Clay went on to win the 1956 Golden Gloves tournament for novices in the light heavyweight class. In his first amateur bout in 1954, he won the fight by split decision. In addition to being a police officer, Martin also trained young boxers at a local gym.Ĭlay started working with Martin to learn how to spar and soon began his boxing career. “Well, you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people,” Martin reportedly told him at the time. After his bike was stolen, Clay told police officer Joe Martin that he wanted to beat up the thief. Growing up in the segregated South, he experienced racial prejudice and discrimination firsthand.Īt the age of 12, Clay discovered his talent for boxing through an odd twist of fate. His birth name was Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.Īt an early age, young Clay showed that he wasn’t afraid of any bout-inside or outside of the ring.

Muhammad Ali was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky.

SPOUSES: Sonji Roi (1964-1965), Belinda Boyd (1967-1977), Veronica Porché (1977-1986), and Yolanda Williams (1986-2016)ĬHILDREN: Maryum, Jamillah, Rasheda, Muhammad Jr., Miya, Khaliah, Hana, Laila Ali, and Asaad He earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. Ali retired from boxing in 1981 and devoted much of his time after to philanthropy. Following his suspension for refusing military service in the Vietnam War, Ali reclaimed the heavyweight title two more times during the 1970s, winning famed bouts against Joe Frazier and George Foreman along the way. Ali became an Olympic gold medalist in 1960 and the world heavyweight boxing champion in 1964. Muhammad Ali was a boxer, philanthropist, and social activist who is universally regarded as one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century.

Wives, Children, and Family Boxing Legacy.

Vietnam War Protest and Supreme Court Case.

Relationship With Malcolm X and Conversion to Islam.

Muhammad ali boxing