Men's Fitness Special Ali - 2016 USA

7/25/2019 Men's Fitness Special Ali - 2016 USA

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SPECIAL COLLECTORS ISSUE

ANUARY 17, 1942JUNE 3, 2016

THE PEOPLESCHAMPION

nside:NEVERBEFORESEENPHOTOS!


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He w ho is not courageous

enough to take risks w ill

accom plish nothing in life


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I am the greatest Isaid thateven before

I knew I was.


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F O R E V E R A N IC O NAn introductory essay that exploresthe vast reachesof Muham m ad Alisiconic status.

B Y D A V E Z IR IN

IN O T H E R S W O R D SAlisinfluence can be traced from the boxing ring to the broadcast booth and beyond.

Here are the reflectionsof som e w ho w ere influenced and inspired by h im .

T H E G R EAT E S TA biograph icalaccount of the fights passions politicalcauses and relationshipsthat

form ed the life and legend of Ali.B Y M IK E C A R L S O N

T H E G O L D E N M IC M E E T S T H E G O L D E N M O U T H :

H O W A R D C O S E L L A N D M U H A M M A D A L IA look back at the loquacious lum inous and legendary relationship betw een tw o

iconic sportsfigures.

B Y J O N F IN K E L

A L IS M O S T N O TA B L E F IG H T STen boutsthat highlight the trium ph and tragedy of the sportsm ost revered and

reviled heavyw eigh t

B Y E R IC V E L A Z Q U E Z

D E F IN IN G G R E AT N E S SThe author of Free to Be Muh m m d Ali discussesw hat m ade Ali so great and w hy

m ore than 30 yearsafter hislast figh t he stilloccupiessuch a hallow ed place in the

collective Am erican consciousness.

B Y B O B L IP S Y T E

20

30

40

76

80

88

TABLEOFCONTENTS


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A KNO W LE G M ENTS

Ch a irm a n, President & CEO

o f Am eric a n Media , Inc. D AVID PECK ER

Edito r S H AW N P ER INE

Crea tive D irec to r JOSEP H H ER OU N

Mana g ing Edito r JO E W U EBBEN

Co p y Edito r CAT P ER R Y

Art D irec to r JISOO H ONG

SVP Op era tions R OB M .ONEILL

VPPro duc tio n R OBER T FENIKOW SKI

Pro duc tio n Mana gers ANIL LOP EZ ,TH OM AS OCONNOR

Im a g ing G ro u p F R ANK FR ANK INO,JOH N STEINH EIM ER ,

R AM ON SANTANA

Ph o to Assista nt R EB EC CA K AR AM EH M ED OV IC

Co ntrib u ting W riters M IK E CAR LSON,JON F INK EL,BOB LIP SY TE,

ER IC V ELAZQ U EZ,D AV E ZIR IN

Pho to grap hy Pro v ided By G ETTY IM AG ES,G EOR G E K ALINSK Y

AMI Sta R OBIN BER NSTEIN,BR IAN CAM P ION,D Y LAN H OW AR DLAU R A K ALNICK Y,R U SSELL M END OZA,ER IC SCH U LTZ ,JEFF TOM KO,R ICH AR D W H ITE,ZACK Z EIG LER

20 16,A m ericanM ed ia,Inc.A llR igh tsR ese rved.N opartofthispub licationm ay berep rod uced orincorporated intoanyinform ationretrieva lsy stem ,electron icorm echanical,w ithoutthew rittenp erm issionofthecopyrigh tow ner.Inquiriesregardingperm issionforuseofm aterialcontainedinthisp ublicationsh ouldbeaddresse dto:A m ericanM edia,Inc.,4N ew Yo rkP laza,N ew Yo rk,N Y 100 0 4,A ttn:R igh tsandP erm iss ions

P rintedinU S A


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W ithin m inu tes after ne w s o f M uh am m ad Alis p as sing b ro ke, trib utes flo o d ed the Internet,

ra d io , TV , stree t co rne rs, an d c af s the w o rld o ve r.P res id en ts a n d sc ho lars, ath letes an d

ac to rs a like rem em b ered him w ith p oigna nt p ros e an d b ou nd less p raise.Tod ay, the w orld

co ntinu es to m o urn o ur lo ss, a s w e reve lin the grea t gift w e w ere give n o n Ja n.17, 1942,

the d ay C as siu s C lay w as b o rn in Lo uisv ille, K Y.

W ithin these p ages w e co m m em orate a m an w ho w as no thing if not transcen den t.O ver

the co u rse o f his s to ryb o o k life h e tran sc en d ed so c ialb o un d aries , an d the n ra cialo n es .

H e tran sc en d e d religio n a n d p o litic s.H e tran sc en d e d en tertain m e nt an d sp o rts, a nd in th e

end , he even trans cen de d disease .

Alm o st fro m th e s tart, an d ce rtain ly in h is late r ye ars, it se e m e d tha t M uh am m ad Ali

a ns w e red to a h igh er ca llin g.B y th e tim e h is P arkins o ns h ad b ee n d iag n o se d in 19 8 4, he

w as w ellon his p ath to se rve as a un ifying fo rce fo r go o d , w o rking tireles sly eve n w he nhis b o d y tired ea sily to sp rea d the tw in id ea ls o f lov e an d co m p as sio n eve ryw he re h e

w en t.It is tho se ve ry id ea ls tha t w e n ow se e rep res en ted in the o utp o uring o f tw ee ts a nd

p o sts a n d e d ito ria ls a b o u t h im .A lis m iss io n h a s c o m e fu llcirc le .

W ith refle ctio ns b y m an y o f to d ay s great jo urnalists a nd p ho to s b y ren ow ne d p ho to gra-

p h ers so m e n ev er b e fo re p u b lish e d th is co lle ctib le ed itio n se rve s n o t o nly as a tre as u re

trove o f Alim em ories a nd m usings , but also as a lov ing trib ute to a m an w ho w as u nq ue s-

tio n a b ly th e G rea te st.

O n b e ha lf o f allw h o crea ted th is s p ec ia lpu b lica tio n , Iw o uld like to exten d m y d e ep es tsym pa thies to the fam ily of M uha m m ad Ali, and o er on e of his m any m em orab le q uo tes,

o ne tha t is as rep res en tative o f the m an as a ny Ikn o w :Iw ish p eo p le w o uld lov e e ve ry-

b o d y e lse the w ay the y lov e m e.It w o uld b e a b etter w o rld .

- S haw n P erine

June 4, 2016

Like everyone else on the planet Michelle and I m ourn his

passing.But w ere also gratefulto God for how fortunate w e

are to have know n him if just for a w hile;for how fortunate

w e allare that the Greatest chose to grace our tim e.

PresidentBarack Obama


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The greatest boxer?

M uham m ad Aliw as

one of the greatest

hum an beings I ever

m et in m y life.A piece

of m e died w hen he

passed aw ay and I

callit the greatest

piece.

George oreman


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JACKIE ROBINSON BECOM ES

THE FIRST BLACK M AN TOBREAK BASEBALLS RACIALBARRIER.THE SECOND W ORLDW AR RAGES.AVERAGE ANNUALSALARY FOR AM ERICANS IS

1,299, 60% LESS IF YOU AREBLACK.YOUNG FRANK SINATRAIS A SENSATION.W HITEASSEM BLY LINE W ORKERSREFUSE TO W ORK SIDE-BY-SIDE

W ITH BLACKS.CASSIUSM ARCELLUS CLAY JR.IS BORNIN LOUISVILLE, KY.


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From the day he claim ed

the Olym pic gold m edalin

1960 boxing fans across

the w orld knew they w ere

seeing a blend of beautyand grace speed and

strength that m ay never

be m atched again.

President illClinton


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I gave Alithe

PresidentialMedalofFreedom

in 2005 and

wondered aloud

how he stayed so

pretty throughout

so many fights

Itprobably had

to do with his

beautifulsoul

President

George W Bush


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OREVER

ANI O N

A T O U T D O O R V E N D O R M A R K E T S from ChiletoB elfastto

SouthA frica,youcanalw aysfindthreeT-shirtsforsale:B ruceLee,A lPacinosTony

M ontana,andM uham m adA li.B ruceLeew asthem anw ho,inthefictionalw orldof

m ovies,neverlostafight.Ton yM on tanaisanavatarofviolent,am oralm achism o.

ThentheresA li.H ew asntinvincibleasafighter.H ecertainlywasanythingbut

invulnerable.Infact,therehasneverbeen anyonem orepubliclyvulnerable.H ew as

knockedaroundbybattlesw ithotherfigh tersandbattlesw iththeU .S.governm ent,

butheem ergedbattered,bruised,andintact.H edevelopedintotheclosestthing

w evehadinthiscountrytoaw alkingsaint.B utsaintornot,now thathehaspassedaw ay,w ehavetodom orethanw eep.

W ehavetodom orethansinghym nstothepassingofthem ostim portantathletic

iconofthe20thcentury.W ehavetodom orethanbaskintheradiantglow ofoneof

historysm ostvibrantculturalfigures.W ehavetodom orebecause,asisoftenthe

casew henthegreaton espass,abattlew illsurelycom m enceastohow heshould

berem em bered.TheA liw hohasthem ostresonance theonew horem ainsahero

ineverycorneroftheearth istheA lim ostindangerofbeingextinguished.The

questionofhow M uham m adA lislegacyistobecapturedshouldvexanyserious

studentofhislifeandtim es,becausethem anbornCassiusM arcellusClayJr.w as

am anofm anylegacies.

Therestheyoun gboyraisedinthesegregatedhorse-breedingcom m unityof

Louisville,K Y,w hohatedtogethitbutsethism indtolearninghow toboxaftera

thiefstolehisbicycle.

Theresthe18-year-oldOlym picgoldm edalistkn ow nasCashtheB rash,the

LouisvilleLip,orG aseousC assius,w hosem outh,show m anship,andhum orset

thestandardforeveryathletetofollow .

Theresthefighterw hoearlyinhiscareercom binedspeedandstrengthtoan

unparalleleddegree.A sw riterG aryK am iyaputit,N oonehadeverseenanyone

thatbigm ovethatfast;noonehadeverseenanyonethatgracefulhurtotherpeople

sobadly.FightingA liw aslikebeingforcedtoglideacrossthefloorw ithG eneK ellyin

am urderousduet;asingledeviation from thebeat,ahundredthofasecondspause

com ingoutofaliquidtw irl,andabaseballbatw ouldexplodeagainstyourhead.

