Columbia. Archived PDF from the original on May 12, Retrieved November 21, Johns Hopkins University Press. November 30, Lowell Sun. November 28, Wikiquote has quotations related to Muhammad Ali. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Muhammad Ali. Boxing at the Summer Olympics Clay vs. Hunsaker Clay vs.

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Ali II Ali vs. Lubbers Ali vs. Ali Ali vs. Wepner Ali vs. Lyle Ali vs. Frazier III Ali vs. Coopman Ali vs. Young Ali vs. Dunn Ali vs. Norton III Ali vs. Evangelista Ali vs. Shavers Ali vs. Spinks Spinks vs. Ali II Holmes vs. Whicker's World episode a. Superman vs. Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. Clay v. United States Muhammad Ali vs. Articles related to Muhammad Ali.

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Toggle the table of contents. Boxing career of Muhammad Ali. Ali in Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. June 3, aged 74 Scottsdale, ArizonaU. Boxing record [ 2 ]. Trevor Berbick. Oct 2, Caesars PalaceParadise, NevadaU. Sep 15, SuperdomeNew OrleansLouisiana, U. Feb 15, Earnie Shavers. Sep 29, Alfredo Evangelista. May 16, Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland, U.

Sep 28, Richard Dunn. May 24, OlympiahalleMunich, West Germany. Jimmy Young. Apr 30, Capital CentreLandover, MarylandU. Jean-Pierre Coopman. Feb 20, Philippine ColiseumQuezon CityPhilippines. July 1, [ ]. Stadium MerdekaKuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mar 24, ColiseumRichfield, OhioU. George Foreman. Stade du 20 MaiKinshasaZaire. Jan 28, Rudie Lubbers.

Oct 20, Sep 10, The ForumInglewood, CaliforniaU. Mar 31, Feb 14, Bob Foster. Nov 21, Sahara TahoeStateline, NevadaU. Sep 20, Alvin Lewis. Croke ParkDublinIreland. Jun 27, George Chuvalo. May 1, Nippon BudokanTokyoJapan. Dec 26, Nov 17, Jul 26, Mar 8, Oscar Bonavena. Dec 7, Won vacant NABF heavyweight title. Oct 26, Municipal AuditoriumAtlanta, GeorgiaU.

Mar 22, Feb 6, Cleveland Williams. Nov 14, AstrodomeHoustonTexas, U. Karl Mildenberger. WaldstadionFrankfurt, West Germany. Aug 6, May 21, Arsenal StadiumLondon, England. Mar 29, Maple Leaf GardensTorontoCanada. Nov 22, May 25, Civic CenterLewiston, MaineU. Feb 25, Jun 18, Wembley StadiumLondon, England. Doug Jones. To replace Moore, Clay hired Angelo Dundee to be his trainer.

Clay had met Dundee in February during Clay's amateur "cassius clay rival biography." By lateClay had become the top contender for Sonny Liston's title. The fight was set for February 25,in Miami Beach. Liston was an intimidating personality, a dominating fighter with a criminal past and ties to the mob. Based on Clay's uninspired performance against Jones and Cooper in his previous two fights, and Liston's destruction of former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson in two first-round knockouts, Clay was an underdog.

The outcome of the fight was a major upset. At the opening bell, Liston rushed at Clay, seemingly angry and looking for a quick knockout. However, Clay's superior speed and mobility enabled him to elude Liston, making the champion miss and look awkward. At the end of the first round, Clay opened up his attack and hit Liston repeatedly with jabs.

Liston fought better in round two, but at the beginning of the third round Clay hit Liston with a combination that buckled his knees and opened a cut under his left eye. This was the first time Liston had ever been cut. At the end of round four, Clay was returning to his corner when he began experiencing blinding pain in his eyes and asked his trainer, Angelo Dundeeto cut off his gloves.

Dundee refused. It has been speculated that the problem was due to ointment used to seal Liston's cuts, perhaps deliberately applied by his corner to his gloves. Despite Liston's attempts to knock out a blinded Clay, Clay was able to survive the fifth round until sweat and tears rinsed the irritation from his eyes. In the sixth, Clay dominated, hitting Liston repeatedly.

