BoxRec - User contributions [en]

Muhammad Ali

2013-07-14T22:20:54Z

Muhammad-ali:

[[File:Ali.muhammad.jpg|left]]
[[file:Ibhof-logo.jpg|thumb|right|Class of 1990 Modern Category Hall of Fame bio:[http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/modern/ali.html click]]]
[[File:WBHF Logo.jpg|right|thumb|200px|World Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee]]
<boxer>000180</boxer>
'''Trainer:''' [[Angelo Dundee]] 
'''Manager:''' [[Herbert Muhammad]] 
'''[[:Category:Muhammad Ali Gallery|Muhammad Ali Gallery]]'''
 
 
== Amateur Achievements ==
[[File:Ali-Shatov.jpg|thumb|300px|<center>Outpointing Gennadi Shatov in the 178-pound quarterfinals of the 1960 Olympics</center>]]
[[File:Ali-Pietrzykowski.jpg|thumb|300px|<center>Outpointing Zbigniew Pietrzykowski in the 178-pound final of the 1960 Olympics</center>]]
[[File:AliOlympics2667570.jpg|thumb|300px|<center>The 178-pound medalists of the 1960 Olympics</center>]]
[[File:Ali82177358.jpg|thumb|300px|<center>With fellow U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist [[Wilbert McClure]] & [[Eddie Crook|Eddie Crook Jr.]] </center>]]
*There have been various amateur records accredited to Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali. 100-5, 127-5, 134-7, 137-7, and 99-8 are among the claims.
*Six-time Kentucky State [[Golden Gloves]] Champion
'''1955''' 
*James Davis L 3
*John Hampton W 3
*John Hampton L 3
'''1957''' 
*Donnie Hall W 3
*Donnie Hall L 3
*Donnie Hall W 3
*[[Jimmy Ellis]] W 3
*Terry Hodge RSCI by 1
*Donnie Hall W 3
*[[Jimmy Ellis]] L 3
*Donnie Hall W 3
'''1958''' 
*Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions Light Heavyweight Quarterfinalist. Results:
**Alex Watt W 3
**Francis Turley W 3
**[[Kent Green]] KO by 2
'''1959''' 
*Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions Light Heavyweight Champion. Results:
**Junie Hall KO 2
**Willie McMilan W 3
**Cliff Murkey W 3
**[[Jeff Davis]] W 3
*Intercity Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight Champion, outpointing [[Tony Madigan]].
*National AAU Light Heavyweight Champion. Results:
**Reginald Brown KO 3
**Art Toombs W 3
**Lindy Lindmoser W 3
**[[Johnny Powell]] W 3
*U.S. Pan American Games Trials Finalist. Results:
**Leroy Boger KO 2
**James Jackson W 3
**[[Amos Johnson]] L 3
'''1960'''
*Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions Heavyweight Champion. Results:
**John Wilson KO 1
**Henry Harris Jr. KO 3
**[[Bill Nielsen]] W 3
**[[Al Jenkins ]] W 3
**Jimmy Jones W 3
*Intercity Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion, stopping [[Gary Jawish]] in three rounds.
*National AAU Light Heavyweight Champion. Results:
**Johnny Monahue W 3
**Joe Reynolds W 3
**Ray Whetstone KO 2
**[[Billy Joiner]] W 3
**[[Jeff Davis]] KO 2
*[[Percy Price]] L 3
*U.S. Olympic Trials Light Heavyweight Champion. Results:
**Henry Hooper KO 3
**[[Fred Lewis]] W 3
**Allen Hudson KO 3
*[[Olympics|Olympic]] Light Heavyweight Gold Medalist in Rome, Italy. Results:
**[[Yvon Becaus]] (Belgium) RSC 2
**[[Gennadi Schatkov]] (USSR) W 3 (5-0)
**[[Tony Madigan]] (Australia) W 3 (5-0)
**[[Zbigniew Pietrzykowski]] (Poland) W 3 (5-0)

{{start box}}
{{succession box | title=[[United States Amateur Light Heavyweight Champions|National AAU]] Light Heavyweight Champion | before=[[Sylvester Banks]]| after= [[Bob Christopherson]]| years=1959-1960}}

{{succession box |
before= [[Kent Green]] |
title= [[Chicago Golden Gloves|Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions]] Light Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1959 |
after= [[Jeff Davis]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[James Hargett]] |
title= [[Intercity Golden Gloves|Intercity Golden Gloves]] Light Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1959 |
after= [[Jeff Davis]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Jimmy Jones (of Chicago, IL)|Jimmy Jones]] |
title= [[Chicago Golden Gloves|Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions]] Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1960 |
after= [[Al Jenkins]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Sylvester Banks]] |
title= [[Intercity Golden Gloves|Intercity Golden Gloves]] Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1960 |
after= [[Ray Patterson]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Jim Boyd]] |
title= [[Olympic Games Medalists| Olympic Gold Medalist]] Light Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1960 |
after= [[Cosimo Pinto]]
}}
{{end box}}

== Professional Achievements ==
*The first and only three-time lineal [[World Heavyweight Champion]].
*The first World Heavyweight Champion to come back from retirement and regain the title.
*Won twenty-two World Heavyweight Championship fights. Ali made a total of nineteen successful title defenses, nine during his first reign and ten during his second reign.

==Acting Career==
*Ali has appeared in a number of movies and television shows. IMDb credits: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000738/]

== Awards and Recognition ==
[[File:SI4126.jpg|thumb|200px|<center>1974 [[Sports Illustrated|SI]] "Sportsman of the Year"</center>]]
*Named [[Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year|''The Ring'' "Fighter of the Year"]] for 1963, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1978.
*Named the [[Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year|Boxing Writers Association of America "Fighter of the Year"]] for 1965, 1974 and 1975.
*Named ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' "Sportsman of the Year" for 1974.
*Named [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']] [[:File:80Mar.jpg|"Fighter of the Decade"]] for the 1970s.
*Inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1983.
*Received the [[Boxing Writers Association of America]] [[James J. Walker Memorial Award]] for 1984.
*Inducted into the [[World Boxing Hall of Fame]] in 1986.
*Inducted into the [[Ring Magazine's Boxing Hall of Fame|''The Ring'' Boxing Hall of Fame]] in 1987.
*Inducted into the [[International Boxing Hall of Fame]] in 1990.
*Named "Athlete of the Century" by ''GQ'' magazine in 1998.
*Named "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC in 1999.
*Named "Sportsman of the 20th Century" by ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' in 1999.
*Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2005.
*Inducted into the [[Florida Boxing Hall of Fame]] in 2010.

== Notes ==
*Ali is the older brother of [[Rahman Ali]], the father of female world champion [[Laila Ali]], and the uncle of [[Ibn Ali]].
*When Ali was 12-years-old, he and a friend went to the Columbia Auditorium to partake in the free hot dogs and popcorn available for visitors of the Louisville Home Show. When the boys were done eating, they went back to get their bicycles only to discover that Ali's had been stolen. Furious, Ali went to the basement of the Columbia Auditorium to report the crime to police officer Joe Martin, who was also a boxing coach at the Columbia Gym. When Ali said he wanted to beat up the person who stole his bike, Martin told him that he should probably learn to fight first. A few days later, Ali began boxing training at Martin's gym.
*Ali also trained with Fred Stoner, an African-American trainer working at the Grace Community Center in Louisville. After he became World Heavyweight Champion, Ali said Stoner "taught me all I know."
*Ali graduated from Central High School in Louisville with a D- average, ranking 376 in a class of 391.
*After Ali had a rough flight going to San Francisco for the 1960 Olympic trials, he became afraid to fly. He visited an army surplus store and purchased a parachute before he flew to Rome for the Olympics, and wore the parachute throughout the flight to Rome.
*In his 1975 autobiography, [[Muhammad Ali: The Greatest, My Own Story|''The Greatest, My Own Story'']], Ali claimed that he threw his Olympic gold medal into the Ohio River after he was refused service at a "whites only" restaurant shortly after he returned to Louisville from the Olympics in Rome. Some people, including biographers [[Thomas Hauser]] and David Remnick, have concluded that the story is untrue — that Ali misplaced the medal or it was otherwise lost. Ali was given a replacement medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
*Ali was one of four World Heavyweight Champions from Louisville, Kentucky. The other three are [[Marvin Hart]], [[Jimmy Ellis]], and [[Greg Page]].
*Shortly after winning the World Heavyweight Championship from [[Sonny Liston]] on [[Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay (1st meeting)|February 25, 1964]], Ali announced that he was a member of the Nation of Islam and changed his name from Cassius Marcellus Clay to Muhammad Ali. He was given the name by Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. In Arabic, Muhammad means "worthy of all praises" and Ali means "most high."
*On September 14, 1964, Ali was stripped of the [[WBA]] title for signing to fight [[Sonny Liston]] in a rematch. The contract for their first fight included a return clause, which the WBA did not allow.
*Ali's rematch with Sonny Liston was originally scheduled for November 16, 1964 in Boston, Massachusetts, but the fight was postponed after Ali suffered a hernia and had to have surgery.
*Ali's draft status was 1-Y, physically fit but exempt from the draft because he scored lower than the minimum on Army intelligence tests. In 1966, the Army lowered its intelligence requirements and Ali was reclassified as 1-A, which made him eligible for the draft. Ali appealed for an exemption, claiming that he was a conscientious objector based on his religious beliefs. After three appeals were denied, Ali was called for induction on April 28, 1967. He refused to be inducted and was convicted of draft evasion on June 20, 1967. Ali was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $10,000. He was also stripped of his title by the [[WBA]] and [[NYSAC]]. He appealed his conviction all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously in his favor on June 28, 1971.
*While he was appealing his conviction, Ali was free on a $5,000 bond. He tried to get a fight but was unable get a boxing license in any state. On February 3, 1970, Ali announced his retirement. He later changed his mind and said he wanted to fight again.
*With the help of Georgia State Senator Leroy Johnson, Ali was able to get a license to fight [[Jerry Quarry]] in Atlanta, Georgia on [[Muhammad Ali vs. Jerry Quarry (1st meeting)|October 26, 1970]]. Johnson was also involved in the promotion of the fight.
*On September 14, 1970, a federal judge ruled that the New York State Athletic Commission's ban on Ali "constituted an arbitrary and unreasonable departure from the commission's established practice of granting licenses to applicants convicted of crimes or military offenses." Ali was then granted a license to fight [[Oscar Bonavena]] in New York on [[Muhammad Ali vs. Oscar Natalio Bonavena|December 7, 1970]].
*Ali's first fight with [[Joe Frazier]] on [[Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali (1st meeting)|March 8, 1971]] indirectly led to four deaths:
**Two spectators at [[Madison Square Garden]] died of heart attacks during the fight.
**Erio Borghisiani was found dead in front of his television just hours after viewing the fight on paid television in Milan, Italy.
**In Malaysia, Abdul Ghani Bachik was reported to have leaped up from his chair while watching the fight on paid television and shouted, "My God, Cassius Clay has fallen!" He then suffered a fatal heart attack.
*Ali's fight with [[Chuck Wepner]] on [[Muhammad Ali vs. Chuck Wepner|March 24, 1975]] inspired [[Sylvester Stallone]] to write the film [[Rocky (Film)|''Rocky'']].
*Two Ali opponents died from injuries they suffered in the ring: [[Alejandro Lavorante]] died after getting knocked out by John Riggins in 1962, and [[Sonny Banks (Lucien Banks)|Sonny Banks]] died after getting knocked out by [[Leotis Martin]] in 1965.
*Three fighters retired after being knocked out by Ali: [[Donnie Fleeman]], [[LaMar Clark]], and [[Floyd Patterson]].
*Ali was the last fighter to defeat both [[Archie Moore]] and [[George Chuvalo]].
*In September 1984, after completing four days of tests at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's Syndrome.

== Historical Rankings ==
[[File:Ali157078783.jpg|right|thumb|325px|<center>Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) in 1962</center>]]
*A ''[[World Boxing]]'' readers poll ranked Ali as the 5th greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1974.
*[[Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']] ranked Ali as the 9th [[Division-By-Division - The Greatest Fighters of All-Time|greatest heavyweight of all-time]] in the [[:Ring Magazine: March 1975|March 1975]] issue.
*John Durant, author of ''The Heavyweight Champions'', ranked Ali as the 4th greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1976.
*[[Bill Brennan]], former [[WBA]] president, ranked Ali as the greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1978.
*A ''[[Big Book of Boxing]]'' readers poll ranked Ali as the 2nd greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1978.
*Historian [[Gilbert Odd]] ranked Ali as the greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1985.
*Historian [[Bert Sugar]] ranked Ali as the 3rd greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1991.
*[[Nigel Collins]], former editor-in-chief of ''The Ring'', ranked Ali as the greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1997.
*[[Herbert Goldman]], former editor-in-chief of ''[[Boxing Illustrated]]'', ranked Ali as the greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1997.
*[[Steve Farhood]], ''[[Showtime]]'' commentator and former editor-in-chief of ''The Ring'', ranked Ali as the greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1997.
*[[Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']] ranked Ali as the [[Division-By-Division - The Greatest Fighters of All-Time|greatest heavyweight of all-time]] in the [[:Ring Magazine: Holiday 1998|1998 Holiday]] issue.
*A five-member panel for the Associated Press ranked Ali as the best heavyweight and second best pound-for-pound fighter of the 20th century in 1999.
*ESPN ranked Ali as the second greatest boxer of all-time in 2007.

== Quotes ==
*"It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am."
*"If you even dream of beating me you’d better wake up and apologize."
*"I’m so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark."
*"Frazier is so ugly that he should donate his face to the Bureau of Wild Life."
*"Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up."
*"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life."
*"The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life."