Theresthefighterw horeturnedtotheringafternearlyfouryearsofexile.H ew as

slow er,lessgraceful.B uthefoundout,tohisam azem entan dours,thathehadajaw

ofironandcouldtakeapunchbetterthananyonew hodeverlived.

Why Muhammad Ali will always resonateB Y D A V E Z I R I N

Theresthem anw hotooktoom anyofthose

punches,w hobecam ethesym bolforeveryfighter

w hostayedontoolong.ThisA liw asrobbedofspeech,

hisParkinsonsleavinghim afundam entallydifferent

personform orethan onethirdofhislife.

Thentheresthem anw hoshow edthew orldhis

disabilityashelittheOlym pictorchin1996,and

visitedtheW hiteH ouse,w iththecouragetoforgo

anysenseofvanityoregoandappearbeforeeveryone,shaking,barelyabletom akeoutaw ord.

A lloftheseversionsofA lim akeupalifeoftitanic

im portance,thatofayoungm anw hobeatincredible

oddstobecom eknow nfarandw ideastheG reatest.

Of course, theresthe otherA li the political

activistan dsocialagitator.T hisistheA liw hojoined

theblack nationalist organization(better know n

astheN ationofIslam );w hobecam ehistorysm ost

fam ousdraftresistor;w hoinspiredN elsonM andela

tostaystrongbehindbars,andM artinLutherK ing

Jr.topubliclyopposetheV ietnam W ar.T hisA li,

althougheverybitthefighterastheringversion,

hasoftenslippedthroughthecracksofthepublics

consciousness,lostinaseaoffloatlikeabutterfly,

stinglikeabeesoundbites.

Forabrieftim e,thew orldsgreatestboxerw as

know nasCassiusX ,untilN ationofIslam leaderElijah

M uham m addecidedtonam ehim M uham m adA li.

A lm ostovernight,w hetheryoucalledhim A liorClay

indicatedw hereyoustoodoncivilrights,BlackPow er,

and,ofcourse,thew arinV ietnam .

EventhoughheandtheN ationofIslam opposed

thecivilrigh tsm ovem entsintegrationistaim s,Alis

influenceontheblackfreedom strugglecannotbe

overstated.A snew sanchorB ryantG um belsaid,


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O ne of the reasons the civilrights m ovem ent w ent

forw ard w as that black people w ere able to overcom e

their fear.

And I honestly believe that for m any black

Am ericans, that cam e from w atching M uham m ad

Ali.H e sim ply refused to be afraid.And being that

w ay, he gave other people courage.

A sign of Alis early influence w as seen in 1965

w hen Stud ent Nonviolent Coordinating C om m ittee

SN C C ) volun teers in L ow nd es C oun ty, AL , laun ched

an independ ent political party. T heir new group

w as the fi rst to use the sym bol of a black pan ther.

T heir bu m per stickers and T -shirts w ere of a black

silhou ette ofa panther, an d their slogan w as straigh t

from the cham p: W e Are the G reatest.

In early 1966, the Arm y cam e calling for Ali.H e

heard this new s w hile surrounded by reporters

and, in typicalA listyle, blurted out on e of the m ost

fam ous ph rases of the decade: M an, I aint got no

qu arrel w ith them V ietcong. It w as a rem arkablem om ent and a touchstone for a nascent antiw ar

m ovem ent.D espite being given every opportun ity

to recant, Ali w ouldn t bu dge, saying, D am n the

m on ey. H is refusal in itself w as historic in the

w ay it connected the black freedom struggle w ith

the V ietnam W ar protest, w here theyd p reviously

operated on separate tracks.

Alis bold pronouncem ent w as m ade at a fair-

housing rally in L ouisville.As the cam eras w hirred,

he said, W hy should they ask m e to puton a un iform

and go 10,000 m iles from hom e and d rop bom bs

and bullets on brow n people in V ietnam w hile so-

called negro people in L ou isville are treated like

dogs and denied sim ple hum an rights? No, Im not

going 10,000 m iles from hom e to help m urder and

burn an other poor nation sim ply to con tinue the

dom ination of w hite slave m asters of the darker

people the w orld over.This is the day w hen such evils

m ustcom e to an end.I have been w arned thatto take

such a stand w ould costm e m illions ofd ollars.B ut I

have said iton ce, and I w illsay itagain:T he realenem y

of m y people is here.I w illnot disgrace m y religion,

m y people, or m yself by becom ing a tool to enslave

those w ho are fighting for their ow n justice, freedom ,

and equality IfI thought the w ar w as going to bring

freedom and equality to 22 m illion ofm y people, they

w ouldnt have to draft m e, Id join tom orrow .I have

nothing to lose by standing up for m y beliefs.So Ill

go to jail, so w hat? W eve been in jailfor 400 years.

Alis refusal to fight in V ietnam becam e an

internation al story, transform ing h im into a h ero

am ong pacifists w orldw ide. O n Jun e 19, 1967, Ali

w as prosecuted by an all-w hite jury in H ouston, T X .T he typicalsentence w as 18 m onths in these cases.

Alireceived fi ve years in prison and the con fiscation

of his passport.H e im m ediately appealed, but w as

stripped of his title for refusing to serve in the U .S.

m ilitary, w hich b egan a 3 -year exile from the ring.

B y 1968, h e w as out on bail but had lost his

title and the m illion s of fans w ho view ed h im on ly

through the prism of boxing. An d yet he w as never

less alone: A n ew generation blacks and w hites

alike sud denly w anted to hear w hat he had to

say. Soon he w as speaking at cam pu ses across the

coun try.Undau nted an d un apologetic, he carried on

his crusade w ith his signature con fidence, taking on

his ow n governm ent as he m ight a club figh ter.

A sym b o lo f

u ndenia b le strength

Muham m ad Ali w as

a lso a v ulnerab lefig u re b attered a nd

b ruised bo th inside

the ring a nd o u t o nly

to em erge intac t at

the end o f it all.

Im exp ected to go overseas to help free people inSou th V ietn am , he pronoun ced in on e such speech,an d at the sam e tim e m y people here are bein gbru talized.H elln o! I w ou ld like to say to those ofyou w ho thin k I ha ve lost so m uch, I ha ve gain edeverythin g.I have peace ofheart.I have a clear,freeconscien ce.An d I am proud.I w ake up happ y,I go

to bed happy,an d ifI go to jail,Illgo to jailhappy.

T he m ost fam ous athlete and perhaps the m ost

fam ous person on the planet w as w illing to go to

jail, proud of his beliefs.H e w as w illing to challenge

social conventions, for the com m on good. H e w as

w illing to stand toe-to-toe w ith the greatestboxers of

his generation, for our entertainm ent.H e w as w illing

to stand before m illions, w eakened in body butn otin

m ind or spirit, for those w ho could not.Its allthese

things and m ore thatm ake the legacy ofM uham m ad

Aliso dangerous, and its allthese things and m ore that

m ake the legend ofthis w orldw ide icon so precious.


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I give allcredit to M uham m ad

Ali Hes the greatest of alltim e

and it has zero to do w ith his

accom plishm ents inside the ring

Rev Jesse Jackson


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The world

has losta

legend and realchampion prah W infrey


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IN OTH ERSW ORD SAlis infl ue nc e ca n b e trac ed fro m the b o xing ring to the b ro ad ca st b o o th an d b eyo nd .

H ere are the refl ec tio ns o f so m e w ho w ere infl ue nc ed an d insp ired b y the G rea test.

He w as outgoing and outrageous w hen he w as

outside.W hen you got to be close to him he w as

very introspective not only very self-aw are but

also very conscious of others and their plightw hether they w ere chairm ans of the board or

w aitressesor w riters.I never found oneiota ofhim

not being genuine and sincere.I w aslucky to have

hundreds of encounters w ith him . It w as alw ays

special. Althou gh I got to cover a lot of people

every tim eI covered him I left feeling better about

m yselfand abou t him .

Every fighter w ants to be like Ali in the sam e

w ay that every president w antsto belike Abraham

Lincoln. They w ant to incorporate som e of that

m agic into their being.The nam eem itsm ystique

and thatsw hat they allaspireto.They know thats

thepinnacle just likeLincoln.Just likeany other

outstanding historicalfigure w hose nam e w illlive

forever. Therell never be another Ali, period .He w as a transform ing cultural societal sports

entertainm ent figure. No one w ill ever have that

im pact not only in our country but thew orld.He

w asoneofone.

J IM G R A Y ,C O M M E N T A T O R ,S H O W T IM E B O X IN G

Thevery first tim eI m et him I didnt know it w as

him .I w as7 yearsold training in a gym in East Los

Angeles.He used to com e to the gym by him self

dressed in an old full-body sw eatsuit w ith a little

totebag.It w asa gym for littlekidsand hegathered

like 10 of usand started teaching ushow to throw

com binations.W edidnt even know w ho hew as.

[Severalyearsago] hew asreceiving an aw ard on

thesam enight asm eat Staples[Center].Hew as

there w ith [his daughter] Laila. I w alked in and

he called m e over.He w as already slow ing dow n

a bit.I w ent over to him and hepulled m eclose

He w anted m y ear. I leaned tow ard him and he

tellsm e You know w hat kid you m ight beprettier

than m e but Im stilltheG reatest. I just chuckled

because he still had that great sense of hu m or.

I rem em bered h im for his boxing ability, bu tthe fact that he kept his hum or all these yearsw as really im pressive.

Being a prom oter now and prom oting thebiggestevents in the sport I tell a lot of fightersto fight

like Ali.People know him for being a boxer and a

dancer in thering but hecan fight and hecan takea

punch.H isfightsw ereexciting.He w asa beautiful

boxer and puncher.Hisfootw ork w asu nbelievable.

I w asat m y m ost dangerous w hen I w asdancing

on m y toes and thatsbecause of his influence.If

theresonestyleyou w ant to em ulate takea look at

Muham m ad Ali.

O S C A R D E L A H O Y A ,

F O U N D E R O F G O L D E N B O Y P R O M O T IO N S ,

1 0 -T IM E B O X IN G W O R L D C H A M P IO N ,R E T IR E D

0 0 T O T A L W IN S B Y A L I

A S A N A M AT E U R

5

A M AT E U R

L O S S E S B Y AL I

61N U M B E R O F B O U T S

A L I F O U G H T A S A

P R O F E S S IO N A L

56N U M B E R O F W IN SIN A L IS C A R E E R9 1 8 A L IS

C A R EE R

W IN N IN G

P E R C E N T A G E


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Its rem arkable w atching film of him in h is

younger years. Just fascinating. W hat strikes

m e now I w as a youngster w hen he w as at his

height is that he w as a great clubhouse law yer.

