Muhammad Ali | American boxer | Britannica.com American boxer Alternative Title: Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. Muhammad Ali Learn more about this topic 1 What was Prince’s best-selling album? Muhammad Ali, original name Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. (born January 17, 1942, Louisville , Kentucky , U.S.—died June 3, 2016, Scottsdale , Arizona), American professional boxer and social activist. Ali was the first fighter to win the world heavyweight championship on three separate occasions; he successfully defended this title 19 times. Muhammad Ali (right) fighting Ernie Terrell, 1967. UPI/Bettmann Archive An overview of Muhammad Ali’s life and career. © CCTV America (A Britannica Publishing Partner) Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., grew up in the American South in a time of segregated public facilities. His father, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr., supported a wife and two sons by painting billboards and signs. His mother, Odessa Grady Clay, worked as a household domestic. When Clay was 12 years old, he took up boxing under the tutelage of Louisville policeman Joe Martin.

After advancing through the amateur ranks, he won a gold medal in the 175-pound division at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome and began a professional career under the guidance of the Louisville Sponsoring Group, a syndicate composed of 11 wealthy white men. In his early bouts as a professional, Clay was more highly regarded for his charm and personality than for his ring skills. He sought to raise public interest in his fights by reading childlike poetry and spouting self-descriptive phrases such as “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” He told the world that he was “the Greatest,” but the hard realities of boxing seemed to indicate otherwise. Clay infuriated devotees of the sport as much as he impressed them. He held his hands unconventionally low, backed away from punches rather than bobbing and weaving out of danger, and appeared to lack true knockout power. The opponents he was besting were a mixture of veterans who were long past their prime and fighters who had never been more than mediocre . Thus, purists cringed when Clay predicted the round in which he intended to knock out an opponent, and they grimaced when he did so and bragged about each new conquest.

Overview of Muhammad Ali’s life and career. Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz On February 25, 1964, Clay challenged Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship of the world. Liston was widely regarded as the most intimidating, powerful fighter of his era. Clay was a decided underdog. But in one of the most stunning upsets in sports history, Liston retired to his corner after six rounds, and Clay became the new champion. Two days later Clay shocked the boxing establishment again by announcing that he had accepted the teachings of the Nation of Islam . On March 6, 1964, he took the name Muhammad Ali, which was given to him by his spiritual mentor, Elijah Muhammad . Britannica Stories Big Radio Burst from Tiny Galaxy For the next three years, Ali dominated boxing as thoroughly and magnificently as any fighter ever had. In a May 25, 1965, rematch against Liston, he emerged with a first-round knockout victory. Triumphs over Floyd Patterson , George Chuvalo , Henry Cooper, Brian London , and Karl Mildenberger followed. On November 14, 1966, Ali fought Cleveland Williams.

Over the course of three rounds, Ali landed more than 100 punches, scored four knockdowns, and was hit a total of three times. Ali’s triumph over Williams was succeeded by victories over Ernie Terrell and Zora Folley. Sonny Liston on the canvas while Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) raises his arms in triumph after … Bettmann/Corbis The Olympic Games Then, on April 28, 1967, citing his religious beliefs, Ali refused induction into the U.S. Army at the height of the war in Vietnam . This refusal followed a blunt statement voiced by Ali 14 months earlier: “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong.” Many Americans vehemently condemned Ali’s stand. It came at a time when most people in the United States still supported the war in Southeast Asia . Moreover, although exemptions from military service on religious grounds were available to qualifying conscientious objectors who were opposed to war in any form, Ali was not eligible for such an exemption, because he acknowledged that he would be willing to participate in an Islamic holy war. Muhammad Ali, 1967. Ira Rosenberg/Library of Congress (file no.

LC-USZ62-115435) Ali was stripped of his championship and precluded from fighting by every state athletic commission in the United States for three and a half years. In addition, he was criminally indicted and, on June 20, 1967, convicted of refusing induction into the U.S. armed forces and sentenced to five years in prison. Although he remained free on bail, four years passed before his conviction was unanimously overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court on a narrow procedural ground. Britannica Lists & Quizzes Editor Picks: Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies Meanwhile, as the 1960s grew more tumultuous , Ali’s impact upon American society was growing, and he became a lightning rod for dissent. Ali’s message of black pride and black resistance to white domination was on the cutting edge of the civil rights movement . Having refused induction into the U.S.

Army, he also stood for the proposition that “unless you have a very good reason to kill, war is wrong.” As black activist Julian Bond later observed, “When a figure as heroic and beloved as Muhammad Ali stood up and said, ‘No, I won’t go,’ it reverberated through the whole society.” In October 1970, Ali was allowed to return to boxing, but his skills had eroded. The legs that had allowed him to “dance” for 15 rounds without stopping no longer carried him as surely around the ring. His reflexes, while still superb, were no longer as fast as they had once been. Ali prevailed in his first two comeback fights, against Jerry Quarry and Oscar Bonavena. Then, on March 8, 1971, he challenged Joe Frazier , who had become heavyweight champion during Ali’s absence from the ring. It was a fight of historic proportions, billed as the “Fight of the Century.” Frazier won a unanimous 15-round decision. Following his loss to Frazier, Ali won 10 fights in a row, 8 of them against world-class opponents.

