Muhammad Ali the last years of his life. Muhammad Ali: statistics of fights, victories and defeats. Debut in professional boxing

In Rome (Italy), Cassius Clay became the champion under his own name Olympic Games in light heavyweight. After that, he turned pro.

In 1963, Cassius Clay defeated Doug Jones. The fight received the status of "fight of the year" according to the magazine "Ring"

In 1964, Cassius Clay received his first title as a result of a fight with Sonny Liston, defeating him. technical knockout in the seventh round. In the same year, Clay converted to Islam and changed his name to Mohammed Ali.

On May 25, 1965, a second duel took place between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston, in which Ali again won.

In 1966-1967, the boxer defended his title against Brian London, Karl Mildenberger, Cleveland Williams, Ernie Terrell and Zora Folly.

In 1967, during the Vietnam War, Muhammad Ali was drafted into the US Army, but refused to participate in the war. His title was annulled, and the boxer himself was sentenced to five years for evading service. At this time, Ali was banned from boxing. In 1970, the US Supreme Court overturned the verdict, and the boxer returned to the ring.

In March 1971, Muhammad Ali entered the ring for the first time against Joe Frazier. This fight was subsequently named "fight of the year" according to the magazine "Ring". In the 15th round, Ali was knocked down, and after the end of the fight, the judges came to the conclusion that he had lost the fight. It was Ali's first loss in his career.

In 1974, the second duel took place between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Ali won this fight, winning him on points.

On October 30, 1974, the fight for the world title took place between George Foreman, the reigning champion, and challenger Muhammad Ali. Experts consider this fight as "the greatest and unforgettable". It was won by Ali, becoming the champion.

On October 1, 1975, Ali had another fight, which also remained forever in the history of world boxing. They became a duel in which Muhammad Ali met Joe Frazier for the third time and again defeated him.

In 1976, Muhammad Ali successfully defended titles against Jean-Pierre Koopman, Jimmy Young and Richard Dunn. In 1977 he defeated Alfredo Evangelista and Ernie Shavers.

In 1978, Muhammad Ali decided to end his boxing career. Chosen for the final battle Olympic champion 1976 Leon Spinks, whom Ali lost to. The fight received the status of "Fight of the Year" according to the magazine "Ring".

Ali challenged Leon Spinks to a rematch, which took place on September 15, 1978. This time, Ali won by unanimous decision. Then he retired from boxing. Due to financial difficulties, he soon had to enter the ring again. But only to lose two fights - one in October 1980 against Larry Holmes and the second against Trevor Berbick in December 1981. After that, Ali finally retired from boxing.

Soon the athlete was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

In 1990, Ali was elected to the National Boxing Hall of Fame. In 1996, he carried the torch at the Atlanta Summer Olympics.

Muhammad Ali - 1960 Olympic champion, absolute world heavyweight champion (1964-1966, 1974-1978), world champion in heavyweight according to WBC (1974-1978), WBA (1967, 1974-1978, 1978). The Ring magazine named him "Boxer of the Year" five times (1963, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978) and, in addition, "Boxer of the Decade" (1970s). In 1999, Sports Illustrated and the BBC named Ali

In honor of the date, we recall the 10 most interesting facts about your favorite heavyweight.

1. Name

At birth, the future boxing legend was named Cassius Clay (Cassius Clay). And they did it in honor of a 19th-century white farmer and abolitionist who freed 40 slaves inherited from his father.

• Abolitionism (English abolitionism, from Latin abolitio, “abolition”) is a movement to abolish slavery and free slaves.

2. Stolen bike

Muhammad Ali hit boxing at the age of 12. The boy's favorite red-and-white bike, bought with the money he earned, was stolen from him. Schwinn. Enraged, he told police officer Joe Martin that he would beat whoever did it.

“Before you beat someone, you must first learn how to do it,” Joe answered the boy.

Martin was not an ordinary policeman. He trained young boxers. He suggested that Ali go to training. Only 6 weeks passed - and Muhammad entered the ring, and immediately won in his first amateur fight.

3. Amateur career

As an amateur boxer, Ali won 100 out of 108 fights. He has 6 championship wins to his credit. golden gloves“ in Kentucky, as well as at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

Source: WGSN.com

4. Olympic medal

In 1975, in his autobiography, Muhammad wrote that after returning to Louisville he threw his Olympic medal from the bridge into the Ohio River - in protest against the racism that the boxer still faced in his hometown.

