By Roy Billington and Jeremy Botter

Muhammad Ali, the greatest heavyweight prizefighter of all time and the man who created the blueprint for others who would follow in his footsteps, died on Friday night at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona.

He was 74 years old.

Boyishly handsome and supremely talented, Ali would transcend the sport of boxing and become one of the most notable celebrities of his generation, leaving an indelible mark on popular culture that will be remembered for eternity.

But prior to Ali’s luxurious later life, he had to overcome early adversity on the mean streets of Louisville, Kentucky.

On January 17, 1942, Cassius Clay Jr. was born to Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr., a painter and musician and Odessa Clay. Clay Jr. would later go on to controversially denounce his Baptist upbringing and find solace in the Islamic faith. It was this newfound faith that spurred the bright boxing prospect to change his name to a moniker that would eventually ring in all corners of the Earth: Muhammad Ali.

Growing up in the segregated South, Ali had to face racial prejudice. He was subject to crime from an early age, and it would lead to his discovery of the art that would make him famous.

At the age of 12, Ali’s bicycle was stolen, and he reported it to police officer Joe E. Martin. Ali confided in Martin that he wished to “beat up the bullies” that stole his bike.

Martin retorted “well, you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people.” Martin, who was also a boxing coach at the time, invited Ali to his gym to learn the fundamentals.

Boxing Career

From the first sessions in Martin’s gym, it was apparent that Ali had an affinity for fighting. In 1954, he would have his first boxing match, which he won by split-decision. In1956, Ali took his first major amateur championship, the novice Golden Gloves.

The amateur accolades kept coming. He took home the National Golden Gloves and then Amateur Athletics Union’s light heavyweight title. But Ali’s amateur career wouldn’t reach its peak until the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. There, Ali was astonishing, dominating 3 opponents before beating Zbigniew Pietrzkowski from Poland to win the light heavyweight gold medal.

Ali’s success lead to him becoming an overnight hero in his home country.

Photo: Sports Illustrated

At the tender age of 18, Ali made his professional debut against Tunney Hunsaker. Ali used his speed and movement to take a unanimous decision over Hunsaker in a fight that was something of a preview of things to come. In under 3 years, Ali scored 18 consecutive victories before being scheduled to fight the British champion Henry Cooper. In his fight with Cooper, Ali would be dropped for the first time in his professional career. But he would overcome the adversity to score the first high-profile victory of his young career.

The win over Cooper set up a title shot against the dominant champion, Sonny Liston. Going into the fight, Liston was a 7-1 betting favorite. But Ali had a skill advantage over his foe. From the opening bell, Liston had his heart set on a knockout. But it was Ali who would be the finisher, scoring a TKO when Liston was unable to answer the bell after the 7th round due to injury.

READ MORE: Remembering 'Rumble In The Jungle'

The underwhelming ending led to Liston being granted an immediate rematch against Ali. But in the second and final fight between them, there would be no doubt left in who was the superior fighter: Ali knocked out Liston in the first round in what would become an icon moment in the history of boxing.

The Ali tour of domination moved forward impressively until 1967, when he experienced another landmark moment in his life and career.

At the time, the United States was deeply involved in a costly and divisive war in Vietnam. The war was just as divisive at home, too. Ali was drafted into the military on April 28, but he would not go to war. Citing his religious beliefs, Ali refused enlistment.

The government did not take kindly to Ali’s refusal of military service. He was convicted in June of 1967 on draft evasion charges; Ali was fined $10,000 and sentenced to five years in prison. An appeal kept him from seeing the inside of a prison cell, and the conviction would be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1970.

But he suffered a fate that, for a boxer of Ali's skill and renown, was something of a prison sentence on its own: he was stripped of the heavyweight championship and banned from the sport for three years.

In 1970, Ali made his return to the ring in a blowout against Jerry Quarry. This dominant victory set things up for what was heralded as the “Fight of the Century” against “Smokin’” Joe Frazier.

It lived up to the pre-fight billing.

Over the course of 15 rounds, Ali and Frazier went toe-to-toe in a war of attrition. When the fight went to the judges, Ali came out on the wrong side of a decision. It was the first loss of his professional career.


After the loss to Frazier, Ali would string together a series of wins before losing to Ken Norton in March 1973. This second defeat would lead to many journalists questioning if Ali’s skills had diminished. But the pundits were wrong, as they often are, and Ali continued winning. He would beat Norton in a close rematch, and it was this win—along with a win against Rudie Lubbers—that would set up a much-anticipated rematch with Joe Frazier.

Coming into the rematch with Frazier, Ali was again written off by almost everyone. But in a staggering turn of events, Ali would come home victorious.

After beating Frazier, Ali faced the unbeaten knockout artist, George Foreman. In what would be remembered as the most iconic performance of his career, Ali withstood the Foreman onslaught before scoring a late knockout. Ali would later claim that he had game-planned to exhaust Foreman before pouncing late, a plan he would famously name “rope-a-dope.”

In the proceeding years, Ali would again defeat Frazier and Norton, the most famous of his adversaries. He lost three of his final four fights and retired from the ring in 1981.

Later Years

Though his boxing battles were over, Ali's most serious battle was yet to come.

In 1984, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In the years following his diagnosis, Ali suffered a steep physical decline, leading a man who seemed most comfortable when the cameras were on to become a recluse who made limited public appearances.

36 years after winning the gold medal in Rome, Ali was invited to light the torch at the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, Georgia. His appearance in Georgia would be one of the rare times that the former world champion would enter the public sphere.

Throughout his remaining years, Ali would keep a strong relationship with his family. Through 4 marriages, Ali had 9 children, 7 girls and 2 boys. His daughter Laila would take up her father’s mantle and become a successful world champion boxer.

Muhammad Ali is survived by his devoted wife Lonnie, his brother Rahman and his 9 children.