Motivational story of Muhammad Ali - MQS

Our Motivational quote of the day is inspired by "The Great" Muhammad Ali -

"If My Mind Can Conceive It And My Heart Can Believe It - Then I Can Achieve It" - Muhammad Ali Quotes.

Today I will try to summarize the Motivational Story of the legend Muhammad Ali, he was on one hand the greatest boxer of all time, on the other hand, he was also famous as an Activist, Poet, Philanthropist, and a great entertainer. According to the boxing Magazine, “The Ring”, Ali was ranked number one among the Heavyweight Boxers from all eras. As per “The Associated Press” Muhammad Ali is the number one heavyweight champion of the 20^th century.

Biography of Muhammad Ali - 

Muhammad Ali was born on 17th Jan 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. In his childhood Muhammad Ali was known by the name Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.  Muhammad Ali was brought up in a Christian family, where there were four members, his father Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. who was a billboard painter, his mother Odessa O'Grady Clay a housekeeper by profession and his brother Rudolph "Rudy" Clay. 

Muhammad Ali did his schooling in Louisville Central High school but due to dyslexia, he faced huge difficulty in reading and writing. While growing up there was a huge surge of racism all around America. Ali's neighborhood was not an exception to this surge. Hence young Ali also had to face a lot of racism. There was one incident when due to his skin color Muhammad Ali was denied a glass of drinking water. In the year 1955 after the lynching of American teen Emmett Till (accused of insulting a white woman), Ali was deep in shock, as a result, he and a few of his friends started to show their anger by destroying the properties of the local rail yard. The change of Muhammad Ali's real name took place in the year 1961 when Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. converted himself into a Muslim. From 1964 onwards Muhammad Ali became the official name of Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.

Carrier of Muhammad Ali Boxer - 

Muhammad Ali was introduced to boxing by Officer Joe E. Martin. Initially, Ali was not interested to become a boxer, but once he saw the amateur boxers getting fame and recognization on national television he became interested in boxing. He started to train under Fred Stoner, according to Ali, Fred gave him the real training; eventually polished his fighting style and improved his stamina. 

In the year 1954, Muhammad Ali made his first appearance in the boxing ring against Ronnie O'Keefe where he took the victory by split decision. Later he also won the Kentucky Golden Gloves title six times. His title count was not restricted to the state level, he also won the National Golden Gloves title two times, and most important of them all he won the GOLD medal Summar Olympic light heavyweight division in 1960. Till this time Ali was successful to set his amateur record of 100 wins and only 5 losses. which is to date considered as one of the best amateur records of all time.

Military Draft controversy - 

Amid his success, there was a time in the year 1966 when Muhammad Ali was drafted for Vietnam War, which Ali refused to join, as according to him the war was against his religious beliefs. This opposition to the draft did not go well for him and for his denial he had to face five years of a prison sentence; also he was stripped of all his titles. But Ali was confident in his stand and appealed to the Supreme court against the decision. Finally, in the year 1971, the draft decision was overturned. This judgment took four years out of Ali’s carrier, as he was not able to fight with anyone during this time.

Muhammad Ali’s decision not to join the war made him a cultural Icon as a conscientious objector. During the civil rights movement of 1960 Ali’s decision was regarded as an example of the right to conscience and freedom of thought.

Top fights of Muhammad Ali – 

Muhammad Ali had one of the greatest careers in boxing history. If check all of his legendary fights there are few which are according to me stand out from the rest. Below are the Top ten fights of Muhammad Ali (in a random order, as I am not qualified enough to pick the best out of this) –

• Muhammad Ali Vs Joe Frazier (II) – The fight took place on 28^th Jan 1974, where Ali defeated Joe in a unanimous decision.
• Muhammad Ali Vs Ernie Terrell – on 6^th Feb 1967 this great fight took place where Ali won the 15 round brutal match.
• Muhammad Ali Vs Earnie Shavers – Ali defeated Earne on 29^th Sep 1977 in a unanimous decision.
• Muhammad Ali Vs Chuck Wepner – This fight took place on 24^th March 1975, where Ali secured a TKO win.
• Muhammad Ali Vs Cleveland Willams – On 14^th Nov 1966, Ali showed clinical precision and Knocked out Williams in the third round.
• Muhammad Ali Vs Joe Frazier (I) – It was the first time when Ali met with Frazier. Although Ali took the fight to Joe, finally Joe became the winner. This fight took place on 8^th March 1971 and Joe won via e Unanimous decision.
• Muhammad Ali Vs Sonny Liston – Young Ali fought with the ring veteran Sonny Liston on 25^th Feb 1964. In his fight, Ali dominated Liston with his first fighting style and finally defeated him in the 7^th round by TKO.
• Muhammad Ali Vs Leon Spinks -  A veteran Ali met with Leon on 15^th Sep and secured the Heavyweight title for the third time, which made him the first man to achieve this milestone. The Match was won in a unanimous decision.
• Muhammad Ali Vs Joe Frazier (III) - Ali mentioned that the match was the “closest thing to death”. On 1^st Oct 1975, Ali met with Joe again, and in a head-to-head classic battle Ali bet Joe in a TKO in the 14^th
• Muhammad Ali Vs George Foreman – On Oct 30^th, 1974 Ali fought with young George Foreman, who was at that was undefeated with the record of 37 wins 0 loss and 34 Kos. Everyone thought that it will be a close call but Ali proved that he was still the best in the game and finally Knocked him out in the 8^th

 

The professional record of Muhammad Ali  -

Muhammad Ali’s professional records stand as the total of 61 fights where he won 56 times, 37 by knockout and 19 via Unanimous decision. Ali lost 5 times, 1 by KO and 4 times by unanimous decision.

 

Muhammad Ali as an entertainer - 

Apart from the talent Muhammad Ali possessed in-ring, he was famous for his free-styled trash-talking, It was believed that Ali was the one who started the rap music culture. Ali released his album named “Spoken Words” in the year 1963. Ali also got nominated twice for the Grammy award for his album “I am the Greatest” and “Best Recording for Children” in 1964 and 1976 respectively. Both these records were an instant hit and it is paved the foundation of HIP-HOP music.

Muhammad Ali made his first appearance as an actor, in a cameo role in the film named “Requiem for a Heavyweight” in the year 1962. He also acted on “Black Rodeo”, “The Greatest: My Own Story”, and “Freedom Road”.

Muhammad Ali’s Death -

Muhammad Ali in his later year's diagnosed with Parkinson's syndrome which was the result of his brutal boxing-related injuries. In 2016, 2^nd Jun Ali was admitted to the hospital due to a respiratory disorder. But his condition eventually got worse and he took his last breath at the age of 74. It was declared that the cause of Ali's death was septic shock.

Moral -

Through the story of Muhammad Ali, we can learn that no matter where we are born and what is the situation we are grown up if we have the talent we can be great at our game and make ourselves stand out from the crowd.