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78-497: Turman may refer to: People [ edit ] Buddy Turman (1933–2007), American professional heavyweight boxer George Turman (1928–2008), former Lieutenant Governor of Montana Glynn Turman (born 1947), American stage, television, film actor and writer, director, and producer Jimmy Turman (1927–2019), American politician Lawrence Turman (1926–2023), American film producer, director of The Peter Stark Producing Program at

156-456: A "bum". He said he was embarrassed to get in the ring with Alex Miteff and claimed that Madison Square Garden was "too small for me". Ali's trash talk was inspired by professional wrestler "Gorgeous George" Wagner 's, after he saw George's talking ability attract huge crowds to events. In a 1969 interview he stated that he met with George in Las Vegas in 1961, that George told him that talking

234-455: A $ 1 million lawsuit against radio producer Murray Woroner by accepting $ 10,000 to appear in a privately staged fantasy fight against retired champion Rocky Marciano. In 1969 the boxers were filmed sparring for about 75 one-minute rounds; they produced several potential outcomes. A computer program purportedly determined the winner, based on data about the fighters, along with the opinions of approximately 250 boxing experts. Edited versions of

312-509: A $ 10,000 fine. He paid a bond and remained free while the verdict was being appealed. My enemy is the white people, not Viet Cong or Chinese or Japanese. You my opposer when I want freedom. You my opposer when I want justice. You my opposer when I want equality. You won't even stand up for me in America for my religious beliefs—and you want me to go somewhere and fight, but you won't even stand up for me here at home? —Muhammad Ali to

390-611: A 1962 match. These early fights were not without trials. Clay was knocked down by both Sonny Banks and Cooper. 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 fifth round due to Cooper's severely cut eye. The fight with Doug Jones on March 13, 1963, was Clay's toughest fight during this stretch. The number two and three heavyweight contenders respectively, Clay and Jones fought on Jones' home turf at New York's Madison Square Garden . Jones staggered Clay in

468-458: A 1974 interview, Ali said, "If they say stand and salute the flag I do that out of respect, because I'm in the country". Ali would later say, "If America was in trouble and real war came, I'd be on the front line if we had been attacked. But I could see that [the Vietnam War] wasn't right." He also said, "Black men would go over there and fight, but when they came home, they couldn't even be served

546-439: A barbarous display of cruelty." Ali denied the accusations of cruelty but, for Ali's critics, the fight provided more evidence of his arrogance. After Ali's title defense against Zora Folley on March 22, he was stripped of his title due to his refusal to be drafted to army service. His boxing license was also suspended by the state of New York. He was convicted of draft evasion on June 20 and sentenced to five years in prison and

624-561: A big game would earn paying fans who either wanted to see him win or wanted to see him lose, thus Clay transformed himself into a self-described "big-mouth and a bragger". In 1960, Clay left Moore's camp, partially due to Clay's refusal to do chores such as washing dishes and sweeping. To replace Moore, Clay hired Angelo Dundee to be his trainer. Clay had met Dundee in February 1957 during Clay's amateur career. Around this time, Clay sought longtime idol Sugar Ray Robinson to be his manager, but

702-657: A bout in Chicago on March 29, 1966 (the WBA, one of two boxing associations, had stripped Ali of his title following his joining the Nation of Islam). But in February Ali was reclassified by the Louisville draft board as 1-A from 1-Y, and he indicated that he would refuse to serve, commenting to the press, "I ain't got nothing against no Viet Cong ; no Viet Cong never called me nigger .", although

780-474: A boxing license in every state and stripped of his passport. As a result, he did not fight from March 1967 to October 1970—from ages 25 to almost 29—as his case worked its way through the appeals process before his conviction was overturned in 1971. During this time of inactivity, as opposition to the Vietnam War began to grow and Ali's stance gained sympathy, he spoke at colleges across the nation, criticizing

858-492: A cameo appearance on an episode of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958) with Lucille Ball and Aldo Ray , and a few years later he appeared as a regular guest on Hollywood Squares . He was also considered for various roles that never materialized (including the lead role in a proposed biopic about his friend Jack Dempsey). Turman's marriage was brief, but he and his ex-wife remained lifelong friends. They continued to share responsibility for raising their son. While living on