Many then said, they say, Cassius simply lost her, but invented the story. Be that as it may, in 1996 the President International Olympic Committee handed the boxer a duplicate of the lost gold medal.

5. Cassius X

Year 1964, fight for the title of world heavyweight champion. Ali wins Sonny Liston (Sonny Liston). And immediately joins the organization " Nation of Islam“ (Nation of Islam). Inspired by Malcolm X, Ali changes his name to Cassius X, and after a short time he takes a new name - Muhammad Ali.

• Malcolm X (full name: Malcolm Little) is an African-American Islamic spiritual leader and human rights activist.

Source: history.com

6. Refusal to serve in the army

Ali not only refused to serve in the army, but also to take part in the Vietnam War. He considered it unfair. For this, the boxer was sentenced to 5 years in prison. But he came under appeal, and “ zone“ bypassed him.

But there were other troubles: Muhammad was stripped of his world title and banned from entering the ring for 3 years.

7. “Fight of the century“

In 1971, Muhammad entered the ring to fight Joe Frazier ( Joe Frazier). The fight went down in history as " Fight of the century“, because for him each of the boxers received $ 2.5 million ( it was at Madison Square Garden).

Frazier won. Ali was in shock: this was his first defeat in professional boxing.

From that moment on, the confrontation began Ali Frazier“. Two more fights followed, in which Muhammad won. Journalists called one of these fights “ Thriller in Manila“ (“Thrilla in Manila”). She is recognized as one of the best in boxing history.

8. “Rumble in the jungle“

Muhammad Ali is rightfully called one of the most famous and great boxers in the entire professional history of this sport.

This heavyweight in his entire professional career (21 years) spent 61 fights, won 56 victories, 37 of which were by knockout.

short biography

Muhammad Ali was given a name at birth Cassius Marcellus Clay He was born on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. . His father - Cassius Clay Sr., an artist who painted signs and various posters. His mother - Odessa Clay, housewife.

Cassius was the eldest child in the family. After 2 years, he had a brother - Rudolf(Rahman Ali).

Social status

The Clay family was considered representatives middle class among the black population of the United States, despite the fact that they lived much poorer than the "white" representatives of the same class.

Cassius did not have to provide for his family, as did many of his peers at school, but he sometimes took a part-time job (washing desks and blackboards at the University of Louisville) to get pocket money.

First training

At the age of 12, an incident occurred with Cassius Jr., after which he began to box:

Somehow, his bicycle was stolen. After discovering the loss, he met a policeman, whom he said that he would beat the thief. To which he replied: “First, learn to fight,” and invited the boy to the gym.

That cop was Joe Martin, who was a trainer for beginner boxers. His pupils participated in amateur Golden Glove tournaments, and their fights were shown on TV.

2 weeks after talking with Joe, Cassius and his brother saw the performances of boxers on television, and the next day they came to training at Martin's gym.

“I will become the world champion, I am the best!”

Immediately the boy began to bully everyone in the hall, telling them in raised tones that become world boxing champion. At that time, almost no coach in Martin's gym saw the potential in the future of Muhammad Ali.

First victory

Already after 1.5 months after the start of training, Clay's first fight took place with a more experienced and adult opponent. Despite this, he managed to win the first victory in his history. The fight was broadcast on TV.

"Golden Glove"

The boy actively began to train, switched completely to a healthy lifestyle. 2 years after the first training, he won the Golden Glove tournament.

In 1960 he graduated from high school with a certificate. The director and so pulled him to the last. Mostly because of his sporting success.

At that time, his amateur career was in full swing: 100 fights, of which only 8 losses. Also at that time, he won a total of 4 tournaments (2 Golden Glove tournaments and 2 Amateur Athletic Union tournaments).

1960 Olympics

After graduation, the future Muhammad Ali wanted to go into professional boxing. However, the coach persuaded him to postpone this and participate in the Olympic summer games 1960.

Qualifying Tournament

Cassius accepted this offer. He passed the qualifying tournament in San Francisco. All fights, except for the final one, he passed easily. Final Rival Alan Hudson nearly knocked out Cassius in the first round with a head kick. But this did not prevent the latter from winning the battle.

Success at the Olympics

Cassius easily defeated his first opponent at the Olympics - the Belgian Yvona Beko, defeating him by TKO in the second round.

