Muhammad Ali (1942-2016) was known as the “greatest athlete of the 20th century” and was a legendary boxer in the world of boxing. His achievements were recorded through classic matches that went down in the history of world boxing.

Boxer Muhammad Ali was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 Cassius Marcellus Clay on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. He was a three-time heavyweight boxing champion and a one-time Olympic gold medalist in the light heavyweight division. In 1999, Ali was named “athlete of the century” by Sports Illustrated and the BBC.

He was named after his father, Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr., who was named after the 19th-century politician and abolitionist, Cassius Marcellus Clay. Ali changed his name after converting to Islam in 1964 and then to Sunni Islam in 1972. Ali is considered an all-time icon in the world of boxing because of his unmatched achievements: 56 wins (37 knockouts, 19 points), 5 losses (4 points, 1 TKO), 0 draws. He won an Olympic gold medal in Rome. He was voted “The Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century” by international sports magazines. He started boxing at the age of 12, after going to the police station to report a bicycle robbery.

At that time, a policeman advised Ali to practice this powerful sport to protect himself. Ali then progressed rapidly and became an outstanding boxer, a great sportsman of world class. His name first came to the world’s attention at the 1960 Olympic Games, where he won the gold medal in heavyweight boxing.

Ali’s fame skyrocketed in 1964, when he defeated Sonny Liston to win the professional heavyweight championship. Described as “floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee,” Ali knocked out Liston in seven rounds and became the youngest champion in history at the age of 22. His famous “I am the best” quote after defeating Liston stuck with him throughout his boxing career. While boxing brought Ali fame, it was his actions outside the ring that made him one of the most memorable people in the world.

Besides being a talented boxer, he was also an active activist against racism, war and religious discrimination. He was straightforward, confident and humorous – an ideal model for African Americans during the height of the civil rights era. Having been defeated miserably by the iron punches of the legendary Ali in the classic match in 1974, George Foreman still had good feelings when mentioning this talented person: “Without a doubt, he is one of the greatest people to live in this era. To classify him as just a boxer is unfair”.

Young Muhammad Ali

In the early 70s, heavyweight boxing was all about George Foreman. Death was all about the American boxer’s terrifying counter-attack. Foreman once made Joe Frazier look harmless, because he knocked the champion Frazier down 6 times in 2 rounds. Before that, Muhammad Ali had a surprise victory over Sonny Liston to get his first major belt until the 3 great battles of the century with Joe Frazier, all were very impressive. But the best moment of the man’s career was in the fall of 1974 when Ali faced George Foreman, who was known as the destruction machine at that time.

In March 1974, another big name became a victim. Ken Norton collapsed after a few minutes. And Foreman had 40 wins in his hand. Curious people and experts began to compare the American boxer with the immortal legend Rocky Marciano. This was the match known as the “roar in the jungle” of the 20th century. After this match, Ali and George became good friends, which is very rare in the boxing world. Foreman was the reigning heavyweight champion and before meeting Ali. This match attracted more than 60,000 spectators, including famous people.

Standing at 1.90m tall and weighing 100kg, Foreman brought to the ring powerful punches that were once considered the most terrifying in any weight class.

In the end, Ali won by knockout, knocking Foreman out before the end of the 8th round with his experience and power. Foreman arrived in Zaire where the fight with Ali took place to seemingly endless applause.

Following him was a huge media team ready to wait for the moment Foreman crushed Ali and took another step into the pantheon of legends. No one believed Ali had any chance. Hundreds of top experts at that time, after following every move of the two boxers, made their choices and printed them all over the newspapers.

Enquirer sportswriter Tom Callahan recalled the night before the big fight. Working overtime at the printing center, Callahan saw Ali standing at the newsstand and carefully sifted through the papers. But as he searched, they all gave the same answer: Foreman had won, easily. On the day of the fight, thousands of people at the Stade du 20 Mai hurled insults at Ali as the American legend walked out. Most were directed at the color of his skin.

Facing the tremendous pressure of the crowd, with national pride in his subconscious, Ali showed no fear. The bell rang to end the second round, Foreman accelerated. Strangely, all his efforts failed to find Ali’s chin. Walking to his corner of the ring, looking straight into the eyes of his coach Herbert Muhammad, Ali shouted: “Leave him to me”. Meanwhile, the two commentators Norman Mailer and George Plimpton, fearing for Ali’s life, stood up and shouted to the referee: “Stop the fight before it’s too late. Stop it now”.

Witnessing the whole thing, longtime boxing writer Vic Ziegel turned to Callahan and smiled: “Those guys are stupid.” With his long-time experience in the business, Ziegel understood what Ali was doing. The baiting tactic would soon exhaust Foreman and make him stagger. Let his defense slip, and that was the moment Ali would take down the four-time heavyweight champion. Foreman’s power was too great. So Ali chose to move a lot and try to stay out of his opponent’s range. Throwing countless punches, most of which were meaningless, Foreman began to get impatient.

In the third round, Ali approached his opponent with his hands raised. Two straight punches in a row, Ali shouted straight at Foreman: “Hit hard, George, is that all you got?” Ali’s words made Foreman even more impatient.

And more punishment. A small bruise appeared under Foreman’s right eye, and another after the fourth round. The crowd fell silent. Jim Brown, Ali’s friend and commentator for the night, was in high spirits. Ali gradually took control of the fight, his left-right combos sapping Foreman’s remaining strength. The champion looked miserable in the seventh round before finally collapsing in the eighth. Ali had knocked out a man with a 40-fight winning streak.

One of the most shocking victories in boxing history, Ali’s career was catapulted to new heights. In Zaire, spectators witnessed some great moments. There was the shoulder-shake that freed Ali from the ring belt and the suffocating pressure from Foreman. There were the astonishingly precise punches with a speed rarely seen in a heavyweight. There was the courage, the steely spirit, the calmness in the face of enormous pressure from the audience and the media. Hours after the fight, Ali leaned back in an armchair in a Zaire riverside villa, listening attentively to the questions of writer Hugh McIlvanney of the Observer of London.

“I’ve beaten a lot of the top guys, not just George,” Ali began. “For all those journalists who thought I was going to be destroyed, for all those people who thought I was nothing but a big mouth. For all those people who were against me, who wanted to see Ali weak and broken. They thought Foreman could beat me. And today, they all know the truth.”

Ali’s shocking victory over Foreman in Zaire was recorded by McIlvanney as follows: “We need to know that Ali did not fight for old things. He fought for new values. He defeated Foreman with those things.” The “new values” McIlvanney mentioned were none other than Ali’s desire to build a just and peaceful world. The legendary American boxer swore to himself this after a bucket of water was poured on his head while walking down the street in Louisville. The reason was probably because of his skin color.