==Reference Sources==
*[http://www.ali.com/ Official website]
*''[http://www.doghouseboxing.com/Ken/Hissner031810.htm Cassius Clay AKA Muhammad Ali's Amateur Boxing Record in Question?]'' / Ken Hissner (2010)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1659947 Ali, the fighting prophet]'' / Gilbert Odd with a foreword by Henry Cooper (1975, ISBN 0720708451)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2057974 Black is best: the riddle of Cassius Clay]'' / Jack Olsen (1967)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2489745 Cassius Clay: a biography]'' / Jack Olsen (1967)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3019601 Cassius Clay ante el racismo]'' / Jose Laurino (1969)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2494526 Le champion]'' / Robert Gurik (c1977, ISBN 0776100653)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2194423 Facing Ali : the opposition weighs in]'' / Stephen Brunt (2002, ISBN 0676973507)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn331046 The fight]'' / Norman Mailer (1975 - 1st edition, ISBN 0316544167)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2978330 The fight]'' / Norman Mailer (1976, ISBN 0246109505)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn244559 The greatest: my own story]'' / Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham (c1975 - 1st edition, ISBN 0394462688)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1119292 The greatest: my own story]'' / Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham (1976, ISBN 0246109440)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2865330 I'm the greatest: the wit and humour of Muhammad Ali]'' / cartoons by Roy Ullyett and Jon (1975, ISBN 0856321427 and 0856321494 (pbk))
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn94569 King of the world: Muhammad Ali and the rise of an American hero]'' / David Remnick (c1998, ISBN 0375500650)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1218886 Men of destiny: the story of Muhammad Ali, formerly Cassius Clay]'' / John Cottrell (1967)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1333950 Muhammad Ali: his fights in the ring]'' / Robert Walker (1979, ISBN 017005571X)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2786653 Muhammad Ali retrospective]'' / Henry James Korn (1976, ISBN 0909331146)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn314318 Muhammad Ali's greatest fight: Cassius Clay vs. the United States of America]'' / Howard Bingham and Max Wallace (c2000, ISBN 0871319004)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1974435 Redemption song: Muhammad Ali and the spirit of the sixties]'' / Mike Marqusee (1999, ISBN 185984717X)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1015301 Sting like a bee: the Muhammad Ali story]'' (1971, ISBN 0200718401)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1103339 Sting like a bee: the Muhammad Ali story]'' / Jose Torres and Bert Randolph Sugar (2002, ISBN 0074712004)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn310852 Black superman]'' / words and music by Johnny Wakelin (c1974) - ''"A tribute to the black superman Muhammad Ali"''
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3120384 In Zaire]'' / words and music by Johnny Wakelin (c1976)

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sonny Liston]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Ernie Terrell]]|
years=1964 Feb 25 – 1964 Sep 14 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sonny Liston]]|
title=[[WBC Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Joe Frazier]]|
years=1964 Feb 25 – 1970 Feb 3 '''Retired'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sonny Liston]]|
title=[[NYSAC World Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Joe Frazier]]|
years=1964 Feb 25 – 1967 May 9 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Ernie Terrell]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Jimmy Ellis]]|
years=1967 Feb 6 – 1967 May 9 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[George Foreman]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]] [[WBC Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Leon Spinks]]|
years=1974 Oct 30 – 1978 Feb 15
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Leon Spinks]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[John Tate]]|
years=1978 Sep 15 – 1979 Sep 6 '''Retired'''
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Muhammad}}
[[Category:African American Boxers]]
[[Category:Muslim Boxers]]
[[Category:Intercity Golden Gloves Champions]]
[[Category:Chicago Golden Gloves Champions]]
[[Category:United States Amateur Champions]]
[[Category:1960 Olympians]]
[[Category:American Olympians]]
[[Category:Olympic Gold Medalists]]
[[Category:World Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:American World Champions]]
[[Category:The Ring Magazine Champions]]
[[Category:IBHOF Members]]
[[Category:World Boxing Hall of Fame Members]]
[[Category:NABF Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:Ali Family]]
[[Category:Actors]]

Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston (2nd meeting)

2013-02-26T01:40:50Z

Muhammad-ali: /* Quotes */

[[File:Ali vs. Liston 2.jpg|right|350px]]
<fight>19595</fight>
*World Heavyweight Title
*[[:File:Liston-Ali.jpg|Photo #2]], [[:Image:alioverlistonc.jpg|Photo #3]]

Because of the unexpected and controversial ending of the first bout, boxing fans wanted to see a rematch. However, the [[World Boxing Association|WBA]] did not and stripped Ali of their title in September of 1964. The WBA, at that time, did not recognize return title fights.

The return bout was scheduled for November 16, 1964 at The Boston Garden in Massachusetts, but three days before the fight, Ali suffered an incarcerated inguinal hernia. He was rushed to Boston City Hospital and underwent immediate surgery. "It was such a marvelously developed stomach, I hated to slice it up," said one of the attending physicians.

The rematch was rescheduled for May 25, 1965. However, Massachusetts authorities, who had previously sanctioned the fight, now refused to do so because of fears that the promoters were tied to organized crime. The promoters had a hard time finding a new location. They tried Cleveland, but the city wanted nothing to do with it. Finally, the fight found a home in Lewiston, Maine, the state's second largest city. The fight took place at St. Dominic's Hall before a crowd of 2,412, the smallest crowd ever for a world heavyweight championship bout.

Three months before the fight, Malcolm X, a former Nation of Islam minister, was assassinated. Malcolm X had a bitter falling out with The Nation of Islam and many believed they were behind the killing. Leading up to the fight, there were rumors that followers of Malcolm X were coming to Lewiston to kill Ali, the Nation of Islam's most prominent member. As a result, Lewiston's police force was tripled and everybody who entered the arena was searched for weapons.

This proved to be one of the most controversial fights in history. Midway through the first round, Liston threw a left jab and Ali went over it with a fast right, knocking Liston went down. Ali stood over Liston and shouted, "Get up and fight, sucker!" Referee [[Jersey Joe Walcott]], a former world heavyweight champion himself, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. Walcott repeatedly pushed and shoved Ali away from Liston, only to have the champion charge back to ring center. Absorbed in this frustrating effort, Walcott never did start a count. Nor was he able to pick one up from the timekeeper. Liston finally struggled to his feet and Walcott wiped his gloves off.

At that moment, Walcott heard shouts from [[Nat Fleischer]], publisher of [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'' magazine]], who was sitting by the timekeeper. Walcott turned his back on the fighters to listen to Fleischer. Ali then started throwing punches at Liston, who moved his head to avoid the onslaught.

Fleischer, who had no official connection with the match, told Liston that the timekeeper had counted to ten and the fight was over. Walcott then stepped between the fighters and raised Ali's hand in victory.

Numerous fans booed and started yelling, "Fix!" Many did not see the punch land and some of those who did see it land, didn't think it was powerful enough to knock Liston out. Skeptics called the knockout blow "the phantom punch." Ali called it "the anchor punch." He said it was taught to him by comedian and film actor Stepin Fetchit, who learned it from [[Jack Johnson]].

There were some, however, who believed the fight was legitimate. [[Jose Torres]] said, "It was a perfect punch." Jim Murray of ''The Los Angles Times'' wrote that it was "no phantom punch." And Tex Maule of ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote, "The blow had so much force it lifted Liston's left foot, upon which most of his weight was resting, well off the canvas."

Some found it hard to believe that the punch could have floored a man like Liston. [[International Boxing Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] announcer [[Don Dunphy]] said, "Here was a guy who was in prison and the guards use to beat him over the head with clubs and couldn't knock him down." But others contend that he wasn't the same Liston. Dave Anderson of ''The New York Times'' said Liston "looked awful" in his last workout before the fight. Liston's handlers secretly paid sparring partner [[Amos Lincoln]] an extra $100 to take it easy on him. Arthur Daley of ''The New York Times'' wrote that Liston's handlers knew he "didn't have it anymore."

In the wake of the controversial fight, there was an outcry by press and politicians for the abolition of boxing. Bills to ban the sport were planned in several state legislatures.

A promoter in San Antonio apologized to his theater TV customers and, on the basis that they had been defrauded by a "shameful spectacle," donated his take to boys' clubs. The California legislature, in session, received a resolution calling for an investigation by the state attorney general to determine if its closed-circuit viewers had been fraudulently duped out of their money.

For those who believe that Liston took a dive, there are a number of theories as to why, including: (1) The mafia forced Liston to throw the fight as part of a betting coup. (2) Liston bet against himself and took a dive because he owed money to the mafia. (3) Liston was told by members of the Nation of Islam that they would kill him if he won the rematch. (4) Liston was afraid that he would be accidentally shot by followers of Malcolm X as they tried to kill Ali in the ring.

What really happened that day in Lewiston, Maine is still debated to this day.

==Quotes==
*"The punch jarred him. It was a good punch, but I didn't think I hit him so hard he couldn't get up." - Muhammad Ali
*"That guy was crazy. I didn't want anything to do with him. And the Muslims were coming up. Who needed that? So I went down. I wasn't hit." - Sonny Liston's comments to Mark Kram of ''Sports Illustrated''
*"It wasn't that hard a punch, but it partially caught me off balance and when I got knocked down, I got mixed up because the referee never gave me a count. I was listening for a count. That's the first thing you do, but I never heard a count because Clay never went to a neutral corner." - Sonny Liston's comments to Dave Anderson of ''The New York Times''
*"I hit him with a punch that Jack Jhonson used to call The Anchor Punch" - Muhammad Ali

==External Links==
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qhpbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=404NAAAAIBAJ&pg=5919,939783&dq=cassius+clay+ali+sonny+liston+boston+lewiston&hl=en New York Times News Service - May 11, 1965]
*[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1077300/1/index.htm Sports Illustrated - June 7, 1965]
*[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:eXNQD-Y3vxYJ:espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/Liston_Sonny.html+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a ESPN Classic]
*[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:lNys7zVRbK4J:www.eastsideboxing.com/boxing-news/dunn0507.php+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a East Side Boxing]
*[http://www.boxingscene.com/-clay-liston-fights-fake-legitimate--2708 Boxing Scene]
*[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Aftt2qcCjU8J:www.ali.com/interact_polls_vote.php+&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a Official Ali Website]

Sergio Gabriel Martinez

2012-09-16T04:57:58Z

Muhammad-ali: /* Athletic Background Before Boxing */

[[file:martinezbelts.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Sergio Gabriel Martinez]]
[[file:Pavlik martinez005.JPG|thumb|Martinez dethrones [[Kelly Pavlik]]]]
<human>14429</human>
'''Trainers:''' [[Gabriel Sarmiento]], [[Juan Leon Diaz]], [[Pablo Daniel Sarmiento]] 
'''Managers:''' [[Ricardo Sanchez Atocha]], [[Lou DiBella|DiBella Entertainment]]
 

==World Titles==
*[[WBC]] Light Middleweight Champion (2009-10)
*[[WBC]] (2010-11), [[WBO]] (2010) & [[The Ring Magazine]] Middleweight Champion (2010-present)

==Regional Titles==
*[[WBO]] Latino Welterweight
*Argentine (FAB) Welterweight
*[[IBO]] Light Middleweight
*[[WBC]] Latino Super Welterweight

==Awards==
*2010 Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year
*2010 The [[Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year]]
*2010 ESPN Fighter of the Year

==Amateur Highlights==
*Began boxing at the age of 20.
*1997 Argentine National Champion at welterweight
*Participated at the 1997 World Championships in Budapest at light middleweight, Hungary beating [[Jani Rauhala]] and losing to [[Adrian Diaconu]]

==Athletic Background Before Boxing==
*Football (soccer) player
*Professional cyclist

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Vernon Forrest]] Stripped|
title=[[WBC Light Middleweight Champion]]|
after=[[Manny Pacquiao]]|
years=2009 May 21 – 2010 Jun '''Vacated'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Kelly Pavlik]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Champion]]|
after=[[Sebastian Zbik]]|
years=2010 Apr 17 – 2011 Jan '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Kelly Pavlik]]|
title=[[WBO Middleweight Champion]]|
after=[[Dmitry Pirog]]|
years=2010 Apr 17 – 2010 Jun '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Incumbent succession box|
before=[[Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Champion]]|
start=2012 Sep 15
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Sergio Gabriel}}
[[Category:World Light Middleweight Champions]]
[[Category:World Middleweight Champions]]
[[Category:Two Division World Champions]]
[[Category:Argentine World Champions]]
[[Category:Southpaw World Champions]]

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

2012-09-16T04:49:03Z

Muhammad-ali: /* Titles Held */

[[File:jcc.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.]]
<boxer>214371</boxer>
'''Trainer:''' [[Romulo Quirarte]], [[Freddie Roach]] (2010- ) 
'''Manager:''' [[Rodolfo Chavez]] 
'''Promoter:''' [[Top Rank]] 
 

== Biography ==
Julio César Chávez Carrasco was born on February 16th, 1986, to legendary boxing champion [[Julio Cesar Chavez]] and then-wife Amalia Carrasco. At the time, his father had already won fifty professional fights and had three successful defenses of his WBC super featherweight title.
[[file:ChavezJr.jpg|frame|right|thumb|150px]]
Chávez Jr. made his pro boxing debut in September of 2003 against Jonathan Hernandez. He won by a decision, but it was a disappointment not to get the knockout victory. Two months later he made up for it by knocking out Eugene Johnson in the just a minute and a half on the undercard of his father's rematch with Willy Wise. Also on the undercard, younger brother [[Omar Chavez]] made his amateur debut in an exhibition bout.

Julito's next three bouts he also won by decision, but since then he has won all but one by knockout. In May of 2004, he once again scored a first round knockout on the undercard of his father's "Farewell to Mexico" fight against [[Frankie Randall]]. Junior has also appeared three times on the undercards of [[Erik Morales]] fights and has fought on [[Telefutura]]'s ''[[Solo Boxeo]]''.

