Muhammad Ali
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"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." |
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Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Clay, January 17, 1942 - June 3, 2016) was a heavyweight boxer who won a gold medal in 1960 as an Olympian in Rome. He fought professionally for 18 years (with a three-year sabbatical in prison due to draft dodging) in 61 bouts, retiring with 56 wins, 37 by way of knockout. Three of his five losses came in the last three years of his career, when he was well past his prime and starting to show early symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Along the way, Ali won three heavyweight titles, defeated every top heavyweight contender from 1964 to 1975, and earned the distinction of being called one of the greatest boxers (if not the greatest) of all time. Ali fought with an unorthodox style, relying on his agility to dodge punches, rather than blocking them outright, and possessed incredible hand speed and stamina. Ali was also a hard puncher, as his 37 knockouts can attest. He was also a master of the psychological elements of boxing, frequently taunting his opponents and 'calling' his knockouts (by stating the round he believed the KO would happen before the fight). In the latter half of his career, Ali slowed and began to demonstrate his ability to hang in with tougher punches. Along with an ill-advised fight with a martial artist, misdiagnosis of a thyroid condition, and misguided attempts to fight top heavyweights while far removed from his prime, this contributed to Ali's decline and later Parkinson's disease.
Aside from his achievements in the ring, Ali is a noted philanthropist and social activist. His name change came from his conversion to the Nation of Islam, and he was good friends with Malcolm X. Ali was arrested in 1967 due to his refusal to fight in Vietnam, and referred to himself as a 'conscientious objector'.
Ali still made periodic appearances in public into the 2010s, but Parkinson's disease had ravaged his body and repeated head trauma had ravaged his mind to the point where he was no longer the eloquent, witty speaker he once was. He was largely restricted to a wheelchair in his final few years.
There have been numerous books, movies, magazine articles, advertisements and video games that have featured Muhammad Ali or depicted him. He was even the star of a Saturday Morning Cartoon in the 1970s, not to mention that a shopping mall in the Philippines was named in his honour. In one of his most famous pop culture appearances, he literally gave Boxing Lessons to Superman! The most prominent work to feature Ali in the 21st century was an ESPN documentary about the buildup for his fight with Larry Holmes in the twilight of his career.
Above anything else, Muhammad Ali was a fierce competitor, to Determinator levels. In the most iconic photograph of Ali (seen above) he really is shouting at Liston, "Get up and fight, sucka!"