W hether itw as in stating h is case for not going to

w ar or as a boxer, he w as very eloqu ent.B ut there

are tw o areas w here he really chan ged things.Very

few athletesw ere bold enou gh to be braggers

to say w hat they w ere gonna do. Nob ody had

been w illing to say Im gonna w in.Im gonna

do thisor that.T hey w ere allstillprogram m ed not

to say thatstuff, even ifthey thoughtit.H e w as the

firstto ever really do that.T hat becam e, especiallyin boxing, expected.Secondly, socialconsciousness

w as som ething thathe pioneered for athletes.O ne

interesting thing I learned w as that, in his stance

againstbeing drafted, there w as a dealin place that

said hed be in the specialservices, doing exhibitions

and talking to soldiers in the States.Itw asnt that

he saved him self from being killed he w ouldnt

have been. H e w as just fun dam entally against

the w ar.I dont see him as a saint, as som e people

do. B ut this un derscores that he had a genu ine

conviction that he w as a conscientious objector.

T hatgets lostin the historicalcontext. AL BER NSTEIN,

W O R L D B OX IN G H A LL O F F A M E A NA LY S T,

S H O W TIM E B OX IN G

Ali w as a transcendent figh ter a brilliant

perform ance artist brave handsom e a

w orldw ide politicaland culturalforce at a tim e

of vast social change.O ne ofthe m ost im portant

figures ofthe 20th century.The gu y w ith his m outh

w ide open, fram ed betw een A lis legs in the fam ous

ph oto ofhim snarling over the fallen Sonny L iston,

w as, and still is, m e.I w as covering the event for

the Philadelphia D aily N ew s For those w ho prefer

the m yth that Liston w as K O d by a conspiratorial

phantom pun ch, I have bad new s. I saw the

punch, a short, quick right. An d I have seen

fram e by fram e footage thatconfirm s it. L AR R Y M ER C H ANT,

W O R L D B O X IN G H A LL O F F A M E A NA LY S T (R E TIR E D )

A L IS W IN S B Y W A Y O FK N O C K O U T

8

A L IS R E A C H IN IN C H E S ,M E A S U R E D

F R O M F IN G E R T IP TOFIN G E R T IP

A C R O S S T H E C H E S T ,C ON S ID E R E D

LON G B Y B O X IN G

S T A N D A R D S

4

N U M B E R OFY E A R S A L IW A S O N H IA T U S F R O M B O X IN G W H IL E

H IS D R A F TE V A S IO N C A S E A N D R E S U LT IN G A P P E A L S M A D E T H E IR W A Y U P T OT H E U .S .

S U P R E M E C O U R T

2 2

A L IS F IG H T IN G W E IG H T,IN P O U N D S ,

T H R OU G H T H E H E IG H T OFH IS C A R E E R

FACT:A LIW AS N EV ER KN OC KE D

OU TIN H IS C A R E E R ,B U TH E

D ID S U FFER ON EC OR N ER S TOP P A G E IN 198 0 A G A IN S TL A R R Y H OLM E S

37

N U M B E R OF T IM E S A L IH A D T R A IN E D U N D E R W A T E R B E FO R E F L IP S C H U L K E S IC O N IC S H O TF O R L IF EM A G A Z IN E IN 19 6 1.(N OT E :D U N D E E T H OU G H T IT W OU L D G IV E H IS Y OU N G B OX E R S IG N IFIC A N T E X P OS U R E ,S OH E H A D A L IFLOAT IT TOS C H U L K E .A L IC OU LD N T S W IM .)

22

C L A Y S A G E W H E N H E D E F E A T E D S ON N Y L IS TON IN 19 6 4 ,M A K IN G

H IM T H E Y O U N G E S T F IG H T E R E V E R TO U N S E A T A R E IG N IN G C H A M P IO N F OR T H E H E A V Y W E IG H T C R OW N


34/100

W hen I w as w ith Cus D Am ato,I w as stillfighting

and had started as a trainer. Cus w as close w ith

Ali. Ali w as training for the third [K en] N orton

fight,and w e w ent dow n to the Concord H otelin

M onticello,N Y.Alihad one ofthe floors ofthe hotel,

and he w as w orking w ith D ick G regory,w ho h ad

him on som e kick to lose w eight.Ali brought m e

into this room .G regory had him drinking allsorts

offruits and vegetables and elixirs.H e m ade on e for

m e and h anded itto m e.H e asked m e how I liked

it.I said,Its allrigh t. H e said,I hate thatstuff;you

w ant to drink it for m e? [L u hs] H e had a great

sense ofhum or.H e did som e shadow boxing w ith

m e.I threw som e punches back,and he said,I aint

m essing w ith you It w as specialto m eet him and

have thatinteraction.Illalw ays rem em ber that.

H e w as a guy that had tw o phases ofhis career.Cus used to say to m e thatthe only tim e youd touch

Aliis w hen you touched gloves before the fight.The

other Ali cam e after his first retirem ent. H e w as

com ing back after years ofexile,w ithoutthe ability

to m ove,like a gh ostin the ring.I tw as a transition ,

a m etam orphosis.Early in his career,he used his

tim ing and reflexes,confidence,and bravado.The

second halfw as allabout his w illan d character,

and those w ere things that w e didnt know about

him in the early part ofhis career

On e ofthe things thatm ade him so specialin his

prim e w as that he did everything w rong and m ade

itright.For so long,boxing w as done a certain w ay:

K eep your hands up,m ove your head,throw body

shots,w ear guys out,have good technicalhabits and

good fun dam entals.H e broke the m old on allthat

H e dropp ed his hands,he didn tslip,he pulled back.

H e used his legs m ore than w as conventionalfor the

tim e.H e m ade itw ork and did itm agnificently.

TEDD Y A TL AS

W ORLD BOX ING HALL OF FAME

TRAINER ESPN ANALY ST

I m a big fan of B illy Eckstein, and I w ent to see

him at a club on the w est side of M anhattan. Ali

and his entourage w ere ata table nextto m e.And

this w as w hen he w as athis zenith.I m ,of course,

aw ed by him .I w as im pressed w ith h is hand som e

countenance. H e w as very unm arked. It w as

unbelievable that hed been fighting since he w as

12. This is an unbelievably good-looking guy

Anyw ay, Eckstein had his daughter onstage w ith

him .Ali,unrehearsed,jum ps up and yells outloud,

B illy, now I know w hy you never brought m e to

your house Your fine daughter Billy said,Look

here,you m ay be a prize fighter,but I m a surprise

figh ter And thatbrough tdow n the house.

I dont kn ow that therellever be as electrifying

or charism atic a perform er as Ali. Theres never

been anyone like him in an y sport I dont know

if anyone can take the pun ishm ent he did H e

fin ished the figh t w ith [G eorge] Forem an w ith a

broken jaw .The guy is unbelievable.

E D W I N TO RR ES

COMMISSIONER NEW Y ORK

STATE ATHLETIC COMMISSION

JAN.17,1942C AS S IU S C L AY WAS B O RN IN L O U IS VIL L E K Y

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DU NDEE IN 19 6 0

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C L AY WO N O LYMP IC

G O L D AND C AU G H T O N

WIT H H AL L O F F A ME

TRAINER ANG ELO

DU NDEE

7

1

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AP P RO X IMATE NU MBER O F MILES

C LAY WO U LD RU N EAC H WAY

FRO M TH E O VERTO WN S EC TIO N

O F MIAMI TO DU NDEES

F IFT H S TREET G YM IN MIAMI

BEAC H EAC H DAY TO TRAIN


35/100

Ali cam e into W ild C ard G ym by

surprise. M y gym w as in the early stages,

not a lot of people in there. H e w as w ith his

daughter, Laila.H e asked if he could w ork out.I

said, No problem .H e w ent and got dressed and

started hitting the bag.H is trem ors and sym ptom s

w ent aw ay. I thought it w as neat, because w hen

I get in the ring to do m itts, m y sym ptom s go

aw ay. H e w as very com fortable there. T hat w as

his safety zone. It w as a great day; m aybe the

best four hours in the gym ever. Afterw ard, w e

talked a little bit, took som e pics.H e had a good

sense of hum or. G row ing up I w as a Frazier fan,

and I told him that, buthe didnthave m uch to say

about it.I gota greata pic of him shadow boxing

w ith his daughter, but som eone stole it. The

Parkinsons is tou gh bu t getting old w ith it

m akes it even harder so his decline had been

m ore noticeable. B ut he did great things for

Parkinsons w ith h is foundation .T hey [still] do a

lot.I think ifw e didnthave their help, w e w ouldnt

be so close to a cure.B utI feeltheyre close now , and

its justa m atter oftim e. F R E D D IE R O AC H ,

W O R L D B OX IN G H A LL OF F A M E TR A IN ER

Like a lot of people, I learned a lot from Ali.

Self confidence.B elieving in m yself.Footw ork and

m oving around , being able to m ove and box atthe

sam e tim e.As a boxer, that w as the m ain thing

I learned from w atching him his footw ork, his

grace ofm ovem ent.There w assom ething about

him .You could see it in the ring w hen he fought.

You could see that greatness. I m et him several

tim es w hen I w as a kid and w hen I w as older.H e

w as the greatest, and I w anted to be just like him .

[Several] years ago I saw him , and he surprised m e,

because he w as un able to w alk, buthe could bounce

around and throw som e jabs in the ring. S H A N E M O SL EY ,

F O R M E R TH R E E- D IV IS IO N W O R L D C H A M P IO N B OX E R

2T EC H NIC AL K NO C K O U T S S C O RED

IN TH E 15 TH RO U ND BY ALI

O S C AR BO NAVENA, 19 70; C H U C K

WEP NER, 19 75 )

4N U M BE R O FT IMES AL I WAS

K NO C K ED DO W N

I N H I S C A RE ER

S O N NY B AN K S ,

196 2 ; H ENRY

C O O P E R, 19 6 3 ;

JO E F RAZIER,

19 7 1; C H U C KWEP NER, 1975 )

23N U M BE R O F

T IMES AL IS

F I G H T S WENT

TH E D IS TANC E.

H E WO N 19 O F

T H O S E BO U T S .