==Titles Held==
*'''[[World Boxing Council]] Middleweight Title''' (2011- )
*[[WBC]] Silver Middleweight Title (2010-11)
*[[WBC]] Latino Light Middleweight Title (2009)
*[[WBC]] Continental Americas Light Middleweight Title (2008)
*[[WBC]] Youth World Light Middleweight Title (2006)

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sebastian Zbik]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Champion]]|
after=[[Sergio Gabriel Martinez]]|
years=2011 Jun 4 – 2012 Sep 15
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chavez Jr., Julio Cesar}}
[[Category:World Middleweight Champions]]
[[Category:Mexican World Champions]]
[[Category:Chavez Family]]
[[Category:Children of Famous Boxers]]

Sergio Gabriel Martinez

2012-09-16T04:46:22Z

Muhammad-ali: /* Athletic Background Before Boxing */

[[file:martinezbelts.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Sergio Gabriel Martinez]]
[[file:Pavlik martinez005.JPG|thumb|Martinez dethrones [[Kelly Pavlik]]]]
<human>14429</human>
'''Trainers:''' [[Gabriel Sarmiento]], [[Juan Leon Diaz]], [[Pablo Daniel Sarmiento]] 
'''Managers:''' [[Ricardo Sanchez Atocha]], [[Lou DiBella|DiBella Entertainment]]
 

==World Titles==
*[[WBC]] Light Middleweight Champion (2009-10)
*[[WBC]] (2010-11), [[WBO]] (2010) & [[The Ring Magazine]] Middleweight Champion (2010-present)

==Regional Titles==
*[[WBO]] Latino Welterweight
*Argentine (FAB) Welterweight
*[[IBO]] Light Middleweight
*[[WBC]] Latino Super Welterweight

==Awards==
*2010 Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year
*2010 The [[Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year]]
*2010 ESPN Fighter of the Year

==Amateur Highlights==
*Began boxing at the age of 20.
*1997 Argentine National Champion at welterweight
*Participated at the 1997 World Championships in Budapest at light middleweight, Hungary beating [[Jani Rauhala]] and losing to [[Adrian Diaconu]]

==Athletic Background Before Boxing==
*Football (soccer) player
*Professional cyclist

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Vernon Forrest]] Stripped|
title=[[WBC Light Middleweight Champion]]|
after=[[Manny Pacquiao]]|
years=2009 May 21 – 2010 Jun '''Vacated'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Kelly Pavlik]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Champion]]|
after=[[Sebastian Zbik]]|
years=2010 Apr 17 – 2011 Jan '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Kelly Pavlik]]|
title=[[WBO Middleweight Champion]]|
after=[[Dmitry Pirog]]|
years=2010 Apr 17 – 2010 Jun '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.]]|
title=[[WBC Middleweight Champion]]|
years=2012 Sep 15 – Present
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Sergio Gabriel}}
[[Category:World Light Middleweight Champions]]
[[Category:World Middleweight Champions]]
[[Category:Two Division World Champions]]
[[Category:Argentine World Champions]]
[[Category:Southpaw World Champions]]

Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton (1st meeting)

2012-07-17T02:21:41Z

Muhammad-ali:

[[file:Ali-Norton.Program.jpg|175px|right|Program cover]]
<fight>22895</fight>
* '''[[NABF]] Heavyweight Title''' (6th defense of Ali)
*Unofficial AP scorecard - 7-4 Norton
*Unofficial UPI scorecard - 6-4 Ali
[[File:Nor-Ali.jpg|right|thumb|175px]]
[[File:F22895b.jpg|right|thumb|175px]]

==Boxing Factoids==
*Ali was a 5 to 1 favorite in this bout.
*Ali was the No. 1 ranked contender and Norton was ranked No. 6.
*Ali suffered a broken jaw during this bout. There were no knockdowns.
*The gate was $240,792 with a paid attendance of 11,884. Ali received a guaranteed $210,000, while Norton earned $50,000, which was $42,000 more than any of his previous fights.
*The 1998 Holiday Issue of ''The Ring'' ranked Ali # 1 and Norton # 22 in ''"The 50 Greatest Heavyweights of All Time."''
*Ali entered the ring wearing a white robe encrusted with rhinestones and jewels. "People's Champion" was written on the back. It was a gift from Elvis Presley. After losing to Norton, Ali never wore it again.
*Ken Norton discussed in his autobiography (''Going the Distance'') how the book ''Think and Grow Rich'' inspired him during the time he beat Muhammad Ali.
== Newspaper/Magazine Articles ==
*AP news - ''Ali, Norton in TV Bout'', March 31, 1973 [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9HdQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=chEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5393,4005206&hl=en]
*AP news - ''Ali Plans an Annihilation'', March 31, 1973 [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=llhQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wlcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5685,5228663&hl=en]
*AP news - ''Norton Hopes To Advance With Upset Win Over Ali'' [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y-JdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BF8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=816%2C5502145]
*UPI news - ''Ken Norton decisions Ali'' [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gcMlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OPUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2796%2C2011906]
*AP news, April 2, 1973 [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=R89OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-gEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5103%2C2240102]
*The Jim Murray Column, 1973 Los Angeles Times [http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19730807&id=omoQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3YsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5142,814605]
*''The Man Who 'Whupped' Muhammad Ali'', Ebony (magazine) June, 1973 [http://books.google.com/books?id=s9MDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA152&dq=ken%20norton&pg=PA152#v=onepage&q&f=true]

== Quotes ==

*"Imagine you have your jaw broken and have to fight ten more rounds" (Ali postfight)

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Muhammad Ali vs. Bob Foster|Ali vs. Foster]]|
title=[[NABF Heavyweight Title Fights|NABF Heavyweight Title Fight]] # 10|
after=[[Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton (2nd meeting)|Ali vs. Norton II]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton (1st meeting)

2012-07-17T02:19:58Z

Muhammad-ali:

[[file:Ali-Norton.Program.jpg|175px|right|Program cover]]
<fight>22895</fight>
* '''[[NABF]] Heavyweight Title''' (6th defense of Ali)
*Unofficial AP scorecard - 7-4 Norton
*Unofficial UPI scorecard - 6-4 Ali
[[File:Nor-Ali.jpg|right|thumb|175px]]
[[File:F22895b.jpg|right|thumb|175px]]

== Quotes ==

*"Imagine you have your jaw broken and have to fight ten more rounds" (Ali postfight)

==Boxing Factoids==
*Ali was a 5 to 1 favorite in this bout.
*Ali was the No. 1 ranked contender and Norton was ranked No. 6.
*Ali suffered a broken jaw during this bout. There were no knockdowns.
*The gate was $240,792 with a paid attendance of 11,884. Ali received a guaranteed $210,000, while Norton earned $50,000, which was $42,000 more than any of his previous fights.
*The 1998 Holiday Issue of ''The Ring'' ranked Ali # 1 and Norton # 22 in ''"The 50 Greatest Heavyweights of All Time."''
*Ali entered the ring wearing a white robe encrusted with rhinestones and jewels. "People's Champion" was written on the back. It was a gift from Elvis Presley. After losing to Norton, Ali never wore it again.
*Ken Norton discussed in his autobiography (''Going the Distance'') how the book ''Think and Grow Rich'' inspired him during the time he beat Muhammad Ali.
== Newspaper/Magazine Articles ==
*AP news - ''Ali, Norton in TV Bout'', March 31, 1973 [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9HdQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=chEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5393,4005206&hl=en]
*AP news - ''Ali Plans an Annihilation'', March 31, 1973 [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=llhQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wlcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5685,5228663&hl=en]
*AP news - ''Norton Hopes To Advance With Upset Win Over Ali'' [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y-JdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BF8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=816%2C5502145]
*UPI news - ''Ken Norton decisions Ali'' [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gcMlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OPUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2796%2C2011906]
*AP news, April 2, 1973 [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=R89OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-gEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5103%2C2240102]
*The Jim Murray Column, 1973 Los Angeles Times [http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19730807&id=omoQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3YsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5142,814605]
*''The Man Who 'Whupped' Muhammad Ali'', Ebony (magazine) June, 1973 [http://books.google.com/books?id=s9MDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA152&dq=ken%20norton&pg=PA152#v=onepage&q&f=true]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Muhammad Ali vs. Bob Foster|Ali vs. Foster]]|
title=[[NABF Heavyweight Title Fights|NABF Heavyweight Title Fight]] # 10|
after=[[Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton (2nd meeting)|Ali vs. Norton II]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Muhammad Ali vs. Buster Mathis

2012-07-17T02:18:03Z

Muhammad-ali:

<fight>22888</fight>

*'''[[NABF]] Heavyweight Title''' (1st defense of Ali)
*'''Time:''' 2:10
*'''Weights:''' Ali 227 lbs, Mathis 256 lbs

== Quotes ==

*"This will be Buster's last stand. I will do to Buster what the indians did to Custer, I'm gonna whip 'em out" (Ali's prediction)

==Notes==
*Mathis down twice in round 11, and twice more in round 12.

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Muhammad Ali vs. Jimmy Ellis|Ali vs. Ellis]]|
title=[[NABF Heavyweight Title Fights|NABF Heavyweight Title Fight]] # 5|
after=[[Muhammad Ali vs. George Chuvalo (2nd meeting)|Ali vs. Chuvalo II]]|
}}
{{end box}}

Muhammad Ali vs. Ernie Terrell

2012-07-17T02:18:00Z

Muhammad-ali:

<fight>22883</fight>
*'''[[World Boxing Association]] Heavyweight Title''' (3rd defending of Terrell) 
*'''Weights:''' 212.25 lbs (each)
[[File:Muhammad Ali vs. Ernie Terrell . Fasan . jpg.jpg|350px|thumb|right|]]

 
== Comments ==
- In this heavyweight title unification match, Ali frequently taunted Terrell during the bout stating time and time again "What's my name?" Ali's nonstop combinations backed up a battered Terrell for the entire fifteen rounds, and Ali appeared to win all of them.
[[File:Muhammad Ali vs. Ernie Terrell . Fasan 1 . jpg.jpg|250px|thumb|left]]
Ali and Terrell at the weigh-in, before this day was over no one would be smiling anymore, least of all Ernie Terrell.

Ali amid the swirling controversy of his conversion to Islam and his draft status, was in no mood for Ernie Terrell's refusal to recognize his Muslim name. In a chilling display of brutality and skill Ali punished Terrell, repeatedly chanting, "What's my name?"

== Quotes ==

*"Why you don't call me by my name man? My name is Muhammad Ali and you will anounce right there, in the center of that ring if you don't do it now"

== Newpaper Articles==
*The Miami News, February 4, 1967 [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=d9UzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MusFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2771%2C974251]
*AP, February 7, 1967 [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gA1UAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cjkNAAAAIBAJ&pg=767%2C1198858]

Muhammad Ali vs. Henry Cooper (2nd meeting)

2012-07-17T02:14:26Z

Muhammad-ali:

<fight>22879</fight>
[[File:1966 Muhammad Ali vs henry cooper .jpg]]

== Prefight quotes ==

*"I want to tell Henry if he's watching the show, to come to the fight because I'm coming to get you, I'm coming to London to get you. And after I full beat him I think he should join The Beatles to be a singer." (Ali's prefight in a TV show)

*"Nobody knocks me down the way you did and get it away" (Ali's prefight in the same show)

Muhammad Ali vs. George Chuvalo

2012-07-17T02:11:35Z

Muhammad-ali:

<fight>22878</fight>
[[File:Muhammad Ali vs. George Chuvalo . Fasan ..gif]]

== Prefight quotes ==
*"Chuvalo is a washing woman. He fights like a washing woman, you know ladies style, is a wild style. That's how fights Chuvalo" (Muhammad Ali to the press)

Muhammad Ali vs. Oscar Natalio Bonavena

2012-07-17T02:08:17Z

Muhammad-ali:

[[File:OscarAli.JPG|250px|thumb|right|]]
<fight>22886</fight>
'''[[NABF]] Heavyweight Title''' (Vacant title)(NABF title was vacant following the retirement of [[Leotis Martin]].)
*'''Judges' Scoring:''' 12-2, 10-3-1, 8-5-1 all in favour of Ali at the time of the stoppage
*Bonavena knocked down three times in the 15th, forcing an automatic stoppage.
*[[:File:Muhammad Ali 4578. jpg.jpg|Photo #2]]

{{start box}}
{{Fight Succession Box|
before=[[Sonny Liston vs. Leotis Martin|Liston vs. Martin]]|
title=[[NABF Heavyweight Title Fights|NABF Heavyweight Title Fight]] # 2|
after=[[George Foreman vs. Gregorio Manuel Peralta (2nd meeting)|Foreman vs. Peralta II]]|
}}
{{end box}}

== Prefight quotes ==

*"You chicken, pipipi, chicken, chicken" (Bonavena in the press conference)
*"Put him away. I'll may get him now" (Ali in the press conference)
*"I never had a man that I want to whooped so bad!" (Ali in the press conference)

Muhammad Ali vs. Alfredo Evangelista

2012-07-17T01:56:22Z

Muhammad-ali:

[[file:Ali.evangelista.poster.jpg|250px|right]]
<fight>22906</fight>
*'''[[World Boxing Council]] Heavyweight Title''' (Ali defending) 
*'''[[World Boxing Association]] Heavyweight Title''' (Ali defending) 
*'''Weights:''' Ali 221.25 lbs, Evangelista 209.25 lbs

== Prefight quotes ==

*"Evangelista can't be no better than this two black guys you saw. Can't be no better. Did you see me overweight and with no conditions and did no have real trouble? Still moving, my legs are there, my reflex. I'll lose the weight I got time." (Muhammad Ali after two 3-rounds-exhibitions-bouts preparing for his fight with Evangelista)

*"I want them to understand that I'm 22 years old and for what I come here to the USA is to dethrone Ali. Nothing else. He's a poor oldman, he's 36 years old. I'm 22. It's a pitty to finish by this way. After being a great idol, me to finish with this decadence. Evangelista dethroning Ali." (Alfredo Evangelista in the prefight press conference)

Muhammad Ali

2012-07-17T01:55:07Z

Muhammad-ali: /* Professional Achievements */

[[file:Ali.muhammad.jpg|left|thumb|300px]]
[[file:Ibhof-logo.jpg|thumb|right|Class of 1990 Modern Category Hall of Fame bio:[http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/modern/ali.html click]]]
[[File:WBHF Logo.jpg|right|thumb|200px|World Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee]]
<boxer>000180</boxer>
'''Trainer:''' [[Angelo Dundee]] 
'''Manager:''' [[Herbert Muhammad]] 
'''[[:Category:Muhammad Ali Gallery|Muhammad Ali Gallery]]'''
 
 
== Amateur Achievements ==
[[file:Ali_Olympics.jpg|right|thumb|<center>The 1960 Rome Olympics</center>]]

*Six-time Kentucky State Golden Gloves Champion
*1959 Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Jeff Davis]]
*1959 Intercity Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Tony Madigan]]
*1960 Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Jimmy Jones (of Chicago, IL)|Jimmy Jones]]
*1960 Intercity Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Gary Jawish]]
*1959 National AAU Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Johnny Powell]]
*1960 National AAU Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Jeff Davis]]
*1960 [[Olympics|Olympic]] Light Heavyweight Gold Medalist in Rome, Italy. Olympic results:
**[[Yvon Becaus]] (Belgium) TKO 2
**[[Gennadi Schatkov]] (USSR) W3
**[[Tony Madigan]] (Australia) W3
**[[Zbigniew Pietrzykowski]] (Poland) W3

{{start box}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Jim Boyd]] |
title= [[Olympic Games Medalists| Olympic Gold Medalist]] Light Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1960 |
after= [[Cosimo Pinto]]
}}
{{succession box | title=[[United States Amateur Light Heavyweight Champions|National AAU]] Light Heavyweight Champion | before=[[Sylvester Banks]]| after= [[Bob Christopherson]]| years=1959-1960}}

{{succession box |
before= [[Kent Green]] |
title= [[Chicago Golden Gloves|Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions]] Light Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1959 |
after= [[Jeff Davis]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[James Hargett]] |
title= [[Intercity Golden Gloves|Intercity Golden Gloves]] Light Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1959 |
after= [[Jeff Davis]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Jimmy Jones (of Chicago, IL)|Jimmy Jones]] |
title= [[Chicago Golden Gloves|Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions]] Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1960 |
after= [[Al Jenkins]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Sylvester Banks]] |
title= [[Intercity Golden Gloves|Intercity Golden Gloves]] Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1960 |
after= [[Ray Patterson]]
}}
{{end box}}

== Amateur Record ==

There have been various amateur records accredited to Muhammad Ali. 100-5, 127-5, 134-7, 137-7, and 99-8 are among the claims.

