Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali was an American professional boxer and activist born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky. He began boxing at age twelve after a Louisville police officer, Joe Martin, suggested the sport when his bicycle was stolen. He won six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two national Golden Gloves titles, and the light heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics.

Clay turned professional in October 1960 and won the world heavyweight championship on February 25, 1964, by stopping Sonny Liston in Miami. The next day he announced his membership in the Nation of Islam and soon adopted the name Muhammad Ali. In 1967 he refused induction into the United States Army, citing his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War. He was stripped of his title, convicted of draft evasion, and barred from boxing for nearly four years until the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overturned his conviction in Clay v. United States (1971).

Ali regained the heavyweight title twice. He defeated George Foreman in the 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" in Kinshasa, Zaire, using a rope-a-dope strategy through eight rounds, and beat Joe Frazier in the 1975 "Thrilla in Manila." His 61-fight professional record included 56 wins and 37 knockouts. He lit the cauldron at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, his hands trembling from Parkinson's disease, which had been diagnosed in 1984.

Ali died on June 3, 2016, in Scottsdale, Arizona, at age 74.

The name Muhammad comes from the Arabic root h-m-d meaning "to praise," giving the sense "praised" or "praiseworthy." It honors the Prophet Muhammad and is among the most widely given names in the world.