In the quarterfinals, Clay met with the Soviet boxer Gennady Shatkov. The fight was dictated by Cassius, and the judges unanimously recognized him as the winner.

At the stage of the semi-finals, Clay was opposed by a familiar opponent - an Australian Tony Madigan(Cassius beat him in 1959). After the end of a tense duel, Madigan considered himself the winner, but the judges unanimously gave the victory to Clay.

In the final, an experienced boxer was waiting for him Zbigniew Pietrzykowski from Poland, he was nine years older than Cassius and had 230 fights on his record.

Petshikovsky started the fight in an aggressive manner, trying to end the fight quickly. In the second round, Clay had to abandon his usual "light" manner and land several strong blows Pole. He did not slow down in the last round, conducting a quick series of punches, by the end of the fight Zbigniew was pressed to the ropes and close to an early defeat, but managed to survive until the final gong.

Cassius Clay won by unanimous decision, a few minutes later he was awarded gold medal.

Debut in professional boxing

Clay's first opponent in professional boxing was Tunny Hunsecker. Cassius conscientiously prepared for battle: he ran minimum 2 miles daily, sparred with his younger brother.

Before the fight, in his traditional manner, Clay bullied Hunseker, calling him a "bum" and promising to deal with him quickly in the 6th round. Cassius managed to win the victory, but the promised quick reprisal did not happen. Tunney said after the fight that he was lucky to fight with the future World Champion.

New coach: Angelo Dundee

After the first victory in the professional arena, the question arose of finding a new coach for Clay. The team that sponsored the boxer opted for Angelo Dundee.

Dundee immediately understood how to work with an active and sometimes aggressive boxer. He never shut his mouth, did not control - only directed his energy “in the right direction”.

winning streak

Cassius confidently won the next 4 fights and 1 sparring:

• After a week of training with a new coach, he defeated Herb Siler in the 4th round by knockout.
• The next victory was over Tony Esperti.
• The next fight seemed the most difficult of all. Mohammed Ali said he would beat the reigning world champion - Ingemar Johhansson. And not just beat - send in a knockout. official fight was not, Yuhhanson's manager organized a sparring, which Ali confidently won.
• The fourth official knockout victory was over Jimmy Robinson.

Further victories brought Clay closer to the Champion title. He defeated famous heavyweights one after another.

World Champion title

On February 25, 1964, a fight took place in which Cassius Clay was a contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. His opponent is the reigning champion Sonny Liston.

After the duel began, Cassius began to circle around Liston, eluding his powerful attacks and counterattacking. In the third round there was a fracture - Clay began to frankly outplay the champion. After one of his successful combinations, Liston's legs began to tangle, and he almost fell.

In a completely lost round, Sonny opened a cut under his left eye, and a hematoma formed under his right. Suddenly, during the fourth round, Clay began to have problems with his eyesight, he began to experience a sharp pain in his eyes. Cassius practically did not see anything and asked the coach to take off his gloves, at a difficult moment Angelo Dundee showed composure, releasing his fighter to the next round with the task of moving around the ring, avoiding Liston's attacks.

Clay managed not to miss a heavy blow from the champion, and in the fifth round his vision was restored. Cassius again dominated the ring, and after many accurate blows to Sonny, in between rounds, Liston refused to continue the fight. At 22, Clay became the heavyweight champion of the world.

Joining the "Nation of Islam"

In 1964 Cassius Clay joined the Nation of Islam religious society. Leader of this organization Elijah Muhammad later became his spiritual mentor and largely influenced the future life of the boxer.

It was Elijah Muhammad who gave the name to the new world champion - Mohammed Ali.

New name

After Cassius entered the nation of Islam, he began to introduce himself Muhammad Ali- it was a Muslim name given to him as a member of the community. Society reacted negatively to this fact.

The boxer's father believed that he was "brainwashed" on religious grounds, and said that he himself would continue to proudly wear his first and last name.

Second fight with Liston

May 25, 1965 a rematch between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston took place in a small town - Lewiston. The stakes were in favor of the old champion.

Nobody expected what happened in the ring: in the 2nd minute of the first round, Ali knocked out Liston. Even Mohammed himself believed that Sonny set himself up on purpose, and said this in a post-match interview.

However, the fight was won and the young champion defended his title for the first time. There were no serious rivals among boxers for him at the moment.

Later, until the spring of 1967, Ali 8 times was able to defend the world heavyweight title.