== Professional Achievements ==
*The first and only three-time lineal World Heavyweight Champion
*Won twenty-two World Heavyweight Championship fights and made 19 successful defenses
*First heavyweight to unify titles (vs. Ernie Terrel 1967-02-06 winning by UD)
*First heavyweith Champion in coming back from a retire and regain the title
*First black boxer retired as champion (twice in 1967 and 1979)

==Acting Career==
*Appeared in a number of movies and television shows. IMDb credits: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000738/]

== Awards and Recognition ==
*Named [[Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year|''The Ring'' Fighter of the Year]] for 1963, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1978
*Named [[Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year]] for 1965, 1974 and 1975
*Proclaimed "Fighter of the Decade" (1970s) by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]
*Won the Boxing Writers' Association of America [[James J. Walker Memorial Award]] for 1984
*Named the greatest heavyweight of all-time by [[Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']] in 1998
*Named the greatest heavyweight of the 20th century by the Associated Press
*Named "Athlete of the Century" by GQ magazine
*Named "Sportsman of the 20th Century" by [[Sports Illustrated]]
*Named "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC
*Inducted into the [[Florida Boxing Hall of Fame]] in 2010

== Factoids ==
*Muhammad Ali is the brother of fellow boxer [[Rahman Ali]], the father of female world champion [[Laila Ali]], and the uncle of [[Ibn Ali]].
*Ali's first fight with [[Joe Frazier]] indirectly led to four deaths. During the bout itself in New York, two spectators died of heart attacks. In Malaysia, Abdul Ghani Bachik was reported to have leaped up from his chair while watching the fight on paid television and shouted, "My God, Cassius Clay has fallen!" He then suffered a fatal heart attack. In Milan, Italy, Erio Borghisiani was found dead in front of his television just hours after viewing the fight on paid television.

== Legacy ==
A 1974 ''World Boxing'' reader poll ranked Ali as the 5th greatest heavyweight in history, historian Nat Loubet ranked him as the 9th greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1975, and John Durant, author of ''The Heavyweight Champions'', ranked him as the 4th greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1976. BBC Sports, former WBA president Bill Brennan, ''The Ring'' editor-in-chief Nigel Collins, former ''Boxing Illustrated'' editor-in-chief Herbert G. Goldman, ''Showtime'' commentator Steve Farhood, and historian Arthur Harris all consider Ali to be the greatest heavyweight of all-time.

==Reference Sources==
*[http://www.ali.com/ Official website]
*''[http://www.doghouseboxing.com/Ken/Hissner031810.htm Cassius Clay AKA Muhammad Ali's Amateur Boxing Record in Question?]'' / Ken Hissner (2010)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1659947 Ali, the fighting prophet]'' / Gilbert Odd with a foreword by Henry Cooper (1975, ISBN 0720708451)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2057974 Black is best: the riddle of Cassius Clay]'' / Jack Olsen (1967)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2489745 Cassius Clay: a biography]'' / Jack Olsen (1967)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3019601 Cassius Clay ante el racismo]'' / Jose Laurino (1969)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2494526 Le champion]'' / Robert Gurik (c1977, ISBN 0776100653)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2194423 Facing Ali : the opposition weighs in]'' / Stephen Brunt (2002, ISBN 0676973507)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn331046 The fight]'' / Norman Mailer (1975 - 1st edition, ISBN 0316544167)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2978330 The fight]'' / Norman Mailer (1976, ISBN 0246109505)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn244559 The greatest: my own story]'' / Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham (c1975 - 1st edition, ISBN 0394462688)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1119292 The greatest: my own story]'' / Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham (1976, ISBN 0246109440)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2865330 I'm the greatest: the wit and humour of Muhammad Ali]'' / cartoons by Roy Ullyett and Jon (1975, ISBN 0856321427 and 0856321494 (pbk))
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn94569 King of the world: Muhammad Ali and the rise of an American hero]'' / David Remnick (c1998, ISBN 0375500650)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1218886 Men of destiny: the story of Muhammad Ali, formerly Cassius Clay]'' / John Cottrell (1967)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1333950 Muhammad Ali: his fights in the ring]'' / Robert Walker (1979, ISBN 017005571X)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2786653 Muhammad Ali retrospective]'' / Henry James Korn (1976, ISBN 0909331146)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn314318 Muhammad Ali's greatest fight: Cassius Clay vs. the United States of America]'' / Howard Bingham and Max Wallace (c2000, ISBN 0871319004)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1974435 Redemption song: Muhammad Ali and the spirit of the sixties]'' / Mike Marqusee (1999, ISBN 185984717X)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1015301 Sting like a bee: the Muhammad Ali story]'' (1971, ISBN 0200718401)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1103339 Sting like a bee: the Muhammad Ali story]'' / Jose Torres and Bert Randolph Sugar (2002, ISBN 0074712004)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn310852 Black superman]'' / words and music by Johnny Wakelin (c1974) - ''"A tribute to the black superman Muhammad Ali"''
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3120384 In Zaire]'' / words and music by Johnny Wakelin (c1976)

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sonny Liston]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Ernie Terrell]]|
years=1964 Feb 25 – 1964 Sep 14 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sonny Liston]]|
title=[[WBC Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Joe Frazier]]|
years=1964 Feb 25 – 1970 Feb 3 '''Retired'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sonny Liston]]|
title=[[NYSAC World Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Joe Frazier]]|
years=1964 Feb 25 – 1967 May 9 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Ernie Terrell]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Jimmy Ellis]]|
years=1967 Feb 6 – 1967 May 9 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[George Foreman]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]] [[WBC Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Leon Spinks]]|
years=1974 Oct 30 – 1978 Feb 15
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Leon Spinks]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[John Tate]]|
years=1978 Sep 15 – 1979 Sep 6 '''Retired'''
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Muhammad}}
[[Category:African American Boxers]]
[[Category:Muslim Boxers]]
[[Category:Intercity Golden Gloves Champions]]
[[Category:Chicago Golden Gloves Champions]]
[[Category:United States Amateur Champions]]
[[Category:1960 Olympians]]
[[Category:American Olympians]]
[[Category:Olympic Gold Medalists]]
[[Category:World Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:American World Champions]]
[[Category:IBHOF Members]]
[[Category:World Boxing Hall of Fame Members]]
[[Category:NABF Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:Ali Family]]
[[Category:Actors]]

Cassius Clay vs. Don Warner

2012-07-17T01:46:28Z

Muhammad-ali:

[[File:ClayWarner.jpg|250px|thumb|right]]
<fight>22871</fight>
*'''Attendance''': 4,012 
*'''Gate:''' $8,014.75

Warner shook Clay in the third with a right to the chin and dashed out of his corner when the bell rang to begin Round 4. He ran directly into Clay's straight right and bounced back, through the ropes, onto the ring apron. Climbing back after an eight-count, Warner headed toward Clay but appeared to be tottering and Referee Cy Gottfried stopped the fight at 34 seconds of the round. "I would have let it go five as I predicted," Clay said, "but he wouldn't shake my hand and that made me mad."

'''Source:''' "Cassius Clay Knocks Out Don Warner" (1962, Mar. 1) ''The News and Courier''.

[[File:ClayWarner2.jpg|180px|thumb|right]]

== Prefight interview ==

*'''Journalist:''' You met Don Warner.
*'''Cassius Clay:''' Yeah. He wasn't too friendly.
*'''Journalist:''' Why not?
*'''Cassius Clay:''' He didn't shake my hand.
*'''Journalist:''' What will you do about that?
*'''Cassius Clay:''' Now he must fall!

Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson

2012-07-06T05:39:00Z

Muhammad-ali: /* Quotes */

[[file:F20866.JPG|right|300px|thumb]]
<fight>20866</fight>
*'''World Heavyweight Title'''
*[[:File:F20866b.JPG|Photo #2]]
 
== Comments ==
[[File:Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson 1.jpg|right|200px]]
*Patterson was knocked down in 5th round.
*Refree Harold Krause stopped the bout at 2:18 of 12th round
*Before the fight Floyd Patterson proclaimed that he was going to win title "back to america". Patterson also refusing to refer Muhammad Ali by any name other than Cassius clay. This all infuriated Ali so much that he was determined to make Patterson suffer in the ring.
*Almost every time when Ali hit Patterson he taunted him.
*The crowd booed to Ali. They felt that Ali treated Patterson with cruelty and disrespect.

==Quotes==
*"Floyd Patterson will be no match. He is too short, too slow, don't have a reach, can't take a punch, he don't hit hard and he don't have a footwork" - Ali in interview before the fight
*"I'll hit him six times for every swing he'll miss" - Ali pre fight quote
*"I wanted to go out with a great punch" - Exhausted Patterson after the match
*"He could have knocked Patterson out whenever he really went to work. Let�s face it, Clay is selfish and cruel." - Ex-champion Joe Louis's opinion about the match.

Leon Spinks vs. Muhammad Ali (2nd meeting)

2012-07-06T05:35:40Z

Muhammad-ali:

[[file:Ali-Spinks.Program.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Program cover]]
<fight>22908</fight>
*'''[[World Boxing Association]] Heavyweight Title''' (Spinks defending)
*'''Weights:''' Spinks 201 lbs, Ali 221 lbs
*[[:Image:F22908.JPG|Fight photo]]
 
== Quotes ==
- "I know this will be my last fight. I'll be three times champion" -Muhammad Ali
== Comments ==
- Ali regains the WBA title and avenges his [[Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks (1st meeting)|split decision loss]] to Spinks from seven months prior. Attendance was 63,350. 
- On September 6, 1979, Ali announced his retirement, and the WBA title was declared vacant.

Muhammad Ali

2012-05-25T04:50:38Z

Muhammad-ali:

[[file:Ali.muhammad.jpg|left|thumb|300px]]
[[file:Ibhof-logo.jpg|thumb|right|Class of 1990 Modern Category Hall of Fame bio:[http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/modern/ali.html click]]]
[[File:WBHF Logo.jpg|right|thumb|200px|World Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee]]
<boxer>000180</boxer>
'''Trainer:''' [[Angelo Dundee]] 
'''Manager:''' [[Herbert Muhammad]] 
'''[[:Category:Muhammad Ali Gallery|Muhammad Ali Gallery]]'''
 
 
== Amateur Achievements ==
[[file:Ali_Olympics.jpg|right|thumb|<center>The 1960 Rome Olympics</center>]]

*Six-time Kentucky State Golden Gloves Champion
*1959 Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Jeff Davis]]
*1959 Intercity Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Tony Madigan]]
*1960 Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Jimmy Jones (of Chicago, IL)|Jimmy Jones]]
*1960 Intercity Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Gary Jawish]]
*1959 National AAU Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Johnny Powell]]
*1960 National AAU Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Jeff Davis]]
*1960 [[Olympics|Olympic]] Light Heavyweight Gold Medalist in Rome, Italy. Olympic results:
**[[Yvon Becaus]] (Belgium) TKO 2
**[[Gennadi Schatkov]] (USSR) W3
**[[Tony Madigan]] (Australia) W3
**[[Zbigniew Pietrzykowski]] (Poland) W3

{{start box}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Jim Boyd]] |
title= [[Olympic Games Medalists| Olympic Gold Medalist]] Light Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1960 |
after= [[Cosimo Pinto]]
}}
{{succession box | title=[[United States Amateur Light Heavyweight Champions|National AAU]] Light Heavyweight Champion | before=[[Sylvester Banks]]| after= [[Bob Christopherson]]| years=1959-1960}}

{{succession box |
before= [[Kent Green]] |
title= [[Chicago Golden Gloves|Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions]] Light Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1959 |
after= [[Jeff Davis]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[James Hargett]] |
title= [[Intercity Golden Gloves|Intercity Golden Gloves]] Light Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1959 |
after= [[Jeff Davis]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Jimmy Jones (of Chicago, IL)|Jimmy Jones]] |
title= [[Chicago Golden Gloves|Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions]] Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1960 |
after= [[Al Jenkins]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Sylvester Banks]] |
title= [[Intercity Golden Gloves|Intercity Golden Gloves]] Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1960 |
after= [[Ray Patterson]]
}}
{{end box}}

== Amateur record ==

There is a controversy about his amateur record. Because according to some fonts Ali's got an amateur record of 100-5, according to IMBD he has an amateur record of 127-5. Another fonts talks about more than 130 victories.

== Professional Achievements ==
*The only Three-time World Heavyweight Champion
*Won thirty-three World Heavyweight Championship fights (30 defenses)

==Acting Career==
*Appeared in a number of movies and television shows. IMDb credits: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000738/]

== Awards and Recognition ==
*Named [[Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year|''The Ring'' Fighter of the Year]] for 1963, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1978
*Named [[Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year]] for 1965, 1974 and 1975
*Proclaimed "Fighter of the Decade" (1970s) by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]
*Won the Boxing Writers' Association of America [[James J. Walker Memorial Award]] for 1984
*Named the greatest heavyweight of all-time by [[Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']] in 1998
*Named the greatest heavyweight of the 20th century by the Associated Press
*Named "Athlete of the Century" by GQ magazine
*Named "Sportsman of the 20th Century" by [[Sports Illustrated]]
*Named "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC
*Inducted into the [[Florida Boxing Hall of Fame]] in 2010.