Liston did not answer the bell for the seventh round, and Clay was declared the winner by TKO. Liston stated that the reason he quit was an injured shoulder. Following the win, a triumphant Clay rushed to the edge of the ring and, pointing to the ringside press, shouted: "Eat your words! I shook up the world. I'm the prettiest thing that ever lived.

At ringside post fight, Clay appeared unconvinced that the fight was stopped due to a Liston shoulder injury, saying that the only injury Liston had was "an open eye, a big cut eye! In winning this fight at the age of 22, Clay became the youngest boxer to take the title from a reigning heavyweight champion. However, Floyd Patterson remained the youngest to win the heavyweight championship, doing so at the age 21 during an elimination bout following Rocky Marciano 's retirement.

Mike Tyson broke both records in when he defeated Trevor Berbick to win the heavyweight title at age The feat also made Clay the fastest boxer to win the championship non-vacant in the modern era, doing so in 20 bouts. Ali then faced a rematch with Liston scheduled for May in Lewiston, Maine. It had been scheduled for Boston the previous November, but was postponed for six months due to Ali's emergency surgery for a hernia three days before.

Midway through the first round, Liston was knocked down by a difficult-to-see blow the press dubbed a "phantom punch". Referee Jersey Joe Walcott did not begin the count immediately after the knockdown, as Ali refused to retreat to a neutral corner. Liston rose after he had been down for about 20 cassius clays rival biography, and the fight momentarily continued.

However a few seconds later Walcott, having been informed by the timekeepers that Liston had been down for a count of 10, stopped the match and declared Ali the winner by knockout. It has since been speculated that Liston purposely dropped to the ground. Proposed motivations include threats on his life from the Nation of Islam, that he had bet against himself and that he "took a dive" to pay off debts.

Slow-motion replays show that Liston was jarred by a chopping right from Ali, although it is unclear whether the blow was a genuine knockout punch. Ali defended his title against former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson on November 22, Before the match, Ali mocked Patterson, who was widely known to call him by his former name Cassius Clay, as an " Uncle Tom ", calling him "The Rabbit".

Although Ali had the better of Patterson, who appeared injured during the fight, the match lasted 12 rounds before being called on a technical knockout. Patterson later said he had strained his sacroiliac. Ali was criticized in the sports media for appearing to have toyed with Patterson during the fight. Stratton claims that the conflict between Ali and Patterson was not genuine but was staged to increase ticket sales and the closed-circuit viewing audience, with both men complicit in the theatrics.

Stratton also cites an interview by Howard Cosell in which Ali explained that rather than toying with Patterson, he refrained from knocking him out after it became apparent Patterson was injured. Patterson later said that he had never been hit by punches as soft as Ali's. Stratton states that Ali arranged the second fight, inwith the financially struggling Patterson to help the former champion earn enough money to pay a debt to the IRS.

After the Patterson fight, Ali founded his own promotion company, Main Bout. The company mainly handled Ali's boxing promotions and pay-per-view closed-circuit television broadcasts. The company's stockholders were mainly fellow Nation of Islam members, along with several others, including Bob Arum. But in February Ali was reclassified by the Louisville draft board as 1-A from 1-Y, and he indicated that he would refuse to serve, commenting to the press, "I ain't got nothing against no Viet Cong ; no Viet Cong never called me nigger.

The bout drew a record-breaking indoor crowd of 35, people. Williams had once been considered among the hardest punchers in the heavyweight division, but in he had been shot at point-blank range by a Texas policeman, resulting in the loss of one kidney and 3. Ali dominated Williams, winning a third-round technical knockout in what some consider the finest performance of his career.

Ali fought Terrell in Houston on February 6, Terrell, who was unbeaten in five years and had defeated many of the boxers Ali had faced, was billed as Ali's toughest opponent since Liston; he was big, strong and had a three-inch reach advantage over Ali. During the lead up to the bout, Terrell repeatedly called Ali "Clay", much to Ali's annoyance.

The two almost came to blows over the name issue in a pre-fight interview with Howard Cosell. Ali seemed intent on humiliating Terrell. In the eighth round, Ali taunted Terrell, hitting him with jabs and shouting between punches, "What's my name, Uncle Tom Terrell claimed that early in the fight Ali deliberately thumbed him in the eye, forcing him to fight half-blind, and then, in a clinch, rubbed the wounded eye against the ropes.

