“I got nothing against no Viet Cong. No Vietnamese ever called me a nigger.” - Muhammad Ali
Biography Professional Boxer (1961-80), political activist, lecture, entrepreneur, actor, a philanthropist, winner of six Golden Gloves titles in Kentucky, 2-time National Golden Gloves titles, 1 Olympic Gold Medalist, and 3-time Heavyweight Championship, his name is Muhammad Ali also known as “The Greatest.”
Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born in Louisville, Kentucky in January 17, 1942. Clay was the son of Cassius Marcellus Jr and Odessa Grady Clay. His father made a living painting signs and murals, and his mother worked as a domestic servant. Clay contributed to his family’s finance by working as a janitor at a nearby college. He took up boxing at the age of 12, when he found out when his bicycle got stolen. Young Clay then reported a bike theft to Joe Elsby Martin, a Louisville police officer who ran a youth program teaching boys how to box. From there, Joe Martin invited Clay to his program and soon Clay …show more content…
Clay later trained an additional four hours a day with Fred Stoner, a trainer Louisville’s Grace Community Center. Fred Stoner helped Clay develop his style and improve his stamina. Stoner also taught Clay a technique of evading blows by ducking, leaning away, and sidestep punches, from there, it forces his opponent to waste energy punching the empty air. This style led Clay to win 100 of 108 boxing fights, which captured him the Kentucky Golden Gloves championships six times, the national Golden Gloves championships twice, and the American Athletic Union championships twice. His amateur career guided him to his gold-medal winning trip to the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Italy. After a championship match against Sonny Liston, Clay announced he changed his name to Muhammad Ali which meant, “beloved of God.” The boxer had also announced he join the Nation of Islam, a group of Muslim African
Biography Professional Boxer (1961-80), political activist, lecture, entrepreneur, actor, a philanthropist, winner of six Golden Gloves titles in Kentucky, 2-time National Golden Gloves titles, 1 Olympic Gold Medalist, and 3-time Heavyweight Championship, his name is Muhammad Ali also known as “The Greatest.”
Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born in Louisville, Kentucky in January 17, 1942. Clay was the son of Cassius Marcellus Jr and Odessa Grady Clay. His father made a living painting signs and murals, and his mother worked as a domestic servant. Clay contributed to his family’s finance by working as a janitor at a nearby college. He took up boxing at the age of 12, when he found out when his bicycle got stolen. Young Clay then reported a bike theft to Joe Elsby Martin, a Louisville police officer who ran a youth program teaching boys how to box. From there, Joe Martin invited Clay to his program and soon Clay …show more content…
Clay later trained an additional four hours a day with Fred Stoner, a trainer Louisville’s Grace Community Center. Fred Stoner helped Clay develop his style and improve his stamina. Stoner also taught Clay a technique of evading blows by ducking, leaning away, and sidestep punches, from there, it forces his opponent to waste energy punching the empty air. This style led Clay to win 100 of 108 boxing fights, which captured him the Kentucky Golden Gloves championships six times, the national Golden Gloves championships twice, and the American Athletic Union championships twice. His amateur career guided him to his gold-medal winning trip to the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Italy. After a championship match against Sonny Liston, Clay announced he changed his name to Muhammad Ali which meant, “beloved of God.” The boxer had also announced he join the Nation of Islam, a group of Muslim African