== Factoids ==
*Muhammad Ali is the brother of fellow boxer [[Rahman Ali]], the father of female world champion [[Laila Ali]], and the uncle of [[Ibn Ali]].
*Ali's first fight with [[Joe Frazier]] indirectly led to four deaths. During the bout itself in New York, two spectators died of heart attacks. In Malaysia, Abdul Ghani Bachik was reported to have leaped up from his chair while watching the fight on paid television and shouted, "My God, Cassius Clay has fallen!" He then suffered a fatal heart attack. In Milan, Italy, Erio Borghisiani was found dead in front of his television just hours after viewing the fight on paid television.

== Legacy ==
A 1974 ''World Boxing'' reader poll ranked Ali as the 5th greatest heavyweight in history, historian Nat Loubet ranked him as the 9th greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1975, and John Durant, author of ''The Heavyweight Champions'', ranked him as the 4th greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1976. BBC Sports, former WBA president Bill Brennan, ''The Ring'' editor-in-chief Nigel Collins, former ''Boxing Illustrated'' editor-in-chief Herbert G. Goldman, ''Showtime'' commentator Steve Farhood, and historian Arthur Harris all consider Ali to be the greatest heavyweight of all-time.

==Reference sources==
*[http://www.ali.com/ Official website]
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1659947 Ali, the fighting prophet]'' / Gilbert Odd with a foreword by Henry Cooper (1975, ISBN 0720708451)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2057974 Black is best: the riddle of Cassius Clay]'' / Jack Olsen (1967)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2489745 Cassius Clay: a biography]'' / Jack Olsen (1967)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3019601 Cassius Clay ante el racismo]'' / Jose Laurino (1969)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2494526 Le champion]'' / Robert Gurik (c1977, ISBN 0776100653)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2194423 Facing Ali : the opposition weighs in]'' / Stephen Brunt (2002, ISBN 0676973507)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn331046 The fight]'' / Norman Mailer (1975 - 1st edition, ISBN 0316544167)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2978330 The fight]'' / Norman Mailer (1976, ISBN 0246109505)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn244559 The greatest: my own story]'' / Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham (c1975 - 1st edition, ISBN 0394462688)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1119292 The greatest: my own story]'' / Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham (1976, ISBN 0246109440)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2865330 I'm the greatest: the wit and humour of Muhammad Ali]'' / cartoons by Roy Ullyett and Jon (1975, ISBN 0856321427 and 0856321494 (pbk))
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn94569 King of the world: Muhammad Ali and the rise of an American hero]'' / David Remnick (c1998, ISBN 0375500650)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1218886 Men of destiny: the story of Muhammad Ali, formerly Cassius Clay]'' / John Cottrell (1967)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1333950 Muhammad Ali: his fights in the ring]'' / Robert Walker (1979, ISBN 017005571X)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2786653 Muhammad Ali retrospective]'' / Henry James Korn (1976, ISBN 0909331146)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn314318 Muhammad Ali's greatest fight: Cassius Clay vs. the United States of America]'' / Howard Bingham and Max Wallace (c2000, ISBN 0871319004)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1974435 Redemption song: Muhammad Ali and the spirit of the sixties]'' / Mike Marqusee (1999, ISBN 185984717X)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1015301 Sting like a bee: the Muhammad Ali story]'' (1971, ISBN 0200718401)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1103339 Sting like a bee: the Muhammad Ali story]'' / Jose Torres and Bert Randolph Sugar (2002, ISBN 0074712004)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn310852 Black superman]'' / words and music by Johnny Wakelin (c1974) - ''"A tribute to the black superman Muhammad Ali"''
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3120384 In Zaire]'' / words and music by Johnny Wakelin (c1976)

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sonny Liston]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Ernie Terrell]]|
years=1964 Feb 25 – 1964 Sep 14 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sonny Liston]]|
title=[[WBC Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Joe Frazier]]|
years=1964 Feb 25 – 1970 Feb 3 '''Retired'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sonny Liston]]|
title=[[NYSAC World Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Joe Frazier]]|
years=1964 Feb 25 – 1967 May 9 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Ernie Terrell]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Jimmy Ellis]]|
years=1967 Feb 6 – 1967 May 9 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[George Foreman]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]] [[WBC Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Leon Spinks]]|
years=1974 Oct 30 – 1978 Feb 15
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Leon Spinks]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[John Tate]]|
years=1978 Sep 15 – 1979 Sep 6 '''Retired'''
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Muhammad}}
[[Category:African American Boxers]]
[[Category:Muslim Boxers]]
[[Category:Intercity Golden Gloves Champions]]
[[Category:Chicago Golden Gloves Champions]]
[[Category:United States Amateur Champions]]
[[Category:1960 Olympians]]
[[Category:American Olympians]]
[[Category:Olympic Gold Medalists]]
[[Category:World Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:American World Champions]]
[[Category:IBHOF Members]]
[[Category:World Boxing Hall of Fame Members]]
[[Category:NABF Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:Ali Family]]
[[Category:Actors]]

Trevor Berbick vs. Mike Tyson

2011-12-27T05:30:20Z

Muhammad-ali: /* Notes */

<fight>2179</fight>
*'''[[World Boxing Council]] Heavyweight Title''' (1st defense of Berbick)
*'''Promoter:''' [[Dynamic Duo Inc.]]
*'''[[:Image:Berbick tyson.jpg|Photo]]'''

== Notes ==
*Berbick's passing in 2006 added a touch of poignancy to the 20th anniversary of this fight. It was at the tragic Jamaican's expense that boxing history was made on November 22, 1986.
*His conqueror was 20 year-old Mike Tyson, a rampaging throwback of a fighter from New York, who needed less than six minutes to blast his way into the record books at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel.
*Tyson came into the fight essentially untested but almost universally touted as the next great heavyweight in waiting. Not since [[Muhammad Ali]] had a young fighter generated such intense interest and expectation in such a short time. A crowd of about 8,800, including film stars and celebrities, soon found out what all the fuss was about.
*A few seconds before the fight [[Muhammad Ali]] entered to the ring and said to Tyson: "Avenge me"
*After 27 straight wins, 25 by knockout, Tyson was bidding to topple [[Floyd Patterson]] as the youngest heavyweight champion ever in a fight that was billed as "Judgement Day".
*It was only Tyson's second fight in Vegas in his 21 month career. In his first Vegas fight 77 days earlier he had blown out the former cruiserweight champion [[Alfonso Ratliff]] in two rounds on the same bill as Michael Spinks's easy win over Norwegian [[Steffen Tangstad]].
*Larry Merchant, commentating for [[HBO]], the giant cable TV network that was running a knockout series to find an undisputed heavyweight champion, told viewers: "The key to this fight for Tyson is to be patiently aggressive and not throw himself into clinches, as he has done."
*But Tyson came out with one aim in mind, to get rid of Berbick as quickly as he could. He attacked from the start and his job was made easier when Berbick opted to stand right in front of him instead of moving.
*The writing was on the wall at the end of the first round when Tyson sent Berbick staggering backwards across the ring with a four-punch combination. Tyson tried to finish it there but the bell intervened. In a blatant show of bravado, Berbick poked his tongue out at Tyson as he walked back to his corner but almost everyone in the arena knew what was about to happen.
*Maybe not Berbick's trainer [[Angelo Dundee]], who clearly still had enough faith in his man's chances to scream: "Where's the fucking sponge?"
*In the other corner, Tyson's trainer [[Kevin Rooney]] implored: "Go to the body first, then the head." But Tyson wasn't listening. A long right hand at the start of the second round had Berbick rocking back on his heels, covering up, before two more left-rights sent the champion down for the first time.
*Berbick climbed straight back up and nodded at referee Mills Lane, looking more embarrassed than hurt, almost as if he had slipped on a banana skin. But he must have known then that his reign was going to be a short one.
*Tyson continued to hammer him to head and body before administering the coup de grace, a right to the body followed by a stunning left hook to the temple.
*Berbick crashed down as if his legs had been cut from beneath him. He tried vainly to get up but collapsed again near the ropes. But Berbick was proud, if nothing else. Once again, he bravely attempted to regain his footing but his legs wouldn't carry him and he fell for the third time, onto his back. Berbick somehow got up again but lurched, via a turnbuckle, into the arms of Lane, who waved it off after 2 minutes, 35 seconds of the second round.
*Tyson did not celebrate. Instead, he simply shrugged and planted a kiss on the lips of co-manager [[Jim Jacobs]]. Perhaps his reaction was not surprising. In the build-up to the fight, he told one interviewer tersely: "I'll win the title as surely as Tuesday follows Monday." In the face of such conviction, Berbick truly hadn't a prayer.
*HBO analyst [[Sugar Ray Leonard]], who was less than six months away from his fight with [[Marvin Hagler]], said Tyson's win had left him "speechless", adding: "Mike Tyson did what Mike Tyson normally does and that's fight." Co-commentator [[Barry Tompkins]] confirmed: "Yeah, and that's with a capital F also!"
*Afterwards, Tyson told the watching millions: "My record will last for immortality. It will never be broken."
*Twenty years on, that statement is beginning to look like one of the truest things Tyson ever said.

George Foreman

2011-12-13T21:18:01Z

Muhammad-ali:

[[File:George Foreman.jpg|left|300px|]]
[[file:Ibhof-logo.jpg|frame|right|Class of 2003 Modern Category Hall of Fame
[http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/modern/foreman.html bio]]]
[[File:WBHF Logo.jpg|right|thumb|200px|World Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee]]
<boxer>000090</boxer>
'''Trainers:''' [[Dick Sadler]], [[Gil Clancy]], [[Charley Shipes]], [[Angelo Dundee]] 
 
== Amateur Accomplishments ==
*Won his first amateur fight on January 26, 1967 by a first-round knockout in the Parks Diamond Belt Tournament.
*Won the ''San Francisco Examiner'''s [[Golden Gloves]] Tournament in the Junior Division in February 1967.
*February 1967: Knocked out [[Thomas Cook]] to win the Las Vegas Golden Gloves in the Senior Division.
*February 1968: Knocked out [[L.C. Brown]] to win the ''San Francisco Examiner'''s Senior Title in San Francisco.
*March 1968: Won the [[:Category:United States Amateur Champions|National AAU]] Heavyweight title in Toledo, Ohio vs. [[Henry Crump]] of Philadelphia, PA in the final.
*July 1968: Sparred 5 rounds on two different occasions with former World Heavyweight Champion [[Sonny Liston]].
*September 21, 1968: Won his second decision over [[Otis Evans]] to make the U.S. boxing team for the Mexico City [[Olympic Games]].
*Foreman had a 16-4 amateur boxing record going into the Olympics. He knocked out Russia's [[Ionas Chepulis]] to win the Olympic Games Heavyweight Gold Medal. He was trained for the Olympic Games by [[Robert (Pappy) Gault]].
*Amateur Record: 22-4

=== Olympic Results ===
*Defeated [[Lucjan Trela]] (Poland) 4-1
*Defeated [[Ion Alexe]] (Romania) TKO 3
*Defeated [[Giorgio Bambini]] (Italy) KO 2
*Defeated [[Ionas Chepulis]] (Soviet Union) TKO 2

{{start box}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Joe Frazier]] |
title= [[Olympic Games Medalists| Olympic Gold Medalist]] Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1968 |
after= [[Teofilo Stevenson]] }}
{{succession box |
before = [[Forest Ward]] |
title = [[United States Amateur Heavyweight Champions|National AAU Heavyweight Champion]]|
years = 1968 |
after = [[Earnie Shavers]]}}
{{end box}}

== Amateur Factoids ==
*At 19 years old, Foreman stood at 6 feet 3 inches (192 cm) and weighed 218 pounds (99kg).
*First trainer was 36-year-old [[Nick (Doc) Broadus]].
*He was the sparring partner of Sonny Liston.

== Professional Career ==
*World Heavyweight Champion 1973-74
*[[WBA]]/[[IBF]] Heavyweight Champion 1994-95 (stripped of both titles).
*Claimed the Lineal Heavyweight Title until losing in 1997 to [[Shannon Briggs]].
*Named [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']] magazine [[Ring Magazine Defunct Awards|Progress of the Year]] fighter for 1970.
*Named [[Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year|''The Ring'' Fighter of the Year]] for 1973 and 1976.
*Named [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']] [[Ring Magazine Comeback of the Year|Comeback of the Year]] fighter for 1994.
*Named the ninth greatest puncher of all time in [[The 100 Greatest Punchers of All-Time!|''The Ring's'' list of the 100 Greatest Punchers of All-Time]].

== Outside the Ring ==
*Guest starred on a fifth season (1976) episode of ''Sanford and Son'', entitled "The Directors," as himself.
*Became highly successful with his "Lean Mean Grilling Machine," and starred in ads for Meineke mufflers.
*Has five sons (all named George), one whom [[George Foreman III]] is also a professional boxer.
*Daughter [[Freeda George Foreman|Freeda]] embarked on a brief professional boxing career.
*Is a born-again Christian and an ordained minister with own church in Texas.
*Commentated on several fights for [[HBO]].
*Autobiography: [[By George: The Autobiography of George Foreman]]

== External Links ==
*[http://biggeorge.com/main/ George Foreman's Official Website]
*''George Foreman Makes A Remarkable Transformation'', Tony Zonca, Eagle/Times, Reading, PA, January 17, 1990. [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FcMxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eeUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6361%2C322213]
*''A Remarkable Transformation'' [continued] Tony Zonca, Eagle/Times, Reading, PA, January 17, 1990. [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FcMxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eeUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2125%2C340608]
*Main Wikipedia [[Wikipedia:George_Foreman|Bio]]
*[http://www.cduniverse.com/sresult.asp?HT_Search=xartist&HT_Search_Info=Foreman%2C+George&BAB=Y Audio recordings] by Foreman
*[http://www.boxing-scoop.com/show_boxer.php?boxer_ID=3907 Amateur record] (incomplete)
{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Joe Frazier]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]] [[WBC Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Muhammad Ali]]|
years=1973 Jan 22 – 1974 Oct 30
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Michael Moorer]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Bruce Seldon]]|
years=1994 Nov 5 – 1995 Mar 4 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Michael Moorer]]|
title=[[IBF Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Michael Moorer]]|
years=1994 Nov 5 – 1995 Jun 29 '''Vacated'''
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foreman, George}}
[[Category:World Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:American World Champions]]
[[Category:NABF Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:United States Amateur Champions]]
[[Category:Diamond Belt Champions]]
[[Category:1968 Olympians]]
[[Category:American Olympians]]
[[Category:Olympic Gold Medalists]]
[[Category:IBHOF Members]]
[[Category:World Boxing Hall of Fame Members]]
[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:Foreman Family]]
[[Category:African American Boxers]]
[[Category:George Foreman Gallery]]

Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay (1st meeting)

2011-11-02T17:55:48Z

Muhammad-ali: /* Quotes */

[[file:Ali.Liston.Poster.1.jpg|right|175px|Poster]]
 
1964-02-25 : [[Sonny Liston]]  lost to [[Muhammad Ali|Cassius Clay]] by RTD in round 7 of 15
*'''Location:''' Convention Hall, Miami Beach, Florida, USA
*'''Referee:''' [[Barney Felix]] 
*'''Scoring at time of stoppage:''' Felix 57-57, Bernie Lovett 58-56 (Liston), Gus Jacobson 58-56 (Clay)
*'''Weights:''' Clay 210½ (95 kg), Liston 218 (98 kg)
*'''World Heavyweight Title'''

==Build-Up==
At the time of the first fight, in 1964, Liston was the world heavyweight champion, having dethroned [[Floyd Patterson]] by a knockout in the first round in 1962. With an impressive knockout record to that point, Liston was a fighter whom many other heavyweights were reluctant to meet in the ring. For example, Henry Cooper said that if Cassius Clay won, he was interested in a title fight, but if Liston won, he was not going to get in the ring with him. Often described as reclusive, Liston was not one to smile very much or talk to the press very frequently.

