Muhammad Ali Research Paper

Muhammad Ali was born in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17, 1942. He discovered his talent of boxing through an odd advisor- a thief. When Muhammad was 12, his bike was stolen. When he told police officer Joe Martin that he wanted to beat up the thief, the police officer said: “Well, you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people.” Coincidentally, Martin also worked with young boxers at the gym. This became his boxing career. His first amateur bout was in 1954, and very shortly after, he won the Golden Gloves for novices in the light heavyweight division in 1956. Just three years later, he won the national Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions. In 1960, Muhammad Ali had a spot on the U.S. Olympic boxing team. After the first

Muhammad Ali was known outside of the boxing ring for his defiance to the U.S. government. Muhammad Ali dodged the draft for the Vietnam War, and spoke out against it. For this, he was stripped of his titles, including the Golden Gloves award, and was sent to prison. Three years later, he came back to win the Golden Gloves title again. He continued to battle until he reached George Foreman, the undefeated heavyweight champion. Muhammad Ali beat him after 8 rounds, reclaiming his heavyweight championship. He later lost the title only to regain it shortly later, becoming the only man to win the heavyweight champion three times. He retired after his final loss to Trevor Berbick in 1981. During his retirement, he spent much of his time devoted to philanthropy. Three years after his retirement, he announced that he had Parkinson’s disease, and was involved in raising funds for his own Parkinson’s center, Muhammad Ali’s Parkinson Center, located in Phoenix, Arizona. Muhammad traveled to many places over the years, and in 1998, the United Nations chose him to be a United Nations Messenger of Peace for all of the work that he did in other