36/100

M uham m ad Aliw as a sensational talent.I guess

w hat I alw ays adm ired about him w as his size,

m ovem ent, and hand speed, plus an incredible w ay

of know ing how to use the ring to his advantage.

H is reflexes w ere phenom enal, and w hen you threw

a punch at his jaw , chances w ere he w ould slip it

and counter w ith a hard lefthook or straightright

han d. I w as the judge in h is third fight w ith K en

Norton atYankee Stadium in the B ronx [in 1976].

Aliw on a highly controversialu nanim ous decision

to capture the trilogy, 2 1: Norton did very w ellin

the early rounds, butAliknew justw hen to turn it

on and did extrem ely w ellafter the sixth round to

barely w in a decision after 15 hard fought rounds.

I had Ali w inning eight rounds to seven, w hile

scoring referee Arthur M ercante Sr.had it8 6 w ith

one round even. T he other judge, B arney Sm ith,

agreed w ith m e.

Nortons crouching style and overhand right

alw ays gave Ali problem s. N orton dragged his

right leg behind him and stayed low , m aking him

a difficulttarget.Ali, being the greatboxer he w as,

m anaged to land enough hard jabs to do m ore

dam age than N ortons w ild sw ings over the top.

W hat m ade Aliso great w as that he could box

and m ove like a w elterw eight even though he w as

a heavyw eight.Of cou rse hissharp w it added so

m uch to h ispersona and hispressconferences

w ere greater than w e had ever seen before.Alis

constant taunting throughout his career certainlyunnerved m ore than one opponent.Im glad I got

to see as m uch of Ali as I did. I w as at his fights

w ith D oug Jones, Sonny B anks, Joe Frazier, and

O scar B onavena, plus a few others along the w ay.

In his youth, Ali w as one of the greatest fighters

w ho ever lived. In retrospect, he fought too long,

and he should h ave never fough t [Larry] H olm es

and [Trevor] B erbick.But, I loved being there w hen

M uham m ad w as in the ring. H AR O LD LED E R M AN,

W O R L D B OX IN G H A LL O F F AM E JU D G E ,

AN ALY ST F OR H B O B OX ING

Y E A R TH AT A LIFOU G H TTH E FIN A LB OU TOFH IS C A R E E R ,A B S OR B IN G A 10 -R O U N D U N A N IM O U S D E C IS IO N L OS S T O T R E V O R B E R B IC K

9 8

9

A L IS A G E A T H IS (FIN A L )

R E T IR E M E N T IN 19 8 1

7

N U M B E R O FT IM E S A L IH A S A P P E A R E D O N

T H E C O V E R O F S P OR T S

IL L U S T R A T E D


37/100

I have m any m em ories of M uham m ad Ali, but

one w ill alw ays stand out, as it says all you need

to know and speaks volum es about the m an, not

justthe boxer.In Novem ber 2011, I w ent to Enon

B aptistC hurch in N orth P hiladelph ia to honor and

pay finalrespects to the great Sm okinJoe Frazier

athis hom egoing service after his passing.As w e all

know , Frazier and Ali fought the m ost terrifically

brutaltrilogy in heavyw eight boxing history.And

w ith both being such fierce com petitors cam e the

usual histrionics and hype, leading m any to view

theirs as an antagon istic relation ship, w hich itw as

at the tim e.W e often see such in boxings greatest

rivalries.B ut that w as inside the ring.As I looked

aroun d at the crow d of fam iliar faces at En on

that day, I saw such boxing lum inaries as D on

K ing, B ernard H opkins, Larry H olm es, M ichael

Spinks, and yes, M uham m ad Ali. H is presence

spoke volum es, sending a m essage ofpeace, honor,

and cam araderie. Som e of todays athletes could

certainly learn a few lessons from that m om entand from Ali. I rem em ber sm iling inw ardly and

thinking, B rothers, com ing to see another brother

off.T his w as, to m e, analogous to the em brace at

the finalbell.O nly in boxing.

M uham m ad Aliw as one ofthe m ostoutspoken

athletes of our tim e. H e w as playful, articulate,

dangerous in the ring, and perhaps the m ost

identifiable m an on the planet. H e m ade the

ultim ate sacrifice, standing up for his beliefs, for

people, for hu m anity. He conquered m any in

the ring and countless m ore on the outside

transcending cultural barriers like no athlete

before. Every generation has its hero, and

M uham m ad Aliis undeniably, in m y opinion, our

generations biggesthero. M E LV IN A L AT H A N ,

C H A IR W O M A N, N EW Y O R K S TAT E

ATH LE TIC C OM M ISS ION

H e w as m y role m odelgrow ing up. I rem em ber

m y father got called at 4:30 in the afternoon the

day of the Ali-Frazier [1971] fight and [w as] told

to report to M adison Squ are G arden.I w anted to

go, but they didnt allow children to go to fights.

W e stayed hom e and listened to it on the radio.A

couple ofm onths later w e gotto w atch the tapes.I

asked m y dad, W hats thatin the 10th roun d w hen

they w ere talking to each other in the ring?M y dad

says, Ali said to Frazier Youre in here w ith G od

tonight. Joe responded G ods going dow n!

T here w ontbe another fightlike thatin history.

Years later, I got to referee Laila Alis figh t in

M adison Square Garden. M uham m ad Ali w as

there.H e kissed m e on both cheeks and w hispered

to m e thathe really loved m y father.I arranged for

m y father to be seated right next to him . So Im

in the ring looking dow n and guys ringside w ere

asking m e, W hos that little old guy w ith Ali? H e

w ontstop hugging him I told them , W ell, dontlethim hear you, but thatguy is m y father After the

fight, w e m etup and [A li] said, You referee a heck

ofa fight.Notas good as your father, butn otbad. A R TH U R M E R C AN TE J R .,

R E F E R E E, S ON O F A R T H U R M E R C A NT E S R . ,

T H E T H IR D M A N IN TH E R I NG

F O R A L I V S . F R A Z I ER (1 9 7 1 )

FA C T :ALI WAS TH E FIRS T H EAVYWEIG H T

TO BEC O ME A TH REE TIME

WO RLD C H AMP IO N

5 5

T O TAL RO U NDS F O U G H T BY

A L I IN H I S C A RE ER

19 9

1 9 8 4

YEAR TH AT

ALI WAS

O F F I C I AL LY

D IAG N O S E D

W I T H

P A RK I NS O N S

D IS E AS E

Y EA R A L I WA S I ND U C T E D IN T O T H E

I NT E RN AT I O N AL B O X I N G H A L L O F F A ME

FA C T :ALI MADE 19

S U C C ES S F U L

DEFENS ES

O F T ITLES

TH RO U G H O U T

H IS C AREER AND

H AD AN O VERALL

REC O RDO F 22 3 IN

C H AMPIONSH IP

F IG H T S


38/100

The man w ho views thew orld at50 the same ashe did at20 has w asted

30 years ofhis life


39/100

Ihated

every m inute

oftraining, bu

Isaid, Dont

quit.Su er

now and live

the restof

your life as a

cham pion.


40/100


41/100


42/100

T E

REATEMuham m ad Ali w as m any things to m any people but ultim ately h

BY MIK E CARLSON


43/100

STs m n for the ges


44/100

M UH AM M AD ALI B ELO NG ED T O T H E W O RLDThe ghter,father,husband,Muslim ,actor,and activist w as a m an ofm any tribes,

exclusive to none.For m uch ofhiscareer Ali w asthe m ost fam ousathlete in sports

and the m ost recognizable face in the w orld.Yet he never placed him selfbehind

a velvet rope.At the height ofhis popularity Ali w ould grab a friend and say Letsgo w alk the streets and talk to som e people.

The accessibility ofAli has alm ost as m uch to do w ith his legacy as his sts and

footw ork.Old ladiesw ho had never seen Ali ght loved him .Children w ho couldnt

understand his contribution to hum an rights idolized him .Even his opponents

m en w ho w ere battered and bruised,knocked dow n,and som etim es even

hum iliated by Aliheaped praise on the ghter for w hat he did in the ring and out.

I am going to show you how great I am ! Ali once shouted at skepticalreporters

huddled in a press conference in Zaire Africa.

And he did.

M


45/100


46/100


47/100

T h e F u tu re h a m p io n

The m an w e cam e to know as Muh am m ad Ali w as bo rn

Cassiu s Marcellus Clay Jr. on Jan. 17, 1942, in Lo u isville, K Y.

The m arriage betw een Cassiu s Clay Sr.and h is w ife, Odessa

Clay,w as tum ultuou s.But together they created a w arm hom e

for Cassiu s Jr.and h is yo unger brother, Rudolph (w ho w ould

go on to change his nam e to Rah am an Ali).In the segregated

Sou th a tou gh p lace for any African-Am erican fam ily the

Claysw ere m iddle class.Black Southern m iddle classw asnot as

com fortable asw hite m iddle class,and com pletely w ithout the

opulent trappings of m odern-day m iddle-class,b ut Ali w ould

have a m ore idyllic childhood than m any of the m en he w ou ld

later face in the ring.Th e im age of the underprivileged gh ter

pulling him selfout ofthe gh etto histough nessborn from rage

and tears is one ofm any stereotyp es that Ali w ould dism antle.

The story o f how Clay found boxing is w ell-tread territory.

In the fallof 1954 , he rode h is Schw inn bicycle to an annu al

festivalcalled the Louisville Hom e Show held at the Colum bia

Auditorium .He and a friend traversed the show , eating free

pop corn and w hiling aw ay an afternoon the w ay you do w hen

yo ure 12 years old and have a little freedom but no m oney.W hen it w astim e to go,Clay w asbereft to discover hisbike had

been stolen.Som eone directed the inconsolab le youth to the

nearest police offi cer.

Louisville policem an Joe Martin w as in the basem ent of the

Colum bia Auditorium that day teach ing youth bo xing.Angry

tears w ere stream ing dow n the boys face w hen he told Martin

he w as going to beat up the person w ho too k h is bike.Martin,

kno w ing the bike w as long go ne, directed th e conversation

dow n a different p ath : D id th e boy actu ally know h ow to

gh t? Clay adm itted that he did not.Martins logic m ust have

penetrated the shrou d of grief over the lost Schw inn,b ecause

Clay started com ing to the Colum bia G ym .Six w eeks later he

w on his rst am ateur m atch.