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936-474: A crowd of college students during his exile from boxing Ali registered for conscription in the United States military on his 18th birthday and was listed as 1-A in 1962. In 1964, he was reclassified as Class 1-Y (fit for service only in times of national emergency) after he failed the U.S. Armed Forces qualifying test because his writing and spelling skills were sub-standard, due to his dyslexia . (He

1014-417: A hamburger." Ali's example inspired many black Americans and others. However, initially when he refused induction, he became arguably the most hated man in the country and received many death threats. People who supported Ali during this time were also threatened, including sports journalist Jerry Izenberg , whose columns defended Ali's decision not to serve. He wrote, "Bomb threats emptied our office, making

1092-560: A license to box in any state for over three years. On June 4, 1967, in a first for sports professionals, a group of high-profile African-American athletes including Jim Brown , Bill Russell , and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , as well as one political leader, Carl Stokes , assembled with Ali at the Negro Industrial Economic Union in Cleveland for what became known as the " Cleveland Summit " or the "Muhammad Ali Summit". The meeting

1170-625: A manager and bouncer at some of his Dallas night clubs. Turman was interviewed by the FBI soon after Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald in November 1963. Turman shared his opinions of Ruby and what he knew of Ruby's acquaintances in the Dallas Police Department. Turman was married and had a son in Dallas in the late fifties, he began to seek work in films and television to support the family. First, he made

1248-983: A pioneer in hip hop . He often predicted in which round he would knock out his opponent. As a boxer, Ali was known for his unorthodox movement, fancy footwork, head movement, and rope-a-dope technique, among others. Outside boxing, Ali attained success as a spoken word artist, releasing two studio albums: I Am the Greatest! (1963) and The Adventures of Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay (1976). Both albums received Grammy Award nominations. He also featured as an actor and writer, releasing two autobiographies. Ali retired from boxing in 1981 and focused on religion, philanthropy, and activism. In 1984, he made public his diagnosis of Parkinson's syndrome , which some reports attributed to boxing-related injuries, though he and his specialist physicians disputed this. He remained an active public figure globally, but in his later years made fewer public appearances as his condition worsened, and he

1326-439: A unanimous 15-round decision. Terrell claimed that early in the fight Ali deliberately thumbed him in the eye, forcing him to fight half-blind, and then, in a clinch, rubbed the wounded eye against the ropes. Because of Ali's apparent intent to prolong the fight to inflict maximum punishment, critics described the bout as "one of the ugliest boxing fights". Tex Maule later wrote: "It was a wonderful demonstration of boxing skill and

1404-622: 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?" Ali antagonized the white establishment in 1966 by refusing to be drafted into the U.S. military, citing his religious beliefs and opposition to American involvement in the Vietnam War . On April 28, 1967, Ali appeared in Houston for his scheduled induction into

1482-575: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Buddy Turman In his two years as an amateur in Texas, Turman accrued 20 wins and 5 losses, and one draw, he set a record for the quickest knockout in National AAU history. Turman fought his first professional match in September 1954, against Bobby Babcock, which he won. Five months later, Turman became

1560-550: The Astrodome in Houston on November 14, 1966. The bout drew a record-breaking indoor crowd of 35,460 people. Williams had once been considered among the hardest punchers in the heavyweight division, but in 1964 he had been shot at point-blank range by a Texas policeman, resulting in the loss of one kidney and 3.0 metres (10 ft) of his small intestine. Ali dominated Williams, winning a third-round technical knockout in what some consider

1638-568: The COINTELPRO operations that included illegal spying on activists involved with the civil rights and anti-war movements. One of the COINTELPRO targets was Ali, and their activities included the FBI gaining access to his records as far back as elementary school; one such record mentioned him loving art as a child. In March 1966, Ali refused to be inducted into the armed forces . He was systematically denied

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1716-741: The Fight of the Century , the biggest boxing event up until then), the Thrilla in Manila , and his fight with George Foreman in The Rumble in the Jungle . Ali thrived in the spotlight at a time when many boxers let their managers do the talking, and he became renowned for his provocative and outlandish persona. He was famous for trash-talking , often free-styled with rhyme schemes and spoken word poetry , and has been recognized as

