Life and Times of The Greatest

Muhammad Ali 1942 - 2016

Life and times of The Greatest

Muhammad Ali floors Sonny Liston.

1942 On January 17 Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr is born.
1954 Cassius, aged 12, rides his bike to the Louisville Service Club’s convention, where it is stolen. He insists he “will whup” the thief. Instead, he meets policeman Joe Martin, who says he will teach him to box.1959 Clay becomes the first Louisvillian to win a title in the Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Chicago. He also wins the national Amateur Athletic Union light-heavyweight title.

"I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was. I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest"

Muhammad Ali

1960 On September 5 Clay becomes Olympic gold medallist, defeating Zbigniew Pietrzykowski of Poland 5-0 on points to win the light-heavyweight boxing title at the Rome Olympics.1961 Clay visits a mosque in Miami and later declares the experience “the first time in my life that I felt truly spiritual”.

"Cassius Clay is a slave name. I didn’t choose it. I am Muhammad Ali, a free name – it means beloved of God – and I insist people use it"

Muhammad Ali

1963 Clay appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated ahead of meeting Henry Cooper in London. It is the first of 35 Sports Illustrated magazine covers for the boxer.1964 A low score on the Army intelligence test makes Clay unqualified for military service. February 25: Clay wins the world heavyweight title over 7-1 favourite Sonny Liston.

"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights"

Muhammad Ali

1965 Ali knocks out Liston in the first round of their rematch. Later in the year he exacts a punishing defeat on the former world champion Floyd Patterson.1966 The Army lowers test-score standards for the Vietnam War draft. Ali is reclassified fit for service. He asks to be reclassified a conscientious objector.1967 On April 28 Ali refuses to be inducted into the US Army. He is stripped of his world title and sentenced to five years in prison, but freed on bail. On August 17, Ali marries Belinda Boyd, a Chicago waitress.1968 Without a licence to fight in the US, Ali makes a living through speaking engagements. In December, he is jailed for a week in Miami for driving with an invalid licence.1970 Ali is re-licensed in Georgia, and returns to the ring. He inflicts a third-round technical knockout on Jerry Quarry. Ali’s record stands at 30-0.

"I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail… I’m so mean I make medicine sick"

Muhammad Ali

1971 On March 8, Ali meets champion Joe Frazier in Madison Square Garden, splitting a $5 million purse in “The Fight of the Century”. Ali suffers his first defeat.1973 On March 31, Ali is defeated again, fighting 10 rounds with a broken jaw before losing a 12-round decision to Ken Norton.

"I’m so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark"

Muhammad Ali

1974 On January 28, Ali defeats former champion Frazier, who had been dethroned by George Foreman. On October 30, he defeats Foreman at the “Rumble in the Jungle”.1975 On October 1, Ali and Frazier stage one of the most dramatic fights in history – the “Thriller in Manila”, the last of their trilogy of fights. Ali wins by a technical knockout.

"I always bring out the best in men I fight, but Joe Frazier, I’ll tell the world right now, brings out the best in me. I’m gonna tell ya, that’s one helluva man"

Muhammad Ali

1977 In January, Ali divorces Belinda, who is awarded nearly $2 million. In June, he marries model Veronica Porsche. One of their two children, Laila, eventually becomes a professional boxer.1978 On February 15, Ali suffers a shock defeat to novice Leon Spinks. He wins the rematch in September – the first man to win the heavyweight championship three times. Ali announces his retirement.1980 Ali comes out of retirement to face champion Larry Holmes on October 2 in Las Vegas. He is stopped in the eleventh round, knocked out for the first time in his career.1981 Ali loses his last fight, on a 10-round decision, to Trevor Berbick in the Bahamas on December 11. He retires with a record of 56 victories, 37 by KO, and five defeats.1984 Ali’s battle with Parkinson’s disease is made public.

"Why should they ask me to go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs?"

Muhammad Ali

1986 His divorce from third wife, Veronica Porsche, becomes final in January. Ali, 44, then marries Yolonda “Lonnie” Williams, 28, on November 19.1990 In December, Ali helps secure the release of 14 US hostages held in Iraq during the run-up to the Gulf War. He had gone there at the invitation of Saddam Hussein, who met the ex-champion for 50 minutes.

"I am America. I am the part you won’t recognise. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me"

Muhammad Ali

2005 Ali is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honour, by President George W Bush. The $80m Muhammad Ali Center opens in Louisville.2012 Looking frail, Ali, aged 70, attends the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games with his wife Lonnie.

"Life is short; we get old so fast. It doesn’t make sense to waste time on hatin’"

Muhammad Ali

2015 Ali issues a statement criticising both Islamist extremists and Donald Trump’s plan to stop Muslims entering the United States.
2016 After being admitted to hospital for a respiratory condition, Ali dies, aged 74, on Friday June 3.