Cassius Marcellus Clay Research Paper
Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr was born on January 17, 1942 in Louisville Kentucky. He was born into a middle class black family. He didn’t have what some would call a rough child hood. He began boxing at the age of twelve. When Cassius was 12 years old, he and a friend went to the Columbia Auditorium to partake in the free hot dogs and popcorn available for visitors of the Louisville Home Show. When the boys were done eating, they went back to get their bicycles only to discover that Cassius’ had been stolen. Furious, he went back into the auditorium to find a police man. He found police officer Joe Martin, a trainer at a Louisville gym. When Muhammad Ali said he wanted to beat up the person who stole his bike, Martin told him that he should
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probably learn to fight first. A few days later, Muhammad Ali began boxing training at Martin 's gym.
They started Ali working out in Louisville 's Columbia Gym, where Ali met Fred Stoner who taught Ali the science of boxing. Stoner taught him to move with the grace of a dancer and impressed upon him the subtle skills necessary to move beyond good and into the realm of great. Ali had a highly unorthodox style for a heavyweight boxer. Rather than the normal boxing style of carrying the hands high to defend the face, he instead relied on his ability to avoid a punch. Bobbing and weaving, floating across the boxing rink. Striking when the moment was right. In 1960, the Olympic Games were held in Rome. Cassius Clay, at 18 years old, had already won national tournaments such as the Golden Gloves and so he felt ready to compete in the Olympics. On September 5, 1960, Cassius fought against Zbigniew Pietrzyskowski from Poland in the light-heavyweight championship bout. In a unanimous decision, the judges declared Ali the winner, which meant Ali had won the Olympic gold medal. Having won the Olympic gold medal, Muhammad Ali had attained the top position in amateur boxing. It was time for him to turn professional. After winning an Olympic gold medal, Ali signed a lucrative contract, a 50-50 split, negotiated by a beginning professional in the history of boxing, with a 12-member group of millionaires called the Louisville Sponsoring Group. In Louisville, October 29, 1960, Cassius Clay won his first professional fight. He won a six-round decision over Tunney Hunsaker, who was the police chief of Fayetteville, West Virginia. This was just the beginning of the legend Muhammad Ali. He started his professional career out by going 19-0, with 15 of his wins coming via knockout. Despite close calls against lower competition, he became the top contender for Sonny Liston 's heavyweight of the world title.
He was his own self-promoter, catching the eye of the media with his words. As stated in “Contemporary Black Biography,” In February of 1964, he told readers of Sports Illustrated, "If I were like a lot of...heavyweight boxers...you wouldn 't be reading this story right now. If you wonder what the difference between them and me is, I 'll break the news: you never heard of them. I 'm not saying they 're not good boxers. Most of them...can fight almost as good as I can. I 'm just saying you never heard of them. And the reason for that is because they cannot throw the jive. Cassius Clay is a boxer who can throw the jive better than anybody.” In spite of Clay 's impressive record, he was not expected to beat the champ. The fight was to be held on February 25, 1964 in Miami, Florida. The fight lasted 6 rounds with Clay winning by technical knockout. Because Liston was a prohibitive favorite and had ties to organized crime, many speculated that the fight was fixed. Many believed that the mafia had money on Clay, and that they threatened Listion. He complained of a shoulder injury before the start of the 7th round and told his trainer that he could not continue. Thus making Cassius Clay the heavyweigh champion of the world at the age of
22.
Works Cited
"Muhammad Ali." Contemporary Black Biography. Vol. 52. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Biography in Context. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.
Michael Ezra, “The making of an icon” Temple University press 2009 Print
Schulberg, Budd, “Loser and Still a Champion: Muhammad Ali” Double Day, 1972 Print
probably learn to fight first. A few days later, Muhammad Ali began boxing training at Martin 's gym.
They started Ali working out in Louisville 's Columbia Gym, where Ali met Fred Stoner who taught Ali the science of boxing. Stoner taught him to move with the grace of a dancer and impressed upon him the subtle skills necessary to move beyond good and into the realm of great. Ali had a highly unorthodox style for a heavyweight boxer. Rather than the normal boxing style of carrying the hands high to defend the face, he instead relied on his ability to avoid a punch. Bobbing and weaving, floating across the boxing rink. Striking when the moment was right. In 1960, the Olympic Games were held in Rome. Cassius Clay, at 18 years old, had already won national tournaments such as the Golden Gloves and so he felt ready to compete in the Olympics. On September 5, 1960, Cassius fought against Zbigniew Pietrzyskowski from Poland in the light-heavyweight championship bout. In a unanimous decision, the judges declared Ali the winner, which meant Ali had won the Olympic gold medal. Having won the Olympic gold medal, Muhammad Ali had attained the top position in amateur boxing. It was time for him to turn professional. After winning an Olympic gold medal, Ali signed a lucrative contract, a 50-50 split, negotiated by a beginning professional in the history of boxing, with a 12-member group of millionaires called the Louisville Sponsoring Group. In Louisville, October 29, 1960, Cassius Clay won his first professional fight. He won a six-round decision over Tunney Hunsaker, who was the police chief of Fayetteville, West Virginia. This was just the beginning of the legend Muhammad Ali. He started his professional career out by going 19-0, with 15 of his wins coming via knockout. Despite close calls against lower competition, he became the top contender for Sonny Liston 's heavyweight of the world title.
He was his own self-promoter, catching the eye of the media with his words. As stated in “Contemporary Black Biography,” In February of 1964, he told readers of Sports Illustrated, "If I were like a lot of...heavyweight boxers...you wouldn 't be reading this story right now. If you wonder what the difference between them and me is, I 'll break the news: you never heard of them. I 'm not saying they 're not good boxers. Most of them...can fight almost as good as I can. I 'm just saying you never heard of them. And the reason for that is because they cannot throw the jive. Cassius Clay is a boxer who can throw the jive better than anybody.” In spite of Clay 's impressive record, he was not expected to beat the champ. The fight was to be held on February 25, 1964 in Miami, Florida. The fight lasted 6 rounds with Clay winning by technical knockout. Because Liston was a prohibitive favorite and had ties to organized crime, many speculated that the fight was fixed. Many believed that the mafia had money on Clay, and that they threatened Listion. He complained of a shoulder injury before the start of the 7th round and told his trainer that he could not continue. Thus making Cassius Clay the heavyweigh champion of the world at the age of
22.
Works Cited
"Muhammad Ali." Contemporary Black Biography. Vol. 52. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Biography in Context. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.
Michael Ezra, “The making of an icon” Temple University press 2009 Print
Schulberg, Budd, “Loser and Still a Champion: Muhammad Ali” Double Day, 1972 Print