Muhammmad Ali
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Im sure that everyone here has heard the phrase “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee”. This was the slogan used by the man considered by many to be the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali was born in 1942 with the name Cassius Clay, but later changed it to Muhammad Ali after he became a Muslim. Cassius grew up in Louisville Kentucky and threw one of his first punches when he was only six months old, hitting his mother so hard that she had to have two teeth pulled out. Clay got into boxing at the age of 12. After having his bike stolen, Cassius ran into police officer Joe Martin and told him that he was gonna whoop whoever stole his bike. The police officer happened to run a boxing gym, and suggested that Cassius should learn proper boxing technique first. Clay soon began to excel in boxing and furthermore began his journey down the path of greatness.
Cassius Clay soon had a reputation in the boxing world as a loud mouth with a very unusual boxing style. Clay was constantly bragging about his speed and strength, as well as making rhymes about his opponents. Heres an example of one of Clays rhymes taken from a Muhammad Ali fanpage:
This is the legend of Muhammad Ali,
The greatest fighter that ever will be.
He talks a great deal and brags, indeed,
Of a powerful punch and blinding speed.
Ali fights great, hes got speed and endurance;
If you sign to fight him, increase your insurance.
Alis got a left, Alis got a right;
If he hits you once, youre asleep for the night.
Comments like these made Clays opponents eager to get into the ring with him, but they soon realized that he could back up all of his taunts. His fighting style was unique, because unlike most boxers, he held his arms at his sides and swayed backward to dodge punches rather than blocking them with his fists. He was able to get away with this because of his blinding speed. Not only did he have very fast punches, but he had so much endurance that he could dance around the ring for the entirety of a fight and completely wear down his opponent. In the movie Ali, Will Smith plays the part of Cassius and gives an accurate depiction of this interesting boxing style. During his career, Cassius fought some of boxings toughest contenders, including the likes of George Foreman, Joe Frazier, and Sonny Liston. At the end of his career, Cassius had a record of 56 wins, with 37 being by knockout, and 5 losses.
Not only did people respect Ali for his boxing ability, but also for his ability to stand up for his own political and religious beliefs. After hearing the Muslim minister Malcolm X speak, Cassius became friends with him and soon joined the Muslim religion. It was Malcoms influence that led Cassius to change his name to Cassius X and then later to Muhammad Ali. His reasoning in this was that Clay was the name given to his grandfather by slave masters, and Ali was not a slave.
When Ali was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, he simply refused to go, saying, quote “I aint got no quarrel