The morning after his first fight with liston Clay became Cassius X, and announced his conversion to islam. At the conference his voice was low, and on march 6th he was given the name Muhammad Ali by the leader of the nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad.
Up to about 1970 Ali went through a sticky patch with his civil rights, moral beliefs about those remembered Vietcong and the war, which directly affected his boxing career, but that will explored in greater depth later on. However in 1970 Ali was granted a license to box once more following his Supreme Court victory wherein he was granted his right to refuse military service, he began a comeback. But he suffered a setback when he lost his 1971 title fight, a bruising 15 round encounter with at . This fight, known simply as "The Fight," was perhaps one of the most famous and eagerly-anticipated bouts of all time, since it featured two skilled, undefeated fighters, both of whom had reasonable claims to the heavyweight crown. The fight lived up to the hype, and Frazier punctuated his victory by flooring Ali with a hard left hook in the final round. Ali split two bouts with before beating Frazier on points in their to earn another title shot.
The incumbent, , was a large, hard-hitting, undefeated young fighter who had previously demolished Frazier, KO'ing him in the second round of their championship fight, and was the heavy favorite. The fight was held in and promoted by as "."
Ali was certainly the people’s champ in Zaire. When he disembarked from the plane he was greeted by thousands of people and some flowers. They chanted “Bumaye Ali”, meaning kill him Ali (him was George Foreman). When Ali did his fitness training, like running for instance, crowds of peope joined in his jog and instead of keeping to his route with his trainer in the car beside him he went through alleyways to make the people of Zaire follow him and have more fun, more people joined him in one big follow the leader. Ali was amazed at the support and something that amazed him more was that the followers showed him some drawings on the side of huts and buildings of him, it had pictures of him as a giant with a halo around his head fighting off evil spirits and death, it also had him fighting off tanks, aeroplanes and war. Obviously one of the pictures was him alone holding his hands up in the air as a champ would with the words “Bumaye Ali” and George Foreman bruised and battered lying down in the corner of the ring. It was probably then that Ali really realised how loved he was and how many people realied and looked up to him. In the October bout that would cement his reputation as "The Greatest", Ali boxed his best tactical fight. Leading with his "wrong" hand and playing "rope-a-dope" by leaning far back on the ropes, Ali absorbed everything Foreman could throw at him, whilst only occasionally throwing counter punches. By the end of the sixth round, Foreman had punched himself out and Ali was able to attack a little more. Foreman kept advancing, but his blows were much less effective and near the end of the eighth, Ali's right hand finally sent the exhausted Foreman to the floor. As a result of this fight, he was awarded the 1974 as top professional athlete of the year and magazine's "" award. Ali had yet again become the champ he always had been and had really become to realise that he was also a people’s champ. After the “The Rumble In The Jungle” Ali fought a few more battles however his health was deteriorating and his last few battles saw more losses than wins. Ali set the record for being the heavyweight champ three times. Ali retired permanently in 1981 with a career record of 56 wins, 37 by knockout, against 5 losses.
“I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong…no Vietcong ever called me a nigger.” With these words in 1966 Muhammed Ali announced his intention to refuse induction into the U.S. army as a conscientious objector. This set off a five year battle that would strip him of his world Heavyweigth title, bar him from boxing, and nearly send him to prison – all at the peak of his career as the greatest boxer in history. But this was his toughest fight yet.
It probably all started when Ali threw his beloved olympic gold medal (which he slept with and always wore) into the Ohio River all because of being denied service at restaurant because of his race. Ali (or Cassius Clay as he was then) then started actively looking for political answers and began finding them when he heard Malcolm X speak at a meeting of the Nation of Islam (NOI). He heard Malcolm say, "You might see these Negroes who believe in non-violence and mistake us for one of them and put your hands on us thinking that we are going to turn the other cheek-and we'll put you to death just like that." They became strong friends and allies. The day after he beat Liston, Clay announced publicly that he was a member of the NOI. There are no words for the firestorm this caused. Whatever disagreements one may have with the Nation of Islam, the fact is that the heavyweight champion of the world was joining the organization of Malcolm X. The champ was with a group that called white people devils and stood unapologetically for self defence and racial separation. Not surprisingly, the men of the conservative, mobbed-up, corrupt fight world lost their minds
Ali was attacked not only by the sports world, but also by the respectable wing of the civil rights movement. Roy Wilkins, of the older civil rights generation said, "Cassius Clay may as well be an honorary member of the white citizen councils." Jimmy Cannon, the most famous sportswriter in America at the time, wrote: "The fight racket since its rotten beginnings has been the red light district of sports. But this is the first time it has been turned into an instrument of hate."
