In an interview in 1974, Ali said that, prior to his later fight with Foreman, a one-time member of Liston's entourage offered him a liniment that could be applied to boxing gloves and that would cause a blinding, temporary stinging of the eyes. Clay's pulse rate was measured at 120, more than double his normal 54. That's when I decided enough is enough. [252] The same year, he visited Sudan to raise awareness about the plight of famine victims. In 2006, the documentary Ali Rap was produced by ESPN. [229], On March 31, 1985, Ali was the special guest referee for the main event of the inaugural WrestleMania event. The move, which would later become known as the "Rope-a-dope", so violated conventional boxing wisdomletting one of the hardest hitters in boxing strike at willthat at ringside writer George Plimpton thought the fight had to be fixed. After the match was over, Ali removed his shirt and jacket and confronted professional wrestler Gorilla Monsoon in the ring after his match at a World Wide Wrestling Federation show in Philadelphia Arena. "[178], Ali's daughter Laila was a professional boxer from 1999 until 2007,[179] despite her father's previous opposition to women's boxing. This raid exposed the COINTELPRO operations that included illegal spying on activists involved with the civil rights and anti-war movements. [234], Ali appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on 38 different occasions,[326] second only to Michael Jordan's 46. "[180] Ali still attended a number of his daughter's fights and later admitted to Laila he was wrong. [253][254] The same year, he participated in The Longest Walk, a protest march in the United States in support of Native American rights, along with singer Stevie Wonder and actor Marlon Brando. [116], Ali's next opponents included Chuck Wepner, Ron Lyle, and Joe Bugner.

"[54] Clay turned the pre-fight weigh-in into a circus, shouting at Liston that "someone is going to die at ringside tonight." He still believes that even good Christians or good Jews can receive God's blessing and enter heaven as he stated, "God created all people, no matter what their religion". In the Cooper fight, Clay was floored by a left hook at the end of round four and was saved by the bell, going on to win in the predicted 5th round due to Cooper's severely cut eye. [43] He went on to win six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two national Golden Gloves titles, an Amateur Athletic Union national title, and the light heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. The win left Ali as a top contender against heavyweight champion Joe Frazier. [225] Ali spoke like no man the world had seen before.

[note 1][note 2][300][301][302], In 1978, three years before Ali's permanent retirement, the Louisville Board of Aldermen in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, voted 65 to rename Walnut Street to Muhammad Ali Boulevard. Center was held during the afternoon of June 10.

I am the part you won't recognize. Ali then agreed to a third match with Joe Frazier in Manila. [99], While banned from sanctioned bouts, Ali settled a $1million lawsuit against radio producer Murray Woroner by accepting $10,000 to appear in a privately staged fantasy fight against retired champion Rocky Marciano. Edited versions of the bout were shown in movie theaters in 1970. [149], Ali was a resident of Cherry Hill, New Jersey in the early 1970s. [24] His boxing license was also suspended by the state of New York.

He lost the title by split decision.

There is a great possibility that I will retire.

I knew beyond a doubt there were no feelings involved. This led to a story in The Miami Herald just before the fight disclosing that Clay had joined the Nation of Islam, which nearly caused the bout to be canceled. "[93], In 1971, his Fight of the Century with Frazier was used by an activist group, the Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI, to pull off a burglary at an FBI office in Pennsylvania; the anticipation for the fight was unlike anything else, so they believed the security would also be focused on the fight. Inc) to consolidate and license his intellectual properties for commercial purposes.

Muhammad Ali reflecting on having Parkinsons disease[278][279], Ali's bout with Parkinson's Syndrome led to a gradual decline in his health, though he was still active into the early years of the millennium, promoting his own biopic, Ali, in 2001. However, Ali soon appeared to tire and adopted the "rope-a-dope" strategy, frequently resorting to clinches. [150] At age 32 in 1974, Ali began an extramarital relationship with 16-year-old Wanda Bolton (who subsequently changed her name to Aaisha Ali) with whom he fathered another daughter, Khaliah (born 1974). "[20] According to Rolling Stone, his "freestyle skills" and his "rhymes, flow, and braggadocio" would "one day become typical of old school MCs" like RunD.M.C. Clay made his amateur boxing debut in 1954 against local amateur boxer Ronnie O'Keefe. [44] Clay's amateur record was 100 wins with five losses.

Hauser wrote about the story, "The thought that Liz and Roz (the lesbian couple he met) were happy pleased Muhammad. [321][322], As a world champion boxer, social activist, sex symbol and pop culture icon, Ali was the subject of numerous creative works including books, films, music, video games, TV shows, and other. You might have seen the last of me. [126] Despite pleas to definitively retire, Ali fought one last time on December 11, 1981, in Nassau, Bahamas, against Trevor Berbick, losing a ten-round decision. The article quoted Cassius Clay Sr. as saying that his son had joined the Black Muslims when he was 18. [148] Rasheda married Robert Walsh and has two sons: Biaggio Ali, (born 1998), and Nico Ali (born 2000), who is a professional boxer. "[89], Bob Arum did not support Ali's choice at the time. [181] Ali's daughter Hana is married to Bellator middleweight fighter Kevin Casey. [119] The Dunn fight was the last time Ali would knock down an opponent in his boxing career. Later that same day, the New York State Athletic Commission suspended his boxing license and stripped him of his title.

