“I Am The Greatest”, as said by the heavyweight champion of the world the great Muhammad Ali. One of the world’s most famous athletes, but also an African-American civil rights activist. Muhammad Ali paved the way for young male and female African Americans, but also was a very influential figure in the world of boxing. Known for his lightning fast footwork and trash ending his career with a record of 53 wins, 5 loses, 37 of his wins by knockout he has been recognized to be the greatest boxer of all time. Even winning a gold medal in the 1960 Olympic games in the light heavyweight division. Ali proves that he is one of the all time American Intellectual because his time as a Civil Rights Activist, Champion Boxer, and an Olympic Gold medalist
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At the age of 12 Ali discovered his talent for boxing when one day his bicycle was stolen. Telling the police about this incident, he continued to threaten to beat up the thief. Officer Martin sees the seeing determination in him say,” Well you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people”. In addition to being a police officer, he trained boys in boxing at the local gym. After learning how to spar boxing had become his career. In 1956 he had won the Golden Gloves in the light heavyweight division class. Three years he had won the National Golden Gloves. In 1960 Ali had won a spot on the Olympic boxing team and traveled to Rome, Italy. Ali defeated Zbigniew Pietrzykowski from Poland to win the light heavyweight gold medal. After his Olympic victory, Ali was heralded as an American hero. He soon turned professional with the help of the Louisville Sponsoring Group, and continued overwhelming all opponents in the ring. Ali later started a different kind of fight with his outspoken views against the Vietnam War. Drafted into the military in April 1967, he refused to serve on the grounds that he was a practicing Muslim minister with religious beliefs that prevented him from fighting. He was arrested for committing a felony and almost immediately stripped of his world title and boxing …show more content…
He had a rematch with Joe Frazier and won when Frazier’s coach threw in the towel. Though since father time began to catch up with him he began to lose many fights and decided to retire. In his retirement, Ali devoted much of his time to philanthropy. He announced that he had Parkinson's disease in 1984, a degenerative neurological condition, and was involved in raising funds for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Then in 2005 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. Though threw the years his health began to decline. He was hospitalized again in early June 2016 for what was reportedly a respiratory issue. The revered athlete passed away on the evening of June 3, 2016, at a Phoenix, Arizona facility. "Muhammad indicated that when the end came for him, he wanted us to use his life and his death as a teaching moment for young people, for his country and for the world," Lonnie said. "In effect, he wanted us to remind people who are suffering that he had seen the face of injustice. That he grew up during segregation, and that during his early life he was not free to be who he wanted to be. But he never became embittered enough to quit or to engage in violence. ("Muhammad Ali." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017. Web. 11 May
At the age of 12 Ali discovered his talent for boxing when one day his bicycle was stolen. Telling the police about this incident, he continued to threaten to beat up the thief. Officer Martin sees the seeing determination in him say,” Well you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people”. In addition to being a police officer, he trained boys in boxing at the local gym. After learning how to spar boxing had become his career. In 1956 he had won the Golden Gloves in the light heavyweight division class. Three years he had won the National Golden Gloves. In 1960 Ali had won a spot on the Olympic boxing team and traveled to Rome, Italy. Ali defeated Zbigniew Pietrzykowski from Poland to win the light heavyweight gold medal. After his Olympic victory, Ali was heralded as an American hero. He soon turned professional with the help of the Louisville Sponsoring Group, and continued overwhelming all opponents in the ring. Ali later started a different kind of fight with his outspoken views against the Vietnam War. Drafted into the military in April 1967, he refused to serve on the grounds that he was a practicing Muslim minister with religious beliefs that prevented him from fighting. He was arrested for committing a felony and almost immediately stripped of his world title and boxing …show more content…
He had a rematch with Joe Frazier and won when Frazier’s coach threw in the towel. Though since father time began to catch up with him he began to lose many fights and decided to retire. In his retirement, Ali devoted much of his time to philanthropy. He announced that he had Parkinson's disease in 1984, a degenerative neurological condition, and was involved in raising funds for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Then in 2005 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. Though threw the years his health began to decline. He was hospitalized again in early June 2016 for what was reportedly a respiratory issue. The revered athlete passed away on the evening of June 3, 2016, at a Phoenix, Arizona facility. "Muhammad indicated that when the end came for him, he wanted us to use his life and his death as a teaching moment for young people, for his country and for the world," Lonnie said. "In effect, he wanted us to remind people who are suffering that he had seen the face of injustice. That he grew up during segregation, and that during his early life he was not free to be who he wanted to be. But he never became embittered enough to quit or to engage in violence. ("Muhammad Ali." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017. Web. 11 May