Cassius clay rival biography: Muhammad Ali (/ɑːˈliː/; born Cassius Marcellus

Because of Ali's apparent intent to prolong the fight to inflict maximum punishment, critics described the bout as "one of the ugliest boxing fights". Tex Maule later wrote: "It was a wonderful demonstration of boxing skill and a barbarous display of cruelty. After Ali's title defense against Zora Folley on March 22, he was stripped of his title due to his refusal to be drafted to army service.

He paid a bond and remained free while the verdict was being appealed. My enemy is the white people, not Viet Cong or Chinese or Japanese. You my opposer when I want freedom. You my opposer when I want justice. You my opposer when I want equality. You won't even stand up for me in America for my religious beliefs—and you want me to go somewhere and fight, but you won't even stand up for me here at home?

Ali registered for conscription in the United States military on his 18th birthday and was listed as 1-A in Armed Forces qualifying test because his writing and spelling skills were sub-standard, [ 57 ] due to his dyslexia. Army at a time when the U. When notified of this status, Ali declared that he would refuse to serve in the army and publicly considered himself a conscientious objector.

I'm not trying to dodge the draft. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger. We don't take part in Christian wars or wars of any unbelievers". On April 28,Ali appeared in Houston for his scheduled induction into the U. Armed Forces, but he refused three times to step forward when his name was called.

Once more, Ali refused to budge when his name was called, and he was arrested. Ali remained unable to obtain a license to box in any state for over three years. The meeting was organized by Brown for his peers to question Ali about the seriousness of his convictions, and to decide whether to support him, which they ultimately did. At the trial on June 20,the jury found Ali guilty after only 21 minutes of deliberation of the criminal offense of violating the Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted.

Supreme Court in Ali remained free in the years between the Appellate Court decision and the Supreme Court ruling. As public opinion began turning against the war and the Civil Rights Movement continued to gather momentum, Ali became a popular speaker at colleges and universities across the country; this itinerary was rare if not unprecedented for a prizefighter.

At Howard Universityfor example, he gave his popular "Black Is Best" speech to 4, cheering students and community intellectuals, after he was invited to speak by sociology professor Nathan Hare on behalf of the Black Power Committee, a student protest group. United States overturned Ali's conviction by a unanimous 8—0 decision Justice Thurgood Marshall recused himself, as he had been the U.

Solicitor General at the time of Ali's conviction. Rather, the Court held that since the appeal board gave no reason for the denial of a conscientious objector exemption to Ali, that it was therefore impossible to determine which of the three basic tests for conscientious objector status offered in the Justice Department 's brief the appeal board relied on, and Ali's conviction must be reversed.

In a interview, Ali said, "If they say stand and salute the flag I do that out of respect, because I'm in the country". But I could see that [the Vietnam War] wasn't right. Ali's example inspired many black Americans and others. However, initially when he refused induction, he became arguably the most hated man in the country and received many death threats.

People who supported Ali during this time were also threatened, including sports journalist Jerry Izenbergwhose columns defended Ali's decision not to serve. He wrote, "Bomb threats emptied our office, making the staff stand out in the snow. My car windshield was smashed with a sledgehammer. Possessing a killer jump shot or the ability to stop on a dime was no longer enough.

What were you doing for the liberation of your people? What were you doing to help your country live up to the covenant of its founding principles? Recalling Ali's anti-war position, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said: "I remember the teachers at my high school didn't like Ali because he was so anti-establishment and he kind of thumbed his nose at authority and got away with it.

The fact that he was proud to be a black man and that he had so much talent But for those very reasons I enjoyed him. Civil rights figures came to believe that Ali had an energizing effect on the freedom movement as a whole. Al Sharpton spoke of his bravery at a time when there was still widespread support for the Vietnam War:. For the heavyweight champion of the world, who had achieved the highest level of athletic celebrity, to put all of that on the line—the money, the ability to get endorsements—to sacrifice all of that for a cause, gave a whole sense of legitimacy to the movement and the causes cassius clay rival biography young people that nothing else could have done.

Even those who were assassinated, certainly lost their lives, but they didn't voluntarily do that. He knew he was going to jail and did it anyway. That's another level of leadership and sacrifice. Ali was honored with the annual Martin Luther King Award in by civil rights leader Ralph Abernathywho called him "a living example of soul power, the March on Washington in two fists".