Refusal to serve in the army and disqualification

In 1967 Ali for 3 years was forced to retire from professional boxing. This happened because of his refusal to serve in the army. The boxer explained this by the fact that his religious views did not allow him to participate in hostilities.

However, representatives of the prosecution believed that he could serve outside the hot spots. The champion still refused to serve in the army. At trial, the jury gave him a guilty verdict.

Sports commissions revoked the boxer's license, and he could no longer compete in the professional ring.

Return to big sport took place only in 1970, when the court considered one of the next appeals of Ali's lawyer, and made a positive decision in his favor.

End of career

After his return to big boxing, Muhammad Ali had many more great fights. In 1980 his last fight took place. in professional sports. He lost ahead of schedule for the first time to the reigning young champion Larry Holmes. It happened in the 10th round.

Further fate

After leaving boxing, Muhammad Ali fell ill after 4 years Parkinson's disease. Ali suffered from the symptoms of illness, but his mind remained clear and he decided to devote himself to the service of Islam. Mohammed started helping people, he could make a $100,000 donation with just a couple of questions, or get out of the car and help the average homeless person.

During the solemn ceremony on the occasion of the end of his career, he was presented with a commemorative diamond ring, which Ali gave to a disabled girl on the same evening.

Mohammed used his popularity to help those in need, he turned to wealthy people with a request to follow his example, and few people refused him.

Death of a Great Boxer

On June 2, 2016, Muhammad Ali was brought to Scottsdale Hospital. He had a lung problem. The next day, June 3, 2016 At the age of 75, the Great Muhammad Ali died in the hospital from septic shock.

June 10 and 11 in the native city of the boxer Louisville funerals were held with lowered flags.

Muhammad Ali became a real boxing legend, and he achieved victories not only in the ring, but also on the personal front - Ali was always surrounded by female attention and even being married he could not deny himself short-term novels that did not affect his personal life in the best way.

The first wife of Muhammad Ali, the waitress Sonji Roy, did not live with him for long - the boxer's mentors from the Nation of Islam opposed this marriage, forcing him to break off relations with a woman who professed a different religion (Ali was a Muslim), and, moreover, worked as a simple waitress.

Their divorce proceedings lasted about a year, and among the main reasons for the divorce, Muhammad Ali called the wife's unwillingness to dress like a real Muslim woman, and love for revealing outfits.

In the photo - Ali with his first wife

The second wife of Muhammad Ali, Belinda Boyd, tried not to make the mistakes of the first wife of the boxer - almost immediately after the marriage, she converted to Islam and even changed her name, becoming Khalila Ali. She gave birth to four children - three daughters Mariyum, Jamila and Rashida and a son Muhammad Ali Jr.

However, the family idyll began to crumble after three years. life together- Numerous fans of Ali, who followed him everywhere, haunted not only him, but also his wife, who was tired of enduring her husband's endless betrayals.

In the photo - Muhammad Ali, his second wife Khalila and their children

One of the girls who was not opposed to having an affair with the famous boxer was fashion model Veronica Porsche, who starred for a poster of one of Muhammad's fights.

Their romance began in front of the boxer's wife, who at that moment was with him in a training camp where Muhammad was preparing for a fight with George Foreman. Ali divorced Khalila after ten years of marriage, then he already had a one-year-old daughter from Veronica Khan, and after Porsche became the official wife of Muhammad Ali, she gave birth to him another child - daughter Leila, in the future, like her father, who dedicated her life to boxing and even became the absolute world champion in this sport.

In the photo - Ali with his third wife Victoria Porsche

The marriage with Veronica Porsche lasted almost nine years, and immediately after the divorce, Ali married for the fourth time - to Iolanthe "Lonnie" Williams, whom he had known in his youth. Mohammed did not have joint children with Iolanta, but they adopted the boy Asaad Amin.

The number of children of the famous boxer is not limited to those born in marriage - Ali also had two illegitimate daughters - Mia and Kalia. Thus, Muhammad had seven children, two of whom also devoted their lives to sports.

Pictured with Yolanta Williams

Ali himself was not born into a large family - he had only one brother, Rudolf, two years younger than him. Their family belonged to the middle class, his father was a member of the US House of Representatives and the Senate from Kentucky, and his mother was a housewife.