For the irst year of h is training, Clay w as unrem arkable,

but tw o th ings slow ly began to em erge.First, he w as going to

have good size.Clay w as often bigger than h is fellow teenage

boxers w ho w ere tw o years older.Second, he w as dedicated.

The boxing seed bloom ed slow ly in Clay,but also it set dow n a

pow erfulroo t system .He becam e the hardest w orker in the ym .

Clay didnt have the penchant for trou ble that plaguesso m any

young ghters,but hissport undou btedly kept him on a straight

path,too.He never drank alcohol,never tried drugs,and never

fough t outside the ym .He liked talking about girls,but rarely

had the nerve to approach them .(Later in life,beautifulw om en

w ou ld becom e a m ajor vice.) The ph rase W orld Heavyw eight

Cham p w as constantly falling from h is m outh or adorning

pictures he w ould scribb le in schoolnotebooks.

In 1959 Clay w on the ligh t-h eavyw eigh t NationalG olden

G loves Ch am p ion title, and h e also cap tu red th e Am ateu rAthletic U nion ligh t heavyw eigh t title. In th e bu ildup to the

1960 Olym p ic G am es in Rom e, Clay b egan to attract national

attention asa boxer on the hu nt for a gold m edal.He w asnt yet

fully grow n (he w ould com pete in Rom e at 178 p ounds),and his

flam boyant style w as stillevolving,but it w as obvio us that his

reflexes w ere a divine gift.Clay had an uncanny ability to judge

distance.Instead ofstepping in and out ofrange,he w ould m ove

his head just far enough to avo id the oncom ing gloves but still

The Opening Cerem onies ofthe Olym pic

G am es is a four-year com petition o f

w orldw ide one-upping.One country w illignite

an epic firew orks show ,and four years later

the n exthost country w illdo a m ind-bending

perform ance w ith lasers and hologram s.In

1984,an un nam ed stuntm an w earing a jet-

pack flew around the Los Angeles Coliseum .In

2012,Jam es Bond and the Q ueen ofEngland

parachuted into W em bley Stadium .W hen it

com es to m ajesty and sp ectacle the stakes

are co nstantly being raised.Atthe 1996

Olym pic G am es held in Atlanta,the m ost

m em orable m om ent ofthis historic event the

centennialofthe m odern Olym picscam e w ithout a boo m ing sound track nor a

dazzling disp lay.

The torch relay has b een an Olym pic

trad ition since the gam es w ere held in ancient

G reece.The torch arrived by airplane from

G reece an d w as carried for 84 days through

m ajor cities such as P hilad elphia,D etroit,Los

Angeles,and SaltLake City.Itis a designation

of high honor to be one of the fin alrunners

the chosen few w ho carry the torch into the

stadium and their identities are a closely

guarded secretuntilthe event.

On that night,form er heavyw eight boxing

cham pion and Olym pic m edalistEvander

H olyfield carried the torch into the stadium .

The Atlanta residentenjoyed a big p op from

the crow d as he handed the torch to Voula

Patoulidou,a runner w ho w on a gold m edalfor

G reece atthe1992 Olym pics.The tw o ran the

torch around the track b efore handing itto the

penultim ate runner,m ultiple Olym pic m ed alist

JanetEvans.Alleyes w ere on the sw im m er

as she ascend ed the ram p and prepared to

hand the flam e to the person w ho w ould light

the cauldron and signify the o ffi cialstarto fthe

Olym pic Centennial.W ith zero fanfare,M uham m ad Aliem erged

from behind a curtain.The crow d letout

an audible gasp ofsurprise,m any o fthem

suddenly rem inded that Aliw on an Olym pic

gold m edalback w hen he w as Cassius Clay,

lon g before his legendary bouts w ith Frazier,

Forem an,and Liston.Once the realization

set in,cheers explod ed from the sp ectators.

W ho better to represent the U .S.on the 100th

anniversary ofthe Olym pic G am es than the

G reatest?

The m om entw as not w ithoutdram a.Ali

held his un littorch steadily in his righthand

as Evans litit,but itw as im possible to ignore

the visible trem or in his lefthand,and the

blank expression he w ore,both hallm arks of

the Parkinsons syndrom e that w as now his

daily co m panion.The crow d seem ed to h old

its breath w hen he shakily held his torch to

the m echanism thatw ould carry the flam e by

cable to ignite the huge brazier thattow ered

over the stadium .Its likely that fans w ere

m ore nervous aboutthis few second s w ith

the flam e than they w ere for any of his fights;

although itw ould be the fi rsttim e thatevery

single spectator w as rooting for Ali.And likehis greatest fights,Alicam e through.Fem ale

gym nasts w ho w ere born the sam e year that

Alifought his lastb out began to cry.Athletes

from allover the glob e had tears in their eyes.

Alilighting the torch rem ains one ofthe

m ost cherished m em ories in Olym pic history.

No other athlete has transcended the b ounds

ofsportand culture the w ay he did,and no

one else could h ave represented w hatw as inthe heartofeach athlete as they w atched the

flam es leap into the sky.


48/100


49/100

be close eno ugh to p un ch back.W ith p recise head m ovem ent

an d tireless springs in his legs, h e w as etherealin the ring, like

trying to punch m ist

In h is m in d , C lay w as th e overw h elm in g favorite to w in

a gold m ed al.Fo r years h e h ad b een tellin g an yo n e w ith in

earshot that he w as th e future O lym pic cham pion .It w as on e

ofm any brash prediction s he w ou ld m ake in his life that w ou ld

com e true.It alm ost d id nt, th ou gh .A fter w in n in g h is irst

th ree O lym p ic m atches h e m et the 1956 bronze m edalists in

the n als.H is Po lish o pp on en t w as n ine years older and h ad

been the Eu rop ean am ateur cham pion th ree tim es.H is age,

experience, and sou thpaw style con fused the you ng Am erican

w ho absorbed a m ultitude ofp u nches, clearly losin g th e rst

rou nd ofthe three-round contest.Clay began to solve the riddle

in the secon d round, nding his range and landing w ith h is right

han d.K now ing the third round w ould decide the o utcom e, C lay

storm ed th e fading Pole and lan ded a b arrage ofp un ches.By

the tim e the bellrang to en d the ght, C lay had alm ost knocked

him ou t.Th e decision w as obviou s.Cassius Clay had m ade good

on his prom ise and w on the O lym pic gold m edal.W hen C lay

returned to A m erican soilhe w as perfectly p oised to begin hisprofession alcareer.H is nalO lym pic m atch had been televised

and view ers w ere enam ored w ith the h and som e and gifted

you n g m an.The spotlight he alw ays craved w ou ld soon shine

brightly upon him

Bec o m ing Mu h m m d Ali

The years im m ediately follow ing the O lym pics w ere form ative

ones for C lay.H e w as polishing his style in the ring, nding his

iden tity as a you n g African Am erican m an in th e 1960s, an d

discovering w hom he cou ld trust by his side as he clim bed the

rungs ofthe profession alboxing ladder

The L ou isville Spon soring G rou p w as a collective ofKentucky

m illion aires th at entered in to a sp on sorship con tract w ith

C lay.Th e syndicate gave C lay a m on th ly stip en d, covered all

train in g exp en ses, an d p aid h im $10,000 as a sign in g bo nu s

in exch an ge for 50% of his earnin gs for fou r years.W hile th e

Lou isville Sp on soring G rou p has som etim es been dep icted as

cigar-cho m ping opportunists loo king to pro tfrom the sw eatof

a young and underprivileged talent, the dealw as equitable and

generous.For Clay, w hose stated am bition s had been to bu y h is

paren ts a hou se an d a car for him self, h e had alm ost achieved

his early go als w ithout even lacing u p his gloves as a p ro

O n D ec.19, 1960, C lay h ad h is irst train in g session w ith

Angelo D un dee.The bon d betw een ghter and coach w ould

becom e on e ofthe m ost im p ortan t relationships oftheir lives.

T he tw o h ad m et in 1957, w hen , as a high schoo lstud ent, C lay

h ad in trod u ced h im self to D u n d ee as a fu tu re O lym p ic and

heavyw eight cham pion ofth e w orld.D un dee recognized th e

treasure trove ofathletic gifts C lay possessed an d settled into a

laid-back style ofch an neling his protg in the righ t direction

rather than m icrom anagin g h is every jab and step.O n e asset

D und ee helped d evelop w as C lays m ou th.H e recognized C lay

as a natural-bo rn prom oter and pointed ou t w hich n ew spaper

w riters C lay sho uld en gage

M uch ofthe established box ing p ress w as initially dism issive

of C lay, verging on h ostile.T h ey perceived h is con den ce as


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cooker environ m entthatcom es w ith a title shot For three years,

C lay h ad been quietly b ut progressively atten ding m eetings of

the Nation ofIslam , kno w n then as Black M uslim s Even thou gh

his participation had been escalating, C lay unch aracteristically

avoid ed atten tion w h en it cam e to h is inv olvem en t w ith

th e grou p.H e d eep ly id en ti ied w ith th eir m essage o f clean

livin g an d racialp ride, but h e kn ew th at th eir stan ce again st

integration an d their habit ofreferring to C aucasian s as w hite

devils w ou ld be so u npop ular w ith the Am erican public that it

m ight scuttle his cham pionship ght.

W here Clay grew up , Lou isville w as no tpartofthe D eep So uth,

bu t its society w as deep ly im pregnated w ith Jim C row .As a boy,

C lay w atched his parents shop in negro stores and avoid w hite

neighbo rh oo ds, u nless h is m other had a job clean ing h ou ses

in on e. T w o sp eci ic in cid en ts stron gly in form ed h is view

ofrace.First, in 1955 in M on ey, M S, a 14-year-old b oy n am ed

Em m it T illw as brutally b eaten , m u rde red, and th row n in to

a river for allegedly flirting w ith a w h ite girl.An all-w h ite jury

later acqu itted the tw o adult m urderers.Tillw as on ly o ne year

older than C lay.Second , w hen C lay returned from Rom e as an

O lym p ic cham p ion h e w as de n ied service at a w h ites on ly

restaurantin the sam e tow n thathad celebrated his victory The

m essage w as clear:A stray w ord can earn yo u a bu llet in th e

head , b ut no t even a gold m edalcan b uy equ ality.

