In the 1960 Rome Olympics, Cassius Clay, Jr. won the light heavyweight gold medal and, in the process, captivated the media with his humor and his brashness. On Feb. 25, 1964, as a 7-1 underdog, Cassius Clay Jr. won the heavyweight title against Sonny Liston, a fighter everyone loved to hate, who surprisingly was smaller than the perfectly proportioned 6-foot-3, 210-pound challenger,.

After Cassius Clay, Jr. converted from Christianity to Islam, Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam, gave him a new name, Muhammad Ali, which meant, “worthy of all praise most high.” In 1965, Muhammad Ali defeated Liston in a rematch, knocking him out in the first round with what he called an “anchor punch”. Many people call Muhammad Ali’s famous “anchor punch” a phantom punch because they never saw it.

Muhammad Ali’s next fight was against former champion Floyd Patterson, who still called him Clay. During the weeks leading up to the fight, Floyd Patterson and said, “The image of a Black Muslim as the world heavyweight champion disgraces the sport and the nation.” Ali humiliated Patterson, torturing him physically and verbally before the bout was stopped in the 12th round.

Muhammad Al was, by then, being compared to another champion, Jack Johnson, who was equally outspoken.

During this time, the Vietnam War was heating up and the U.S. was split in two. Congress, President Johnson, and the military were engaged in talks over how many troops were being committed to the war and how long it would last.

On Feb. 17, 1966, Muhammad Ali’s draft board reclassified him 1A, fit for duty. Twice he had been given a pass after failing mental tests. “For two years the government caused me international embarrassment, letting people think I was a nut … and now they jump up and make me 1A without even an official notification or test!” he shouted when the media interviewed him..

The interviews were non-stop, interviewers asked the same questions over and over: What did he think about the war? Eventually, one newsman asked, “What do you think about the Vietcong?” Ali, frustrated and tired, replied, without thinking: “I ain’t got nothing against them Vietcong.”

Muhammad Ali’s Vietcong quote created a firestorm. Red Smith, one of many columnists who refused to recognize Ali’s name change, wrote in the New York Times: “… Cassius makes himself as sorry a spectacle as those unwashed punks who picket and demonstrate against the war.”

Muhammad Ali’s had supporters, too, particularly ABC broadcaster Howard Cosell, who defended his constitutional right of free speech. But it appeared that the force he called “the establishment” was overwhelmingly against him. State boxing commissions refused to acknowledge his fights. His next four title defenses against mediocre opponents were in Canada, England and West Germany.

Despite the discord at home, Muhammad Ali’s popularity outside the United States bloomed, so much so that by late 1966 boxing commissions began licensing his bouts again. More mediocre challengers came and went.

On April 28, 1967, Muhammad Ali, world heavyweight champion, was stripped of his title by the World Boxing Association and the NY State Athletic Commission for refusal to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces on religious grounds. “I ain’t got no quarrel with those Vietcong, anyway.” Ali was quoted as

As much a villain he was to the government, Ali also was a hero to civil rights activists and antiwar protesters. Ali was winning to give up everything for a cause he believed in. “All I did was stand up for what I believed,” he told Thomas Hauser for a 1991 biography, Muhammad Ali: His life and Times. “There were people who thought the war in Vietnam was right. And those people, if they went to war, acted just as brave as I did.”

On May 8 he was indicted by a federal grand jury in Houston. After a two-day trial in June an all-white jury took 20 minutes to convict him. He was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $10,000, both maximum penalties. He remained free on appeal, but his passport was taken away.

Muhammad Ali, unable to fight, traveled the country, lectured at colleges and Muslim meetings, learning as much as he taught. Meanwhile, Frazier became the heavyweight champion, but many fans believed that Frazier’s championship reign was temporary and would be lost once Ali returned.

Muhammad Ali stayed in exile for 3 1/2 years until the mood of the nation had changed sufficiently. Upon his return, he was given permission to in Atlanta, GA. On Oct. 26, 1970, he beat Jerry Quarry in three rounds.

On March 8, 1971, in a highly anticipated match of two undefeated heavyweights, Muhammad Ali fought Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden. It was brutal, neither fighter was willing to give up ground. Frazier floored Ali in the 15th round and won by an unanimous decision. Ali won, too. In defeat he won back much of the public that had hated him.

Muhammad Ali had once said, “One good thing about America, you stand up for your rights and people will eventually adjust to it.” Today, Ali is universally beloved.

- The Wanna-be Sports Guy

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Tags | boxer, Boxing, Cassius Clay Jr., Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Ali history, Muhammad Ali quotes, Rome 1960 Olypics