Arguably the Best Boxer in History that turned Boxing around!

VIDEO:  See the AMAZING, unstoppable, push through, never give up boxing champ, Muhammad Ali in action!

Born Cassius Clay, he began training at 12 years old and at the age of 22 won the world heavyweight championship in 1964 from Sonny Liston in a stunning upset. Shortly after that bout, Ali joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name. He converted to Sunni Islam in 1975.

THE PEOPLE’S CHAMP

Muhammad Ali touches countless lives with his unwavering spirit. He was not only a monumental athlete, but also a humanitarian and a global citizen – the legend of Muhammad Ali goes far beyond the boxing ring.

In Ali’s second fight against Sonny Liston in Lewiston, ME, Ali knocked out Liston in the first round with a fast right. The Los Angeles Times reported that it was ‘no phantom punch.’ And Sports Illustrated wrote, “The blow had so much force it lifted Liston’s left foot, upon which most of his weight was resting, well off the canvas.”

In The Rumble in the Jungle, Ali fought George Foreman in a much-anticipated battle in Zaire, Africa. Foreman was known for his strength, while Ali was known for his speed and agility. However, Ali spent most of the match leaned up against the ropes covering up and allowing Foreman to punch his arms and body. This tactic drained Foreman of his energy with seemingly little impact on Ali. In the 8th round, a tired Foreman once again tried to pin Ali against the ropes. This time, Ali pounced and landed several punches – ultimately knocking down Foreman, winning the match and reclaiming his title.

Ali trained for his first ‘comeback’ fight at a mink farm in Reading, PA in 1971, a setting where he could train without being harassed by fans and reporters. Inspired by the secluded setting, Muhammad Ali established a training camp in the countryside in the village of Deer Lake. This became the place where he trained for all of his fights from 1972 until the end of his career. Ed Schuyler of AP News said, “The best time to talk with him [Ali] if you wanted to do it alone was at Deer Lake. He was a different person when he was alone. He’d talk very quietly and somberly, but you rarely had him alone for long…”

Muhammad Ali was the Heavyweight Champion of the world in 1967, but he began one of his biggest ‘fights’ when he refused to be inducted into the armed forces to fight in the Vietnam War. Ali was arrested, stripped of his titles, and exiled from boxing for 3 years. He cited religious reasons for not entering the draft, and his opposition was highly controversial. He became a voice for a generation that felt American military involvement in Vietnam was wrong, and his willingness to speak out against it earned him many detractors. Ali never wavered. His conviction was overturned in 1971, and he went on to earn back his World Heavyweight Champion title in 1974.

ALI ON THE VIETNAM WAR

Muhammad Ali’s polarizing decision inspired Americans of all backgrounds. New York Times columnist, William Rhoden, wrote, “Ali’s actions changed my standard of what constituted an athlete’s greatness. Possessing a killer jump shot or the ability to stop on a dime was no longer enough. What were you doing for the liberation of your people? What were you doing to help your country live up to the covenant of its founding principles?”

CLAY VS LISTON

The fight nearly didn’t happen. Just three days before their scheduled November 1964 bout in Boston, Ali was hospitalized, requiring emergency surgery to repair a hernia. During Ali’s six-month recovery period, complications in Massachusetts led authorities to deny sanctioning the bout. Forced to find a new home for the title fight, promoters settled on tiny St. Dominic’s, an arena in Lewiston, Maine. Only 2,412 fans attended the May 25, 1965 fight, which ended in a first round 2:12 knockout. Ali caught Liston off balance moving forward and landed a lightning fast “anchor punch” to the jaw, snapping Liston’s head back and sending him crashing to the canvas. The photo of Ali over the KO’d Liston is one of the most coveted championship photos in all of sports.

Ali refused to be inducted into the armed forces, stating publicly, “no Vietcong ever called me nigger”. He was systematically denied a boxing license in every state and stripped of his passport. As a result, he did not fight from March 1967 to October 1970—from ages 25 to almost 29—as his case worked its way through the appeal process. In 1971, the US Supreme Court overturned his conviction in a unanimous 8-0 ruling (Thurgood Marshall abstained from the case).

During this time of inactivity, as opposition to the Vietnam War began to grow and Ali’s stance gained sympathy, he spoke at colleges across the nation, criticizing the Vietnam War and advocating African American pride and racial justice.
On August 12, 1970, with his case still in appeal, Ali was granted a license to box by the City of Atlanta Athletic Commission, thanks to State Senator Leroy R. Johnson. Ali’s first return bout was against Jerry Quarry on October 26, resulting in a win after three rounds after Quarry was cut.
A month earlier, a victory in federal court forced the New York State Boxing Commission to reinstate Ali’s license. He fought Oscar Bonavena at Madison Square Garden in December, an uninspired performance that ended in a dramatic TKO of Bonavena in the 15th round. The win left Ali as a top contender against heavyweight champion Joe Frazier.

Ali and Frazier’s first fight, held at the Garden on March 8, 1971, was nicknamed the “Fight of the Century”, due to the tremendous excitement surrounding a bout between two undefeated fighters, each with a legitimate claim as heavyweight champions. Veteran boxing writer John Condon called it “the greatest event I’ve ever worked on in my life”. The bout was broadcast to 35 foreign countries; promoters granted 760 press passes.
Adding to the atmosphere were the considerable pre-fight theatrics and name calling. Ali portrayed Frazier as a “dumb tool of the white establishment”. “Frazier is too ugly to be champ,” Ali said. “Frazier is too dumb to be champ.” Ali also frequently called Frazier an Uncle Tom. Dave Wolf, who worked in Frazier’s camp, recalled that, “Ali was saying ‘the only people rooting for Joe Frazier are white people in suits, Alabama sheriffs, and members of the Ku Klux Klan. I’m fighting for the little man in the ghetto.’ Joe was sitting there, smashing his fist into the palm of his hand, saying, ‘What the fuck does he know about the ghetto?'”

Ali began training at a farm near Reading, Pennsylvania in 1971 and finding the country setting to his liking, Muhammad Ali then sought to develop a real training camp in the countryside. Twenty minutes from Reading, (one hour from Philadelphia and a two-hour drive from New York City), Ali found a five-acre site on a Pennsylvania country road in the village of Deer Lake. (On a map, the location can more easily be found by looking for “Orwigsburg”.) On this site, Ali carved out what was to become his training camp, the camp where he lived and trained for all the many fights he had from 1972 on to the end of his career in the 1980s. The camp still stands today and is a bed and breakfast.