Then, on March 31, 1973, a little-known fighter named Ken Norton broke Ali’s jaw in the second round en route to a 12-round upset decision. Ali defeated Norton in a rematch. After that he fought Joe Frazier a second time and won a unanimous 12-round decision. From a technical point of view, the second Ali-Frazier bout was probably Ali’s best performance in the ring after his exile from boxing. On October 30, 1974, Ali challenged George Foreman , who had dethroned Frazier in 1973 to become heavyweight champion of the world. The bout (which Ali referred to as the “ Rumble in the Jungle ”) took place in the unlikely location of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Ali was received by the people of Zaire as a conquering hero, and he did his part by knocking out Foreman in the eighth round to regain the heavyweight title. It was in this fight that Ali employed a strategy once used by former boxing great Archie Moore .

Moore called the maneuver “the turtle” but Ali called it “ rope-a-dope .” The strategy was that, instead of moving around the ring, Ali chose to fight for extended periods of time leaning back into the ropes in order to avoid many of Foreman’s heaviest blows. Connect with Britannica Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest Over the next 30 months, at the peak of his popularity as champion, Ali fought nine times in bouts that showed him to be a courageous fighter but a fighter on the decline. The most notable of these bouts occurred on October 1, 1975, when Ali and Joe Frazier met in the Philippines , 6 miles (9.5 km) outside Manila, to do battle for the third time. In what is regarded by many as the greatest prizefight of all time (the “ Thrilla in Manila ”), Ali was declared the victor when Frazier’s corner called a halt to the bout after 14 brutal rounds. The final performances of Ali’s ring career were sad to behold. In 1978 he lost his title to Leon Spinks , a novice boxer with an Olympic gold medal but only seven professional fights to his credit.

Seven months later Ali regained the championship with a 15-round victory over Spinks. Then he retired from boxing, but two years later he made an ill-advised comeback and suffered a horrible beating at the hands of Larry Holmes in a bout that was stopped after 11 rounds. The final ring contest of Ali’s career was a loss by decision to Trevor Berbick in 1981. Ali’s place in boxing history as one of the greatest fighters ever is secure. His final record of 56 wins and 5 losses with 37 knockouts has been matched by others, but the quality of his opponents and the manner in which he dominated during his prime placed him on a plateau with boxing’s immortals. Ali’s most-tangible ring assets were speed, superb footwork, and the ability to take a punch. But perhaps more important, he had courage and all the other intangibles that go into making a great fighter. Trending Topics Industrial Revolution Ali’s later years were marked by physical decline. Damage to his brain caused by blows to the head resulted in slurred speech, slowed movement, and other symptoms of Parkinson syndrome .

However, his condition differed from chronic encephalopathy , or dementia pugilistica (which is commonly referred to as “punch drunk” in fighters), in that he did not suffer from injury-induced intellectual deficits. Ali’s religious views also evolved over time. In the mid-1970s he began to study the Qurʾan seriously and turned to Orthodox Islam . His earlier adherence to the teachings of Elijah Muhammad (e.g., that white people are “devils” and there is no heaven or hell) were replaced by a spiritual embrace of all people and preparation for his own afterlife. In 1984 Ali spoke out publicly against the separatist doctrine of Louis Farrakhan , declaring, “What he teaches is not at all what we believe in. He represents the time of our struggle in the dark and a time of confusion in us, and we don’t want to be associated with that at all.” Ali married his fourth wife, Lonnie (née Yolanda Williams), in 1986. He had nine children, most of whom avoided the spotlight of which Ali was so fond. One of his daughters, however, Laila Ali , pursued a career as a professional boxer.

While her skills were limited, she benefited from the fact that the Ali name was still financially viable. In 1996 Ali was chosen to light the Olympic flame at the start of the Games of the XXVI Olympiad in Atlanta , Georgia . The outpouring of goodwill that accompanied his appearance confirmed his status as one of the most-beloved athletes in the world. In 2005 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom . His life story is told in the documentary film I Am Ali (2014), which includes audio recordings that he made throughout his career and interviews with his intimates . Muhammad Ali, 2004. Floyd Patterson - Biography - IMDb Floyd Patterson Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trivia (28) | Personal Quotes (3) Overview (3) 6' (1.83 m) Mini Bio (1) Floyd Patterson was born on January 4, 1935 in Waco, North Carolina, USA.

He was an actor, known for World's Heavyweight Championship Fight: Floyd Patterson Heavyweight Champion of the World versus Ingemar Johansson Heavyweight Champion of Europe (1959), Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee (1969) and Terrible Joe Moran (1984). He was married to Janet Sequist. He died on May 11, 2006 in New Paltz, New York, USA. Spouse (1) ( 1 March 1965 - 11 May 2006) (his death) (3 children) Trivia (28) Middleweight boxing gold medalist, 1952 Olympics. World heavyweight boxing champion, 1956-1959, 1960-1962. Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, 1991. Born at 2:30pm-EST Inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame, 1985. Inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, 1987. Fought six world champions and defeated two.

First man to regain the World's Heavyweight Title. Fought for the World's Heavyweight Title 5 times. Won six title defenses all by knockout. Fought from 1952-1972. Never officially retired from the ring. Rumors of a comeback continued until 1975. Lost to world champions Joey Maxim , Ingemar Johansson , Sonny Liston , Muhammad Ali and Jimmy Ellis. His loss to Ellis was by a controversial decision. Was the first fighter to defeat Roy Harris(22-0) and Tom McNeeley(23-0). Served twice as chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission. Sent to the Wiltwyck School for Boys, upon his release, began boxing. Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. Retired in 1972. Adopted 13-year-old boxer Tracy Harris. Tracy Harris Patterson won the WBC super bantamweight championship in 1992, under his father's coaching. Left Comiskey Park in Chicago wearing dark glasses and a fake beard, after being knocked out in the first round by Sonny Liston in 1962.

