“The Greatest” Left Many Memorries
Muhammad Ali, the silver-tongued boxer and civil rights champion who famously proclaimed himself “The Greatest” and then spent a lifetime living up to the billing, is dead.
li died Friday at a Phoenix-area hospital, where he had spent the past few days being treated for respiratory complications, a family spokesman confirmed to the media. Ali who built a legend that will last forever passed quietly at the age of 74.
After a 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74. “The three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening,” Bob Gunnell, a family spokesman, informed the media last night.
Even as his health declined, Ali did not shy from politics or controversy, releasing a statement in December criticizing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States. “We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda,” he said.
Shelly Saltman, Sports Talk Floridas Sports Historian had a very special relationship with relationship with Muhammad Ali. He spoke to me from Los Angeles about the real Ali.
“After I left my job as the president of the Lakers and the Kings in 1973, I became a partner in a company that did the closed-circuit broadcasting of major sporting events. Saltman said.” That included doing the event promotion for a number of fights both here and around the world with Muhammad Ali.”
“As someone who served his country in Korea, the fact that Ali would choose not to serve in the military put me off at first. That changed quickly once I got to know the man and understood what was important to him. Saltman continued. I can honestly say that of all of the athletes I have been around in my career there is no doubt that Ali was the most interesting. He was a natural promoter, but more importantly, he was very generous with his time. When he asked you how you were doing he really meant it. I traveled the world with him and saw off-camera how he signed thousands of autographs, took pictures with the fans and made sure that everyone had fun. He was a one-of-a-kind person, and he remains one of my all-time favorite people. We lost one the greatest athletes and ambassadors for all sports tonight.”
Ali was born in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17, 1942. He was given the name Cassius Clay. He learned to box at 12 after someone stole his new bicycle. Six years later, Clay won the light heavyweight Olympic gold medal in 1960.
In n 1964, under the training of Miami based Angelo Dundee, Clay said that he could float like a butterfly, sting like a bee to fight world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston. Before the fight, Clay told reporters that I am the greatest. He then shocked the world by beating Sonny Liston to win the first of his three world heavyweight titles.
After winning the world heavyweight title, Clay, who had joined the Nation of Islam, said he rejected his slave name and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
Three years later, he was criticized for refusing the the draft to join the U.S. military during the height of the Vietnam War. Ali said the draft was against his religious beliefs and his opposition to war. Ali said,” I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong.”
Ali was convicted of draft evasion and stripped of his title. The conviction kept him from boxing for three years until the Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1970. Just months after returning to boxing, Ali lost to the new heavyweight champ Smokin’ Joe Frazier. But Ali later won his second fight against Frazier.
But in a career that saw him beat the invincible Sonny Liston, fought a string of thrilling fights with Joe Frazier and stopped George Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire. A career that saw him lose and regain the heavyweight title three times it took its toll.
Ali paid a terrible price for the estimated 29,000 punches he took to his head during a career that made him perhaps the most recognized person in the world. His career started Oct 29th 1960 with a win in a six round decision over Tunney Hunsaker, that took place in his hometown of Louisville and it ended 61 fights later when he lost on Dec 11th 1981 to journeyman fighter Trevor Berbick, that took place in Nassau, Bahamas. He left the ring for good that night in 1981 but he would go on to become an activist many causes worldwide and become one the most beloved America heroes of all time.
The video used in this story is courtesy of Boxing Now and ESPN.
Here for the fans is his complete record and all his fights.
Muhammad Ali’s Record
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS – list of fights.
