As a child, Muhammad Ali put boxing before school and ended up as a professional athlete. As an adult, he put religion before patriotism and ended up with a prison sentence. This is the timeline of the life of the man celebrated as one of the greatest boxers of all time.
1942 – Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. is born in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A. to a sign painter and a housewife who sometimes worked as a cleaning lady for extra money.
Age 1 – His brother is born.
Age 12 – His bicycle is stolen. The policeman he makes the report to gives boxing lessons at the local youth centre and asks him to join. He begins boxing and wins his first amateur boxing fight. He begins devoting all his time to boxing and his grades at school suffer.
Age 14 – The policeman gets Cassius on the TV show, ‘Tomorrow’s Champions’. Cassius begins training under a trainer who teaches him the science of boxing. He wins the Golden Gloves tournament in the lightheavyweight class.
Age 17 – He wins the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions and the Amateur Athletic Union’s national title.
Age 18 – He competes in the Olympic games and wins the gold medal in the lightheavyweight division. He gets a contract with the Louisville Sponsors Group for this—the biggest contract ever signed by a professional boxer.
After – He wins more boxing matches, using a style that combines speed with punching power.
Age 22 – He competes in and wins the heavyweight championship of the world. In the same year, Cassius begins to follow the Black Muslim faith after being inspired by Malcolm X and changes his name to Cassius X. The Muslim leader Elijah Muhammad then gives him the name Muhammad Ali which means “beloved of Allah”. He marries Sonji Roi.
Age 23 – Muhammad Ali defends his world champion title with a first round knockout. He would go on to defend his title 8 more times. He divorces his wife because she refuses to adopt Muslim customs.
Age 25 – He marries his second wife, 17-year-old Belinda Boyd. Ali is drafted to fight the Vietnam War. He refuses to go, claiming his religion does not allow him to serve. Because of this, the New York State Athletic Commission and World Boxing Association suspends his boxing license and strips him of his titles. He is also sentenced to 5 years in prison for violating Selective Service laws but appeals and remains free while the appeal is going on.
Age 27 – His first child, Maryum is born.
Age 28 – He goes back to the ring where he wins again but loses the next championship to Joe Frazier who had replaced him as heavyweight champion. His conviction is finally overturned by the courts. His second wife gives birth to twins, Jamillah and Liban.
Age 30 – His 4th child, Muhammad Ali Jr is born.
Age 32 – Ali regains his title of heavyweight champion at last after beating the guy who had defeated Joe Frazier for the title. He then defeats Joe Frazier in another 2 fights.
Age 33 – Sports Illustrated names Ali ‘Sportsman of the Year’. He will go on to defend his title 10 more times.
Age 34 – He divorces his second wife.
Age 35 – Ali marries Veronica Porche who he had already been travelling with while married to his second wife. They would go on to have 2 daughters.
Age 36 – He loses his title when defeated by Leon Spinks but regains it 7 months later by defeating Spinks—making him the first boxer in history to win the heavyweight championship 3 times.
Age 39 – Ali fights his 61st and last fight, which he loses. He spends the rest of his life working on social causes and politics.
Age 42 – He is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Age 43 – He tries to win the release of 4 kidnapped Americans in Lebanon.
Age 44 – Ali divorces his third wife and marries his fourth and final wife, Yolanda who is the daughter of his mother’s friend. They would go on to have a son together.
Age 54 – He is chosen to light the Olympic torch during the opening ceremonies.
Age 56 – He is chosen to be a United Nations Messenger of Peace.
Age 57 – Ali appears on a Wheaties cereal box.
Age 59 – After 9/11, he appears in announcements to Muslim countries to inform them that the U.S. remains friendly to those of the Muslim faith. A film about his life is released.
Age 63 – Ali wins the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President George W. Bush. The Muhammad Ali Center opens in his hometown.
Age 73 – He contracts pneumonia and is hospitalised for severe UTI.
Age 74 – Ali is hospitalised for a respiratory problem and dies in hospital. His family throws him a 3-day memorial service in his hometown which he planned himself. Tens of thousands of people attend the service. His pallbearers are Will Smith and former heavyweight champions Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. He is buried at Cave Hill National Cemetery in Louisville.
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Photographs: Dutch National Archives. Compiler: Sy
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He was amazing as a boxer. I used to do boxing too, and watched movies of him. He sometimes did things you’re told never to do, like leaning backward to avoid a punch — and got away with it.
🙂
A questionable post this Memorial Day as Ali refused to serve his country, but had no qualms beating the snot out of another human being. Many co’s served honorably.
Last Monday was also Eid al-Fitr or Hari Raya in Muslim countries, Dennis. Perhaps an opportunity to ponder the contradictions and similarities inherent in life. 🙂
Mastery is definitely sexy, Bob. 🙂