The world recently lost one of the most riveting, magnetic, and inspiring men. Muhammad Ali gained notoriety by being "The Greatest" heavyweight boxer of all time, but his greatness reaches far beyond the boxing ring.
Muhammad Ali's life is filled with valuable lessons just waiting to be absorbed by anyone willing to learn.
Muhammad Ali was a proud and smart man. He thought beyond what was taught in school. He dug deep and questioned everything around him. His curiosity and thirst for knowledge led him to become confident in who he was as a Black man in America in a time when blacks were made to feel inferior due to laws that worked to hold them down.
Muhammad Ali was very outspoken about race, religion, and American History even though doing so cost him money, fans, and plenty of public strife. He was a fighter inside the ring as a professional boxer and he was a fighter outside of the ring as voice against injustice.
FAST FACTS
Date of Birth: January 17, 1972
Name at Birth: Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr
Place of Birth: Louisville, Kentucky
Name Change: 1965 - Muhammad Ali
Career: Professional Heavyweight Boxer
Nickname: The Louisville Lip
Retirement: 1981
Career record: 56-5, with 37 knockouts
QUOTES
"I am the Greatest"
"If you even dream of beating me, you better wake up and apologize."
'Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
"Don't count the days, make the days count."
"The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life."
NOTABLE EVENTS:
Started boxing at age 12 when his bike was stolen
Gold medal winner 1960 Olympics (Rome)
Name change to Muhammad Ali in 1965 after joining the Nation of Islam
Stripped of his championship for refusing to fight in Vietnam War in 1967
Draft conviction overturned in 1971
Diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1984