1794-449: The March on Washington in two fists". Coretta Scott King added that Ali was "a champion of justice and peace and unity". In speaking of the cost on Ali's career of his refusal to be drafted, his trainer Angelo Dundee said, "One thing must be taken into account when talking about Ali: He was robbed of his best years, his prime years." Ali's promoter Bob Arum did not support Ali's choice at

1872-546: The Nation of Islam . Ali then faced a rematch with Liston scheduled for May 1965 in Lewiston, Maine . It had been scheduled for Boston the previous November, but was postponed for six months due to Ali's emergency surgery for a hernia three days before. The fight was controversial. Midway through the first round, Liston was knocked down by a difficult-to-see blow the press dubbed a "phantom punch". Referee Jersey Joe Walcott did not begin

1950-793: The light heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Clay's amateur record was 100 wins with five losses. In his 1975 autobiography he recalled that shortly after his return from the Rome Olympics, he threw his gold medal into the Ohio River after he and a friend were refused service at a "whites-only" restaurant and fought with a white gang. The story was later disputed, and several of his friends, including Bundini Brown and photographer Howard Bingham , denied it. Brown told Sports Illustrated writer Mark Kram, " Honkies sure bought into that one!" Thomas Hauser 's biography of Ali stated that Ali

2028-430: The "real training", eventually molding "my style, my stamina and my system". For the last four years of Clay's amateur career he was trained by boxing cutman Chuck Bodak . Clay made his amateur boxing debut in 1954 against local amateur boxer Ronnie O'Keefe. He won by split decision. He went on to win six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two national Golden Gloves titles, an Amateur Athletic Union national title, and

2106-454: The 12-year-old fuming over a thief having taken his bicycle. He told the officer he was going to "whup" the thief. The officer told Clay he had better learn how to box first. Initially, Clay did not take up Martin's offer, but after seeing amateur boxers on a local television boxing program called Tomorrow's Champions , Clay was interested in the prospect of fighting. He then began to work with trainer Fred Stoner, whom he credits with giving him

2184-572: The Minaret program concluded that it was "disreputable if not outright illegal". In 1971, Ali's 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. This raid exposed

2262-648: The U.S. Armed Forces, but he refused three times to step forward when his name was called. An officer warned him that he was committing a felony punishable by five years in prison and a fine of $ 10,000. Once more, Ali refused to budge when his name was called, and he was arrested. Later that same day, the New York State Athletic Commission suspended his boxing license and the World Boxing Association stripped him of his title. Other boxing commissions followed suit. Ali remained unable to obtain

2340-816: The University of Southern California Places [ edit ] Turman, Iran , village in South Khorasan Turman Township, Sullivan County, Indiana , USA Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Turman . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Turman&oldid=1163215198 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Disambiguation pages with surname-holder lists Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

2418-561: The Vietnam War and advocating African American pride and racial justice. Ali based himself in Chicago. According to most close to him, his Chicago years were formative. At the time, Ali was widely condemned by the American media , with fears that his actions could potentially lead to mass civil disobedience . Despite this, Ebony magazine noted in the late 1960s that Ali's popularity had increased during this time, especially among black people. While banned from sanctioned bouts, Ali settled

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2496-617: The army and publicly considered himself a conscientious objector . Ali stated: "War is against the teachings of the Qur'an . I'm not trying to dodge the draft. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger. We don't take part in Christian wars or wars of any unbelievers". He also said, "We are not to be the aggressor but we will defend ourselves if attacked." He stated: "Man, I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong." Ali elaborated: "Why should they ask me to put on

2574-408: The beginning of the third round Clay hit Liston with a combination that buckled his knees and opened a cut under his left eye. This was the first time Liston had ever been cut. At the end of round four, Clay was returning to his corner when he began experiencing blinding pain in his eyes and asked his trainer, Angelo Dundee , to cut off his gloves. Dundee refused. It has been speculated that the problem

2652-421: The bell for the seventh round, and Clay was declared the winner by TKO . Liston stated that the reason he quit was an injured shoulder. Following the win, a triumphant Clay rushed to the edge of the ring and, pointing to the ringside press, shouted: "Eat your words!" He added, "I am the greatest! I shook up the world. I'm the prettiest thing that ever lived." At ringside post fight, Clay appeared unconvinced that