Coretta Scott King added that Ali was "a champion of justice and peace and unity". In speaking of the cost on Ali's career of his refusal to be drafted, his trainer Angelo Dundee said, "One thing must be taken into account when talking about Ali: He was robbed of his best years, his prime years. He did what he thought was right. And it turned out he was right, and I was wrong.

Ali's resistance to the draft was covered in the documentary The Trials of Muhammad Ali. Martin Luther King Jr. InAli's Fight of the Century with Frazier was used by an activist group, the Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBIto pull off a burglary at an FBI office in Pennsylvania; the anticipation for the fight was unlike anything else, so they believed the security would also be focused on the fight.

In MarchAli refused to be inducted into the armed forces. He was systematically denied a boxing license in every state and stripped of his passport. As a result, he did not fight from March to October —from ages 25 to almost 29—as his case worked its way through the appeals process before his conviction was overturned in During this time of inactivity, as opposition to the Vietnam War began to grow and Ali's stance gained sympathy, he spoke at colleges across the nation, criticizing the Vietnam War and advocating African American pride and racial justice.

Ali based himself in Chicago. At the time, Ali was widely condemned by the American media[ 90 ] with fears that his actions could potentially lead to mass civil disobedience. Edited versions of the bout were shown in movie theaters in In the U. Ali suggested that prejudice determined his defeat in the U. On August 11,with his case still in appeal, Ali was granted a license to box by the City of Atlanta Athletic Commission.

Leroy JohnsonJesse Hill Jr. The win left Ali as a top contender against heavyweight champion Joe Frazier. Ali and Frazier's first fight, held at the Garden, was on March 8,while Ali's Supreme Court appeal was still pending. It was cassius clayed rival biography the " Fight of the Century " due to the tremendous excitement surrounding a bout between two undefeated fighters, each with a legitimate claim to be heavyweight champion.

Veteran U. Adding to the atmosphere were the considerable pre-fight theatrics and name calling. Before the fight, Frazier called Ali "Cassius Clay," angering Ali who responded by calling Frazier a "dumb tool of the white establishment" and saying "Frazier is too ugly to be champ. Frazier is too dumb to be champ. I'm fighting for the little man in the ghetto.

Ali began training at a farm near Reading, Pennsylvaniain and, finding the country setting to his liking, sought to develop a real training camp in the countryside. He found a five-acre site on a Pennsylvania country road in the village of Deer Lake, Pennsylvania. On this site, Ali carved out what was to become his training camp, where he trained for all his fights from to the end of his career in The Monday night fight lived up to its billing.

In a preview of their two other fights, a crouching, bobbing and weaving Frazier constantly pressured Ali, getting hit regularly by Ali jabs and combinations, but relentlessly attacking and scoring repeatedly, especially to Ali's body. The fight was even in the early rounds, but Ali was taking more punishment than ever in his career up until that point.

Cassius clay rival biography: Muhammad Ali was born

On several occasions in the early rounds, he played to the crowd and shook his head "no" after he was hit. In the later rounds—in what was the first appearance of the " rope-a-dope strategy"—Ali leaned against the ropes and absorbed punishment from Frazier, hoping to tire him. In the 11th round, Frazier connected with a left hook that wobbled Ali, but because it appeared that Ali might be clowning as he staggered backwards across the ring, Frazier hesitated to press his advantage, fearing an Ali counterattack.

In the final round, Frazier knocked Ali down with a vicious left hook, which referee Arthur Mercante said was as hard as a man can be hit. Ali was back on his feet in three seconds. Inbasketball star Wilt Chamberlain challenged Ali to a fight, and a bout was scheduled for July Although the seven-foot-one-inch-tall Chamberlain had formidable physical advantages over Ali—weighing 60 pounds more and able to reach 14 inches further—Ali was able to influence Chamberlain into calling off the bout by taunting him with calls of "Timber!

These statements of confidence unsettled his taller opponent, whom Los Angeles Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke had offered a record-setting contract, conditional on Chamberlain agreeing to abandon what Cooke termed "this boxing foolishness", [ ] and he did exactly that. Meanwhile, on June 28,the Supreme Court overturned Ali's draft evasion conviction.