Parents raised their sons, trying to instill in them the best qualities - they taught drawing, the father tried to instill a love of poetry. Mohammed came to boxing quite by accident, trying to get justice after a bicycle was stolen from him, which he bought with his own money. The policeman, whom Ali turned to in search of a fair punishment for the offenders, advised the boy to take up boxing in order to always be ready for self-defense. So, at the age of twelve began sports biography future great boxer.

In the photo - Muhammad Ali with his daughter Leila

At the very beginning, no one could even imagine that they were facing a future boxing star - the coaches did not see any potential in Ali, moreover, he was very cocky and constantly disrupted training. Only Fred Stoner, who taught Muhammad the first tricks, became interested in the boy and was not mistaken. In his first fight, broadcast on television as part of the Future Champions program, Ali won an unconditional victory over his peers and immediately shouted right into the camera that he would become the greatest boxer, and devoted his whole life to this - Ali never drank, never smoked , did not use drugs, became a fan of healthy eating, exercised endlessly, and his dream eventually became a reality.

In youth fights, he won victory after victory, from the age of fifteen, Ali studied at the Central High School of Louisville, but due to poor academic performance, he was able to graduate from it only thanks to the personal support of the director, who hoped that the purposeful novice boxer would someday become famous and make the school known throughout the world. Muhammad Ali, who received only a certificate of graduation from school, did not even learn to read well, but he became what he had dreamed of becoming since childhood.

In Rome (Italy), Cassius Clay, under his own name, became the light heavyweight champion of the Olympic Games. After that, he turned pro.

In 1963, Cassius Clay defeated Doug Jones. The fight received the status of "fight of the year" according to the magazine "Ring"

In 1964, Cassius Clay received his first title as a result of a fight with Sonny Liston, defeating him by technical knockout in the seventh round. In the same year, Clay converted to Islam and changed his name to Mohammed Ali.

On May 25, 1965, a second duel took place between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston, in which Ali again won.

In 1966-1967, the boxer defended his title against Brian London, Karl Mildenberger, Cleveland Williams, Ernie Terrell and Zora Folly.

In 1967, during the Vietnam War, Muhammad Ali was drafted into the US Army, but refused to participate in the war. His title was annulled, and the boxer himself was sentenced to five years for evading service. At this time, Ali was banned from boxing. In 1970, the US Supreme Court overturned the verdict, and the boxer returned to the ring.

In March 1971, Muhammad Ali entered the ring for the first time against Joe Frazier. This fight was subsequently named "fight of the year" according to the magazine "Ring". In the 15th round, Ali was knocked down, and after the end of the fight, the judges came to the conclusion that he had lost the fight. It was Ali's first loss in his career.

In 1974, the second duel took place between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Ali won this fight, winning him on points.

On October 30, 1974, the fight for the world title took place between George Foreman, the reigning champion, and challenger Muhammad Ali. Experts consider this fight as "the greatest and unforgettable". It was won by Ali, becoming the champion.

On October 1, 1975, Ali had another fight, which also remained forever in the history of world boxing. They became a duel in which Muhammad Ali met Joe Frazier for the third time and again defeated him.

In 1976, Muhammad Ali successfully defended titles against Jean-Pierre Koopman, Jimmy Young and Richard Dunn. In 1977 he defeated Alfredo Evangelista and Ernie Shavers.

In 1978, Muhammad Ali decided to end his boxing career. For the final fight, the 1976 Olympic champion Leon Spinks was chosen, to whom Ali lost. The fight received the status of "Fight of the Year" according to the magazine "Ring".

Ali challenged Leon Spinks to a rematch, which took place on September 15, 1978. This time, Ali won by unanimous decision. Then he retired from boxing. Due to financial difficulties, he soon had to enter the ring again. But only to lose two fights - one in October 1980 against Larry Holmes and the second against Trevor Berbick in December 1981. After that, Ali finally retired from boxing.

Soon the athlete was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

In 1990, Ali was elected to the National Boxing Hall of Fame. In 1996, he carried the torch at the Atlanta Summer Olympics.

Muhammad Ali - Olympic champion in 1960, absolute world heavyweight champion (1964-1966, 1974-1978), world heavyweight champion according to WBC (1974-1978), WBA (1967, 1974-1978, 1978). The Ring magazine named him "Boxer of the Year" five times (1963, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978) and, in addition, "Boxer of the Decade" (1970s). In 1999, Sports Illustrated and the BBC named Ali