“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see.”
That was a quote made famous by one generally considered the greatest professional boxer of all times—Muhammad Ali.

It was made when at 22 years old, he was about to take on world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston..

Ali whose original name was Cassius Marcellus Clay, was born on 17th January 1942 in Louisville Kentucky, USA. His father painted billboard signs and his mother was a household domestic.

He made his professional debut on October 29, 1960(Age 18), winning a six-round decision over Tunney Hunsacker. From then until the end of 1963, Clay amassed a record of 19–0 with 15 wins by knockout.

After defeat of Liston in 1964, he changed his name to Muhammad Ali upon converting to Islam.
Ali defended his title against former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson on November 22, 1965. Before the match, Ali mocked Patterson, who was widely known to call him by his former name Cassius Clay, as an "Uncle Tom", calling him "The Rabbit". Although Ali clearly had the better of Patterson, who appeared injured during the fight, the match lasted 12 rounds before being called on a technical knockout.
Ali refused to be enlisted into the armed forces during the famous Vietnam War, stating publicly; "No Vietcong ever called me nigger". He was later denied a boxing license in every state and stripped of his passport. As a result, he did not fight from March 1967 to October 1970—from ages 25 to almost 29—as his case worked its way through the appeal process. In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court would later overturn his conviction.

RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE
This was a title fight against heavyweight champion George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire, on October 30, 1974.
Foreman was considered one of the hardest punchers in heavyweight history. Ali was 32 years old, and had clearly lost speed and reflexes since his twenties. Contrary to his later persona, Foreman was at the time a brooding and intimidating presence. Almost no one associated with the sport, not even Ali's long-time supporter Howard Cosell, gave Ali a chance of winning.
As the fight went on, Foreman, increasingly angered by Ali’s ‘big mouth’, threw punches that were deflected and did not land squarely. Midway through the fight as Foreman began tiring, Ali countered more frequently and effectively with punches, which electrified the pro-Ali crowd. In the eighth round, Ali dropped an exhausted Foreman with a combination at center ring; Foreman failed to make the count. Against the odds, and amidst pandemonium in the ring, Ali had defeated foreman and regained the title by knockout.

THRILLER IN MANILA
The bout, known as the "Thrilla in Manilla", was held on October 1, 1975 in temperatures approaching 100 °F (38 °C). A fight between Ali and Joe Frazier(their third match). In the first rounds, Ali was aggressive, moving and exchanging blows with Frazier. However, Ali soon appeared to tire and frequently resorted to clinches. During this part of the bout Ali did some effective counter-punching, but for the most part absorbed punishment from a relentlessly attacking Frazier. In the 12th round, Frazier began to tire, and Ali scored several sharp blows that closed Frazier's left eye and opened a cut over his right eye. With Frazier's vision now diminished, Ali dominated the 13th and 14th rounds, at times conducting what boxing historian Mike Silver called "target practice" on Frazier's head. The fight was stopped when Frazier's trainer, Eddie Futch, refused to allow Frazier to answer the bell for the 15th and final round, despite Frazier's protests. Frazier's eyes were both swollen shut. Ali, in his corner, winner by TKO, slumped on his stool, clearly spent.

During his life, Ali could be seen as many things:
HE WAS FEARSOME: "I wrestled with an alligator, I tussled with a whale, I handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail, I'm bad man....Last week I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick. I'm so mean I make medicine sick," he said ahead of his famous "Rumble in the Jungle" bout with George Foreman.
HE WAS ARROGANT: "I'm a poet, I'm a prophet, I'm the resurrector, I'm the savior of the boxing world. If it wasn't for me, the game would be dead."
HE WAS ALSO INSPIRING: "Don't count the days, make the days count."
"Live every day like it's your last because someday you're going to be right."


As everything that has a beginning must have an end, we pay tribute to the WORLD’S GREATEST . LONG LIVE ALI! (1942-2016) Age 74.



http://www.cynthiasunnieblog.com/2016/06/the-legendmuhammad-ali.html?spref=tw

his he dead?