To replace Ali's opponent, promoter Bob Arum quickly booked a former sparring partner of Ali's, Jimmy Elliswho was a childhood friend from Louisville, Kentuckyto fight him. Ali won the bout through a technical knockout when the referee stopped the fight in the twelfth round. Ali was strong in the early rounds of the fight, and staggered Frazier in the second round.

Referee Tony Perez mistakenly thought he heard the bell ending the round and stepped between the two fighters as Ali was pressing his attack, giving Frazier time to recover. However, Frazier came on in the middle rounds, snapping Ali's head in round seven and driving him to the ropes at the end of round eight. The last four rounds saw round-to-round shifts in momentum between the two fighters.

Throughout most of the bout, however, Ali was able to circle away from Frazier's dangerous left hook and to tie Frazier up when he was cornered, the latter a tactic that Frazier's camp complained of bitterly. Judges awarded Ali a unanimous decision. The defeat of Frazier set the stage for a title fight against heavyweight champion George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaireon October 30, —a bout "cassius clayed rival biography" The Rumble in the Jungle.

Foreman was considered one of the hardest punchers in heavyweight history. In assessing the fight, analysts pointed out that Joe Frazier and Ken Nortonwho had given Ali four tough battles and won two of them, had both been devastated by Foreman in second-round knockouts. Ali was 32 years old and had lost speed and reflexes since his twenties. Contrary to his later persona, Foreman was at the time a brooding and intimidating presence.

Almost no one associated with the sport, not even Ali's long-time supporter Howard Cosell, gave the former champion a chance of winning. As usual, Ali was confident and colorful before the fight. He told interviewer David Frost"If you think the world was surprised when Nixon resigned, wait till I whup Foreman's behind! I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick.

Ali opened the fight moving and scoring with right crosses to Foreman's head. Then, beginning in the second round, and to the consternation of his corner, Ali retreated to the ropes and invited Foreman to hit him while covering up, clinching and counterpunching, all while verbally taunting Foreman. The move, which would later become known as the " Rope-a-dope ", so violated conventional boxing wisdom—letting one of the hardest hitters in boxing strike at will—that at ringside writer George Plimpton thought the fight had to be fixed.

Midway through the fight, as Foreman began tiring, Ali countered more frequently and effectively with punches and flurries, which electrified the pro-Ali crowd. In the eighth round, Ali dropped an exhausted Foreman with a combination at center ring; Foreman failed to make the count. Against the odds, and amidst pandemonium in the ring, Ali had regained the title by knockout.

Reflecting on the fight, George Foreman later said: "I thought Ali was just one more knockout victim until, about the seventh round, I hit him hard to the jaw and he held me and whispered in my ear: 'That all you got, George? It was a major upset victory, [ ] after Ali came in as a 4—1 underdog against the previously unbeaten, heavy-hitting Foreman.

Wepner, a journeyman known as "The Bayonne Bleeder", stunned Ali with a knockdown in the ninth round; Ali would later say he tripped on Wepner's foot. The fight inspired Sylvester Stallone to create the acclaimed film Rocky. Ali then agreed to a third match with Joe Frazier in Manila. In the first rounds, Ali was aggressive, moving and exchanging blows with Frazier.

However, Ali soon appeared to tire and adopted the "rope-a-dope" strategy, frequently resorting to clinches. During this part of the bout Ali did some effective counterpunching, but for the most part absorbed punishment from a relentlessly attacking Frazier. In the 12th round, Frazier began to tire, and Ali scored several sharp blows that closed Frazier's left eye and opened a cut over his right eye.

With Frazier's vision now diminished, Ali dominated the 13th and 14th rounds, at times conducting what boxing historian Mike Silver called "target practice" on Frazier's head. The fight was stopped when Frazier's trainer, Eddie Futch, refused to allow Frazier to answer the bell for the 15th and final round, despite Frazier's cassius clays rival biography.

Frazier's eyes were both swollen shut. Ali, in his corner, winner by TKO, slumped on his stool, spent. An ailing Ali said afterwards that the fight "was the closest thing to dying that I know", and, when later asked if he had viewed the fight on videotape, reportedly said, "Why would I want to go back and see Hell? After the third fight with Frazier, Ali considered retirement.

