On June 3, 2016, Heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali died from septic shock "due to unspecified natural causes," According to CBS NEWS. The champ was 74 years old when he died and left two sons and seven daughters. Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born on January 17, 1942 and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He began training as a boxer when he was 12 years old. At the age of 18, he won the Light Heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Ali's amateur record was 100 wins with five losses. He made his professional debut on October 29, 1960, winning a six round decision over Tunney Hunsaker. Until the end of 1963, he was undefeated by nineteen matches and won fifteen of the matches by knockout. In March 1966, Ali refused to be inducted into the armed forces.
He was then denied a boxing license in every state and stripped of his passport. After this, he did not fight from March 1967 to October 1970, as his case was working through the appeals process until they finally overturned his conviction in 1971. Ali publicly opposed the Vietnam War. He said, "Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam, while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?" Muhammad Ali sacrificed four years of his boxing career in his prime and millions of dollars to stand up for what he believed in. In 1964, Muhammad Ali, then called Cassius Clay, converted to Islam and joined the Nation of Islam.
He later stated, "Cassius Clay is my slave name. Historically, slave masters in the United States of America would give their slaves their surname so others would know that was their property. Members of the Nation of Islam would denounce their European names and usually take an Islamic name to represent themselves. Clay was renamed Muhammad (one who is worthy of praise) Ali (Ali is the most important figure after the prophet Muhammad in Shia Islam). Muhammad Ali was never afraid to criticize the establishment in America. He stated:
"I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me." -Muhammad Ali
The fact that Ali was an African American and defiant against the establishment put him under a lot of condemnation. Regardless of the criticism he faced though, Ali set new expectations for what it meant to be an athlete. He stood by his values even though he understood he would sacrifice a lot for believing in what he thought was right. The New York Times columnist William Rhoden said, "Ali's actions changed my standard of what constituted an athlete's greatness...Possessing a killer jumpshot or the ability to stop on a dime was no longer enough...What were you doing for the liberation of your people? What were you doing to help your country live up to the covenant of its founding principles?" There's no doubt that Ali left an impact on the world. Ali defeated every top heavyweight fighter in his era, which is considered the golden age of heavyweight boxing.
In 1984, Muhammad Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which was attributed to brain injuries caused by his boxing career. As his health declined he made limited public appearances and was cared for by his family. Muhammad Ali's daughter, Hana Ali, stated in a tweet that his children surrounded him in his final moments, holding his hands, hugging him and chanting Islamic prayer. After Ali's organs failed, his daughter stated, "his heart continued to beat for another 30 minutes." A true testament to the strength of his spirit and will." Time and time again Muhammad Ali proved that he much more than just the heavyweight champion of the world.
Rest in peace to the People's Champion, Muhammad Ali.