2730-413: The best known boxers of his time, including Henry Cooper , Jack Dempsey , Joe Louis , Billy Conn , and Rocky Marciano . By the late fifties, Turman enjoyed celebrity status in Texas, especially in Dallas and Tyler. However, to supplement his inadequate boxing income he had to take other jobs. After a fight in Dallas, he met Jack Ruby . They became friends and Turman began working off and on for him as

2808-401: The bout. The outcome of the fight was a major upset. At the opening bell, Liston rushed at Clay, seemingly angry and looking for a quick knockout. However, Clay's superior speed and mobility enabled him to elude Liston, making the champion miss and look awkward. At the end of the first round, Clay opened up his attack and hit Liston repeatedly with jabs. Liston fought better in round two, but at

2886-732: The case was reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971. Ali remained free in the years between the Appellate Court decision and the Supreme Court ruling. As public opinion began turning against the war and the Civil Rights Movement continued to gather momentum, Ali became a popular speaker at colleges and universities across the country; this itinerary was rare if not unprecedented for a prizefighter. At Howard University , for example, he gave his popular "Black Is Best" speech to 4,000 cheering students and community intellectuals, after he

2964-477: The causes with young people that nothing else could have done. Even those who were assassinated, certainly lost their lives, but they didn't voluntarily do that. He knew he was going to jail and did it anyway. That's another level of leadership and sacrifice. Ali was honored with the annual Martin Luther King Award in 1970 by civil rights leader Ralph Abernathy , who called him "a living example of soul power,

3042-477: The count immediately after the knockdown, as Ali refused to retreat to a neutral corner. Liston rose after he had been down for about 20 seconds, and the fight momentarily continued. However a few seconds later Walcott, having been informed by the timekeepers that Liston had been down for a count of 10, stopped the match and declared Ali the winner by knockout. The entire fight lasted less than two minutes. It has since been speculated that Liston purposely dropped to

3120-523: The covenant of its founding principles?" Recalling Ali's anti-war position, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said: "I remember the teachers at my high school didn't like Ali because he was so anti-establishment and he kind of thumbed his nose at authority and got away with it. The fact that he was proud to be a black man and that he had so much talent   ... made some people think that he was dangerous. But for those very reasons I enjoyed him." Civil rights figures came to believe that Ali had an energizing effect on

3198-583: The decision to the Supreme Court , where his conviction was overturned in 1971. He did not fight for nearly four years and lost a period of peak performance as an athlete. Ali's actions as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War made him an icon for the larger counterculture of the 1960s generation, and he was a very high-profile figure of racial pride for African Americans during the civil rights movement and throughout his career. He fought in several historic boxing matches, including his highly publicized fights with Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier (including

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3276-534: The fight in a controversial decision, which allowed Harris to move on to fight Floyd Patterson for the World Heavyweight Title. This decision severely hampered Turman's chances of winning the World Title. Two years later, with 25 wins and only 3 losses, Turman faced Oscar Pharo for a second time. In the third fight of his professional career, Turman had been beaten by a more experienced Pharo on points. In

3354-432: The fight was stopped due to a Liston shoulder injury, saying that the only injury Liston had was "an open eye, a big cut eye!" When told by Joe Louis that the injury was a "left arm thrown out of its socket," Clay quipped, "Yeah, swinging at nothing, who wouldn't?" In winning this fight at the age of 22, Clay became the youngest boxer to take the title from a reigning heavyweight champion. However, Floyd Patterson remained

3432-422: The fight. Patterson biographer W. K. Stratton claims that the conflict between Ali and Patterson was not genuine but was staged to increase ticket sales and the closed-circuit viewing audience, with both men complicit in the theatrics. Stratton also cites an interview by Howard Cosell in which Ali explained that rather than toying with Patterson, he refrained from knocking him out after it became apparent Patterson

3510-428: The finest performance of his career. Ali fought Terrell in Houston on February 6, 1967. Terrell, who was unbeaten in five years and had defeated many of the boxers Ali had faced, was billed as Ali's toughest opponent since Liston; he was big, strong and had a three-inch reach advantage over Ali. During the lead up to the bout, Terrell repeatedly called Ali "Clay", much to Ali's annoyance. The two almost came to blows over