W–56, L–5, KO–37
1960
Oct 29 Tunney Hunsaker, Lousville W 6
Dec 27 Herb Siler, Miami TKO 4
1961
Jan 17 Tony Esperti, Miami TKO 3
Feb 7 Jim Robinson, Miami TKO 1
Feb 21 Donnie Fleeman, Miami TKO 7
Apr 19 Lamar Clark, Louisville KO 2
Jun 26 Duke Sabedong, Las Vegas W 10
Jul 22 Alono Johnson, Louisville W 10
Oct 7 Alex Miteff, Louisville TKO 6
Nov 29 Willi Besmanoff, Louisville TKO 7
1962
Feb 10 Sonny Banks, New York TKO 4
Feb 28 Don Warner, Miami TKO 4
Apr 23 George Logan, Los Angeles TKO 6
May 19 Billy Daniels, New York TKO 7
Jul 20 Alejandro Lavorante, Los Angeles KO 5
Nov 5 Archie Moore, Los Angeles TKO 4
1963
Jan 24 Charlie Powell, Pittsburgh KO 3
Mar 13 Doug Jones, New York W 10
Jun 18 Henry Cooper, London TKO 5
1964
Feb 25 Sonny Liston, Miami TKO 7
(Won World Heavyweight Title)
1965
May 25 Sonny Liston, Lewiston, Maine KO 1
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
Jul 31 Jimmy Ellis, San Juan exhibition 3
Jul 31 Cody Jones, San Juan exhibition 3
Aug 16 Cody Jones, Gothenburg, Sweden exhibition 2
Aug 16 Jimmy Ellis, Gothenburg, Sweden exhibition 2
Aug 20 Jimmy Ellis, London exhibition 4
Aug 20 Cody Jones, London exhibition 4
Aug 22 Floyd Patterson, Las Vegas TKO 12
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
1966
Mar 29 George Chuvalo, Toronto, Canada W 15
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
May 21 Henry Cooper, London TKO 6
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
Aug 6 Brian London, London TKO 3
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
Sep 10 Karl Mildenberger, Frankfurt, Germany, TKO 12
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
Nov 14 Cleveland Williams, Houston TKO 3
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
1967
Feb 6 Ernest Terrell, Houston W 15
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
Mar 22 Zora Folley, New York TKO 7
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
1968-1969
(Inactive)
1970
Feb 3 Announced retirement
Oct 26 Jerry Quarry, Atlanta TKO 3
Dec 7 Oscar Bonavena, New York TKO 15
1971
Mar 8 Joe Frazier, New York L 15
(For World Heavyweight Title)
Jul 26 Jimmy Ellis, Houston TKO 12
(Won Vacant NABF Heavyweight Title)
Nov 17 Buster Mathis, Houston W 12
(Retained NABF Heavyweight Title)
Dec 26 Jurgen Blin, Zurich, Switzerland KO 7
1972
Apr 1 McArthur Foster, Tokyo W 12
May 1 George Chuvalo, Vancouver, Canada W 12
(Retained NABF Heavyweight Title)
Jun 29 Jerry Quarry, Las Vegas TKO 7
(Retained NABF Heavyweight Title)
Jul 19 Alvin Lewis, Dublin, Ireland TKO 11
Sep 20 Floyd Patterson, New York TKO 7
(Retained NABF Heavyweight Title)
Nov 21 Bob Foster, Stateline, Nev. KO 8
(Retained NABF Heavyweight Title)
1973
Feb 14 Joe Bugner, Las Vegas W 12
Mar 31 Ken Norton, San Diego L 12
(Lost NABF Heavyweight Title)
Sep 10 Ken Norton, Los Angeles W 12
(Regained NABF Heavyweight Title)
Oct 20 Rudi Lubbers, Jakarta, Indonesia W 12
1974
Jan 28 Joe Frazier, New York W 12
(Retained NABF Heavyweight Title)
Oct 30 George Foreman, Kinashasa, Zaire KO 8
(Regained World Heavyweight Title)
1975
Mar 24 Chuck Wepner, Cleveland TKO 15
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
May 16 Ron Lyle, Las Vegas TKO 11
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
Jul 1 Joe Bugner, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia W 15
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
Oct 1 Joe Frazier, Quezon City, Philippines TKO 14
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
1976
Feb 20 Jean Pierre Coopman, San Juan, P.R. KO 5
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
Apr 30 Jimmy Young, Landover, Md. W 15
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
May 24 Richard Dunn, Munich, Germany TKO 5
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
Jun 25 Antonio Inoki, Tokyo exhibition D 15
Sep 28 Ken Norton, New York W 15
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
1977
May 21 Alfredo Evangelista, Landover, Md. W 15
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
Sep 29 Earnie Shavers, New York W 15
(Retained World Heavyweight Title)
Dec 2 Scott LeDoux, Chicago exhibition TKO 5
1978
Feb 15 Leon Spinks, Las Vegas L 15
(Lost World Heavyweight Title)
Sep 15 Leon Spinks, New Orleans W 15
(Regained World Heavyweight Title)
1979
Announced retirement
1980
Oct 2 Larry Holmes, Las Vegas TKO by 11
(For vacant World Heavyweight Title)
1981
Dec 11 Trevor Berbick, Nassau, Bahamas L 10