The bout, known as the "Thrilla in Manila", was held on October 1, 1975,[24] in temperatures approaching 100F (38C). )", "Sports of The Times; On His 50th, Ali Is Still 'The Greatest', "Boxing Muhammad Ali Rank Cinema, Wardour Street, London", "The trials of a Chicago director making Muhammad Ali doc", "Vietnam War: Muhammad Ali's Draft Controversy", "Remembering Cleveland's Muhammad Ali Summit, 45 years later", "Cassius Marsellus CLAY, Jr. also known as Muhammad Ali, Petitioner, v. United States", "Cassius Marsellus Clay, Jr. also known as Muhammad Ali, Petitioner, v. United States.

His daughter Hana later wrote that Ali once told her, "Nothing would ever shake me up (more) than the story of Emmett Till. [45] Nevertheless, Ali lost by unanimous decision, his first professional defeat. "[217] According to this effect, when people are asked to rate their intelligence and moral behavior in comparison to others, people will rate themselves as more moral, but not more intelligent than others.

Hed buy them clothes, take them to hotels and pay the bills for months in advance." The officer told Clay he had better learn how to box first. On June 10, 2016, the funeral procession passed through the streets of Louisville ending at Cave Hill Cemetery, where his body was interred during a private ceremony. [112] The fight became famous for Ali's introduction of the rope-a-dope tactic. Both albums received Grammy Award nominations.

I'm the prettiest thing that ever lived. Ali was introduced to cocktail waitress Sonji Roi by Herbert Muhammad, who was to become Ali's long-time manager, and asked her to marry him after their first date. Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. (/ks/ KASH-ss) was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky. Ali denied the accusations of cruelty but, for Ali's critics, the fight provided more evidence of his arrogance.

Patterson later said he had strained his sacroiliac. In the eighth round, Ali dropped an exhausted Foreman with a combination at center ring; Foreman failed to make the count.

Ali returned to the United States to fight Cleveland Williams in the Houston Astrodome on November 14, 1966.

[41] He then began to work with trainer Fred Stoner, whom he credits with giving him the "real training", eventually molding "my style, my stamina and my system." "[21] Ive wrestled with alligators, Ive tussled with a whale.

"[75] Ali elaborated: "Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? [218], Ali often used rhyme schemes and spoken word poetry, both for when he was trash-talking in boxing and as political poetry for his activism outside of boxing.

You my opposer when I want equality. Lonnie converted to Islam from Catholicism in her late twenties.

| LII / Legal Information Institute", "Clay v. United States | The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law", "Muhammad Ali lost everything in opposing the Vietnam War. A public memorial service for Ali at downtown Louisville's KFC Yum! His retirement was short-lived, however; Ali announced his comeback to face Larry Holmes for the WBC belt in an attempt to win the heavyweight championship an unprecedented fourth time. He gave me this illness to remind me that I am not number one; He is. [274], In 2006, Ali sold his name and image for $50million,[275] after which Forbes estimated his net worth to be $55million in 2006. Ali rode on a float at the following year's Tournament of Roses Parade, launching the U.S. Constitution's 200th birthday commemoration. [200], In a 2004 autobiography, Ali attributed his conversion to mainstream Sunni Islam to Warith Deen Muhammad, who assumed leadership of the Nation of Islam upon the death of his father Elijah Muhammad, and persuaded the Nation's followers to become adherents of Sunni Islam. Ali did, however, convince the government of Kenya to boycott the Olympics. Giachetti called the fight "awful the worst sports event I ever had to cover." Ali died on June 3, 2016. But in 1968, he triumphed", "Muhammad Ali: The man who changed his sport and his country", "Muhammad Ali's Main Bout: African American Economic Power and the World Heavyweight Title", "One of His Biggest Fights Was Outside of the Ring", "Declassified NSA files show agency spied on Muhammad Ali and MLK", "In 1971, Muhammad Ali Helped Undermine the FBI's Illegal Spying on Americans", "Muhammad Ali's exile years in Chicago: 'Learning about life', "What if the Muhammad Ali we knew had never existed? Burns worked on the film since early 2016. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger (Elijah Muhammad then leader of Nation of Islam). [217] In 1977 the book was adapted into a film called The Greatest, in which Ali played himself and Ernest Borgnine played Angelo Dundee. Before the fight Frazier called Ali, "Cassius Clay", this angered Ali and he portrayed Frazier as a "dumb tool of the white establishment." [265] In 1989, he participated in an Indian charity event with the Muslim Educational Society in Kozhikode, Kerala, along with Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar. In assessing the fight, analysts pointed out that Joe Frazier and Ken Norton, who had given Ali four tough battles and won two of them, had both been devastated by Foreman in second-round knockouts. [55] Though unconfirmed, boxing historian Bert Sugar said that two of Liston's opponents also complained about their eyes "burning". [228] Ali has been referenced in a number of hip hop songs, including Migos "Fight Night", The Game's "Jesus Piece", Nas' "The Message, The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight", the Fugees' "Ready or Not", EPMD's "You're a Customer" and Will Smith's "Gettin' Jiggy wit It".[228]. It is utterly outstanding. [45] Foreman, increasingly angered, threw punches that were deflected and did not land squarely. After the loss to Frazier, Ali fought Jerry Quarry, had a second bout with Floyd Patterson and faced Bob Foster in 1972, winning a total of six fights that year. [264] According to Politico, Ali supported Orrin Hatch politically. Coretta Scott King added that Ali was "a champion of justice and peace and unity.

Clay also beat his former trainer and veteran boxer Archie Moore in a 1962 match.