Muhammad Ali was an American professional boxer, activist, and philanthropist. He is one of the most important sports personalities of the 20th century. He defeated more world champions and top contenders than any heavyweight champion in history. Ali had his first fight on March 8, 1971. After that he won the fights against world heavyweight kings Sonny Liston (twice), Floyd Patterson (twice), Ernie Terrell, Jimmy Ellis, Ken Norton (twice), Joe Frazier ( twice) ), George Foreman and Leon Spinks. At 18 he won a gold medal. Muhammad Ali was seen as an inspirational, controversial and polarizing figure both inside and outside the ring. He had his last fight on December 11, 1981.

Born name

Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.

nickname

The Louisville Lip, the Greatest, the People’s Champion

Alter

Muhammad Ali was born on January 17, 1942.

Died

Ali died of septic shock on June 3, 2016 at the age of 74 in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.

Sun sign

Capricorn

Place of birth

Louisville, Kentucky, USA

nationality

training

Ali was in attendance at Central High School in his hometown of Louisville.

After graduation, he began working with trainerFred Stoner. According to Ali, Fred was the one who gave him “proper training” and shaped his style, stamina and system. He was then coached by boxing cutman Chuck Bodak.

occupation

Boxer, actor, writer

family

• Father – Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. (painter, musician)
• Mother – Odessa O’Grady Clay (House Help)
• Siblings – Rahman Ali (Younger Brother) (Boxer), 3 Brothers (Unknown), Sister (Unknown)
• Others – Herman Heaton (paternal grandfather), Edith EdeanGreathouse (paternal grandmother), John Lewis/Louis Grady (maternal grandfather), Birdie Bell Morehead (maternal grandmother), Abe Grady (great-grandfather)

Manager

He was represented by –

• Mariola Kalinska, Talent Agent, GreenLight Corbis Entertainment, New York, New York, United States
• IMG (Talent Agent), New York, New York, United States

weight class

heavyweight

Reach

78 inches or 198 cm

attitude

Orthodox

Build

Athletic

Height

6 feet 3 inches or 190.5 cm

weight

105 kg or 231.5 lbs

girlfriend/spouse

Muhammad Ali dated –

1. Sonji Roi (1964-1966) – Businessman Herbert Muhammad first introduced Ali to a cocktail waitress named Sonji Roi and they married shortly after their first date on August 14, 1964 in Gary, Indiana. But their marriage didn’t last long. They fought regularly because Sonji could not follow strict Islamic rules, while Ali was a strict follower of Islam. After two years of disagreements and incompatibilities, they were divorced on January 10, 1966.
2. Khalilah Belinda Ali (1966-1976) – Ali and actress Khalilah Belindamarried 17 August 1967. Her name was Belinda Boyd before marriage. But she converted to Islam after marriage and changed her name. The couple had four children together, Maryum “May May” (b. 1968), twins Jamillah and Rasheda (b. 1970) and Muhammad Ali Jr. (b. 1972). They eventually divorced on December 29, 1976.
3. Wanda Bolton (1974) – In 1974, Ali engaged in an extramarital affair with 16-year-old Wanda Bolton. She changed her name to Aaisha Ali after her illegal Islamic ceremony while Ali was still married to Belinda. The couple had a daughter, Khaliah, in 1974. It was reported that Khaliah and her mother were living at Ali’s Deer Lake training camp along with Belinda and her children.
4. Patricia Harvell (1972) – Ali reportedly had a daughter named Miya with Patricia Harvell in 1972.
5. Veronica Porché (1975-1986) – Ali and actress Veronica Porché began in 1975 when he was in the Philippines for his ‘Thrilla in Manila’ boxing match against Joe Frazier. After ending his second marriage, Ali married Veronica in June 1977. The couple had two daughters, Hana and Laila Ali. They were both born in 1977. The duo separated in July 1986 and were officially divorced in December 1986.
6. Linda Lewis (1979) – Ali had an affair with singer Linda Lewis in 1979.
7. Yolanda Williams (1986-2016) – Ali and Yolanda met in Louisville in 1964. They married on November 19, 1986. The couple adopted a son named Asaad Amin.
8. Barbara Mensah – Ali has also been rumored to be in a relationship with Barbara Mensah.

race/ethnicity

multiracial

He was of African American descent with some English and Irish roots.

hair colour

Black (natural)

eye color

dark brown

sexual orientation

Just

distinguishing features

high altitude

brand promotion

He had appeared in these TV commercials –

• Wickes Furniture (2000)
• IBM Linux (2003)
• Equitable Life Insurance Co.
• America’s Dairy Farmer (“Got milk?” – Mustache Campaign) with Daughter Laila Ali (2001)
• Pizza Hut with Angelo Dundee and David Bortolucci (1997)
• Vitalis hair care product with Joe Frazier (1971)
• D-Con Four / Gone Roach Spray (1980)
• D-Con Roach-Fallen
• PSA-TV Anti-Drug Commercial “Get High on Yourself” – Himself (USA) (September 27, 1981)
• Luxury travel luggage “Louis Vuitton” (2012)

Religion

Muhammad Ali gradually developed his religious and spiritual views throughout his life. In 1962, Ali became a member of the Nation of Islam after his first fight with Liston.

In 1975, he became a follower of Sunni Islam after the nation’s leader Elijah Muhammad died.

