caption ko weight birth_place nationality article_title medaltemplates total birth_date nickname draws reach image losses name wins style
ali in 1967 37 heavyweight louisville , kentucky , u.s. 20px american muhammad ali
 men 's boxing 61 17 january 1942 the greatest 0 78 in cm 0 on muhammad ali nywts.jpg 5 muhammad ali 56 orthodox
muhammad ali

muhammad ali -lrb- ; born cassius marcellus clay jr. ; january 17 , 1942 -rrb- is an american former professional boxer , generally considered among the greatest heavyweights in the sport 's history .
a controversial and polarizing figure during his early career , ali is now highly regarded for the skills he displayed in the ring plus the values he exemplified outside of it : religious freedom , racial justice and the triumph of principle over expedience .
he is one of the most recognized sports figures of the past 100 years , crowned `` sportsman of the century '' by `` sports illustrated '' and `` sports personality of the century '' by the bbc .
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 .
in 1967 , three years after winning the heavyweight title , ali refused to be conscripted into the u.s. military , citing his religious beliefs and opposition to american involvement in the vietnam war .
he was eventually arrested and found guilty on draft evasion charges and stripped of his boxing title .
he did not fight again for nearly four years -- losing a time of peak performance in an athlete 's career .
ali 's appeal worked its way up to the u.s. supreme court , where in 1971 his conviction was overturned .
ali 's actions as a conscientious objector to the war made him an icon for the larger counterculture generation .
ali remains the only three-time lineal world heavyweight champion ; he won the title in 1964 , 1974 , and 1978 .
between february 25 , 1964 and september 19 , 1964 muhammad ali reigned as the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion .
nicknamed `` the greatest '' , ali was involved in several historic boxing matches .
notable among these were the first liston fight , three with rival joe frazier , and one with george foreman , where he regained titles he had been stripped of seven years earlier .
at a time when most fighters let their managers do the talking , ali , inspired by professional wrestler `` gorgeous '' george wagner , thrived in -- and indeed craved -- the spotlight , where he was often provocative and outlandish .
he controlled most press conferences and interviews , and spoke freely about issues unrelated to boxing .
he transformed the role and image of the african american athlete in america by his embrace of racial pride and his willingness to antagonize the white establishment in doing so .
in the words of writer joyce carol oates , he was one of the few athletes in any sport to `` define the terms of his public reputation '' .
