Muhammad Ali is known today to every person who is at least somewhat interested in sports. The future king of boxing was born in Kentucky, USA in 1942 in a poor, but far from poor family by African American standards. His father was a sign painter, and his mother worked as a governess in we althy homes. Actually, the real name of the future athlete, given to him at birth, was Cassius Clay.
His modern biographers note that the young man's talent for boxing appeared since childhood. An important factor that prompted Cassius to come to the gym was the tense situation in his hometown, where an atmosphere of violence, racism, and discrimination against the black population reigned. In this regard, unpromising black youth often united in gangs - this was a road leading nowhere. At the age of twelve, an unpleasant incident happened to the boy. A local hooligan forcibly took away his newly bought bicycle. Having gone to the station, the future champion met a policeman there, to whom he announced his intention to beat his offender. By a happy coincidence, the policeman, whose name was Joe Martin, was himself a sports coach and invited the boy to his gym, where other young boxers trained.
Started trainingforever changed the life of a young boxer. Despite significant problems with discipline in the gym (young Cassius constantly got into fights with training partners, painfully reacting to the slightest criticism or underestimation of his potential), the young man began to stubbornly improve his skills.
Daily runs, grueling workouts, a fanatical commitment to a he althy lifestyle began. Two months after the start of classes, Cassius won his first victory, which was broadcast on local television. And two years later, in 1956, he took his first tournament - the Golden Gloves (the most famous tournament in the USA for beginner boxers). A dizzying start to his career leads the young boxer to the US national team. And in 1960 he goes to the Olympics, where he wins his first gold.
At the same time, the young man falls under the influence of the Muslim sect "Nation of Islam", meets with its leaders and visits the mosque, which greatly transforms his life. And then the rising star of world sports stunned everyone. Cassius Clay joins the Nation of Islam, henceforth his name is Muhammad Ali. Now he is closely connected with the Islamic world. By the way, one of the Arab sheikhs, Rashid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, bears the same name. This step of the young boxer caused a strong reaction.
Muhammad Ali, whose photo by that time flaunted on the front pages of all sports publications, was stripped by the World Boxing Association of the champion title, which he won in the same year with a victoryover Sony Liston. In addition, the reaction of the American and world public, Ali's colleagues in the boxing workshop, was extremely harsh, and even the father said that representatives of the Nation of Islam had powdered his son's brains.
However, Muhammad Ali would not be himself if he succumbed to public pressure. Despite the boycott and deprivation of the championship title, he still confidently claimed that he would beat all his rivals. And he kept his word. In 1966, the boxer defeated in the twelfth round the idol of his childhood and the current critic for his connection with the Islamic sect, Floyd Patterson. Then there were even more landmark fights in the boxer's career: three fights with Joe Frazier (in 1971, 1974 and 1975), a fight with George Foreman (1974) and, finally, the last champion title that Muhammad Ali defended in a duel with Leon Spinks (1978).