Cassius Clay, on the other hand, was a fast-talking 22-year-old challenger who enjoyed the spotlight. He had won the light-heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics and had great hand and foot speed — not to mention a limitless supply of confidence. Nevertheless, he had been dropped by journeyman [[Sonny Banks (Heavyweight)|Sonny Banks]] two years previous and by [[Henry Cooper]] in the fight leading up to the Liston match. Few observers and fans believed he could beat Liston, and he was made a seven to one betting underdog.

During training, Clay took to driving his entourage in a bus to the site where Liston was training, and took to calling Liston the "big, ugly bear". Liston grew increasingly irritated as Clay continued hurling insults and boasting that he would knock out Liston in eight rounds. Clay worked himself into such a frenzy that during the pre-fight physical the day before the event, Clay's heart rate registered an astonishing 220 beats per minute. Many observers took this to mean that Clay was either terrified or not in the proper shape, but they were proved wrong at the official weigh-in when his heart rate registered as normal.
[[file:F19594.jpg|right|thumb]]

==The Fight==
Their first fight was held on February 25, 1964, in Miami Beach, Florida, where Clay was residing at the time (his trainer, [[Angelo Dundee]], operated a gym, [[5th Street Gym (Miami)|The 5th Street Gym]], nearby).

The fight began with Clay showing a lot of movement, using his fast and effective jab and quick flurries of combinations, making it difficult for Liston to score with his slower jab and heavy punches. In the third round, Clay opened up his attack and hit Liston with several combinations that caused a bruise under Liston's right eye and a cut under his left. During the fourth round, Clay coasted, keeping his distance. However, when he returned to his corner, he started complaining that there was something burning in his eyes and that he could not see. Angelo Dundee rinsed Clay's eyes with a sponge and pushed him off his stool to begin the fifth round, telling him to stay away from Liston.

Many theorized that a substance used to stop Liston's cuts from bleeding (possibly Monsel's Solution) may have inadvertently caused the irritation. However, one of Liston's cornermen, Joe Pollino, confessed to reporter Jack McKinney years later that Liston ordered him to rub an astringent compound on his gloves before the fourth round. Pollino complied, and Liston shoved his gloves into Clay's face in the fourth.

Clay managed to survive the fifth round and by the sixth had resumed control of the fight. During the sixth, Clay landed several effective combinations, seemingly at will. On his stool following the sixth round, Liston told his cornermen that he couldn't continue, complaining of a shoulder injury. He failed to answer the bell for the seventh round and Clay was declared the winner by technical knockout. Sensing that he had made history, Clay sprang to the center of the ring, did a victory jig and then quickly ran to the ropes to remind sportswriters that he had told them so, since many of them had written that Clay had no chance of beating the once-feared Sonny Liston. In a scene that has been rebroadcast countless times over the ensuing four decades, Clay yelled "I'm the greatest" and "I shook up the world!"

==Notes==
*Liston was 7-1 favorite to win.
*Liston refused to come out for Round 7, citing an injured left shoulder.
*After the fight, Clay changed his name to Cassius X and then to Muhammad Ali.
*Named [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year]].
*Proclaimed the "Fight and Upset of the Decade" (1960s) by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']] magazine.

==Quotes==
*"He’s too ugly to be the world’s champ! The world’s champ should be pretty like me!" Ali's comment about Liston in pre-fight interview
*"Round eight to prove I’m great!" Ali's prediction before the fight
*"If Sonny Liston whups me, I'll kiss his feet in the ring, I'll crawl out of the ring on my knees, tell him he's the greatest, and catch the next jet out of the country" Ali's pre-fight comment
*"Eat your words! Eat your words! I am the greatest." Ali shouting at reporters after the fight

George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali

2011-10-28T21:41:31Z

Muhammad-ali: /* Quotes */

[[file:Ali-Foreman.Program.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Official poster]]
<fight>221</fight>
*'''[[World Boxing Council]] Heavyweight Title''' (Foreman defending) 
*'''[[World Boxing Association]] Heavyweight Title''' (Foreman defending) 
*'''Time:''' 2:58 
*'''Weights:''' Ali 216.5 lbs / 97,5 kg, Foreman 220 lbs / 99 kg 
*Attendance: 60,000 
== '''The Rumble in the Jungle''' ==
"The Rumble in The Jungle" was an historic boxing event that took place on October 30, [[1974, in the May 20 Stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo). It pitted then world Heavyweight champion [[George Foreman]] against former world champion and challenger [[Muhammad Ali]], who became the second fighter ever, after [[Floyd Patterson]], to recover the world's Heavyweight crown.

The event was Don King's first venture as a professional boxing promoter. He managed to get both Ali and Foreman to sign separate contracts saying they would fight for him if he could get 5 million dollars to be their prize. However, King did not have the money. So he began looking for an outside country to sponsor the event. Zaire's flamboyant president Mobutu S?s? Seko asked for the fight to be held in his country, eager for the publicity such a high-profile event would bring.

=== Build up to the Fight ===
In 1967, Ali had been suspended from the sport of boxing for three and a half years following his refusal to obey the draft and enter the Army. In 1970 he first regained a boxing license and promptly fought two comeback fights, against [[Jerry Quarry]] and [[Oscar Bonavena]] in an attempt to regain the heavyweight championship from [[Joe Frazier]]. The two met in 1971 in a bout dubbed the [[Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali (1st meeting)|Fight of the Century]], and Frazier prevailed, which sent Ali into fighting other contenders for years in an attempt at a new title shot.

Foreman had quickly risen from his gold medal victory at the 1968 Olympics and into the top ranks of professional heavyweights. Although considered by many to be somewhat slow and clumsy, Foreman was greatly feared for his punching power, size, and sheer physical dominance. Still, Joe Frazier and his promoters believed that despite Foreman's ever growing list of knockouts and victories, that he would be too slow and unrefined to stand up to Frazier's relentless attacks. This would turn out to be a grave miscalculation, as Foreman won the championship in grand fashion by knocking Frazier down six times in two rounds before the bout was stopped. Foreman further solidified his hold over the heavyweight division after he demolished [[Ken Norton]], who was the only man besides Frazier, (at that point in time) to defeat Ali (breaking Ali's jaw in the process), also in two rounds. Although by the time that Ali and Foreman met Ali had avenged his losses to both Norton and Frazier, Foreman seemed an overwhelming favorite against a slowing and aging Ali.

Foreman and Ali spent much of the summer of 1974 training in Zaire, and getting their bodies used to the weather in the tropical African country. The fight was originally set to happen in September, but Foreman was injured and cut during training, pushing the fight back off to October.

Insiders say that, in Foreman's dressing room before the fight, handlers actually prayed that Foreman would not kill Ali, so high was the anticipation that Ali was simply no match for Foreman.
[[file:F221.jpeg|right|thumb|300px]]
=== The Rumble ===
Ali started the first round attacking Foreman. This was notable, as Ali was famed for his speed and technical skills, while Foreman's raw power was his greatest strength; close range fighting would, it seemed, inevitably favor Foreman and leave too great a chance that Ali would be stunned by one or more of Foreman's powerful haymakers. Ali made use of the right-hand lead punch (striking with the right hand without setting up with the left) in a further effort to disorient Foreman. However, while this aggressive tactic may have surprised Foreman and it did allow Ali to hit him solidly a number of times, it failed to significantly hurt him. Before the end of the first round, Foreman caught up to Ali and began landing a few punches of his own. Foreman had also been trained to cut off the ring, preventing escape. Ali realized that he would tire if Foreman could keep making one step to Ali's two, so he changed tactics.

Ali had told his trainer, [[Angelo Dundee]], and his fans that he had a secret plan for Foreman. Almost right away in the second round, Ali started lying on the ropes and letting Foreman punch him, without any attempt to attack Foreman himself (a strategy Ali later dubbed the rope-a-dope).

As a result Foreman spent all his energy throwing punches (in oven-like heat), that either did not hit Ali or were blocked in a way that would do little damage to Ali. This loss of energy is the key to the "rope-a-dope" technique.

Ali seemed to do little to resist, except to occasionally shoot straight punches to the face of Foreman. (Although this quickly began taking a toll on Foreman's face and it was soon visibly puffy.) When the two fighters were locked in clinches, however, Ali consistently outwrestled Foreman, using tactics such as leaning on Foreman to make Foreman support Ali's weight, or holding down Foreman's head by pushing on his neck, a move which is both disorientating and which can heighten the effect of punches, since it causes a greater snap in the neck when a fighter is hit in the head, and which subsequently increases the chances of a knockout. Ali also constantly taunted Foreman in these clinches, telling Foreman to throw more and harder punches, and an enraged Foreman responded by doing just that.

After several rounds, this caused Foreman to begin tiring. As Foreman's face became increasingly damaged by the occasional hard and fast jabs and crosses that Ali threw, his stamina looked to be draining from him. The effects were increasingly visible as Foreman was staggered by an Ali combination at the start of the fourth round and again several times near the end of the fifth, after Foreman had seemed to dominate much of that round. Although he would keep throwing punches and coming forward, after the fifth round Foreman was very tired and he looked increasingly worn out. Ali continued to taunt him by saying "they told me you could punch, George!" and "they told me you could punch as hard as [[Joe Louis]]."

Finally in the eighth round, Ali landed the final combination, a left hook that brought Foreman's head up into position so Ali could smash him with a rock-hard right straight to the face. Foreman staggered, then twirled across half the ring before landing on his back. Foreman did get up at the count of 9, as [[Bert Sugar]] of ESPN Classics has maintained, and as films of the fight clearly show, but the referee inexplicably signaled a ten count. Foreman later claimed that the reason he took so long to get up was that he was looking over at his corner, waiting for their signal to tell him when to get up, and that they were slow to do so.

Some argue this to have been among the greatest demonstrations of strategic planning and actual execution ever displayed in a heavyweight fight. Ali came into the fight with a tactical plan, executed it and achieved an upset for the ages, becoming only the second heavyweight ever to regain a championship.
[[file:Foreman.ali.jpg|250px|right]]
The fight made clear just how great Ali was at taking a punch and also highlights the different, perhaps dangerous, change that Ali had made in his fighting style, by adopting the rope-a-dope, instead of his former style that emphasized movement.

This fight has since become one of the most famous fights of all time, both because it resulted in Ali's regaining the title, but also due to the fact that Foreman would himself one day regain the title and become a popular champion. It is shown several times annually on the ESPN Classic network.

=== Reactions ===
Foreman later claimed that Ali's trainers had loosened up the ropes to benefit Ali, but he apologized for those comments after the fight. He produced a number of excuses over the years to explain his loss. Foreman even suggested that he may have been drugged by his own corner before the fight, and claimed in his memoir ''God in My Corner'' that he could taste something medicinal in his water.

Foreman and Ali became friends after the fight. Ali had trouble walking to the stage at the Oscars to be part of the group receiving the Oscar for ''[[When We Were Kings]]'', a documentary of the fight in Zaire, due to the fact he has Parkinsonism. George Foreman helped him up the steps to receive the Oscar.

=== Cultural influence ===
The fight has had a large cultural influence. The events before and during this bout are depicted in the Academy Award winning documentary, ''[[When We Were Kings]]''. The biographical movie ''[[Ali (film)|Ali]]'' (2002) depicts this fight as the film's climax. In addition, Norman Mailer wrote a book (''The Fight'') describing the events, and placing them within the context of his views of black American culture.

George Plimpton covered this fight for Sports Illustrated and it is featured in detail in his book Shadow Box.

Muhammad Ali was a very endearing figure to the people of Zaire, and his mind games played out well, turning the Congolese people in his favor and against Foreman. A popular chant of theirs leading up to, and during the fight was "Ali bomaye!", which means "Ali, kill him!"

In addition, the events surrounding the fight, such as its musical acts (BB King, the Fania All Stars and James Brown amongst others), added to its cultural impact.

The historical fiction novel The Poisonwood Bible mentions this event.

Johnny Wakelin wrote a song about this match called "In Zaire".

The Fugees also wrote a song about the event with A Tribe Called Quest and Rappin' Fort? titled "Rumble in the Jungle".

In the 1982 movie ''[[Rocky III]]'', Rocky uses a strategy similar to rope-a-dope in his rematch with Clubber Lang.

The Hours also wrote a song about the event titled "Ali In The Jungle"

In 2002, the fight was ranked seventh in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.

The incident was covered in an episode of ESPN Classic's ''The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame...'', examining reasons why people shouldn't blame Foreman for losing
=== Comment(s): ===
*1974 [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] - ''The Ring'' 
*1974 Round of the Year (round 8) - ''The Ring'' 
*Both fighters earned exactly the same paycheck: 5 million dollars. 
*Eight days before the fight, Foreman's sparring partner [[Bill McMurray]] accidentally cut him over his right eye. Because of the accident, the fight was postponed for almost five weeks.
*In the ring Ali outmanoeuvred then seemingly invincible Foreman by using his famous "rope-a-dope" strategy.
*Years after the fight, Ali and Foreman became good friends.

