Full Name: Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.
Nickname: The Greatest, The Champ, The Louisville Lip
Weight Class: Heavyweight
Birthdate: January 17, 1942
Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
Record: 56-5, 37 KOs
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 6'3"
Reach: 80"
Trainer: Angelo Dundee

Accomplishments

• 1959 National Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight Champion
• 1959 National Amateur Athletic Union champion
• 1960 National Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight Champion
• 1960 National Amateur Athletic Union champion
• 1960 Gold medal, Rome Olympics, light-heavyweight boxing
• 1964-67 World Heavyweight Champion
• 1970 Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Award
• 1974 Sportsman of the Year, Sports Illustrated
• 1974 Fighter of the Year, Boxing Writers Association
• 1974-78    World Heavyweight Champion
• 1978-79    World Heavyweight Champion
• 1979 Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Texas Southern Univesity
• 1979 Street named after him in Louisville, Kentucky
• 1985 Recognized for long, meritorious service, World Boxing Association
• 1987 Elected to Boxing Hall of Fame
• 1990 Inducted into International Boxing Hall of Fame
• 1996 Lights Olympic torch, Atlanta
• 1997 Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, ESPN
• 1997 Essence Living Legend Award

Biography

When talking about boxing legends, one name springs to mind. Mohammad Ali always referred to himself as ‘The Greatest’, and not many would disagree. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in 1942, Ali enjoyed a hugely illustrious boxing career that saw him become a three-time World Heavyweight Champion and a household name around the world.

Ali was infamous for having great hand speed and ‘dance-like’ fast feet. Ali summed up his fighting style when he said he would “Float like a butterfly, and sting like a bee”, during the build up to his fight with Sonny Liston in 1964. It wasn’t just his flamboyant out-fighting offensive style that brought him his success; Ali also had a great chin and was able to take a punch.

His style could be described as unorthodox, especially with reference to his stance. Instead of carrying his hands high to defend the face, Ali instead used to rely on his foot speed and cleverness to avoid punches, and carried his hands low.

His achievement in the sport was recognised when he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Along with Sugar Ray Robinson, he is regarded as the best pound for pound fighter in the history of the sport, and holds seven wins over seven other Hall of Fame inductees, including George Foreman, Joe Frazier and Sonny Liston.

Ali was as famous for his pre-fight poems as he was for his boxing. He was an extremely enigmatic character, often using psychological tactics before, during and after fights to gain an edge over his competitor. In 1999, Ali received a unique award from the BBC.

He was named BBC Sports Personality of the Century - an award in which he accumulated more votes than the other four nominees combined.