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Muhammad Ali
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{{Short description|American boxer and social activist (1942–2016)}} {{Other uses|Muhammad Ali (disambiguation)}} {{Redirect|Cassius Clay|other people|Cassius Marcellus Clay (disambiguation)}} {{Redirect|I am the greatest|other uses|I Am the Greatest (disambiguation)}} {{Pp-vandalism|small=yes}} {{Use American English|date=March 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = <!-- defaults to article title when left blank --> | image = Muhammad Ali, gtfy.00140 (cropped).jpg <!--See talk page before changing image--> | caption = Ali in 1975 | birth_name = Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. | birth_date = {{birth date|1942|1|17}} | birth_place = [[Louisville, Kentucky]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2016|6|3|1942|1|17}} | death_place = [[Scottsdale, Arizona]], U.S. | resting_place = [[Cave Hill Cemetery]], Louisville | monuments = {{plainlist| * [[Ali Mall]] * [[Muhammad Ali Boulevard]] * [[Muhammad Ali Center]] * [[Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport]] }} | education = [[Central High School (Louisville, Kentucky)|Central High School]] (1958) | occupation = {{flatlist| * [[Boxer (boxing)|Boxer]] * [[activist]] * [[actor]] * [[singer]] * [[poet]] * [[philanthropist]] * [[author]] * [[orator]] }} | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Sonji Roi|1964|1966|end=div.}} * {{marriage|[[Belinda Boyd]]|1967|1976|end=div.}} * {{marriage|Veronica Porché|1977|1986|end=div.}} * {{marriage|Yolanda "Lonnie" Williams|1986|<!--Omission per template instructions-->}} }} | partner = | children = 9, including [[Laila Ali|Laila]] {{See below|[[#Personal life|below]]}} | citizenship = {{plainlist| * [[United States]] * [[Bangladesh]] (honorary) }} | parents = {{plainlist| * [[Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr.]] * [[Odessa Grady Clay]] }} | relatives = {{plainlist| * [[Rahaman Ali]] (brother) * [[Archer Alexander]] (great-great-great grandfather) * [[Nico Ali Walsh]] (grandson) }} | awards = [[List of career achievements by Muhammad Ali|Full list]] | website = {{URL|https://web.archive.org/web/20181112191859/http://muhammadali.com:80/|muhammadali.com}} | module = {{Infobox boxer | embed = yes | name = Muhammad Ali | height = 6 ft 3 in<ref name=BoxRec>{{boxrec|180}}. Retrieved June 5, 2016.</ref> | reach = 78 in<ref name=BoxRec /> | weight = [[Heavyweight]] | style = [[Orthodox stance|Orthodox]]<!-- This is a boxing term, not a religious one --> | total = 61 | wins = 56 | KO = 37 | losses = 5 | nickname = {{plainlist| *The Greatest *The People's Champion *The Louisville Lip }} | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Men's amateur boxing}} {{MedalCountry | {{Flagu|United States}} }} {{MedalCompetition | [[Olympic Games]]}} {{MedalGold | [[1960 Rome]] | [[Boxing at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Light heavyweight|Light-heavyweight]]}} {{MedalCompetition | [[United States Olympic Trials|US Olympic Trials]]}} {{MedalGold | 1960 San Francisco | Light-heavyweight}} {{MedalCompetition | [[Intercity Golden Gloves]]}} {{MedalGold | 1959 Chicago | [[List of US national Golden Gloves light heavyweight champions|Light-heavyweight]]}} {{MedalGold | 1960 New York | [[List of US national Golden Gloves heavyweight champions|Heavyweight]]}} {{MedalCompetition | [[Chicago Golden Gloves]]}} {{MedalGold | 1959 Chicago | Light-heavyweight}} {{MedalGold | 1960 Chicago | Light-heavyweight}} {{MedalCompetition | [[United States national amateur boxing championships|US National Championships]]}} {{MedalGold | 1959 Toledo | [[List of United States national amateur boxing light heavyweight champions|Light-heavyweight]]}} {{MedalGold | 1960 Toledo | Light-heavyweight}} }} | signature = Muhammad Ali signature.svg }} '''Muhammad Ali''' ({{IPAc-en|ɑː|ˈ|l|iː}};<ref>{{cite LPD|3|Ali |quote=the former boxer Muhammad Ali pronounces {{IPA|ɑːˈliː}}}}</ref> born '''Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.'''; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American [[professional boxer]] and social activist.{{efn|"boxing champion and '''activist'''";<ref>{{Cite news |last=Diaz |first=Johnny |date=June 4, 2024 |title=Muhammad Ali's Childhood Home Goes on the Market |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/04/sports/muhammad-ali-childhood-home-sale.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604214318/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/04/sports/muhammad-ali-childhood-home-sale.html |archive-date=June 4, 2024 |access-date=December 1, 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> "one of the country's most recognized anti-war '''activists'''"<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gorsevski |first1=Ellen W. |last2=Butterworth |first2=Michael L. |date=February 1, 2011 |title=Muhammad Ali's Fighting Words: The Paradox of Violence in Nonviolent Rhetoric |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00335630.2010.536563 |journal=Quarterly Journal of Speech |volume=97 |issue=1 |page=57 |doi=10.1080/00335630.2010.536563 |issn=0033-5630}}</ref> "professional boxer and social '''activist'''";<ref>{{Cite EBO|title=Muhammad Ali|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Muhammad-Ali-boxer|access-date=December 1, 2024|first=Thomas|last=Hauser}}</ref> "the professional boxer and '''activist'''";<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ahmed |first=Shanzeh |date=February 22, 2024 |title=Daughter of Muhammad Ali celebrates suburban mosque's 50th anniversary with a ceremony to honor the boxing legend |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/02/22/islamic-foundation-muhammad-ali/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301165803/https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/02/22/islamic-foundation-muhammad-ali/ |archive-date=March 1, 2024 |access-date=December 1, 2024 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref> "Muhammad Ali serves as reminder that radical '''activist''' athletes can become mainstreamed."<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Townsend |first1=Stephen |last2=Osmond |first2=Gary |last3=Phillips |first3=Murray G. |date=July 24, 2018 |title='Where Cassius Clay Ends, Muhammad Ali Begins': Sportspeople, Political Activism, and Methodology |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09523367.2018.1523146 |journal=The International Journal of the History of Sport |volume=35 |issue=11 |page=1150 |doi=10.1080/09523367.2018.1523146 |issn=0952-3367}}</ref>}} A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "'''The Greatest'''", he is often regarded as the greatest [[heavyweight]] boxer of all time. He held the ''[[The Ring (magazine)|Ring]]'' magazine heavyweight title from 1964 to 1970, was the undisputed champion from 1974 to 1978, and was the [[World Boxing Association|WBA]] and ''Ring'' heavyweight champion from 1978 to 1979. In 1999, he was named [[Sports Illustrated#Sportsman of the Century|Sportsman of the Century]] by ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' and the [[BBC Sports Personality of the Year#Sports Personality of the Century Award|Sports Personality of the Century]] by the [[BBC]]. Born 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 the mid-1970s. He won the world heavyweight championship, defeating [[Sonny Liston]] in [[Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston|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 [[Religious views of Muhammad Ali|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 [[Clay v. United States|appealing the decision]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|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 became a prominent, 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 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-talk]]ing, often [[Freestyle rap|free-styled]] with rhyme schemes and [[spoken word poetry]], and has been recognized as 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 (Cassius Clay album)|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 was cared for by his family.
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