=== Quotes ===
*"It will be a divine fight, a holy war...Armageddon on a miniature scale." - Ali's pre-fight comment
*"They told me you could punch, George!" - Ali's comment during the fight.
*"All you critics crawl! All you suckers who write the ring magazines ... all you suckers bow!" - Ali's post-fight comment
*"If world surprised when Nixon resigned wait till I whup Foreman's behind" -Ali in a pre-fight interview.
*"I told you, all of my critics, I told you all, that I was The Greatest of all times when I beat Sonny Liston. I told you today, I still The Greatest of all times." -Ali's post fights in the press conference.

George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali

2011-09-24T18:11:00Z

Muhammad-ali: /* Quotes */

[[file:Ali-Foreman.Program.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Official poster]]
<fight>221</fight>
*'''[[World Boxing Council]] Heavyweight Title''' (Foreman defending) 
*'''[[World Boxing Association]] Heavyweight Title''' (Foreman defending) 
*'''Time:''' 2:58 
*'''Weights:''' Ali 216.5 lbs / 97,5 kg, Foreman 220 lbs / 99 kg 
*Attendance: 60,000 
== '''The Rumble in the Jungle''' ==
"The Rumble in The Jungle" was an historic boxing event that took place on October 30, [[1974, in the May 20 Stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo). It pitted then world Heavyweight champion [[George Foreman]] against former world champion and challenger [[Muhammad Ali]], who became the second fighter ever, after [[Floyd Patterson]], to recover the world's Heavyweight crown.

The event was Don King's first venture as a professional boxing promoter. He managed to get both Ali and Foreman to sign separate contracts saying they would fight for him if he could get 5 million dollars to be their prize. However, King did not have the money. So he began looking for an outside country to sponsor the event. Zaire's flamboyant president Mobutu S?s? Seko asked for the fight to be held in his country, eager for the publicity such a high-profile event would bring.

=== Build up to the Fight ===
In 1967, Ali had been suspended from the sport of boxing for three and a half years following his refusal to obey the draft and enter the Army. In 1970 he first regained a boxing license and promptly fought two comeback fights, against [[Jerry Quarry]] and [[Oscar Bonavena]] in an attempt to regain the heavyweight championship from [[Joe Frazier]]. The two met in 1971 in a bout dubbed the [[Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali (1st meeting)|Fight of the Century]], and Frazier prevailed, which sent Ali into fighting other contenders for years in an attempt at a new title shot.

Foreman had quickly risen from his gold medal victory at the 1968 Olympics and into the top ranks of professional heavyweights. Although considered by many to be somewhat slow and clumsy, Foreman was greatly feared for his punching power, size, and sheer physical dominance. Still, Joe Frazier and his promoters believed that despite Foreman's ever growing list of knockouts and victories, that he would be too slow and unrefined to stand up to Frazier's relentless attacks. This would turn out to be a grave miscalculation, as Foreman won the championship in grand fashion by knocking Frazier down six times in two rounds before the bout was stopped. Foreman further solidified his hold over the heavyweight division after he demolished [[Ken Norton]], who was the only man besides Frazier, (at that point in time) to defeat Ali (breaking Ali's jaw in the process), also in two rounds. Although by the time that Ali and Foreman met Ali had avenged his losses to both Norton and Frazier, Foreman seemed an overwhelming favorite against a slowing and aging Ali.

Foreman and Ali spent much of the summer of 1974 training in Zaire, and getting their bodies used to the weather in the tropical African country. The fight was originally set to happen in September, but Foreman was injured and cut during training, pushing the fight back off to October.

Insiders say that, in Foreman's dressing room before the fight, handlers actually prayed that Foreman would not kill Ali, so high was the anticipation that Ali was simply no match for Foreman.
[[file:F221.jpeg|right|thumb|300px]]
=== The Rumble ===
Ali started the first round attacking Foreman. This was notable, as Ali was famed for his speed and technical skills, while Foreman's raw power was his greatest strength; close range fighting would, it seemed, inevitably favor Foreman and leave too great a chance that Ali would be stunned by one or more of Foreman's powerful haymakers. Ali made use of the right-hand lead punch (striking with the right hand without setting up with the left) in a further effort to disorient Foreman. However, while this aggressive tactic may have surprised Foreman and it did allow Ali to hit him solidly a number of times, it failed to significantly hurt him. Before the end of the first round, Foreman caught up to Ali and began landing a few punches of his own. Foreman had also been trained to cut off the ring, preventing escape. Ali realized that he would tire if Foreman could keep making one step to Ali's two, so he changed tactics.

Ali had told his trainer, [[Angelo Dundee]], and his fans that he had a secret plan for Foreman. Almost right away in the second round, Ali started lying on the ropes and letting Foreman punch him, without any attempt to attack Foreman himself (a strategy Ali later dubbed the rope-a-dope).

As a result Foreman spent all his energy throwing punches (in oven-like heat), that either did not hit Ali or were blocked in a way that would do little damage to Ali. This loss of energy is the key to the "rope-a-dope" technique.

Ali seemed to do little to resist, except to occasionally shoot straight punches to the face of Foreman. (Although this quickly began taking a toll on Foreman's face and it was soon visibly puffy.) When the two fighters were locked in clinches, however, Ali consistently outwrestled Foreman, using tactics such as leaning on Foreman to make Foreman support Ali's weight, or holding down Foreman's head by pushing on his neck, a move which is both disorientating and which can heighten the effect of punches, since it causes a greater snap in the neck when a fighter is hit in the head, and which subsequently increases the chances of a knockout. Ali also constantly taunted Foreman in these clinches, telling Foreman to throw more and harder punches, and an enraged Foreman responded by doing just that.

After several rounds, this caused Foreman to begin tiring. As Foreman's face became increasingly damaged by the occasional hard and fast jabs and crosses that Ali threw, his stamina looked to be draining from him. The effects were increasingly visible as Foreman was staggered by an Ali combination at the start of the fourth round and again several times near the end of the fifth, after Foreman had seemed to dominate much of that round. Although he would keep throwing punches and coming forward, after the fifth round Foreman was very tired and he looked increasingly worn out. Ali continued to taunt him by saying "they told me you could punch, George!" and "they told me you could punch as hard as [[Joe Louis]]."

Finally in the eighth round, Ali landed the final combination, a left hook that brought Foreman's head up into position so Ali could smash him with a rock-hard right straight to the face. Foreman staggered, then twirled across half the ring before landing on his back. Foreman did get up at the count of 9, as [[Bert Sugar]] of ESPN Classics has maintained, and as films of the fight clearly show, but the referee inexplicably signaled a ten count. Foreman later claimed that the reason he took so long to get up was that he was looking over at his corner, waiting for their signal to tell him when to get up, and that they were slow to do so.

Some argue this to have been among the greatest demonstrations of strategic planning and actual execution ever displayed in a heavyweight fight. Ali came into the fight with a tactical plan, executed it and achieved an upset for the ages, becoming only the second heavyweight ever to regain a championship.
[[file:Foreman.ali.jpg|250px|right]]
The fight made clear just how great Ali was at taking a punch and also highlights the different, perhaps dangerous, change that Ali had made in his fighting style, by adopting the rope-a-dope, instead of his former style that emphasized movement.

This fight has since become one of the most famous fights of all time, both because it resulted in Ali's regaining the title, but also due to the fact that Foreman would himself one day regain the title and become a popular champion. It is shown several times annually on the ESPN Classic network.

=== Reactions ===
Foreman later claimed that Ali's trainers had loosened up the ropes to benefit Ali, but he apologized for those comments after the fight. He produced a number of excuses over the years to explain his loss. Foreman even suggested that he may have been drugged by his own corner before the fight, and claimed in his memoir ''God in My Corner'' that he could taste something medicinal in his water.

Foreman and Ali became friends after the fight. Ali had trouble walking to the stage at the Oscars to be part of the group receiving the Oscar for ''[[When We Were Kings]]'', a documentary of the fight in Zaire, due to the fact he has Parkinsonism. George Foreman helped him up the steps to receive the Oscar.

=== Cultural influence ===
The fight has had a large cultural influence. The events before and during this bout are depicted in the Academy Award winning documentary, ''[[When We Were Kings]]''. The biographical movie ''[[Ali (film)|Ali]]'' (2002) depicts this fight as the film's climax. In addition, Norman Mailer wrote a book (''The Fight'') describing the events, and placing them within the context of his views of black American culture.

George Plimpton covered this fight for Sports Illustrated and it is featured in detail in his book Shadow Box.

Muhammad Ali was a very endearing figure to the people of Zaire, and his mind games played out well, turning the Congolese people in his favor and against Foreman. A popular chant of theirs leading up to, and during the fight was "Ali bomaye!", which means "Ali, kill him!"

In addition, the events surrounding the fight, such as its musical acts (BB King, the Fania All Stars and James Brown amongst others), added to its cultural impact.

The historical fiction novel The Poisonwood Bible mentions this event.

Johnny Wakelin wrote a song about this match called "In Zaire".

The Fugees also wrote a song about the event with A Tribe Called Quest and Rappin' Fort? titled "Rumble in the Jungle".

In the 1982 movie ''[[Rocky III]]'', Rocky uses a strategy similar to rope-a-dope in his rematch with Clubber Lang.

The Hours also wrote a song about the event titled "Ali In The Jungle"

In 2002, the fight was ranked seventh in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.

The incident was covered in an episode of ESPN Classic's ''The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame...'', examining reasons why people shouldn't blame Foreman for losing
=== Comment(s): ===
*1974 [[Ring Magazine Fight of the Year|Fight of the Year]] - ''The Ring'' 
*1974 Round of the Year (round 8) - ''The Ring'' 
*Both fighters earned exactly the same paycheck: 5 million dollars. 
*Eight days before the fight, Foreman's sparring partner [[Bill McMurray]] accidentally cut him over his right eye. Because of the accident, the fight was postponed for almost five weeks.
*In the ring Ali outmanoeuvred then seemingly invincible Foreman by using his famous "rope-a-dope" strategy.
*Years after the fight, Ali and Foreman became good friends.

=== Quotes ===
*"It will be a divine fight, a holy war...Armageddon on a miniature scale." - Ali's pre-fight comment
*"They told me you could punch, George!" - Ali's comment during the fight.
*"All you critics crawl! All you suckers who write the ring magazines ... all you suckers bow!" - Ali's post-fight comment
*"If world surprised when Nixon resigned wait till I whip Foreman's behind" -Ali in a pre-fight interview.
*"I told you, all of my critics, I told you all, that I was The Greatest of all times" -Ali's post fights in the press conference.

George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali

2011-09-24T18:09:37Z

Muhammad-ali: /* Quotes */

Muhammad Ali

2011-08-29T06:19:43Z

Muhammad-ali:

[[file:Ali.muhammad.jpg|left|thumb|300px]]
[[file:Ibhof-logo.jpg|thumb|right|Class of 1990 Modern Category Hall of Fame bio:[http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/modern/ali.html click]]]
[[File:WBHF Logo.jpg|right|thumb|200px|World Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee]]
<boxer>000180</boxer>
'''Trainer:''' [[Angelo Dundee]] 
'''Manager:''' [[Herbert Muhammad]] 
'''[[:Category:Muhammad Ali Gallery|Muhammad Ali Gallery]]'''
 
 
== Amateur Achievements ==
[[file:Ali_Olympics.jpg|right|thumb|<center>The 1960 Rome Olympics</center>]]

*Six-time Kentucky State Golden Gloves Champion
*1959 Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Jeff Davis]]
*1959 Intercity Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Tony Madigan]]
*1960 Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Jimmy Jones (of Chicago, IL)|Jimmy Jones]]
*1960 Intercity Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Gary Jawish]]
*1959 National AAU Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Johnny Powell]]
*1960 National AAU Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Jeff Davis]]
*1960 [[Olympics|Olympic]] Light Heavyweight Gold Medalist in Rome, Italy. Olympic results:
**[[Yvon Becaus]] (Belgium) TKO 2
**[[Gennadi Schatkov]] (USSR) W3
**[[Tony Madigan]] (Australia) W3
**[[Zbigniew Pietrzykowski]] (Poland) W3

{{start box}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Jim Boyd]] |
title= [[Olympic Games Medalists| Olympic Gold Medalist]] Light Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1960 |
after= [[Cosimo Pinto]]
}}
{{succession box | title=[[United States Amateur Light Heavyweight Champions|National AAU]] Light Heavyweight Champion | before=[[Sylvester Banks]]| after= [[Bob Christopherson]]| years=1959-1960}}

{{succession box |
before= [[Kent Green]] |
title= [[Chicago Golden Gloves|Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions]] Light Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1959 |
after= [[Jeff Davis]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[James Hargett]] |
title= [[Intercity Golden Gloves|Intercity Golden Gloves]] Light Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1959 |
after= [[Jeff Davis]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Jimmy Jones (of Chicago, IL)|Jimmy Jones]] |
title= [[Chicago Golden Gloves|Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions]] Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1960 |
after= [[Al Jenkins]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Sylvester Banks]] |
title= [[Intercity Golden Gloves|Intercity Golden Gloves]] Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1960 |
after= [[Ray Patterson]]
}}
{{end box}}

== Amateur record ==

There is a controversy about his amateur record. Because according to some fonts Ali's got an amateur record of 100-5, according to IMBD he has an amateur record of 127-5. Another fonts talks about more than 130 victories.

== Professional Achievements ==
*Three-time World Heavyweight Champion
*Won thirty-three World Heavyweight Championship fights (30 defenses)

==Acting Career==
*Appeared in a number of movies and television shows. IMDb credits: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000738/]

== Awards and Recognition ==
*Named [[Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year|''The Ring'' Fighter of the Year]] for 1963, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1978
*Named [[Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year]] for 1965, 1974 and 1975
*Proclaimed "Fighter of the Decade" (1970s) by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]
*Won the Boxing Writers' Association of America [[James J. Walker Memorial Award]] for 1984
*Named the greatest heavyweight of all-time by [[Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']] in 1998
*Named the greatest heavyweight of the 20th century by the Associated Press
*Named "Athlete of the Century" by GQ magazine
*Named "Sportsman of the 20th Century" by [[Sports Illustrated]]
*Named "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC
*Inducted into the [[Florida Boxing Hall of Fame]] in 2010.