Counseled troubled children for the New York State Office of Children and Family Services after retiring from the NYSAC. Is one of eleven children. Floyd almost won the Heavyweight Title a 3rd time. On 9/14/68 he fought Jimmy Eliis for the WBA World Heavyweight Championship in Sweden and appeared to be the winner after 15 rounds. Ellis suffered a broken nose early and and was bleeding throughout the fight. The one judge was the referee who cast his vote for Ellis.There was also a controversial knockdown of Ellis. The only fighters to beat him by decision were Joey Maxim (1952) , Jerry Quarry (1967),who also fought to a draw with Floyd earlier that same year, and Jimmy Elllis (1968). . He shares the distinction with Andrew Golotta of being the only fighters to be knocked out in the first round of two World Heavyweight title fights. Patterson, twice by Sonny Liston (1962 and 1963). Golotta, by Lennox Lewis (1997) and Lamont Brewster (2005).

Ironically, In 1965 , Floyd as an ex champ, easily outpointed long time contender Eddie Machin , one of several contenders he was accused of "ducking" in his reign as champion. Floyd, stated after the bout that he could have easily KO'd Machen, but was concerned about Machen's history of depression. Machen, in 1960, lost a close 12 round decision to Floyd's nemesis Sonny Liston. Personal Quotes (3) They said I was the fighter who got knocked down the most, but I also got up the most. If it wasn't for boxing, I would probably be behind bars or dead. "I'm sorry, Mr. President. The title is not worth anything if the best fighters can't have a shot at it. And Liston deserves a shot." - Floyd Patterson to then-U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

See also Floyd Patterson - BoxRec Floyd Patterson Hall of Fame bio: click World Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee Name: Floyd Patterson Birthplace: Waco, North Carolina, USA Died: 2006-05-11 (Age:71) Hometown: Brooklyn, New York, USA Stance: Orthodox Amateur Career Amateur Record: 40-4, 37 KOs At age 14, Patterson started working out at the Gramercy Gym on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, owned and run by Cus D'Amato. He started boxing as an amateur in 1950. In 1951, Patterson won the New York Daily News Golden Gloves and the New York Golden Gloves Tournament Of Champions , both in the open middleweight division. In 1952, Patterson won the New York Daily News Golden Gloves, the New York Golden Gloves Tournament Of Champions and the Intercity Golden Gloves Championship , all in the open light heavyweight division. Patterson won the 1952 National AAU Middleweight Championship. Patterson won the Gold Medal in the middleweight division at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.

Results: 1st round bye Defeated Vasili Tita (Romania) KO 1 Preceded by: Professional Career Professional Record: 55-8-1, 40 KOs Won the vacant World Heavyweight Championship with a fifth-round KO of Archie Moore on November 30, 1956. At age 21, Patterson was the youngest ever World Heavyweight Champion . His record was surpassed by Mike Tyson , who won the WBC Heavyweight Championship at age 20 in 1986. In his fifth title defense, Patterson lost the championship to Ingemar Johansson by a third-round TKO on June 26, 1959. Knocked out Ingemar Johansson in five rounds on June 20, 1960, to become the first person to regain the World Heavyweight Championship. Knocked out Ingemar Johansson in six rounds on March 13, 1961, to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. In the third title defense of his second reign, Patterson lost the championship to Sonny Liston by a first-round KO on September 25, 1962.

An embarrassed Patterson left the stadium wearing dark glasses and a fake beard. Attempted to regain the championship from Sonny Liston on July 22, 1963, and was again knocked out in the first round. Defeated Eddie Machen by a twelve-round unanimous decision on July 5, 1964. Defeated George Chuvalo by a twelve-round unanimous decision on February 1, 1965. Attempted to regain the championship from Muhammad Ali on November 22, 1965, and was stopped in twelve rounds. Fought a ten-round draw with Jerry Quarry on June 9, 1967. Most of the ringside press thought Patterson won. Lost to Jerry Quarry by a disputed twelve-round majority decision on October 28, 1967. The fight was part of the WBA 's eight-man elimination tournament to fill the title vacancy left after Muhammad Ali was stripped of the title for refusing to be drafted into the U.S. Army. Fought Jimmy Ellis for the WBA Heavyweight Championship on September 14, 1969, and lost by a disputed fifteen-round decision.

Defeated Oscar Bonavena by a ten-round unanimous decision on February 11, 1972. In his last fight, Patterson was stopped after six rounds by Muhammad Ali on September 20, 1972. Preceded by: Ranked as the 21st greatest heavyweight of all-time by The Ring in 1998. Floyd Patterson ranked 27th of all-time in Hamilton’s Historical Order of Merit published on December 31, 2013. Notes Born in a cabin in Waco, North Carolina, on January 4, 1935. He was the third eldest of 11 children. Grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Patterson was a frequent truant who fell behind in school. At age 11, he could not read or write. He would not talk, and when someone talked to him he refused to look the person in the face. His mother had him committed to Wiltwyck School, a school in upstate New York for emotionally disturbed boys. His new teachers helped him learn to read and encouraged him to take up boxing.

