Early Life
Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., he began boxing at age 12 in Louisville and won a gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Career
He won the world heavyweight title in 1964 by upsetting Sonny Liston, then announced his conversion to Islam and adopted the name Muhammad Ali. In 1967 he refused induction into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, was stripped of his title and barred from boxing for over three years; the Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1971. He regained the title in the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” against George Foreman and won the 1975 “Thrilla in Manila” against Joe Frazier.
Legacy
Ali retired in 1981 with a record of 56 wins and 5 losses. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's syndrome in 1984, lit the cauldron at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, and died in 2016 at age 74.
Sources and further reading
Last updated: 2026-09-24