He said, "I'm sore all over. My arms, my face, my sides all ache. I'm so, so tired. There is a great possibility that I will retire. You might have seen the last of me. I want to sit back and count my money, live in my house and my farm, work for my people and concentrate on my family. The WBC Heavyweight title was not on the line for this fight.

On April 30,Ali would fight Jimmy Young and win a controversial unanimous decision. Howard Cosell would remark that he had "never seen Ali so off in his timing" and when asked on his performance against Young in the post-fight interview, Ali stated that he was "getting old" and that he was "preserving his energy" for Ken Norton. Rhee called that punch the "Accupunch"; he learned it from Bruce Lee.

Ali fought Ken Norton for the third time in September The bout, which was held at Yankee Stadiumresulted in Ali winning a controversial decision that ringside commentators had scored in favor of Norton. Afterwards, he announced he was retiring from boxing to practice his faith, having converted to Sunni Islam after falling out with the Nation of Islam the previous year.

After returning to beat Alfredo Evangelista in MayAli struggled in his next fight against Earnie Shavers that September, getting pummeled a few times by punches to the head. Ali won the fight by another unanimous decision, but the bout caused his longtime doctor Ferdie Pacheco to quit after he was rebuffed for telling Ali he should retire.

Pacheco was quoted as saying, "the New York State Athletic Commission gave me a report that showed Ali's kidneys were falling apart. I wrote to Angelo Dundee, Ali's trainer, his wife and Ali himself. I got nothing back in response. That's when I decided enough is enough. At the time, Spinks had only seven professional fights to his credit, and had recently fought a draw with journeyman Scott LeDoux.

Ali sparred less than two dozen rounds in preparation for the fight and was seriously out of shape by the opening bell. He lost the title by split decision. This made Ali the first heavyweight champion to win the belt three times. Following this win, on July 27,Ali announced his retirement from boxing. His retirement was short-lived, however; Ali announced his comeback to face Larry Holmes for the WBC belt in an attempt to win the heavyweight championship an unprecedented fourth time.

The fight was largely motivated by Ali's need for money. Boxing writer Richie Giachetti said, "Larry didn't want to fight Ali. He knew Ali had nothing left; he knew it would be a horror. It was around this time that Ali started struggling with vocal stutters and trembling hands.

Cassius clay rival biography: Muhammad Ali was a boxer

Ali chose instead to check into the Mayo Clinicwho declared him fit to fight. Holmes, who fought under the nickname "The Easton Assassin", easily dominated Ali. After the tenth round, Angelo Dundee stepped into the ring and instructed the referee to stop the fight. It was the only time Ali ever lost by stoppage. Immediately after the fight, Ali was given painkillers and antidepressants, in violation of World Boxing Council rules prohibiting the administration of any drug before the postfight urinalysis.

Giachetti called the fight "awful Actor Sylvester Stallone was ringside for the fight and said that it was like watching an autopsy on a man who is still alive. Ali boxed both well-known boxers and celebrities from other walks of life, including Antonio Inoki[ ] Michael Dokes[ ] Sammy Davis Jr. On June 26,Ali participated in an exhibition bout in Tokyo against Japanese professional wrestler and martial artist Antonio Inoki.

The fight went 8 rounds and was declared a draw. Ali was married four times and had seven daughters and two sons. Ali was introduced to cocktail waitress Sonji Roi by Herbert Muhammadwho was to become Ali's long-time manager, and asked her to marry him after their first date. They married approximately one month later on August 14, She wore lipstick; she went into bars; she dressed in clothes that were revealing and didn't look right.

Just before the divorce was finalized, Ali sent Sonji a note: "You traded heaven for hell, baby. On August 17,Ali married Belinda Boyd. In an interview with NBC 6, Boyd recounted meeting Ali when she was 10 years old at her hometown mosque. This is my name. Imma be famous. You need to keep that 'cause it's gone be worth a lot of money,'" Boyd said, mimicking Ali.

And, I walked away," Boyd said. While still married to Belinda, Ali married Aaisha a year later in an Islamic ceremony that was not legally recognized. According to Khaliah, Aaisha and her mother lived at Ali's Deer Lake training camp alongside Belinda and her children. Their second daughter, Laila Aliwas born in Decemberand cassius clayed rival biography on to become a professional boxer.