Ali's response at this point was very defensive. He repeatedly said that his wasn't a political, but a purely religious conversion. His defence reflected the conservative politics of the NOI. Ali said, "I'm not going to get killed trying to force myself on people who don't want me. Integration is wrong. White people don't want it, the Muslims don't want it. So what's wrong with the Muslims? I've never been in jail. I've never been in court. I don't join integration marches and I never hold a sign."
But much like Malcolm X, who at the time was engineering a political break from the Nation, Clay-much to the anger of Elijah Muhammad-found it impossible to explain his religious world view without speaking to the mass Black freedom struggle happening outside the boxing ring. He was his own worst enemy claiming that his was a religious transformation and had nothing to do with politics, but then in the next breath saying, “I ain't no Christian. I can't be when I see all the coloured people fighting for forced integration get blown up. They get hit by the stones and chewed by dogs and then these crackers blow up a Negro Church…. People are always telling me what a good example I would be if I just wasn't Muslim. I've heard over and over why couldn't I just be more like Joe Louis and Sugar Ray. Well they are gone and the Black man's condition is just the same ain't it? We're still catching hell”.
At this time, he was known briefly as Cassius X, but Elijah Muhammad gave Clay the name Muhammad Ali-a tremendous honour and a way to ensure that the young Ali would side with Elijah Muhammad in his split with Malcolm X. Ali proceeded to commit what he would later describe as his greatest mistake-turning his back on Malcolm.
The politics of Black Power was starting to emerge and Muhammad Ali was a critical symbol in this transformation. As news anchor Bryant Gumbel said, "One of the reasons the civil rights movement went forward was that Black people were able to overcome their fear. And I honestly believe that for many Black Americans, that came from watching Muhammad Ali. He simply refused to be afraid. And being that way, he gave other people courage."
Every fight after his name change became incredible morality plays of the Black revolution versus the people who opposed it. Floyd Patterson, a Black ex-champion wrapped tightly in the American flag, said of his fight with Ali, "This fight is a crusade to reclaim the title from the Black Muslims. As a Catholic I am fighting Clay as a patriotic duty. I am going to return the crown to America." In the fight itself, Ali brutalized Patterson for nine rounds, dragging it out yelling, "Come on America! Come on white America…. What's my name? Is my name Clay? What's my name fool?"
Ali certainly took on America when he refused induction in to the U.S. army in April 1966. Ali refused to serve in the U.S. army in the as a conscientious objector, famously saying that he "got nothing against no " and "No Vietnamese ever called me a ." In June, the court found him guilty of draft evasion. He was stripped of his championship belt and his license to box, and sentenced to five years in prison (which was overturned on appeal three years later).
Ali was inactive from March 22, 1967 to October 26, 1970, which many feel were his peak years. Ali had been very close to not achieving his quote.
In conclusion it is hard to put a finger on what is so amazing about Ali in all areas of what he did, but here are a few things that certainly make him amazing. Ali certainly was a champion in all areas. He is almost unquestionably the best boxer of the twentieth century that ever lived with his unorthodox style, which was incredibly affective, his tireless self-promotion and spectacular results, Ali must have been pretty amazing to win the world heavyweight title three times and a career record of 56 wins, 37 by knockout, against 5 losses. So really he was the perfect champ like the young Joe Louis even though some people said he should be more like Joe Louis, but then no one is perfect. Maybe boxing isn’t the best sport to be in if you want to be an idol for young children but Ali was certainly a great idol for young children, not only because he was the champ, but because of what he did for black people, showed them the way forward and not to be afraid of anything that may stop them, just like he had in his court case and civil rights struggle. If Ali had not achievd his quote by going to jail as he so nearly did, then he certainly wouldn’t have been an idol for young children, but his determanation, pride and support from family, friends and followers helped him pull through Ali was also a people’s champ. Ali was certainly the greatest boxer of the twentieth century who desevres to be remembered as the champ, he was also a charming and courageous man, who despite illness and rejection has earned the respect of millions of people around the world.
Sources
Muhammad Ali’s greatest fight by H Bingham and M Wallace
Boxing Greats By Steve Bunce
“Ali” the film.