Around 2005, Ali was strongly inclined towards Sufism and officially embraced Sufi Islam.

Known for

• Defeat Heavyweight Kings Sonny Liston (twice), Floyd Patterson (twice), Ernie Terrell, Jimmy Ellis, Ken Norton (twice), Joe Frazier (twice), George Foreman and Leon Spinks
• Light heavyweight loss to champions Archie Moore and Bob Foster
• Defeat European Heavyweight Champion Henry Cooper, Karl Mildenberger, Jurgen Blin, Joe Bugner, Richard Dunn, Jean-Pierre Coopman and Alfredo Evangelista
• Victory against undefeated fighters Sonny Banks (12-0), Billy Daniels (16-0), Rudi Lubbers (21-0) and George Foreman (40-0)

First boxing match

Ali made his amateur boxing debut in 1954 with local amateur boxer Ronnie O’Keefe.

first movie

Ali made his big screen debut as himself (Cassius Clay) in the sports drama film, Requiem for a Heavyweight in 1962.

First TV show

In addition to broadcasting his boxing matches, he first appeared on the talk show on a TV show The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1962.

Personal trainer

In his prime, Ali would wake up early in the morning, usually around 5am, to stretch. He ran 6 miles every morning. He trained 3 hours at the gym. Surprisingly, the mighty Ali didn’t use weights in his workouts. His training routine was as follows:

Warm up – 15 minutes

• side by side
• torso pivots
• Tiptoe to recover

Shadow boxing – Ali also competed in 5 rounds of shadow boxing where he worked on footwork and speed punching with 30 second rests.

Heavy Bag – He worked on combinations and endurance for a total of 6 rounds (3 minutes each) with a 30 second rest

Sparring – build up sparring throughout the camp

Floor exercises – 15 minutes

• bike crunches
• Sit-ups with a medicine ball
• Bein has an

Speedball – He indulged in a speedball for 9 minutes with a 1 minute rest.

Skipping – Muhammad did 20 minutes of continuous skipping .

Shadow Boxing – Walk around with light shadow boxes for a minute

His diet consisted mostly of natural foods like chicken, steak, green beans, potatoes and other vegetables, pure fruit juices and plenty of water to keep hydrated.

Muhammad Ali favorite things

• Meal – Baked chicken with dressing, peas, macaroni and cheese, spinach and hot buttered buns

Muhammad Ali Fact

1. Ali became the first man to defeat world champions Sonny Liston and George Foreman.
2. After being bullied and having his bike stolen by the neighborhood bullies, he decided to take boxing lessons to be with the bullies again.
3. Ali was the only boxer to knock out George Foreman and Oscar Bonnavena (KO).
4. He wanted to play the role of Bilal in the French adventure drama The News in 1976. But the film director didn’t approve of the idea.
5. Ali lit the torch at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
6. He developed Parkinson’s Syndrome due to numerous head injuries during his boxing career. The disease was identified in 1984.
7. He has a record of 56-5 with 37 KOs (knockouts) and was also a four-time world heavyweight champion.
8. At the 1960 Olympics, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight boxing championship.
9. His name is mentioned in the song “Powder Blue” by Ween and The Verve “Muhammad Ali” and “Noise Epic” .
10. He has appeared as himself in a total of 4 films.
11. Ali was voted Sports Personality of the Century in England.
12. He was forced to take a three-and-a-half year hiatus from boxing while fighting his draft contingency case in court.
13. On June 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump, probably unaware that Ali’s conviction was overturned, said he could grant him a retrospective pardon.
14. Ali was trained by Joe Martin (1953-1959) as an amateur, Archie Moore (1960-1961) and Angelo Dundee (1961-1980).
15. He is one of many personalities mentioned in the song “Jesus Numa Moto” by Sá e Guarabyra.
16. In 1986 he won the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.
17. Ali was good friends with Jimmy Ellis, Floyd Patterson, Mike Tyson, Teddy Pendergrass and Barry White (II).
18. He was one of the most famous celebrities of all time. His fans would rather be slapped by Ali than take a picture or autograph to brag about being hit by the best.
19. In 1981, after retiring from boxing at 39, his main focus was on religion and charity.
20. Ali became a philanthropist after retiring from boxing. He launched various campaigns and donated millions of dollars to various charities.
21. His charitable activities include feeding 22 million people facing hunger.
22. He was named Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. after his father.
23. His father was a Methodist.
24. Ali grew up during the segregated era and was once refused a glass of water in a shop because of the color of his skin. That hit him to the core.
25. Ali left Moore’s training camp in 1960 because he refused to do chores like washing dishes and sweeping.
26. He was initially denied entry into the Nation of Islam because of his boxing career, but was granted membership after winning the 1964 Liston championship.
27. On June 20, 1967, he was convicted of evasion and sentenced to 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He paid the fine but never served time in prison.
28. His boxing license was suspended by New York State after he was convicted in the preferred evasive trial.
29. Ali had recorded 200,000 hits throughout his boxing career.
30. He first announced his retirement from boxing on July 27, 1979. However, shortly thereafter he announced his comeback to fight Larry Holmes for the WBC belt. His main motive for this fight was money.
31. His last fight was on December 11, 1981 in Nassau, Bahamas against Jamaican-Canadian boxer Trevor Berbick.
32. Visit his official website @ muhammadali.com.
33. Stay tuned to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for more updates on Muhammad Ali.