Muhammad Ali: Family and Timeline

Muhammad Ali Timeline

Here are some of the landmarks of Muhammad Ali’s boxing career right from the very beginning to the very end:

• 1942: Muhammad Ali was born as Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., on January 17, 1942 to Odessa and Cassius, Sr. in Louisville, Kentucky. Cassius, Sr. was a mural painter.
• 1954: When Clay was 12 years old, his bike was stolen. Although he did report the crime, he also promised to ‘whup whoever stole it’. The policeman to whom he reported the crime took him under his wing and directed him to boxing trainer Fred Stoner with the idea of channeling Clay’s aggression. Over the next 6 years, Clay went on to win six Kentucky Golden Gloves championships, two Amateur Athletic Union crowns and two Golden Gloves titles.
• 1960: Clay won the light-heavyweight gold medal at the Summer Olympics that was held in Rome over Poland’s Zbigniew Pietrzykowski with a 5-0 decision. On returning to Louisville, Clay discovered that despite the gold medal, he was not immune to racism that was highly prevalent in America. He was refused service by a waitress in a ‘whites-only’ restaurant and was also forced to fight with a white gang. Disgusted with the behavior meted out to him because of the color of his skin, Clay threw his gold medal in the Ohio River. Despite all this turbulence, he turned into a professional boxer and went on to win two titles.
• 1964 :Clay beat Sonny Liston in a six round bout to become the heavyweight champion of the world. After the fight, Clay announced his decision to become a Black Muslim and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
• 1967: In April, 1967 Ali refused to be inducted into the US Army citing his religious convictions and claiming, ‘I ain't got no quarrel with those Vietcong’. This behavior angered many Americans and he was stripped of the WBA title and also lost his license to fight. In June, he was found guilty of draft evasion from the court of law. He was fined $10,000 and was also sentenced to five years in prison. He however avoided prison by filing numerous appeals but was not allowed to box.
• 1970: As there was no State Boxing Commission in Georgia, Ali was able to return to the ring in Atlanta where he knocked out Jerry Quarry in three rounds.
• 1971: Ali lost to heavyweight champion Joe Frazer in March. In June, the Supreme Court ruled in Ali’s favor and reversed the draft evasion conviction that was passed out against him in 1967.
• 1974: Not only did Ali defeat Joe Frazier this year, he also won the heavyweight title in the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ contest.
• 1978: Ali lost his belt to the 1976 Olympic gold medalist Leon Spinksin a 15 round split decision. However, seven months later, Ali won his title back with a unanimous decision.
• 1979: Muhammad Ali announced his retirement from professional boxing on June 27.
• 1980: Ali came out of retirement to fight the new heavyweight champ Larry Holmes. Holmes knocked out Ali in the 11th round.
• 1981 :Ali lost again, this time to Trevor Berbick and retired finally with an overall professional record of 56-5.
• 1996: Ali carried the Olympic torch and ignited the cauldron to signal the beginning of Summer Olypics in Atlanta. He was also gifted with a second gold medal to replace the one that he had tossed in the Ohio River 36 years earlier.

Muhammad Ali Family

Muhammad Ali married four times and has nine children, Rasheedah, Jamila, Maryum, Miya, Khaliah, Hana, Laila, Muhammad Jr. and Asaad.

His daughter, Laila is carrying forward the Ali family legacy and began professional boxing career in 1999 and exhibits her father’s grace and charisma.

Unfortunately, Ali was diagnosed with the Parkinson disease in 1982 which marked the beginning of a slow physical decline. His quick dazzling steps have been replaced with slow wobbles. Despite this, Ali continues to remain the most recognizable human on earth and is still the best loved sports figure of all times, the true lord of the rings.