His younger brother, Ray Patterson , also became a professional heavyweight boxer. Patterson's autobiography, Victory Over Myself, was published in 1962. Died on May 11, 2006, at his home in New Paltz, New York. He suffered from Alzheimer's Disease and prostate cancer. Floyd Patterson: A Boxer and a Gentleman , a biography by Alan H. Levy, was published in 2008. Floyd Patterson: The Fighting Life of Boxing’s Invisible Champion, a biography by W. K. Stratton, was published in 2012. External Links BBC SPORT | Boxing | Heavyweight great Patterson dies Heavyweight great Patterson dies Patterson enjoyed Olympic gold at the 1952 Games in Helsinki Floyd Patterson, the first man to regain the world heavyweight title, has died at the age of 71. The American, who had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer, passed away at his home in New Paltz, New York on Thursday. Patterson won Olympic middleweight gold in 1952 before becoming the youngest world heavyweight champion in 1956 when he stopped Archie Moore aged just 21.

He lost his crown to Ingemar Johansson in 1959 before regaining it in 1960. Patterson's career in pictures Speaking to BBC World Service Sport, former world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier paid his respects. "Floyd was a quiet guy, he was a champion," said Frazier. "He was a hard-hitting guy. Floyd was a tough guy and he got the job done. "Good things can happen to the champion when you've got good people with you and you live clean. As a small man he got the job done and any of us that put that belt around our waist, we are number one Joe Frazier "I would say he took on everybody - he didn't bypass a lot of guys. "Muhammad (Ali) was there, Sonny (Liston) was there, so therefore Floyd thought he was just as great as those guys - or greater." Ricky Hatton, who met Patterson when he was preparing for his first fight in America in 1997, paid tribute from Boston, where he challenges WBA light welterweight champion Luis Collazo on Saturday.

"Floyd was a gentleman and really polite and that is exactly what being a champion is all about," said Hatton. "A lot of boxing hearts have been broken today. "As the first man to regain the world heavyweight title he was a history maker. As I try to write my first page in history here we are saying goodbye to a great champion." Patterson was a relatively slight heavyweight, who made up for his lack of physical prowess by developing a defensive style known as 'peek-a-boo' which enabled him to get the better of much bigger opponents. Patterson (left) lost to Muhammad Ali twice Born in Brooklyn in 1935, Patterson overcame a period of teenage delinquency before learning to box in reform school. After claiming Olympic gold in Helsinki, he turned pro and was taken under the wing of Mike Tyson's future mentor Cus D'Amato. Patterson excelled in the professional ranks with the only blot on his early record a controversial loss to future light heavyweight champion Joey Maxim. In 1956, Patterson was invited to participate in an elimination tournament to establish a new heavyweight champion following Rocky Marciano's retirement.

He stopped the 39-year-old Moore convincingly in the fifth round to win the title aged just 21. He defended the title four times before running into relatively unknown Swede Johansson at Yankee Stadium in New York three years later. Patterson was knocked down seven times in the third round as he lost his title, but recovered to regain it one year later with a fourth-round knockout win. But Patterson could never deal with the brooding menace of Sonny Liston, who knocked him out in the first round in Chicago and did the same in Las Vegas 10 months later. Such was his embarrassment after losing his title in Chicago, Patterson fled the arena wearing a false beard and moustache and dark glasses. Patterson was unsuccessful in two attempts to regain the world title for a second time, stopped by Muhammad Ali in the final round in 1965 and dropping a decision to Jimmy Ellis for the WBA title in 1968. Patterson's last fight was a second meeting with the re-emerging Ali in 1972, when he was stopped in the seventh round and decided to retire.

Patterson remained in boxing and in 1995 was named Boxing Commissioner for the State of New York, before increasing ill health forced to him to give up the role. Frazier insisted that Patterson could take his place alongside the other great heavyweight names. "I would say he's got to be number one because he won the title," said Frazier. "As a small man he got the job done and any of us that put that belt around our waist, we are number one." Muhammad Ali - Black History - HISTORY.com Google Muhammad Ali’s Early Years and Amateur Career Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., the elder son of Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. (1912-1990) and Odessa Grady Clay (1917-1994), was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky . It was a red-and-white Schwinn that steered the future heavyweight champion to the sport of boxing. When his beloved bicycle was stolen, a tearful 12-year-old Clay reported the theft to Louisville police officer Joe Martin (1916-1996) and vowed to pummel the culprit.

Martin, who was also a boxing trainer, suggested that the upset youngster first learn how to fight, and he took Clay under his wing. Six weeks later, Clay won his first bout in a split decision. Did You Know? Muhammad Ali has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated 38 times, second only to basketball great Michael Jordan. By age 18 Clay had captured two national Golden Gloves titles, two Amateur Athletic Union national titles and 100 victories against eight losses. After graduating high school, he traveled to Rome and won the light heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics. Clay won his professional boxing debut on October 29, 1960, in a six-round decision.

From the start of his pro career, the 6-foot-3-inch heavyweight overwhelmed his opponents with a combination of quick, powerful jabs and foot speed, and his constant braggadocio and self-promotion earned him the nickname “Louisville Lip.” Muhammad Ali: Heavyweight Champion of the World After winning his first 19 fights, including 15 knockouts, Clay received his first title shot on February 25, 1964, against reigning heavyweight champion Sonny Liston (1932-1970). Although he arrived in Miami Beach, Florida , a 7-1 underdog, the 22-year-old Clay relentlessly taunted Liston before the fight, promising to “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” and predicting a knockout. When Liston failed to answer the bell at the start of the seventh round, Clay was indeed crowned heavyweight champion of the world. In the ring after the fight, the new champ roared, “I am the greatest!” At a press conference the next morning, Clay, who had been seen around Miami with controversial Nation of Islam member Malcolm X (1925-1965), confirmed the rumors of his conversion to Islam.