3588-511: The first round, and the unanimous decision for Clay was greeted by boos and a rain of debris thrown into the ring. Watching on closed-circuit TV, heavyweight champ Sonny Liston quipped that if he fought Clay he (Liston) might get locked up for murder. The fight was later named "Fight of the Year" by The Ring magazine. In each of these fights, Clay vocally belittled his opponents and vaunted his abilities. He called Jones "an ugly little man" and Cooper

3666-613: The first white man to legally fight an African-American in Texas thanks to the efforts of African-American I. H. "Sporty" Harvey, who had successfully challenged boxing segregation in court. Turman won the match against Harvey on February 24, 1955, and won a rematch in June 1955. In November 1955, with 11 wins and one loss, Turman fought Roy "Cut-n-Shoot" Harris for the Texas Heavyweight Championship in Tyler, Texas . Turman lost

3744-465: The freedom movement as a whole. Al Sharpton spoke of his bravery at a time when there was still widespread support for the Vietnam War: For the heavyweight champion of the world, who had achieved the highest level of athletic celebrity, to put all of that on the line—the money, the ability to get endorsements—to sacrifice all of that for a cause, gave a whole sense of legitimacy to the movement and

3822-419: The ground. Proposed motivations include threats on his life from the Nation of Islam, that he had bet against himself and that he "took a dive" to pay off debts. Slow-motion replays show that Liston was jarred by a chopping right from Ali, although it is unclear whether the blow was a genuine knockout punch. Ali defended his title against former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson on November 22, 1965. Before

3900-563: The judges' decision. Moore publicly acknowledged that Turman should be considered one of the top five heavyweights in the world. Turman subsequently spent time at Moore's training camp in San Diego , where Clay was also training. Turman began fighting abroad in 1961, in Manila, Philippines where a rematch was scheduled with Moore. However, Moore postponed the fight by three weeks after Turman had already arrived. This left Turman badly out of practice by

3978-442: The match, Ali mocked Patterson, who was widely known to call him by his former name Cassius Clay, as an " Uncle Tom ", calling him "The Rabbit". Although Ali had the better of Patterson, who appeared injured during the fight, the match lasted 12 rounds before being called on a technical knockout. Patterson later said he had strained his sacroiliac . Ali was criticized in the sports media for appearing to have toyed with Patterson during

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4056-495: The mid-1970s. He won the world heavyweight championship, defeating Sonny Liston in a major upset on February 25, 1964, at age 22. During that year, he denounced his birth name as a " slave name " and formally changed his name to Muhammad Ali. In 1967, Ali refused to be drafted into the military, owing to his religious beliefs and ethical opposition to the Vietnam War , and was found guilty of draft evasion and stripped of his boxing titles. He stayed out of prison while appealing

4134-425: The name issue in a pre-fight interview with Howard Cosell. Ali seemed intent on humiliating Terrell. "I want to torture him", he said. "A clean knockout is too good for him." The fight was close until the seventh round, when Ali bloodied Terrell and almost knocked him out. In the eighth round, Ali taunted Terrell, hitting him with jabs and shouting between punches, "What's my name, Uncle Tom ... what's my name?" Ali won

4212-563: The rematch, Turman won on a KO within 59 seconds of the first round. In May 1959, at Madison Square Garden , Turman defeated Bob Cleroux, who a year later would win the Canadian Heavyweight Title. The next year, Turman faced World Light-Heavyweight Champion and World Heavyweight Contender, Archie Moore , in Dallas, Texas . Moore won by decision. However, Cassius Clay , who was in attendance, afterwards expressed to Turman his dismay at

4290-477: The second part is probably apocryphal. Amidst the media and public outcry over Ali's stance, the Illinois Athletic Commission refused to sanction the fight, citing technicalities. Instead, Ali traveled to Canada and Europe and won championship bouts against George Chuvalo , Henry Cooper , Brian London , and Karl Mildenberger . Ali returned to the United States to fight Cleveland Williams at

4368-412: The staff stand out in the snow. My car windshield was smashed with a sledgehammer." The New York Times columnist William Rhoden wrote, "Ali's actions changed my standard of what constituted an athlete's greatness. Possessing a killer jump shot or the ability to stop on a dime was no longer enough. What were you doing for the liberation of your people? What were you doing to help your country live up to

