20 things you probably didn't know about late boxing champion Muhammad Ali
In his honour, here are 20 facts you should know about him:
1. He was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky on the 17th of January 1942, the boxing legend changed his name first to Cassius X and then to Muhammed Ali after he became affiliated with the nation of Islam in 1964.
2. He used to race the school bus instead of ride in it.
Growing up in Louisville, while his schoolmates rode the school bus to school, he would race it instead for 20 blocks down the street.
‘Why doesn’t he ride to school like everybody else?’ one student once reportedly asked. ‘He’s crazy,’ replied one of Ali’s classmates..
3. His stolen bicycle started his boxing career.
When he was 12 years old, his new bicycle was stolen, for which he angrily matched down to the Louisville police station, claiming he would ‘whoop’ the thief. It was there that he encountered a police officer cum boxing coach named Joe E. Martin, who encouraged him to learn how to box first before any sort of whooping could be done. This launched the beginning of his foray into the world of boxing.
4. He made his professional debut on October 29, 1960 at the age of 18, winning a six-round decision over Tunney Hunsaker, a young boxer with several wins to his name. From then until the end of 1963, Ali (known then as Clay) amassed a record of 19–0 with 15 wins by knockout, defeating several boxers including his former trainer and veteran boxer, Archie Moore.
5. He was good friends with American civil rights activist, Malcolm X, whom he met in 1962 and who piqued his interest in the Muslim religion. The friendship however ended on a sad note after Ali refused to support X in his public criticism of their mentor and founder of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammed. A decision Ali would later come to regret less than a year later when his former friend was assassinated.
6. He fought and won against the former undefeated boxing champion, Sonny Liston, becoming, at age 22 the youngest boxer to take the title from a reigning heavyweight champion.
7. He was once stripped of his title and exiled from the world of boxing due to his refusal to be drafted into the U.S army. In addition, he was criminally indicted and later convicted of refusing induction into the U.S. armed forces and sentenced to five years in prison, although he remained free on bail. He however wasn’t allowed to return to the ring until three and a half years had passed.
8. He fought and won injured during his comeback.
While he’d been training for the fight, he sustained an injury to his rib, which didn’t deter him, as he refused to reschedule for fear that he might never get the chance to fight again if he did.
9. He was a civil rights campaigner and poet who, having refused induction into the U.S. Army, stood for the proposition that ‘unless you have a very good reason to kill, war is wrong.’ He also enjoyed making witty and boastful speeches before every game, crowning him the poet laureate of the boxing world.
10. He only wore Elvis Presley’s robe once.
Elvis Presley gave Ali a boxing robe as a gift, with the words ‘The People’s Champion’ inscribed on the back, which Ali wore to his next fight where he landed a defeat. He never wore the robe to fight again, believing that it was bad luck.
11. He was been married four times and has seven daughters and two sons. He married his fourth wife, Yolanda, in 1986.
12. He helped secure the release of 15 American hostages from Iraq in 1990.
Defying the odds and the American government, Ali travelled to Iraq, where he successfully negotiated with Saddam Hussein, securing the release of these prisoners and returning back to America with them.
13. He flew to South Africa to visit Nelson Mandela, who was a great fan of his, after he was released from prison in 1990. He also later paid a heart-warming tribute to Mandela after his death.
14. He learned new ways of communicating because of his Parkinson’s disease, a disease he lived with for more than three decades. He mastered the art of communicating with his hands, eyes, fingers and facial features.
15. He starred in a Broadway musical.
During his forced exile from the ring, Ali took to the stage in the title role of the musical ‘Buck White.’ In spite of the limited run of the musical, Ali, who played a militant black lecturer, received good reviews. ‘He sings with a pleasant slightly impersonal voice, acts without embarrassment and moves with innate dignity…he does himself proud’, wrote a New York Times reporter.
16. He recorded an album, ‘I am the greatest’, which was released in August 1963, six months before he won the world heavyweight championship, announced his conversion to Islam, and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
17. He was an amateur magician who enjoyed thrilling friends and fans with his skills. Ali’s most famous trick was an act where he would turn his back to his audience, put his heels together, and suddenly float off the ground, hovering several inches above the ground. Famous magician, David Copperfield, once described his tricks as ‘classic’.
18. He visited Nigeria in 1964.
While he was alive, the legendary boxing champ enjoyed taking trips round the world, especially to Africa, in a bid to reconnect to his roots. On one of his trips to Africa, he made a 3-day stop in Lagos, Nigeria.
19. He has Irish roots, courtesy of his great-grandfather Abe Grady who was an Irishman that emigrated to the United States and settled in Kentucky in the 1860s. There he married a freed slave, and one of their grandchildren was Ali’s mother, Odessa Lee Grady Clay.
20. He never turned down an autograph request.
As a young boy, his request for an autograph signing was rejected by his idol, boxer Sugar Ray Robinson, which made him promise to never subject any of his fans to that. He maintained that vow until the end, and even had a special P.O. box for anyone who wanted his autograph.
Muhammed Ali was indeed a legend and his legacy will live for a long time to come.