“Float like a butterfly, Sting like a bee!”(Muhammad Ali 1). These words describe a legend of boxing. This legend’s name is Muhammad Ali. He is and always will be known as one of the greats in boxing for the years to come. Muhammad Ali started his career at a young age. Born January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky (Muhammad Ali 1). His parents were named Cassius Clay and Odessa Clay. Muhammad’s birth name was Cassius Marcellus Clay, after his father (Smith 7). At age eight, young Cassius Clay constantly bragged about how great he would come. How he would rise above all and be more than just another colored that doesn’t do anything with their life. At age 12, Cassius had a brand new bike. He loved riding it. Then one day, he left it outside …show more content…
There he competed in the 1960 Olympic Games and won gold in the Light-Heavyweight division. During his series of professional victories, he had a style of a combination of speed and an impactful punch. This is where his ability, “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” came into place. At just age 22, he fought and defeated Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship of the world (Muhammad Ali 1). Soon after he shed his old slave name of Cassius Clay and named Muhammad Ali (Smith 30). Then, on April 28, 1967, Muhammad Ali was drafted into the Vietnam War. Ali refused to serve because of his religious beliefs. He denied the draft because of him being a minister of the Black Muslim religion. His boxing license was stripped as well as his titles soon after that. He spent three years in jail where he finally. His license soon returned to him and he started to box again. In his legacy, Ali became the first boxer in history to win the heavyweight championship three times (Muhammad Ali).His last and 61st fight was in 1981. His career record was 56 wins (37 by KO) and 5 losses (Smith 80). Unfortunately, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s syndrome in 1984. About thirty years later in 2005, Ali received the “Medal of Freedom.” Ali died peacefully on June 3, 2016 at a hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona (Muhammad Ali