C lay b ecam e d evo ted to th e lead er of th e Nation of Islam ,

a m an nam ed Elijah M uh am m ad, but the tw o decided to


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m ain tain d istan ce from each oth er un tilafter C lay vied for

the heavyw eight belt.H ow ever, o ne of Elijah M uh am m ads

m ost eff ective m ou thpieces began form ing a close and intense

frien dsh ip w ith C lay:M alcolm X m et C assius C lay in 1962 and

qu ickly realized the han dsom e fu ture cham p ion cou ld b e an

asset for the Nation ofIslam .Elijah M uham m ad didn t con don e

box in g, an d m any ofh is advisers w ere con vin ced C lay w ou ld

lose bad ly to L iston , b ut M alcolm con vin ced th e M u slim s to

em brace C lay.A genu ine friendship soo n b lossom ed b etw een

the m inister an d the p ugilist.

In the w eek s lead in g up to th e Liston gh t, C lays grow in g

affi nity for the Nation ofIslam began to leak throu gh his faade

of in d ifferen ce. It w as n ot in C lays natu re to h id e th in gs.A

m on th before the ight he m et M alcolm X in New York an d

attended a Nation ofIslam rally.H is appearance atthe gathering

m ade the fron t p age ofthe H erald T ribu ne.A w eek later, C lay

did an in terview w ith the Louisville C ourier Journalin w h ich

he expressed his fon dness an d respect for the Nation ofIslam ,

stopping just short ofiden tifying h im selfas a m em ber.H e also

invited M alcolm an d his fam ily to Florida to spen d the last few

w eeks ofh is ght cam p w ith him and attend the m atch.F rom a p rom oters po in t of view , C lays com in g ou t as a

M uslim w as a nightm are.T he narrative ofthe ght w as that a

h an dsom e, clean -livin g, you n g C h ristian w as challen gin g th e

ex-con victthug w ho held the b elt.Itw as clearly a battle betw een

goo d an d evil.No w , w ith C lays new ly d iscovered affi n ity for

the Nation ofIslam , it w as a gh t betw een a radicalzealot an d

a felon .In stead ofD avid versus G oliath, it w as now Ph ilistine

versu s P h ilistin e. Th e w h ite ticke t-b u yin g p u b lic w asn t

interested in w atching tw o black hats gh t.W ith o nly halfthe

seats sold the w eek ofthe ght, the prom oter threaten ed to call

off th e even t unless C lay p ublicly d istan ced h im selffrom th e

M uslim s.Becom ing the heavyw eightcham pion ship ofthe w orld

had b een his goalfor a decad e, but he refused to renounce.For

a briefm om ent, the ght w as off , the dream over.

W ith so m uch han gin g in the b alance, m idd le grou nd w as

quickly reached .M alcolm X agreed to leave F lorida u n tilth e

gh t.This too k the socialm icroscop e off C lay w ithou t m aking

a statem en t th at m itigated his involvem en t w ith the Nation of

Islam .

A bo ok could be w ritten abo utthe even ts thatsurrou nded the

Liston -C lay cham pion ship ght.Som e ofthe anecdotes are the

m ost w ell-kn ow n in boxing history.Th e m ornin g ofthe gh t,

C lay arrived atthe w eigh-in and w as so loud and belligerentthat

th e even t w as alm ost called o ff because com m ission doctors

w ere afraid h e w as having a m entalbreakdow n.(O ne anti-C lay

spo rtsw riter postulated that it w as the p hysicalm an ifestation

ofC lays pathologicalfear ofListon.)C lay left the w eigh -in w ith

a ne of$2,50 0 for his beh avior.Liston left w ith an unsettling

feelin g th at his op p onen t m igh t actu ally b e in sane.T h at w as

exactly the p lan , C lay later adm itted .H e theo rized that Liston

w ou ld n ot be intim idated b y a stron g m an o r even a b rave m an,

bu t w ho cou ld gu ess w hat a certi ably crazy person w ou ld d o

in the ring?

A violen t rainstorm pelted the roofofthe conven tion cen ter

in M iam iB each, an d on ly halfth e seats w ere lled w h en th e

bellrang for Round 1 ofL iston versus C lay.Itw as a sob ering rst

One year after Muham m ad Ali refused to be inducted into the U.S.

Arm y,Esquirem agazine published their April1968 issue,w hich w ould

becom e one ofthe m ostfam ous m agazine covers ofalltim e.On a stark

w hite background,w earing fullboxing regalia,Ali is pictured w ith his

hands tied and his torso and rightleg pierced by arrow s.In sm alltype

on the bottom rightcorner,the sole coverline reads The Passion of

Muham m ad Ali.The cover w as photographed by CarlFischer and designed by fam ous

adm an George Lois,w ho w as responsible for severaliconicEsquirecovers

in the 1960s and early 1970s,including a close-up ofthe m enacing visage

ofSonny Liston w earing a Santa hat.The im age ofAli is a deliberate

reim agining ofthe Italian painter Francesco BotticinisSaintSebastian

w hich hangs in the Metropolitan Museum ofArtin New York.Saint

Sebastian is the patron saintofathletes and the archetypalm artyr,a

Rom an soldier w ho allegedly survived the arrow onslaughtonly to later be

clubbed to death for his beliefs.

The parallels betw een saintand pugilistw ere clear.

Ali alm ostfled the shootafter he realized thatSaintSebastian w as

a Christian m artyr,notw anting to risk o ending either faith.After a

long discussion over the phone betw een Lois and Nation ofIslam leader

Elijah Muham m ad,the spiritualadviser acquiesced and Ali agreed to

the concept.

As the Vietnam W ar dragged on and the conflictbecam e

increasingly unpopular,the pub lic p erception of Ali began to

soften.Artists,w riters,and various culturalelite w ere som e of

the firstto express their supportof the stripped cham pion.The

cover drew criticalpraise from the m om entof publication and w as

later reproduced as a poster thatbecam e popular in the protest

m ovem ent.In subsequentyears,actor Tom Cruise,TVhostStephen

Colbert,and com edian Ricky Gervais have allbeen pierced by faux

arrow s in various spoofs of the fam ous cover.


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stanza for the ch am pion .Liston qu ickly fou nd that he couldnt

tou ch C lay.The challen gers reflexes w ere like n othing he h ad

ever enco untered in the ring.An d h is op pon en t w as big.Liston

w as com in g off co nsecu tive rst-rou n d dem olition s of Floyd

Patterson and assum ed he w ou ld d o the sam e to C lay.Patterson

w as a naturallight heavyw eight, thou gh, 6talland close to 190

pou nds.Clay w as 6'3" and w eighed 206 poun ds.H is reach w as

also nine inch es longer than P atterson s.At the end ofthe rst

rou nd w hich w as clearly scored in C lays favor Liston w alked

back to h is corner feelin g d ejected, w h ile C lays con iden ce

began to soar

In b oxin g, sh ow in g too m uch respect for an op po n ent can

be as d isastrou s as show ing too little.W hen C lay cam e o ut for

the secon d rou n d, any residualintim idation w as gon e and he

began to go to w ork, p um ping dou ble-and triple-jabs, follow ing

w ith crosses and hoo ks.A m ou se app eared under Liston s left

eye, an d it soo n becam e a cut.W orse than the cut w as Liston s

th read bare end u ran ce, w h ich w as qu ickly gassin g him ou t.

Bolstered by his lasttw o victories, Liston allegedly undertrained

for the gh t w ith C lay, and overate.T he fuelin h is tan k began

circling the drain

W hat hap pened n ext has never been de nitively proven buthas been corrob orated by so m any peop le that it is considered

fact in box in g history.B etw een th e th ird an d fourth rou n ds,

Liston s cornerm en rubbed his gloves w ith a transparentirritant

and then threw the b ottle containing the sub stance u nder the

ring.In the last m inute ofthe rou nd, C lays eyes began to sting,

an d by th e tim e h e retu rn ed to h is stoo lbetw een th e fou rth

and fth rou n d h e w as beggin g Angelo D u n dee to cut off h is

gloves and end the ght.D und ee doused his eyes w ith a sop ping

spon ge an d told C lay that he w as going to dance, jab, and tie u p

Liston untilhis eyes cleared.T he d ecision to send C lay o ut for

that rou nd m ay have been the greatest thin g D undee ever did

for C lays career

Liston surged in the fth round, know ing that his op pon en t

w as at a disadvan tage an d th at h is ow n op p ortu n ities w ere

dw indling.H e chased C lay, load ing up his punches to the bod y.

O n ly able to see a b lurry o utlin e, C lay tried to keep h is jab in

Listons face as h e b ackp ed aled arou n d th e rin g.Even h alf-

blind , C lay w as an evasive target an d Liston cou ld not lan d a

gh t-chan ging blow .W ith 30 secon ds left in the rou nd, C lays

vision began to clear

Clay realized thatL istons ploy w ith the gloves w as a d esperate

act, like a freezing m an w ho bu rns his hou se do w n because he

is alloutof rew oo d.In the sixth rou nd, Clay gave up his nim ble

foo tw ork and began to sit dow n on his punches, ripping Liston

w ith co m bination s.T he cut under Liston s eye grew w ider.By

th en the crow d knew that th e tide ofthe gh t w as cresting in

C lays favor.W h en th e bellran g, L iston lum bered b ack to h is

corner and told them it w as over

T h e ign om iny ofquittin g on th e stool refusin g to gh t th e

nextrou nd has no eq ualin sports.From the fans pointofview ,

better thattheir ghter gets kn ocked outon h is feetthan w aving

his han ds in the co rner.It w as poetic justice for the archetyp al

bully to quit in the face ofadversity, b ut it w as an unsatisfyin g

victory for the sp ortsw riters.Liston claim ed that his shoulder

w as injured, allow ing the press on e m ore w indow in w hich to

Muham m ad Ali w as handsom e,spectacularly fit,and had an

unquenchable thirstfor attention.Its no surprise,then,thathe is the

subjectofsom e ofthe m ostfam ous photographs in sports history.

AliU n d erw a ter by Flip Sch ulke ,19 61The story behind the classic shots ofCassius Clay shadow boxing

in a hotelpoolis alm ostbetter than the im ages them selves.The

young boxer had turned professionaljusta year before and w as

hungry for press.Realizing thatboxing w riters w erentinterestedin a kid w ho w as 8-0,Clay decided to take a di erentroute.He m et

photographer Flip Schulke,w ho had taken som e underw ater im ages

forLifem agazine,and dazzled the freelancer w ith a story abouthow

an old-tim e fighter taughthim to box underw ater.Like a baseball

player putting a w eighton his bat,the extra resistance m ade him

thatm uch faster w hen he w as on dry land,Clay said.Schulke shot

severalphotos,including six fram es ofClay holding a boxing pose

w hile com pletely subm erged.The editors atLiferan the article,titled

AW etW ay to Train for a Fight, in the Septem ber 1961 issue.

