THE MAN :MOHAMMED ALI

‎

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Fate has its way of putting a man in the 
spotlight against every odds.Such is the
story the man- MUHAMMAD ALI.‎

Born on January 17th, 1942 in Louisville,

Kentucky,U.S to Mr Cassius Marcellus

Clay (snr) and Mrs Odessa Grady Clay.

 Ali had little or no education but he
 was nevertheless an educated man.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     At age twelve (12)he found his path in

boxing and through this became a

renowned sportsman.

At a time when Sonny Liston was

adjudged the undisputed heavy weight

 boxing champion, Ali came into the fray

at age twenty two (22) and caused major

upset in the world of boxing. He 

defeated Liston in 1964 and became 

the world heavy weight champion.

It was after this that Ali converted to

Islam and changed his name from

Cassius Marcellus Clay (jnr). This did not

go well with the Whites who called him

different names. For many Americans, 

why a man bearing Cassius Marcellus

Clay would in his right senses decide to

change the name to Muhammad Ali

defies‎ rationality. The man himself 

explained it to be a means of identifying‎ 

with his new religion, Islam, but from all 

ramifications, there surely will be more

 that meet the eyes. Muhammad Ali 

himself would be the only one that can

 explain to us the‎ methods behind his 

madness but as it stands, nobody cares

about that again.

The Vietnam war was a trying time for

 Ali. refusing to be conscripted into the

 U.S military citing religious beliefs, the

 authorities saw his stance as a ground

 for punishing him. they therefore

stripped him of his boxing titles and

sentenced him to five years

 imprisonment. He was also fined

 €10,000 and banned from boxing for

three years. a coward would have been

 cowed given such situation but

Muhammad Ali took it like a man.

 According to him, there was no reason for 
him to fight a war in which no harm has been
 done to him.

As a man of principle and strong

conviction in what he believed, Ali stick

 to his decision and it was through this

 that he became the greatest sportsman

of the century.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           UNIQUE FACTS BOUT MOHAMMED ALI

In Oct, 1954, aged 12 years, Mohammed

Ali's red and white Schwinn bicycle was

stolen. He reported to police officer Joe

Martin who is also a boxing trainer and

 vowed to pummel the culprit but first

suggest the youngster to learn how to

fight ,THIS MARK THE BEGINNING OF

 ALI TO PICK UP BOXING AS A CAREER.

He was originally named in honor of a

 white abolitionist . Cassius Marcellus

 Clay, a 19th century farmer and anti

 slavery crusader that emancipated 40

 slaves he inherited from his father.

Before becoming known as Mohammed

Ali, he initially change his name to

Cassius X, when he join Nation of Islam

 and he said Malcolm X influenced him.

Until march 6,1964, when leader of

Nation of Islam,Elijah Muhammad gave

 him holy name,Muhammad Ali

Ali was starred in Broadway musical

during his forty three months forced

exile from the ring.He also recorded a
 spoke album titled "I am the 
greatest'in 1963.

Ali has Irish root.His great grandfather,

 Abe Grady, an Irish man migrated to US

and settled in Kentucky in 1860s and

 married a free slave. one of their grand

 children was Ali's mother, Odessa Lee

 Grady Clay.

He fought one of his iconic fight of all

 time 'rumble in the jungle' against

George Freeman at 4 a.m in 1974, aged

32 years. Both fighters were paid $5m

 each by then Zairean President  (now

 Congo DR), Mobutu Sese Seko

His Olympic medal he won aged 18

 years at Rome Olympic in 1960, he

threw it off a bridge into Ohio river to

protest the racism in his hometown.

The glove he wore to defeat Sonny

Liston in 1964, aged 22 years to become

world heavyweight champion earn him

 more money than the bout itself. He

earned $630,000 from the bout and in

 2013, someone bought the gloves for

 $836,000.

He practised his speed by dodging rocks

thrown at him by his trainer.

Ali met with Iraq president ,Saddam

Hussein to negotiate release of

American hostages and in Nov, 27,1990,

Fifteen  Americans were released.‎

Rest in peace THE GREATEST.