Muhammad Ali
“The Greatest”
Titles & honours
- Undisputed Heavyweight Champion (1964, 1974, 1978)
- Olympic Gold 1960 (Light heavyweight)
Biography
Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky in 1942, Muhammad Ali is the consensus greatest heavyweight in history and one of the most consequential athletes of the 20th century. He won Olympic light-heavyweight gold in Rome in 1960, then stunned Sonny Liston for the world heavyweight title at age 22 in 1964 — predicting the round and announcing his conversion to Islam two days later. Stripped of his title in 1967 for refusing the Vietnam draft, he lost three and a half prime years; on return in 1970, he lost his first comeback bid to Joe Frazier in the 'Fight of the Century' (March 1971), but reclaimed the title in 'The Rumble in the Jungle' against George Foreman (October 1974) using the 'rope-a-dope' strategy. The 'Thrilla in Manila' (October 1975) against Frazier — perhaps the most brutal heavyweight fight in history — left both men permanently diminished. Ali's footwork at heavyweight is unmatched in boxing history: he carried Sugar Ray Robinson's mobility into a 215-pound body, jabbing on the move, pulling back from punches, and dancing for entire rounds in his prime. Suffered from Parkinson's syndrome from the early 1980s after retiring with one career too many; lit the Atlanta Olympic torch in 1996; died in 2016.