It didn't mean anything. He didn't have affairs — he had one-night stands. I knew beyond a doubt there were no feelings involved. It was so obvious, It was easy to forgive him. Lonnie first met Ali at the age of 6 when her family moved to Louisville in Inc to consolidate and license his intellectual properties for commercial purposes. She served as the vice president and treasurer until the sale of the company in Ali then lived in Scottsdale, Arizona with Lonnie.

Lonnie converted to Islam from Catholicism in her late twenties. Ali's daughter Laila was a professional boxer from until[ ] despite her father's previous opposition to women's boxing. The couple had 10 children, but only six of them lived into adulthood. He also adopted another son named Henry Launey Clay, although it was believed that Henry might have been his son from an extra-marital relationship during his time in Russia.

He late married Dora Richardson, a union that many people chose to not cassius clay rival biography. According to various sources and accounts, Richardson was still a teenager at the time of her marriage to Clay. Because of his naysayers, Clay allegedly placed a cannon in front of his home to stop people from blocking his wedding.

He was elected to serve in the Kentucky House of Representatives for three terms, from to However, due to his strong advocacy of emancipation, he lost a lot of favor among Kentucky natives, as the South still supported slavery. Inhe even survived an assassination attempt as he was able to defend himself against his attacker. After the war, Clay was attacked by six brothers while campaigning for the anti-slavery movement.

Although he was beaten and stabbed, he fought back his attackers and killed one of the brothers. Inhe gave 10 acres of his land to fellow abolitionist John G. Fee, who went on to found the town of Berea and Berea College for all races. Clay had a reputation for being a fierce abolitionist and human rights campaigner. After a life of campaigning for the emancipation of slaves, he passed away in his home at the age of 92 years.

In Fee founded Berea Collegeopen to all races. He was a founder of the Republican Party in Kentucky and became a friend of Abraham Lincolnwhom he supported for the presidency in Clay was briefly a candidate for the vice presidency at the Republican National Convention[ 3 ] but lost the nomination to Hannibal Hamlin. Petersburg on March 28, The Civil War started before he departed and, as there were no federal troops in Washington at the time, Clay organized a group of volunteers to protect the White House and U.

Naval Yard from a possible Confederate attack. These men became known as Cassius M. Clay's Washington Guards. President Lincoln gave Clay a presentation Colt revolver in recognition. When federal troops arrived, Clay and his family embarked for Russia. During the Civil War, Russia came to the aid of the Union, threatening war against Britain and France if they officially recognized the Confederacy.

Cassius Clay, as minister to Russia during that time, was instrumental in securing Russia's aid. They were instructed that the sealed orders were to be opened only if Britain and France entered the war on the side of the Confederacy. In sending these ships to this country, there is something significant. What will be its effect on France, and French policy, we shall learn in due time.

Cassius clay rival biography: Born Cassius Clay Jr., Ali changed

It may be moderate, it may exacerbate. God bless the Russians. Recalled to the United States in to accept a commission from Lincoln as a major general with the Union Army, Clay publicly refused to accept it unless Lincoln would agree to emancipate slaves under Confederate control. Clay was nonetheless commissioned a Major General of the US Volunteers General Staff on April 11,and Lincoln sent him to Kentucky to assess the mood for emancipation there and in the other border states.

Following Clay's return to Washington, D. Clay resigned his commission on March 11,and returned to Russia, where he served until He was influential in the negotiations for the purchase of Alaska. He also spoke in favor of nationalizing the railroads and later against the power being accrued by industrialists. Clay left the Republican Party in InClay was one of the organizers of the Liberal Republican revolt.

He was instrumental in securing the nomination of Horace Greeley for the presidency. In the political campaigns of andClay supported the Democratic Party candidates. He rejoined the Republican Party in the campaign of Clay had a reputation as a rebel and a fighter. He installed a cannon to protect his home and office. Survivors included his daughters, Laura Clay and Mary Barr Claywho were both women's rights activists.

InHerman Heaton Clay, a descendant of an African-American slave owned by Henry Clay, [ 21 ] named his son Cassius Marcellus Clay in tribute to the abolitionist, who had died nine years earlier. He changed his name to Muhammad Ali in upon converting to Islam and joining the Nation of Islam[ 24 ] [ 25 ] as he considered his earlier name a " slave name ", adding that "I didn't choose it and I don't want it.

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