Ali fights Uruguayan Alfredo Evangelista in a Heavyweight Championship bout at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland, U.S., May 16, 1977. Ali won the fight by a unanimous decision in round 15 of 15.
Saturday 4 June 2016
Ali
Ali fights Uruguayan Alfredo Evangelista in a Heavyweight Championship bout at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland, U.S., May 16, 1977. Ali won the fight by a unanimous decision in round 15 of 15.
Ali
Ali blows out the candles on his birthday cake at the Fifth Street gym in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S., Jan. 17, 1977, while Miami Beach Mayor Leonard Haber looks on.
Ali
In 1975, at the 'Thrilla in Manila' in the Philippines, Ali fought with Frazier for the third time, and won the bout in the 15th round. (Pictured) Ali hits Frazier during the ninth round of the title fight on Oct. 1, 1975.
The Rumble in the Jungle
In 1974, he regained the heavyweight title after winning the fight, 'The Rumble in the Jungle,' against George Foreman. (Pictured) Ali and Foreman fight on Oct. 30, 1974, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Ali won by knocking out the latter in the eighth round.
Joe Frazier
In 1971, the boxer was knocked down in the 15th round by heavyweight champ Joe Frazier, enabling the latter to win the fight unanimously. In 1974, Ali went on to avenge his loss by defeating him in 12 rounds. (Pictured) In this picture dated March 1971, Ali goes down in the 15th round after being hit by Frazier.
African American athletes
In June 1967, he was sentenced for five years and fined $10,000 after he was found guilty of draft evasion, a deliberate choice not to obey the military conscription policies of one's nation. This decision was reversed later in 1971. (Pictured) A group of top African American athletes gather to support Ali on June 4, 1967. Front row, L-R: Bill Russell, Ali, Jim Brown and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Standing L-R: Carl Stokes, Walter Beach, Bobby Mitchell, Sid Williams, Curtis McClinton, Willie Davis, Jim Shorter and John Wooten.
Ali
Ali spars with challenger Floyd Patterson during the World Heavyweight Championship fight on Nov. 25, 1965. He won the fight with a technical knockout in the 12th round.
Muhammad Ali
In 1964, Clay became the heavyweight champion of the world after defeating Sonny Liston. In the same year, he converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. (Pictured) Ali stands over fallen challenger Sonny Liston on May 25, 1965, in Lewiston, Maine, U.S.
Ali
Ali, known at the time as Cassius Clay, takes on the Beatles (from L-R, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and Paul McCartney) in Miami, Florida, U.S., during the run-up to his title fight against Sonny Liston on Feb. 22, 1964.
Summer Olympics
In 1960, he won the light-heavyweight gold medal from Poland's Zbigniew Pietrzykowski at the Summer Olympics. He turned professional the same year, winning the first two fights of his career. (Pictured) Clay stands victorious on the podium after winning the light heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics.
Fred Stoner
In 1954, he began training with Fred Stoner who led him to six Kentucky Golden Gloves championships, two national Golden Gloves titles, and two AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) crowns over the next six years.
Muhammad Ali
Three-time world champion and a cultural icon, former American boxer Muhammad Ali is arguably the greatest heavyweight in the world of sport.
Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., famously known as Muhammad Ali, was born on Jan. 17, 1942. He's the eldest son of Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. and Odessa O'Grady.
Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., famously known as Muhammad Ali, was born on Jan. 17, 1942. He's the eldest son of Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. and Odessa O'Grady.
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali dies at 74
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Muhammad Ali, widely hailed as the greatest heavyweight boxer in the sport’s history, died late Friday night after being hospitalized in Arizona Thursday with a respiratory issue.
Ali, 74, had suffered from Parkinson’s disease since the 1980s.
“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,” family spokesperson Bob Gunnell said in a statement.
Ali's prowess in the ring and his personality and social activism make him one of the most recognizable sports figures of the last century.
He secured an Olympic gold medal in the 1960 Summer Games and became one of the youngest heavyweight champions of all time, stunning the boxing world with a knockout of Sonny Liston to claim the title in 1964 at 22.
It marked the first of three times Ali would win the heavyweight title.
Shortly after the native of Louisville defeated Liston, Ali became a cog in both the civil rights and anti-war movement. Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay after he joined the Nation of Islam, and he was convicted of draft evasion in 1967 after he refused to fight in the Vietnam War because of religious beliefs.
His opposition to the Vietnam War cost him the belt and led to a three-year ban from boxing. His conviction for dodging the Vietnam War draft was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1971.
Ali returned to the ring in 1970 and suffered his first pro loss a year later in a title bout against Joe Frazier, who won via unanimous decision.
It was the first of three memorable fights against Frazier – with Ali winning the last two.
Ali reclaimed the heavyweight belt against George Foreman in one of the most storied events in sports history, "The Rumble in the Jungle" in 1974. Ali employed the "rope-a-dope," in which he allowed Foreman to tire himself out as Ali absorbed punch after punch, before he claimed the bout in Zaire -- now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- with a knockout.
In 1978, a clearly overweight Ali lost his title to Leon Spinks but won it back in a rematch six months later, making him the first fighter to win the heavyweight title three times.
Ali retired from boxing in 1981 with a 56-5 record, three of the losses coming in his final four fights. He had 37 knockouts.
Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease three years after his retirement. Family members believed his years of boxing contributed to the disease.
After his retirement, he concentrated on philanthropy and social activism.
He was admitted for medical treatment several times in recent years, including to treat pneumonia in December 2014.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)