== Factoids ==
*Muhammad Ali is the brother of fellow boxer [[Rahman Ali]], the father of female world champion [[Laila Ali]], and the uncle of [[Ibn Ali]].
*Ali's first fight with [[Joe Frazier]] indirectly led to four deaths. During the bout itself in New York, two spectators died of heart attacks. In Malaysia, Abdul Ghani Bachik was reported to have leaped up from his chair while watching the fight on paid television and shouted, "My God, Cassius Clay has fallen!" He then suffered a fatal heart attack. In Milan, Italy, Erio Borghisiani was found dead in front of his television just hours after viewing the fight on paid television.

== Legacy ==
A 1974 ''World Boxing'' reader poll ranked Ali as the 5th greatest heavyweight in history, historian Nat Loubet ranked him as the 9th greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1975, and John Durant, author of ''The Heavyweight Champions'', ranked him as the 4th greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1976. BBC Sports, former WBA president Bill Brennan, ''The Ring'' editor-in-chief Nigel Collins, former ''Boxing Illustrated'' editor-in-chief Herbert G. Goldman, ''Showtime'' commentator Steve Farhood, and historian Arthur Harris all consider Ali to be the greatest heavyweight of all-time.

==Reference sources==
*[http://www.ali.com/ Official website]
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1659947 Ali, the fighting prophet]'' / Gilbert Odd with a foreword by Henry Cooper (1975, ISBN 0720708451)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2057974 Black is best: the riddle of Cassius Clay]'' / Jack Olsen (1967)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2489745 Cassius Clay: a biography]'' / Jack Olsen (1967)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3019601 Cassius Clay ante el racismo]'' / Jose Laurino (1969)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2494526 Le champion]'' / Robert Gurik (c1977, ISBN 0776100653)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2194423 Facing Ali : the opposition weighs in]'' / Stephen Brunt (2002, ISBN 0676973507)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn331046 The fight]'' / Norman Mailer (1975 - 1st edition, ISBN 0316544167)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2978330 The fight]'' / Norman Mailer (1976, ISBN 0246109505)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn244559 The greatest: my own story]'' / Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham (c1975 - 1st edition, ISBN 0394462688)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1119292 The greatest: my own story]'' / Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham (1976, ISBN 0246109440)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2865330 I'm the greatest: the wit and humour of Muhammad Ali]'' / cartoons by Roy Ullyett and Jon (1975, ISBN 0856321427 and 0856321494 (pbk))
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn94569 King of the world: Muhammad Ali and the rise of an American hero]'' / David Remnick (c1998, ISBN 0375500650)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1218886 Men of destiny: the story of Muhammad Ali, formerly Cassius Clay]'' / John Cottrell (1967)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1333950 Muhammad Ali: his fights in the ring]'' / Robert Walker (1979, ISBN 017005571X)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2786653 Muhammad Ali retrospective]'' / Henry James Korn (1976, ISBN 0909331146)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn314318 Muhammad Ali's greatest fight: Cassius Clay vs. the United States of America]'' / Howard Bingham and Max Wallace (c2000, ISBN 0871319004)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1974435 Redemption song: Muhammad Ali and the spirit of the sixties]'' / Mike Marqusee (1999, ISBN 185984717X)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1015301 Sting like a bee: the Muhammad Ali story]'' (1971, ISBN 0200718401)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1103339 Sting like a bee: the Muhammad Ali story]'' / Jose Torres and Bert Randolph Sugar (2002, ISBN 0074712004)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn310852 Black superman]'' / words and music by Johnny Wakelin (c1974) - ''"A tribute to the black superman Muhammad Ali"''
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3120384 In Zaire]'' / words and music by Johnny Wakelin (c1976)

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sonny Liston]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Ernie Terrell]]|
years=1964 Feb 25 – 1964 Sep 14 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sonny Liston]]|
title=[[WBC Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Joe Frazier]]|
years=1964 Feb 25 – 1970 Feb 3 '''Retired'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sonny Liston]]|
title=[[NYSAC World Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Joe Frazier]]|
years=1964 Feb 25 – 1967 May 9 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Ernie Terrell]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Jimmy Ellis]]|
years=1967 Feb 6 – 1967 May 9 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[George Foreman]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]] [[WBC Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Leon Spinks]]|
years=1974 Oct 30 – 1978 Feb 15
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Leon Spinks]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[John Tate]]|
years=1978 Sep 15 – 1979 Sep 6 '''Retired'''
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Muhammad}}
[[Category:African American Boxers]]
[[Category:Muslim Boxers]]
[[Category:Intercity Golden Gloves Champions]]
[[Category:Chicago Golden Gloves Champions]]
[[Category:United States Amateur Champions]]
[[Category:1960 Olympians]]
[[Category:American Olympians]]
[[Category:Olympic Gold Medalists]]
[[Category:World Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:American World Champions]]
[[Category:IBHOF Members]]
[[Category:World Boxing Hall of Fame Members]]
[[Category:NABF Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:Ali Family]]
[[Category:Actors]]

Talk:Muhammad Ali

2011-08-29T05:12:35Z

Muhammad-ali:

== Won 33 World Heavyweight Championship fights ==

In his professional achievements we can find 3 bouts where he conquered Heavyweight title (against Sonny Liston in 1964, against George Foreman in 1974 and Leon Spinks in 1978). And according to the data in here (this site), in the WBA and WBC champions' information we can find that in his 3 times as champ Ali defended succesfully his titles 30 times, that makes a total of 33 won fights for the World Heavyweight Championship. (The bout against Ernie Terrell in 1967 to regained the WBA belt that Muhammad was stripped in 1965 is including in that 33)

== Cassius X ==

On the boxing record page, there is a BIG error in fact noted about Ali's change of name after the first Sonny Liston bout. Ali first announced his name changed as Cassius X, not Muhammad X. A couple of weeks later, he announced to the world that he'd "now forever be known as Muhammad Ali -- Muhammad means worthy of praise and Ali mean most high," the champ said to a band of boxingscribes. This information is easily found in umpteen bios and autobios of the GOAT. One can go to "The Muhammad Ali Story" at Youtube and hear Ali said that in video footage of that time.

Muhammad Ali

2011-08-29T05:02:20Z

Muhammad-ali: /* Professional Achievements */

[[file:Ali.muhammad.jpg|left|thumb|300px]]
[[file:Ibhof-logo.jpg|thumb|right|Class of 1990 Modern Category Hall of Fame bio:[http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/modern/ali.html click]]]
[[File:WBHF Logo.jpg|right|thumb|200px|World Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee]]
<boxer>000180</boxer>
'''Trainer:''' [[Angelo Dundee]] 
'''Manager:''' [[Herbert Muhammad]] 
'''[[:Category:Muhammad Ali Gallery|Muhammad Ali Gallery]]'''
 
 
== Amateur Achievements ==
[[file:Ali_Olympics.jpg|right|thumb|<center>The 1960 Rome Olympics</center>]]

*Six-time Kentucky State Golden Gloves Champion
*1959 Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Jeff Davis]]
*1959 Intercity Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Tony Madigan]]
*1960 Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Jimmy Jones (of Chicago, IL)|Jimmy Jones]]
*1960 Intercity Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Gary Jawish]]
*1959 National AAU Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Johnny Powell]]
*1960 National AAU Light Heavyweight Champion vs. [[Jeff Davis]]
*1960 [[Olympics|Olympic]] Light Heavyweight Gold Medalist in Rome, Italy. Olympic results:
**[[Yvon Becaus]] (Belgium) TKO 2
**[[Gennadi Schatkov]] (USSR) W3
**[[Tony Madigan]] (Australia) W3
**[[Zbigniew Pietrzykowski]] (Poland) W3

{{start box}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Jim Boyd]] |
title= [[Olympic Games Medalists| Olympic Gold Medalist]] Light Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1960 |
after= [[Cosimo Pinto]]
}}
{{succession box | title=[[United States Amateur Light Heavyweight Champions|National AAU]] Light Heavyweight Champion | before=[[Sylvester Banks]]| after= [[Bob Christopherson]]| years=1959-1960}}

{{succession box |
before= [[Kent Green]] |
title= [[Chicago Golden Gloves|Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions]] Light Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1959 |
after= [[Jeff Davis]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[James Hargett]] |
title= [[Intercity Golden Gloves|Intercity Golden Gloves]] Light Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1959 |
after= [[Jeff Davis]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Jimmy Jones (of Chicago, IL)|Jimmy Jones]] |
title= [[Chicago Golden Gloves|Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions]] Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1960 |
after= [[Al Jenkins]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Sylvester Banks]] |
title= [[Intercity Golden Gloves|Intercity Golden Gloves]] Heavyweight Champion |
years= 1960 |
after= [[Ray Patterson]]
}}
{{end box}}

== Professional Achievements ==
*Three-time World Heavyweight Champion
*Won thirty-three World Heavyweight Championship fights (30 defenses)

==Acting Career==
*Appeared in a number of movies and television shows. IMDb credits: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000738/]

== Awards and Recognition ==
*Named [[Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year|''The Ring'' Fighter of the Year]] for 1963, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1978
*Named [[Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year]] for 1965, 1974 and 1975
*Proclaimed "Fighter of the Decade" (1970s) by [[The Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']]
*Won the Boxing Writers' Association of America [[James J. Walker Memorial Award]] for 1984
*Named the greatest heavyweight of all-time by [[Ring Magazine|''The Ring'']] in 1998
*Named the greatest heavyweight of the 20th century by the Associated Press
*Named "Athlete of the Century" by GQ magazine
*Named "Sportsman of the 20th Century" by [[Sports Illustrated]]
*Named "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC
*Inducted into the [[Florida Boxing Hall of Fame]] in 2010.

== Factoids ==
*Muhammad Ali is the brother of fellow boxer [[Rahman Ali]], the father of female world champion [[Laila Ali]], and the uncle of [[Ibn Ali]].
*Ali's first fight with [[Joe Frazier]] indirectly led to four deaths. During the bout itself in New York, two spectators died of heart attacks. In Malaysia, Abdul Ghani Bachik was reported to have leaped up from his chair while watching the fight on paid television and shouted, "My God, Cassius Clay has fallen!" He then suffered a fatal heart attack. In Milan, Italy, Erio Borghisiani was found dead in front of his television just hours after viewing the fight on paid television.

== Legacy ==
A 1974 ''World Boxing'' reader poll ranked Ali as the 5th greatest heavyweight in history, historian Nat Loubet ranked him as the 9th greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1975, and John Durant, author of ''The Heavyweight Champions'', ranked him as the 4th greatest heavyweight of all-time in 1976. BBC Sports, former WBA president Bill Brennan, ''The Ring'' editor-in-chief Nigel Collins, former ''Boxing Illustrated'' editor-in-chief Herbert G. Goldman, ''Showtime'' commentator Steve Farhood, and historian Arthur Harris all consider Ali to be the greatest heavyweight of all-time.

==Reference sources==
*[http://www.ali.com/ Official website]
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1659947 Ali, the fighting prophet]'' / Gilbert Odd with a foreword by Henry Cooper (1975, ISBN 0720708451)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2057974 Black is best: the riddle of Cassius Clay]'' / Jack Olsen (1967)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2489745 Cassius Clay: a biography]'' / Jack Olsen (1967)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3019601 Cassius Clay ante el racismo]'' / Jose Laurino (1969)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2494526 Le champion]'' / Robert Gurik (c1977, ISBN 0776100653)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2194423 Facing Ali : the opposition weighs in]'' / Stephen Brunt (2002, ISBN 0676973507)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn331046 The fight]'' / Norman Mailer (1975 - 1st edition, ISBN 0316544167)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2978330 The fight]'' / Norman Mailer (1976, ISBN 0246109505)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn244559 The greatest: my own story]'' / Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham (c1975 - 1st edition, ISBN 0394462688)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1119292 The greatest: my own story]'' / Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham (1976, ISBN 0246109440)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2865330 I'm the greatest: the wit and humour of Muhammad Ali]'' / cartoons by Roy Ullyett and Jon (1975, ISBN 0856321427 and 0856321494 (pbk))
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn94569 King of the world: Muhammad Ali and the rise of an American hero]'' / David Remnick (c1998, ISBN 0375500650)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1218886 Men of destiny: the story of Muhammad Ali, formerly Cassius Clay]'' / John Cottrell (1967)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1333950 Muhammad Ali: his fights in the ring]'' / Robert Walker (1979, ISBN 017005571X)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2786653 Muhammad Ali retrospective]'' / Henry James Korn (1976, ISBN 0909331146)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn314318 Muhammad Ali's greatest fight: Cassius Clay vs. the United States of America]'' / Howard Bingham and Max Wallace (c2000, ISBN 0871319004)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1974435 Redemption song: Muhammad Ali and the spirit of the sixties]'' / Mike Marqusee (1999, ISBN 185984717X)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1015301 Sting like a bee: the Muhammad Ali story]'' (1971, ISBN 0200718401)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1103339 Sting like a bee: the Muhammad Ali story]'' / Jose Torres and Bert Randolph Sugar (2002, ISBN 0074712004)
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn310852 Black superman]'' / words and music by Johnny Wakelin (c1974) - ''"A tribute to the black superman Muhammad Ali"''
*''[http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3120384 In Zaire]'' / words and music by Johnny Wakelin (c1976)

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sonny Liston]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Ernie Terrell]]|
years=1964 Feb 25 – 1964 Sep 14 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sonny Liston]]|
title=[[WBC Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Joe Frazier]]|
years=1964 Feb 25 – 1970 Feb 3 '''Retired'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Sonny Liston]]|
title=[[NYSAC World Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Joe Frazier]]|
years=1964 Feb 25 – 1967 May 9 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Ernie Terrell]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Jimmy Ellis]]|
years=1967 Feb 6 – 1967 May 9 '''Stripped'''
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[George Foreman]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]] [[WBC Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Leon Spinks]]|
years=1974 Oct 30 – 1978 Feb 15
}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Leon Spinks]]|
title=[[WBA Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[John Tate]]|
years=1978 Sep 15 – 1979 Sep 6 '''Retired'''
}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Muhammad}}
[[Category:African American Boxers]]
[[Category:Muslim Boxers]]
[[Category:Intercity Golden Gloves Champions]]
[[Category:Chicago Golden Gloves Champions]]
[[Category:United States Amateur Champions]]
[[Category:1960 Olympians]]
[[Category:American Olympians]]
[[Category:Olympic Gold Medalists]]
[[Category:World Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:American World Champions]]
[[Category:IBHOF Members]]
[[Category:World Boxing Hall of Fame Members]]
[[Category:NABF Heavyweight Champions]]
[[Category:Ali Family]]
[[Category:Actors]]