Itw as years later w hen Schulke realized thatClay had fabricated

the entire story aboutboxing underw ater and,in fact,Clay did not

even know how to sw im .The photo rem ains the m ostrequested

im age in Schulkes collection.

M uh am m a d Alivs .Liston II b y NeilLeifer,19 65The im age ofa grow ling Muham m ad Ali standing over a supine and

vanquished Sonny Liston is one ofthe m ostfam ous photographs

in sports,notjustin boxing.Photographer NeilLeifer w as shooting

ringside forSports Illustrated In those days,capturing a great

boxing im age had to do w ith skill,and luckthe fighters are facing

the photographer,the referee is not in the w ay.Tim ing had to

be flaw less,since three to four seconds w ould lapse betw een shots

as the flash recharged.

Severalfactors conspired againstthis photo ever being

reproduced.Modern boxing rings have four ropes instead ofthree

and are festooned w ith corporate logos on the turnbuckle and

canvas.The fightw as nottelevised,so there w ere few er lights

m ounted above the ring.Lastly,sm oking w as perm itted inside

St.D om inics Arena in Lew iston,ME,lending a hazy dram atic

atm osphere.

Like Ali,this im age w as undervalued atthe tim e.Sports

Illustratedchose a di erentim age for their cover,burying this iconic

photograph w ithin the story.

Ali W illia m s (o v e rhe a d ) b y NeilLeife r,1966For the heavyw eighttitle fightbetw een Muham m ad

Ali and Cleveland W illiam s,Leifer had the idea ofputting

a rem ote cam era in the rafters ofthe Houston Astrodom e.In a

traditionalboxing venue this w ouldve been

an im possible shotto get,since the ring lights w ere

typically 20 feetabove the ring,too low to capture the

scene unim peded.In order to sellthe upper decks ofthis arena,the

lights w ere 80 feetabove the ring for the m atch.

The stark reliefbetw een victory and defeatis fram ed in the

concentric squares ofthe ring and the boundary ofthe photo.The

lack ofHBO or Budw eiser logos on the canvas and the tradition of

the cham p w earing w hite trunks and the challenger black trunks,

m agnifies the dram a ofthe m om ent.

Leifer,w ho can be seen in his ow n photo w earing a blue shirtand

holding tw o cam eras near the upper-leftcorner ofthe ring,stated

thatatthe nextfighthe attended atthe Houston Astrodom e eight

photographers w ere fighting to hang their cam eras in the rafters.


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let their do ubt shine throu gh .C lay, h ow ever, w ou ld not let his

skeptics go unpunished.As soo n as he saw the referee w ave his

hands, signaling the ghtw as over, he jum ped to h is feet, gloves

held high over his head .

K ing ofthe w orld! sho uted C lay athis detractors on the p ress

row .Eat you r w ords Eat Eat you r w ords

T hey w ou ld eat th em , b ut no t allof th em .M ost gave C lay

be gru d gin g respect for his perform an ce, b u t a few m yop ic

scribes w ere stillun convinced an d rationalized reasons for w hy

he d idntdeserve to w ear the ch am pion ship belt.In the com ing

w eeks, they w ou ld n d m ore arrow s in their qu iver to laun ch

at Clay.

T h e d ay a fter th e igh t w ith L isto n , C lay h eld a p ress

conference w here he con rm ed that he w as a m em ber ofthe

Nation ofIslam .Tw o w eeks later he offi cially changed h is nam e

to M uh am m ad A li.Th e m edia w as m erciless.In their m ind s,

Aliw as bein g u sed as a recru itm en t p aw n for un scru p u lou s

hu cksters, at best.At w orst, h e w as a m em ber ofa d angerou s

and violentsect.Few recognized the d epth ofAlis com m itm ent

to his faith, w hich w ou ld be tested alm ost im m ediately.

P h ilosop h icald ifferences betw een M alcolm X an d E lijahM uh am m ad h ad b een brew ing for m any m on ths.Soon after Alis

public con version, M alcolm split w ith the Nation ofIslam , an d

Aliqu ickly sided w ith Elijah M uham m ad.W hatlittle interaction

Aliand M alcolm had afterw ard, a p air m any described as being

like brothers, w as short an d cold.

In July 1964, A lim et So njiRoy, an in dep en den t 23-year-old

cocktailw aitress w ho w as strikingly b eau tiful.Aliw as sm itten ,

and a m on th later they w ere m arried.By allaccou nts, Aliw as

gen tle and generous w ith his new bride, an d w ildly passion ate.

Ifthere is a single tribute thatencapsulates Muham m ad Alis global

recognition itw ould be DC Com icsSuperm an vs Muham m ad Ali

special-edition com ic book published in 1978.

W ritten and illustrated by NeilAdam s,and based on a story by

Denny ONeil,Superm an vs Muham m ad Ali is a cam py good-

versus-evilrom p in the tradition ofthe golden era ofcom ic books.

The Earth is threatened by a race ofaliens called the Scrubb

(hilariously referred to as Star-W arriors on the cover),w ho

dem and a duelw ith our planets greatestw arrior or else su er an

invasion oftheir arm ada.Superm an and Ali both com e forw ard

to representEarth.Since the heroes have suprem e confidence intheir ow n abilities,they decide to have a fightto determ ine w ho

w illbe Earths cham pion.

The m atch is broadcastover intergalactic pay-per-view .

Thousands ofalien w orlds tune in to w atch,an obvious hom age

to Alis ubiquitous popularity.Superm an tem porarily deactivates

his superpow ers for the m atch and Ali pum m els his opponent,

finally scoring a technicalknockoutover Superm an,w ho show s

im pressive heartand tenacious w ill.Ali goes on to defeatthe alien

gladiator (even predicting w hich round he w ould knock him out),

and a resurgentSuperm an takes care ofthe space arm ada.In

a universaldisplay ofshow m anship,the defeated fighter m akes


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T h e Nation of Islam , w h ose m em bers began to invo lve

them selves in n early every facet ofAlis life, w ere n ot in favo r

ofth e u n ion .T he role ofa M uslim w ife the lon g clothes, th e

strict diet, esch ew in g alcoholan d m akeup, rarely interactin g

w ith m en w as an illit for Roy, w h o w as streetw ise and self-

suffi cientbefore she m etAli.H er indifference to the tenets ofthe

Nation ofIslam w as a source ofacrim ony w ith her hu sban d and

his new entou rage.O n Jun e 23, 1965, the m arriage w as annu lled.

In justover a year, Alihad given up a brother an d a w ife for his

new faith.Even greater sacri ces w ou ld soon b e asked o fhim .

Th e Rig h t Side o Histo ry

D ozen s of ath letes h ave cha n ged th eir n am es d u rin g

th eir pro fessio n al caree rs, fo r rea son s b o th gen u in e

an d sup ericial. Su gar Ray Rob in son w as bo rn W alker

Sm ith Jr.; Lew is Alcin d or b ecam e K areem Ab du l-Jabb ar

w h en h e con verted to Islam . M arvelou s M arvin H agler

oficially u p grad ed h is nickn am e to h is legaln am e w h en

ring announcers refused to include it in p re- gh t introd uctions.

H ow ever, non e ofthese m en experienced a fraction ofthe public

ire spat upon Ali.New spaper colum nists across the n ation refused to u se Alis

n ew legalnam e.Th e W orld B oxing Association attem p ted to

suspend him , but state com m ission s w ou ld not go alon g w ith it.

Aliw as tireless in defen ding his decision.For the rest ofh is life

h e w ou ld say th at chan ging h is nam e w as the m ost im po rtant

decision he ever m ade.

Aliw as en terin g h is ph ysicalp rim e, an d th e skirm ish es

in th e rin g w ere far easier th an th e b attles he w aged in th e

cou rt ofp ublic perception .The p rod igiou s speed and reflexes

h e exh ibited as a teenager w ere n ow bu oyed by the size and

strength ofa grow n m an.Boxers kn ow n for being fast cou ldnt

m atch his speed .Big punchers cou ldnt stand up to h is shots.

O n M ay 25, 1965, Alifaced Son ny Liston in a rem atch.L iston

w as on ce again th e favo rite, but u nlike their rst gh t h e got

h is bo dy in rem arkab le co n d ition for th e m atch .In th e irst

rou nd, Alihit Liston w ith a sho rt right hand that crum pled the

form er inm ate.Th e pu nch w as so fast, and throw n w hile Aliw as

backpedaling, thatthe veracity ofthe kn ocko utw as debated for

years and the blow du bbed the p han tom pu nch.

The up roar over the trun cated ghtw as soon d row ned ou tby

headlines ofa very different kind.T he V ietnam W ar had begu n

an d Aliw as eligible for the draft.In early 1964 he app eared at

an Arm y Fo rces Induction C enter and com pleted the p hysical

an d m en taltests to q u alify for m ilitary service.Alih ad been

a m ed iocre stu d en t in scho ol.H is test scores w ere so p oor,

esp ecially in th e m ath em atics section , th at th ey p reclu d ed

him from m ilitary service.B ut in 1966 the m ilitary low ered the

m entalaptitude standards, an d Aliw as sudden ly d eclared 1A:

it for d uty.H is attorney requ ested a d eferm en t, w h ich w as

im m ed iately rejected .It w as on ly a m atter oftim e b efore the

heavyw eight cham pion ofthe w orld w ou ld be d rafted.

W hen new s ofthe deferm ent rejection reached the press, Ali

w as h ou n d ed w ith co m p lex qu estion s regard in g th e G ulf of

To n kin Resolution an d foreign p olicy set by Lyn don Joh n son .

After ho urs ofm achine-gun qu estion ing, Aliblurted ou t w hat

peace w ith Aliand the restofhum anity.

The story ends w ith a private m om entb etw een Superm an and Ali,

w ho confesses thathe know s Superm an is really Clark Kentbutvow s

to keep the secret.In the finalpanelofthe book,Alisays,Superm an,

W E are the greatest!Itis up to the read er to determ ine w hich m an

ascends to the others levelby grace ofthatcom plim ent.

The single-issue story is highly regarded in com ic book circles,

and the covera snapshotoflate-70s pop cultureis a classic.