On March 6, 1964, Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975) bestowed on Clay the name of Muhammad Ali. Ali solidified his hold on the heavyweight championship by knocking out Liston in the first round of their rematch on May 25, 1965, and he defended his title eight more times. Then, with the Vietnam War raging, Ali showed up for his scheduled induction into the U.S. Armed Forces on April 28, 1967. Citing his religious beliefs, he refused to serve. Ali was arrested, and the New York State Athletic Commission immediately suspended his boxing license and revoked his heavyweight belt. Convicted of draft evasion, Ali was sentenced to the maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, but he remained free while the conviction was appealed. Many saw Ali as a draft dodger, and his popularity plummeted. Banned from boxing for three years, Ali spoke out against the Vietnam War on college campuses. As public attitudes turned against the war, support for Ali grew.

In 1970 the New York State Supreme Court ordered his boxing license reinstated, and the following year the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction in a unanimous decision. Muhammad Ali’s Return to the Ring After 43 months in exile, Ali returned to the ring on October 26, 1970, and knocked out Jerry Quarry (1945-1999) in the third round. On March 8, 1971, Ali got his chance to regain his heavyweight crown against reigning champ Joe Frazier (1944-2011) in what was billed as the “Fight of the Century.” The undefeated Frazier floored Ali with a hard left hook in the final round. Ali got up but lost in a unanimous decision, experiencing his first defeat as a pro. Ali won his next 10 bouts before being defeated by Ken Norton (1943-). He won the rematch six months later in a split decision and gained further revenge in a unanimous decision over Frazier in a non-title rematch. The victory gave the 32-year-old Ali a title shot against 25-year-old champion George Foreman (1949-).

The October 30, 1974, fight in Kinshasa, Zaire, was dubbed the “Rumble in the Jungle.” Ali, the decided underdog, employed his “rope-a-dope” strategy, leaning on the ring ropes and absorbing a barrage of blows from Foreman while waiting for his opponent to tire. The strategy worked, and Ali won in an eighth-round knockout to regain the title stripped from him seven years prior. Ali successfully defended his title in 10 fights, including the memorable “Thrilla in Manila” on October 1, 1975, in which his bitter rival Frazier, his eyes swollen shut, was unable to answer the bell for the final round. Ali also defeated Norton in their third meeting in a unanimous 15-round decision. On February 15, 1978, an aging Ali lost his title to Leon Spinks (1953-) in a 15-round split decision. Seven months later, Ali defeated Spinks in a unanimous 15-round decision to reclaim the heavyweight crown and become the first fighter to win the world heavyweight boxing title three times.

After announcing his retirement in 1979, Ali launched a brief, unsuccessful comeback. However, he was overwhelmed in a technical knockout loss to Larry Holmes (1949-) in 1980, and he dropped a unanimous 10-round decision to Trevor Berbick (1954-2006) on December 11, 1981. After the fight, the 39-year-old Ali retired for good with a career record of 56 wins, five losses and 37 knockouts. Muhammad Ali’s Later Years and Legacy In 1984 Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s syndrome, possibly connected to the severe head trauma suffered during his boxing career. The former champion’s motor skills slowly declined, and his movement and speech were limited. In spite of the Parkinson’s, Ali remained in the public spotlight, traveling the world to make humanitarian, goodwill and charitable appearances. He met with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (1937-2006) in 1990 to negotiate the release of American hostages, and in 2002 he traveled to Afghanistan as a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

Ali had the honor of lighting the cauldron during the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. In 1999 Ali was voted the BBC’s “Sporting Personality of the Century,” and Sports Illustrated named him “Sportsman of the Century.” Ali was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a 2005 White House ceremony, and in the same year the $60 million Muhammad Ali Center, a nonprofit museum and cultural center focusing on peace and social responsibility, opened in Louisville. Ring Magazine named Ali “Fighter of the Year” five times, more than any other boxer, and he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Ali has been married four times and has seven daughters and two sons. He married his fourth wife, Yolanda, in 1986. Ali died at the age of 74 on June 3, 2016. Tags The Official Site of George Foreman biography George Edward Foreman was born to J.D. and Nancy Foreman on January 10, 1949, in the town of Marshall, Texas.

An impoverished youth, Foreman often bullied younger children and didn't like getting up early for school. Foreman became a mugger and brawler on the hard streets of Houston's Fifth Ward by age 15. FROM THUG TO BOXER Luckily, he was saved by the Lyndon B. Johnson Job Corps, a program developed to help disadvantaged kids by teaching them vocational job skills. Foreman traveled to California which is where he met Doc Broaddus, who was a Job Corps counselor and a boxing coach. It was Broaddus who encouraged Foreman to become a boxer. Once he began to train at the gym, Foreman rapidly established an impressive amateur record. The culmination of his amateur boxing career came at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, where he won a gold medal in only his 25th amateur fight. He got extra attention when he brandished an American flag after his win. "There was a big element of patriotism in what I did; being in the Olympics, you couldn't help but love your country more than before," Foreman said in his autobiography By George. "But I meant it in a way that was much bigger than ordinary patriotism. It was about identity. An American - that's who I was.