4446-486: The state of Kentucky. Clay's father's paternal grandparents were John Clay and Sallie Anne Clay; Clay's sister Eva claimed that Sallie was a native of Madagascar . He was a descendant of slaves of the antebellum South , and was predominantly of African descent, with Irish and English family heritage. His maternal great-grandfather, Abe Grady, emigrated from Ennis , County Clare , Ireland. DNA testing performed in 2018 showed that, through his paternal grandmother, Clay

4524-510: The time of the fight, as there were no local heavyweights to spar with. Moore won by unanimous decision. Turman subsequently fought in Italy , South Africa , Germany , and England . He won his last match, which he fought against Rudolf Nehring on December 15, 1967, in Munich, Germany . Turman fought a total of 62 professional matches and won 45 of them including 32 KOs. He had friendships with several of

4602-408: The time, but in 2016 Arum stated: "when I look back at his life, and I was blessed to call him a friend and spent a lot of time with him, it's hard for me to talk about his exploits in boxing because as great as they were they paled in comparison to the impact that he had on the world. ... He did what he thought was right. And it turned out he was right, and I was wrong." Ali's resistance to the draft

4680-425: The west coast, Turman befriended German boxer and wrestler Wilhelm von Homburg (who eventually had roles in several Hollywood films). Soon thereafter Turman began primarily fighting abroad. He spent much of the last two years of his career fighting on the same ticket as von Homberg throughout Germany. Von Homberg and Turman visited each other periodically and corresponded often in the following years. After von Homberg

4758-540: The youngest to win the heavyweight championship, doing so at the age 21 during an elimination bout following Rocky Marciano 's retirement. Mike Tyson broke both records in 1986 when he defeated Trevor Berbick to win the heavyweight title at age 20. The feat also made Clay the fastest boxer to win the championship (non-vacant) in the modern era, doing so in 20 bouts. Soon after the Liston fight, Clay changed his name to Cassius X, and then later to Muhammad Ali upon converting to

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4836-402: Was a Methodist , he allowed Odessa to bring up both Cassius Jr. and his younger brother, Rudolph "Rudy" Clay (later renamed Rahaman Ali), as Baptists . Cassius Jr. attended Central High School in Louisville. He was dyslexic , which led to difficulties in reading and writing, at school and for much of his life. He grew up amid racial segregation . His mother recalled one occasion when he

4914-496: Was a descendant of the former slave Archer Alexander , who had been chosen from the building crew as the model of a freed man for the Emancipation Memorial , and was the subject of abolitionist William Greenleaf Eliot 's book, The Story of Archer Alexander: From Slavery to Freedom . His father was a sign and billboard painter, and his mother, Odessa O'Grady Clay (1917–1994), was a domestic helper. Although Cassius Sr.

4992-540: Was an 8:1 underdog. Despite this, Clay taunted Liston during the pre-fight buildup, dubbing him "the big ugly bear", claiming "Liston even smells like a bear" and "I'm gonna give him to the local zoo after I whup him." Clay turned the pre-fight weigh-in into a circus, shouting at Liston that "someone is going to die at ringside tonight." Clay's pulse rate was measured at 120, more than double his normal 54. Many of those in attendance thought Clay's behavior stemmed from fear, and some commentators wondered if he would show up for

5070-503: Was an American professional boxer . Nicknamed " the Greatest ", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century. Widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, he held the Ring magazine heavyweight title from 1964 to 1970. He was the undisputed champion from 1974 to 1978 and the WBA and Ring heavyweight champion from 1978 to 1979. In 1999, he

5148-469: Was cared for by his family. Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. ( / ˈ k æ ʃ ə s / ) was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky . He had one brother. He was named after his father, Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. (1912–1990), who had a sister and four brothers and who himself was named in honor of the 19th-century Republican politician and staunch abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay , also from

5226-568: Was covered in the 2013 documentary The Trials of Muhammad Ali . In a secret operation code-named " Minaret ", the National Security Agency (NSA) intercepted the communications of leading Americans, including Ali, Senators Frank Church and Howard Baker , Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , prominent U.S. journalists, and others who criticized the U.S. war in Vietnam. A review by the NSA of

5304-511: Was denied a drink of water at a store: "They wouldn't give him one because of his color . That really affected him." He was also strongly affected by the 1955 murder of Emmett Till , which led to young Clay and a friend taking out their frustration by vandalizing a local rail yard. He once told his daughter Hana, "Nothing would ever shake me up (more) than the story of Emmett Till." Clay was first directed toward boxing by Louisville police officer and boxing coach Joe E. Martin , who encountered

