On February 25, 1964, the brash 22-year-old
boxer Cassius Clay stunned the sports world by
defeating reigning heavyweight champion Sonny
Liston in Miami Beach, Florida. The 7-1
underdog, who would become known as
Muhammad Ali, fulfilled his promise to “float like
a butterfly, sting like a bee.” Fifty years after he
first became heavyweight champion, explore 10
surprising facts about one of the greatest
sporting figures of the 20th century.

1. A red-and-white Schwinn bicycle launched his
boxing career.
When the 12-year-old Clay’s beloved bicycle was
stolen in October 1954, he reported the theft to
Louisville, Kentucky, police officer Joe Martin and
vowed to pummel the culprit. Martin, who was also a
boxing trainer, suggested that the upset youngster first
learn how to fight, and he took Clay under his wing. Six
weeks later, Clay won his first bout in a split decision.
2. He was originally named in honor
of a white abolitionist.
The fighter, like his father, was named
for Cassius Marcellus Clay, a 19th-
century farmer and anti-slavery
crusader who emancipated the 40
slaves he inherited from his father.
The abolitionist, a second cousin of
Kentucky Senator Henry Clay, edited
an anti-slavery newspaper,
commanded troops in the Mexican-
American War and served as minister
to Russia under President Abraham
Lincoln. In defying Southern
conventions of the time, Clay faced
more than death threats. He was
beaten, stabbed and shot by political
opponents but lived to the age of 92.
3. Before becoming known as
Muhammad Ali, he changed his name
to Cassius X.
The morning after defeating Liston,
the new heavyweight champion
confirmed reports that he had become
a member of the Nation of Islam. With
Malcolm X at his side, the champ told
reporters that he had renounced his
surname, which he called his “slave
name,” and would be known as
“Cassius X” until Nation of Islam
leader Elijah Muhammad gave him a
holy name. That name, Muhammad
Ali, was bestowed on March 6, 1964.
4. Ali was banned from boxing for
three years.
As the Vietnam War raged in 1967, Ali
refused to serve in the U.S. military for
religious reasons. The heavyweight
champion was arrested, and the New
York State Athletic Commission
immediately suspended his boxing
license and stripped him of his title.
Ali was convicted of draft evasion,
sentenced to the maximum of five
years in prison and fined $10,000,
although he remained free while the
conviction was appealed. In 1970 the
New York State Supreme Court
ordered his boxing license reinstated,
and he returned to the ring by
knocking out Jerry Quarry in October
1970. The following year, the U.S.
Supreme Court overturned Ali’s
conviction in a unanimous decision.
5. Ali starred in a Broadway
musical.
During his 43-month forced exile
from the ring, Ali took to the stage
in the title role of the musical
“Buck White.” The production
opened inside New York’s George
Abbott Theatre on December 2,
1969, but Ali’s stage career would
be a brief one. “Buck White”
closed four nights later after just
seven performances. In spite of
the limited run, Ali, who played a
militant black lecturer, received
decent reviews. “He sings with a
pleasant slightly impersonal
voice, acts without
embarrassment and moves with
innate dignity,” wrote a New York
Times reviewer. “He does himself proud.”
6. He recorded an album of spoken
verse.
The loquacious Ali was boxing’s poet
laureate, composing verses in which
he taunted opponents and praised
himself. His iambic pentameter was
so popular that Columbia Records
released a 1963 spoken word album
called “I Am the Greatest” in which the
21-year-old rising star performed his
poetry, backed my musical
accompaniment, before an audience.
The album also included two songs
by the boxer, including a cover of the
Ben E. King hit “Stand by Me.”
7. Ali has Irish roots.
Perhaps not surprising given Ali’s gift
of gab, but his great-grandfather Abe
Grady was an Irishman who
emigrated to the United States and
settled in Kentucky in the 1860s.
There he married a freed slave, and
one of their grandchildren was Ali’s
mother, Odessa Lee Grady Clay. In
2009, Ali visited his great-
grandfather’s ancestral hometown of
Ennis, Ireland, and met fellow
members of the O’Grady clan.
8. He fought one of his most famous
bouts at 4 a.m.
In 1974, a 32-year-old Ali earned a
title shot against undefeated 25-year-
old champion George Foreman.
Seeking to generate positive publicity
for his country, Zaire’s dictatorial
president Mobutu Sese Seko paid
each fighter $5 million to stage the
fight in his capital city of Kinshasa. In
order for American audiences to
watch the fight live in prime time, the
bout began in the early morning hours
before the sun dawned on Africa. In
what was dubbed the “Rumble in the
Jungle,” Ali won in an eight-round
knockout to regain the heavyweight
title that had been stripped from him
seven years prior.
9. His Olympic gold medal may be
submerged on a river bottom.
After graduating high school, the 18-
year-old fighter traveled to Rome and
won the light heavyweight gold medal
in the 1960 Summer Olympics. Ali
wrote in his 1975 autobiography that
after returning to Louisville, he threw
his gold medal off a bridge and into
the Ohio River to protest the racism
that he still encountered in his
hometown. The account has been
disputed, however, and it is believed
that Ali lost the medal instead. During
the 1996 Summer Olympics, at which
he lit the cauldron in the Opening
Ceremonies, Ali received a
replacement gold medal.
10. The gloves he wore to defeat
Liston earned him more money than
the victory itself.
Almost 50 years to the day after Ali
captured the heavyweight
championship for the first time, an
anonymous buyer purchased the
gloves he wore to defeat Liston in the
seventh-round technical knockout for
$836,000. Ali only earned $630,000
for the victory itself.

http://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-muhammad-ali

How does this add to my GP !!!!

nice post

waiting for Ten reason Seun will marry Linda ikeji

IKJ66:
How does this add to my GP !!!!

It can't, until you concentrate on you education and stop 'nairalanding'

holatin:
nice post

waiting for Ten reason Seun will marry Linda ikeji

this is like waiting for ten reasons I will be next president next year

Monsier et dialo,que ce parle....Wat is Muhammed Ali?is that a new type of dance style or a new food in Africa?Excuse my french!!!I don't know this cuz I did my first degree in France and now doing my Masters in Singapore.

kglamour:

this is like waiting for ten reasons I will be next president next year

hahahahaha

kglamour:

It can't, until you concentrate on you education and stop 'nairalanding'

...........lolz,,,,,,that was how seun started ......