I was waving the flag as much for myself as for the country. I was letting everyone know who I was and at the same time saying that I was proud to be an American." Foreman Becomes Heavyweight Champ In 1969, Foreman turned professional and within two years, Foreman was ranked the No. 1 challenger by the WBA and WBC. By 1972, Foreman had a perfect 37-0 record which included 35 knockouts. Foreman got his shot at the world heavyweight championship when he fought Joe Frazier on January 22, 1973, in Kingston, Jamaica. Frazier was the favorite going into the bout, but Foreman knocked him down six times en route to a second round knockout. An unprecedented TV audience watched Foreman become the champ because the fight was HBO Boxing's first-ever broadcast. After becoming the champion, Foreman successfully defended his title twice. He beat Puerto Rican heavyweight champion Jose Roman in only 50 seconds, which at the time was the shortest heavyweight championship match ever. Foreman also beat Ken Norton, who had just beaten Muhammad Ali, in a mere two rounds.

Winning those two fights then set up one of the most famous fights in history: "The Rumble in the Jungle" between Foreman and Muhammad Ali. Ali used a tactic later known as "rope-a-dope" to wear out Foreman who threw hundreds of punches during the fight. Then in the eighth round, Ali unloaded with a series of punches that knocked out Foreman and allowed Ali to regain the heavyweight championship of the world. Foreman Becomes PREACHER After not fighting in 1975, Foreman returned to boxing and won five consecutive fights, all by knockout. Then in Puerto Rico on March 17, 1977, Foreman lost in a decision to Jimmy Young. It was in his dressing room after the fight that Foreman had a religious experience that changed his life forever. Foreman gave up boxing and became a born-again Christian. He was ordained a minister in 1978 and began preaching in his hometown of Houston, Texas. In 1984, he founded the George Foreman Youth and Community Center, a non-denominational place for kids who need direction like he once did. In 1980, Foreman founded The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

However, by the mid-1980s, Foreman was running out of money and people around him were advising him to close the Youth and Community Center. Foreman saw how much the Center was helping people so he was determined to do what was necessary to keep it open. So, in 1987, after not fighting for almost 10 years to the day, Foreman returned to the ring. While there was no shortage of detractors, Foreman proved them all wrong when he kept piling up win after win. In fact, Foreman had won 24 consecutive fights during his comeback including 22 by knockout. Now at age 42, Foreman's success and popularity earned him a chance at the title against unbeaten Evander Holyfield. The fight went the full 12 rounds and while Holyfield won in a decision, Foreman gained a great deal of credibility. Foreman Becomes WORLD CHAMPION...AGAIN! KO! After more than a year out of the ring, On Nov. 5, 1994, Foreman took on the new champ, Michael Moorer, and knocked him out in the 10th round.

With the victory, at the age of 45, Foreman became the oldest fighter ever to win the heavyweight crown as well as the boxer with the most time between one world championship and the next. Foreman gave away his titles in 1995, after defending them against Axel Schultz and refusing a rematch. Foreman ultimately retired in 1997 after compiling an amazing 76-5 career record. George Foreman & the Lean Mean Grilling Machine Put your name on something, it better be the best...you only get one shot. Since the early 1990s, Foreman had discovered his talent for salesmanship, and by the end of the decade, he was making millions off of his appearances in infomercials marketing the George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine. To date, more than 100 million of the units have sold worldwide. Foreman also spent over a decade promoting Meineke Car Care Centers and grew the business to over 1000 franchises.

He has now successfully launched a line of environmentally safe cleaning products, exclusive line of personal care products, a prescription shoe for diabetics to prevent amputations, a restaurant franchise called UFood Grille, 10 books, and the list continues to build. Foreman tends to his ministry at The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ where he preaches four times a week. He also loves spending free time with his family on his ranch in Marshall, Texas. Contact George Floyd Patterson (Heavyweight) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News Floyd Patterson Boxer Male Floyd Patterson was an American professional boxer and former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. At 21, Patterson became the youngest man to win the world heavyweight title. He was also the first heavyweight boxer to regain the title. He had a record of 55 wins, 8 losses and 1 draw, with 40 wins by knockout.

He won the gold medal at the 1952 Olympic Games as a middleweight.… Read More related links Exciting Joshua Aims To Live Up To Heavyweight Hype Yahoo News - Apr 07, 2016 ' By Ian Chadband LONDON (Reuters) - Britain\'s Olympic champion Anthony Joshua is on the cusp of what he calls âthe ultimate doubleâ this weekend and fancies it could help him capture the boxing world\'s imagination like no heavyweight since Mike Tyson in his heyday. On Saturday, he fights Americaâs IBF champion Charles Martin at Londonâs O2 Arena and can become the first boxer to hold a version of the professional world heavyweight title while being reigning champion in the Olympics\' heavi... Let It Bleed, Bro: The Rolling Stones Take The Sixties By Storm Huffington Post - Nov 20, 2015 ' \n \nThe sixties were -- mostly -- way cool. \nLights and darks. Highs and lows. Cheers and tears. Always, excitement. \nDespite the roller-coaster extremes of what was going on, those of us who partied hard in that decade will always remember it as the best of times.