5382-728: Was diagnosed with cancer, he was visited by Turman for two weeks in Longview, Texas before going to Mexico where he eventually died. After Turman's boxing years, he held various jobs including oil lease agent in East Texas and bartender and security guard at Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas . He died on April 1, 2007, in Longview, Texas, of complications from Hepatitis C . Cassius Clay Muhammad Ali ( / ɑː ˈ l iː / ; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. ; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016)

5460-473: Was due to ointment used to seal Liston's cuts, perhaps deliberately applied by his corner to his gloves. Though unconfirmed, boxing historian Bert Sugar said that two of Liston's opponents also complained about their eyes "burning". Despite Liston's attempts to knock out a blinded Clay, Clay was able to survive the fifth round until sweat and tears rinsed the irritation from his eyes. In the sixth, Clay dominated, hitting Liston repeatedly. Liston did not answer

5538-808: Was injured. Patterson later said that he had never been hit by punches as soft as Ali's. Stratton states that Ali arranged the second fight, in 1972, with the financially struggling Patterson to help the former champion earn enough money to pay a debt to the IRS . After the Patterson fight, Ali founded his own promotion company, Main Bout. The company mainly handled Ali's boxing promotions and pay-per-view closed-circuit television broadcasts. The company's stockholders were mainly fellow Nation of Islam members, along with several others, including Bob Arum . Ali and then- WBA heavyweight champion boxer Ernie Terrell had agreed to meet for

5616-570: Was invited to speak by sociology professor Nathan Hare on behalf of the Black Power Committee, a student protest group. On June 28, 1971, the Supreme Court of the United States in Clay v. United States overturned Ali's conviction by a unanimous 8–0 decision (Justice Thurgood Marshall recused himself, as he had been the U.S. Solicitor General at the time of Ali's conviction). The decision

5694-531: Was named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated and the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC . Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky , he began training as an amateur boxer at age 12. At 18, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics and turned professional later that year. He joined the Nation of Islam in the early 1960s, but later disavowed it in

5772-537: Was not based on, nor did it address, the merits of Ali's claims per se. Rather, the Court held that since the appeal board gave no reason for the denial of a conscientious objector exemption to Ali, that it was therefore impossible to determine which of the three basic tests for conscientious objector status (offered in the Justice Department 's brief) the appeal board relied on, and Ali's conviction must be reversed. In

5850-465: Was organized by Brown for his peers to question Ali about the seriousness of his convictions, and to decide whether to support him, which they ultimately did. At the trial on June 20, 1967, the jury found Ali guilty after only 21   minutes of deliberation of the criminal offense of violating the Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted. After a Court of Appeals upheld the conviction,

5928-497: Was quoted as saying, "I said I was the greatest, not the smartest!" ) By early 1966, the army lowered its standards to permit soldiers above the 15th percentile and Ali was again classified as 1-A. This classification meant he was now eligible for the draft and induction into the U.S. Army at a time when the U.S. was involved in the Vietnam War, a war which put him further at odds with the white establishment. When notified of this status, Ali declared that he would refuse to serve in

6006-506: Was rebuffed. By late 1963, Clay had become the top contender for Sonny Liston's title. The fight was set for February 25, 1964, in Miami Beach . Liston was an intimidating personality, a dominating fighter with a criminal past and ties to the mob. Based on Clay's uninspired performance against Jones and Cooper in his previous two fights, and Liston's destruction of former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson in two first-round knockouts, Clay

6084-812: Was refused service at the diner but that he lost his medal a year after he won it. Ali received a replacement medal at the Georgia Dome during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta , where he lit the torch to start the Games. Clay made his professional debut on October 29, 1960, winning a six-round decision over Tunney Hunsaker . From then until the end of 1963, Clay amassed a record of 19–0 with 15 wins by knockout. He defeated boxers including Tony Esperti, Jim Robinson , Donnie Fleeman, Alonzo Johnson, George Logan, Willi Besmanoff, LaMar Clark , Doug Jones , and Henry Cooper . Clay also beat his former trainer and veteran boxer Archie Moore in

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