Capturing the feelofa star-studded Las Vegas fightnight,the cover

depicts Superm an and Alisquaring off,butthe realtreasures are the

Easter eggs in the crow d.Superheroes such as Batm an and W onder

W om an rub elbow s w ith A-listcelebrities ofthe day,including Frank

Sinatra,Cher,P residentJim m y Carter,W oody Allen,Joe Nam ath,

KurtVonnegut,and Andy W arhol.John W ayne can b e seen spo rting a

m ustache,a clever solution after the actor denied DC Com ics the right

to use his likeness.(In a sim ilar vein,Telly Savalas w as transform ed

into Lex Luthor by taking the lollipop outof his hand.)D onnie and

M arie Osm ond and the Sw eathogsfrom the sitcom W elcom e Back,

Kottergive itjust enough bubble gum kitsch to w alk the line b etw een

lighthearted laughable and collective authentic.

Superm an vs.M uham m ad Alihad been m othballed for m ore than 30

years before finally being republished in 2010.Itis now w idely available

in hardcover deluxe edition.


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w ou ld b ecom e on e ofhis m ostfam ou s lines:M an, Iaintgotno

quarrelw ith them V ietcon g.

T h e lin e w as bo th ab surd an d b rillian t. It w as alm o st

ludicrously sim ple, the w ay a rebellious teen ager m igh t shrug

at an im portan t topic.B ut it also spo ke vo lum es abo ut the state

ofcivilrigh ts in Am erica at that tim e, the h yp ocrisy ofaskin g

African Am erican s to d ie for a country that w ou ldnt recognize

their inalien ab le righ ts as rst-class citizens.It w as also a h igh ly

partisan sen tim en t.C ivilrigh ts activists reco gn ized th e years

ofan ger and suppression that spurred those w ords, and th ey

rallied b eh in d th em .H ow ever, politician s, law m akers, an d

p aren ts w h o w atched th eir ow n child ren get sh ipp ed to th e

ju n gles of V ietnam believed Alifelt h e w as ju st too en titled

to serve h is cou n try.T h e spo rtsw riters w h o cou ld n t fau lt

h is p erform ance in th e ring an ym ore n ow had cause and

opportunity to u nleash their ven om .Referring to h im as C lay

or aka C assius Clay they labeled him a brat and a p unk.

A m o n th later A liclariied h is p o sitio n . H e ap p lied for

co nscien tious objector status, citing th e fact that his spiritu al

beliefs p reclud ed h im from taking up arm s.H e w as den ied.A

cou rt-appointed judge w as assigned to determ ine w hether Aliw as genu in e in h is con viction s.After a h earin g in w h ich Ali

testi ed an d subm itted a letter describing his beliefs, the judge

deem ed th at the gh ter w as in deed sin cere in h is op p osition

to w ar. D espite th e recom m en d atio n of th e ju d ge, Alis

conscien tious objector status w as den ied once again.

D uring this tim e, Aliw en t on a tear inside the ring, kn ocking

ou t a n ew op p on en t every few m on th s.In h is igh t again st

C levelan d W illiam s, h eld in th e H ou ston Astrod om e on

No vem ber 14, 1966, Aliis regarded to h ave been at the heigh t

ofh is p ow ers.W illiam s w as kn ow n as a feared p un cher and a

serious threat, b ut w as barely ab le to lan d a glove on Ali, w h o

TKO d him ou t in just three rounds.

In h is next ght, Alishow ed a side ofh is personality few had

seen.D uring the pre gh t publicity, his opponen t, Ernie Terrell,

insisted on calling him C lay.At a m ed ia event tw o d ays before

the gh t, Alistated that he had three w ords for the challen ger:

W hats m y nam e? W hen Terrellansw ered, C lay, Aliprom ised

th at n o t o n ly w as h e goin g to b eat h is o p p on en t b u t th at

he w ou ld h um iliate him .H e stated th at h e w anted to m ake

Terrellsuff er, that a clean kn ockout w as too goo d for him .H e

kep t his prom ise.

Early in th e gh t, Terrellsuff ered a broken ch eekb on e anddam age to h is retin a.B y th e eigh th rou n d Terrellw as nearly


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h elp less, flin ch in g at every fein t th e ch am p th rew .A liw as

m erciless.H e rep eated ly jab bed th e in ju red eye, sho u tin g,

W h ats m y nam e? Alikept u p the taun ts and th e pu n ches

for the w hole 15 rou nds.In a spo rt pred icated on violen ce, A li

versus T errellstan ds out for its brutality

Alis perform an ce in that gh t didnt help his pu blic relations

battle in getting reco gn ition as a co n scien tious ob jector.O n e

m on th after th e igh t, Selective Service v oted to d en y h is

ap p ealan d an n ou n ced th at Aliw as ob ligated to ap p ear for

induction into the Un ited States arm ed forces on Ap r 18, 1967,

in H ou ston , T X .O n M arch 22, Alikno cked o u t Zo ra Folley at

M adison Sq uare G arden .It w ou ld b e his last ght for 3 years.

O n th e m ornin g ofh is in du ction , m ed ia ou tlets across th e

cou n try cou n ted d ow n th e m inu tes u n tilAliw as asked to

step forw ard an d join th e arm ed forces.In Alis w ord s, he

m oved from th e sports page to th e fron t p age. No on e w as

su re w h at Aliw ou ld d o.T h e m ilitary base in H ou ston h ad

prepared tw o separate p ress releases, o ne d escribing h ow Pvt.

C lay w as in du cted in to th e Un ites States Arm y, an d an oth er

that C assius C lay refused induction .W hen the nam e Cassius

M arcellus Clay w as called, Alidid not m ove.W hen qu estion ed,

h e con rm ed th at h e refu sed to b e in d u cted becau se of h is

religious beliefs T he w orld h ad an an sw er

Alihan ded a statem ent to the m edia.It read:I am p rou d of

th e title W orld H eavyw eigh t C h am p ion ,w h ich I w on in th e

rin g in M iam ion Feb ru ary 25, 1964.T h e h old er of it sh ou ld

at alltim es have th e co urage ofh is con viction s and carry o ut

th ose con viction s no t on ly in th e rin g, b u t th rou gh ou t all

p hases ofhis life.It is in ligh t ofm y ow n personalconvictions

that I take m y stan d in rejecting the callto be inducted into the

arm ed services.I do so w ith fullrealization ofits im p lications

an d p ossible con sequ en ces.I h ave searched m y con scien ce,

an d in d I can n ot be true to m y b elief in m y religio n by

accep tin g such a call In th e en d I am con d en t th at ju stice

w illcom e m y w ay, for the truth m ust even tually p revail

Aliw as given the m axim um sentence of ve years in jailand

a $10,0 00 in e.H e w ou ld be spared in carceration w h ile h is

law yers app ealed th e verdict, b u t a h arsh er pen alty aw aited

h im .T h e New York State Ath letic C om m ission revok ed h is

box in g licen se, an d allo th er states follow ed .H e w as forced

to relin qu ish h is p assp ort du rin g th e ap p ealp rocess, w h ich

m eanthe couldnttraveloverseas to ght.H is boxing career w as

offi cially over.The cham p ion ship title h e h ad dream ed abo ut

and chased for m ore than halfhis life w as taken from him

D o w n Bu t No t Ou t

Form er heavyw eightcham p Joe Lou is w as indirectly respon sible

for m uch ofthe p ublic b acklash A liexp erien ced in his career:

T h e B row n B om ber w as a m edia darlin g, on e of th e irst

African-Am erican athletes w ho crossed color lines w hen itcam e

to cap turing aff ection .In 1938, Joe L ou is fou ght M ax Schm eling,

a G erm an ghter w ho h ad been propp ed up by the Naziparty


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as proo fo fthe sup eriority o fthe Aryan race.Lo uis enjoyed a

grou ndsw ellofsup port as the cou ntry uni ed against the Nazi

regim e.Even President Franklin D .Roosevelt im pressed upon

Lou is the gravity o fthe m atch.Lou is kno cked ou t Schm eling in

the rst rou nd an d ascend ed to the status ofnation alhero.No t

long after the attack o n PearlH arbor, L ou is joined the U.S.Arm y.

D espite servin g in a segregated m ilitary and suff erin g b latan t

racism during his tim e in uniform , L ou is uttered o nly the m ost

flag-w avin g q u otes to th e p ress.T h e im age of P vt.Lo u is w as

used to raise m orale and the recruitm ent nu m bers ofthe ranks.

Everyone in Am erica knew that the heavyw eight cham p w as

proudly serving his country in the gh t against tyranny.

The di erence w as this:Th e politicaland socialclim ate ofthe

1930s w as un like that ofthe late 1960 s, vastly m ore rep ressed

an d far less toleran t.Louis had little ch oice b utto getalong w ith

the status qu o as best he co uld.Still, h is w as a carefully crafted

pubic im age.H is handlers created a listofrules for him to follow

to stay in the good graces ofthe w hite ticket-buying public.H e

could n ever be p ho tograph ed n ext to a w hite w om an.H e w as

to n ever go to a n igh tclub alon e.No gloating o ver a d efeated

op pon en t w as allow ed .T h is pu blic relation s stratey w orkedbeau tifully.

It w as iron ic, then , that Lou ispu blic p erson a m irrored that

of Alis p rivate life.In reality, Lou is w as a serialw om an izer

w ith a w eakn ess for liquor an d, later in life, drugs.Alin ever

tou ch ed alcoh ol, cigarettes, o r narcotics, an d shu n n ed th e

legion s ofw hite w om en w ho flo cked to h is public app earances,

hyp n otized by h is goo d loo ks an d con iden ce.T h e zeitgeist

of th e late 1960s allow ed Alito b e an an gry yo u n g m an , an

op p ortu n ity n ever afford ed to L ou is.Alirefu sed to accep t

in eq u ality, an d for a tim e h e em braced th e Nation ofIslam s

stan ce againstintegration (a p osition he later recan ted ).Aliw as

lou d an d p rou d an d m ade the public especially the aging cadre

ofsportsw ritersw istfulfor the quiet obed ien ce ofJoe L ouis.

Strip p ed of h is title an d d en ied th e o p p ortu n ity to m ake

m oney in the rin g, A licarved out a livin g w ith his p rod igious

ch arm an d silver ton gu e.H e lectu red at colleges across th e

country, w hich p laced h im in fron t ofa ho m etow n au dience

Documents

Men's Fitness Special Ali - 2016 USA