And the worst of times. \n \nThis generation is sick of hearing all that. I can dig it. But those of us who lived it have it carved in stone in our collective memories. A lot of shit went down.... Let It Bleed, Bro: The Rolling Stones Take The Sixties By Storm Huffington Post - Nov 20, 2015 ' The sixties were -- mostly -- way cool. Lights and darks. Highs and lows. Cheers and tears. Always, excitement. Despite the roller-coaster extremes of what was going on, those of us who partied hard in that decade will always remember it as the best of times. And the worst of times. This generation is sick of hearing all that. I can dig it. But those of us who lived it have it carved in stone in our collective memories. A lot of shit went down. It wasn\'t just our long hair. We didn... An End To The Season Huffington Post - Nov 05, 2013 ' \nI grew up and went to school in the \'50s and \'60s near Yankee Stadium.

Until I was fourteen I could hear the crowds roar each spring and fall from my classroom at the north end of Joyce Kilmer Park. Before becoming the U.S. Congressman representing that district my father worked as counsel to the Borough President of the Bronx in the Bronx County Courthouse, the tall building that loomed behind center field until the new stadium was built. After my mother died I would sometimes go wi... Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Floyd Patterson. CHILDHOOD 1935 Birth Born on January 4, 1935. TEENAGE Show Less As an amateur he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics. … Read More Although Mike Tyson later became the youngest boxer to win a world heavyweight title at the age of 20, Patterson remains the youngest to hold the undisputed heavyweight title. Both Tyson and Patterson were trained by Cus D'Amato.<br /><br /> Born into a poor family in Waco, North Carolina, Patterson was the youngest of eleven children and experienced an insular and troubled childhood. His family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where Floyd was a truant and petty thief.

At age ten, he was sent to the Wiltwyck School for Boys, a reform school in upstate New York, which he credited with turning his life around. He stayed there for almost 2 years. He attended high school in New Paltz, New York where he succeeded in all sports (to this day the New Paltz football field is named in his honor). At age fourteen, he started to box, trained by Cus D'Amato at his Gramercy Gym. Read Less Aged just 17, Patterson won the Gold medal in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics as a middleweight. 1952 turned out to be a good year for the young Patterson; in addition to Olympic gold Patterson won the National Amateur Middleweight Championship and New York Golden Gloves Middleweight Championship. … Read More Patterson's amateur record over 44 fights was 40â4, with 37 knockouts.<br /><br /> Patterson carried his hands higher than most boxers, in front of his face. Sportswriters called Patterson's style a "peek-a-boo" stance.

Read Less Show Less Patterson turned pro and steadily rose through the ranks, his only early defeat being an eight-round decision to former Light Heavyweight Champion Joey Maxim on June 7, 1954, at the Eastern Parkway Arena in Brooklyn, New York. … Read More Most people think Patterson did enough to win, and Maxim's greater fame at the time helped to sway the judges. Read Less Although Patterson fought around the light heavyweight limit for much of his early career, he and manager Cus D'Amato always had plans to fight for the Heavyweight Championship. In fact, D'Amato made these plans clear as early as 1954, when he told the press that Patterson was aiming for the heavyweight title. TWENTIES Show Less However, after Rocky Marciano announced his retirement as World Heavyweight Champion on April 27, 1956, Patterson was ranked by The Ring magazine as the top light heavyweight contender. … Read More After Marciano's announcement, Jim Norris of the International Boxing Club stated that Patterson was one of the six fighters who would take part in an elimination tournament to crown Marciano's successor. The Ring then moved Patterson into the heavyweight rankings, at number five.

Read Less After beating Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson in an elimination fight, Patterson faced former Light Heavyweight Champion Archie Moore on November 30, 1956, for the World Heavyweight Championship. … Read More He beat Moore by a knockout in five rounds and became the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in history, at the age of 21 years, 10 months, 3 weeks and 5 days. He was the first Olympic gold medalist to win a professional heavyweight title.<br /><br /> After a series of defenses against fringe contenders (Hurricane Jackson, Pete Rademacher, Roy Harris, and Brian London), Patterson met Ingemar Johansson of Sweden, the number one contender, in the first of three fights. Read Less 1959 24 Years Old Johansson triumphed over Patterson on June 26, 1959, with the referee Ruby Goldstein stopping the fight in the third round after the Swede had knocked Patterson down seven times. … Read More Johansson became Sweden's first World Heavyweight Champion, thus becoming a national hero as the first European to defeat an American for the title since 1933.

Read Less 1960 25 Years Old Patterson knocked out Johansson in the fifth round of their rematch on June 20, 1960, to become the first man in history to regain the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship. … Read More Johansson hit the canvas hard, seemingly out before he landed flat on his back. With glazed eyes, blood trickling from his mouth and his left foot quivering, he was counted out. Johansson lay unconscious for five minutes before he was helped onto a stool. Read Less Show Less A third fight between them was held on March 13, 1961 and while Johansson put Patterson on the floor, Patterson retained his title by knockout in the sixth round to win the rubber match in which Patterson was decked twice and Johansson once in the first round. … Read More Johansson had landed both right hands over Floyd's left jab. After getting up from the second knockdown Floyd abandoned his jab and connected with a left hook that knocked down Johansson. After that, Patterson came on with a strong body attack that wore down Johansson. In the 6th round, Johansson caught Patterson with a solid right.

But the power in Ingemar's punches was gone. Patterson won the fight in the 6th round by knockout. Read Less After the third Johansson fight, Patterson defended the title on December 4, 1961 against Tom McNeeley and retained the title with a fourth-round knockout. … Read More However he did not fight number one contender Sonny Liston. This was due in part to Cus D'Amato, who did not want Patterson in the ring with a boxer with mob connections. As a result, D'Amato turned down any challenges involving the IBC. Eventually, due to a monetary dispute with Jimmy Jacobs, Patterson removed D'Amato from handling his business affairs and agreed to fight Liston.<br /><br /> Leading up to the fight, Sonny Liston was the major betting line favorite, though Sports Illustrated predicted that Patterson would win in 15 rounds. Jim Braddock, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano and Ingemar Johansson picked Patterson to win. The fight also carried a number of social implications.

Liston's connections with the mob were well known and the NAACP was concerned about having to deal with Liston's visibility as World Champion and had encouraged Patterson not to fight Liston, fearing that a Liston victory would tarnish the civil rights movement. Patterson also claimed that John F. Kennedy did not want him to fight Liston either. Read Less 1962 27 Years Old Patterson lost his title to Liston on September 25, 1962 in Chicago, by a first-round knockout in front of 18,894 fans. … Read More The two fighters were a marked contrast. In the ring, Liston's size and power proved too much for Patterson's guile and agility. However, Patterson did not use his speed to his benefit. According to Sports Illustrated writer Gilbert Rogin, Patterson didn't punch enough and frequently tried to clinch with Liston. Liston battered Patterson with body shots and then shortened up and connected with two double hooks high on the head. The result at the time was the third-fastest knockout in boxing history. After being knocked out, Patterson left Comiskey Park in Chicago wearing dark glasses and a fake beard for the drive back to New York.

After the fight, questions were raised on whether the fight was fixed to set up a more lucrative rematch. Overnight, Patterson seemed to lose his public support as a result of his swift knockout. Read Less 1963 28 Years Old The rematch was set for April 1963; however, Liston injured his knee swinging a golf club and the fight was delayed to July 22, 1963. … Read More In Las Vegas that night, Patterson attempted to become the first boxer to win the heavyweight title three times, but Liston once again knocked him out in the first round. Patterson lasted four seconds longer than in the first bout.<br /><br /> Following these defeats, Patterson went through a depression. However, he eventually recovered and began winning fights again, including top victories over Eddie Machen and George Chuvalo. The Chuvalo match getting Ring magazine's "Fight of the Year" award. Read Less THIRTIES 1965 - 1966 2 More Events 1965 30 Years Old Patterson was now the number one challenger for the title held by Muhammad Ali.

On November 22, 1965, in yet another attempt to be the first to win the world heavyweight title three times, Patterson lost by technical knockout at the end of the 12th round, going into the fight with an injured sacro-iliac joint in a bout in which Ali was clearly dominant. … Read More Ali called Patterson an "Uncle Tom" for refusing to call him Muhammad Ali (Patterson continued to call him Cassius Clay) and for this outspokenness against black Muslims. Instead of scoring a quick knockout, Ali mocked, humiliated and punished Patterson throughout the fight before knocking him out in the 12th round. Read Less 1966 31 Years Old Patterson was still a legitimate contender. In 1966 he traveled to England and knocked out British boxer Henry Cooper in just four rounds at Wembley Stadium. 1967 32 Years Old When Ali was stripped of his title for refusing induction into the military, the World Boxing Association staged an eight-man tournament to determine his successor. Patterson fought Jerry Quarry to a draw in 1967.

… Read More In a rematch four months later, Patterson lost a controversial 12-round decision to Quarry. Subsequently, in a third and final attempt at winning the title a third time, Patterson lost a controversial 15-round referee's decision to Jimmy Ellis in Sweden, despite breaking Ellis's nose and scoring a disputed knockdown. Read Less 1969 34 Years Old In September 1969 he divorced his first wife, Sandra Hicks Patterson, who wanted him to quit boxing, while he still had hopes for another title shot. Show Less Patterson continued on, defeating Oscar Bonavena in a close fight over ten rounds in early 1972. At age 37, Patterson was stopped in the seventh round in a rematch with Muhammad Ali for the NABF heavyweight title on September 20, 1972. … Read More The defeat proved to be Patterson's last fight, although there was never an announcement of retirement.<br /><br /> In retirement, he and Johansson became good friends who flew across the Atlantic to visit each other every year and he became chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission. He was also inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in 1991.

Read Less FORTIES 1982 47 Years Old In 1982 and 1983 he ran the Stockholm Marathon together with Ingemar Johansson. … Read More Patterson lived in New Paltz, New York for many years and was known as a true gentleman around town.<br /><br /> His adopted son, Tracy Harris Patterson, was a world champion boxer in the 1990s and was trained by Floyd during part of his career. Floyd also trained Canadian heavyweight Donovan "Razor" Ruddock in 1992 for his fights with Greg Page, Phil Jackson, and Lennox Lewis. Read Less FIFTIES 1985 50 Years Old The New Paltz High School football field was named "Floyd Patterson Field" in 1985. … Read More Floyd Patterson suffered from Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer and had been hospitalized for a week prior to his death. He died at home in New Paltz in 2004 at age 71. He is buried at New Paltz Rural Cemetery in New Paltz, Ulster County, New York. Read Less LATE ADULTHOOD

Question: Who was the first boxer to twice regain the world heavyweight title?
Answer: Muhammad Ali