Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali (1942–2016), born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., was an American professional boxer and activist. Known as "the Greatest", he is often regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, and in 1999 Sports Illustrated named him Sportsman of the Century.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he began boxing at 12 and, at 18, won the light heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Olympics before turning professional that year. In 1964, at 22, he upset Sonny Liston to win the world heavyweight championship and changed his name to Muhammad Ali that same year. He joined the Nation of Islam in the early 1960s and moved to Sunni Islam in the mid-1970s. In 1967 he refused to be drafted, citing his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War; he was convicted of draft evasion and stripped of his titles until the Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 1971. Kept out of the ring for nearly four years, he became an icon of the 1960s counterculture and a symbol of racial pride for African Americans during the civil rights movement.

His highly publicized bouts included the Fight of the Century and the Thrilla in Manila against Joe Frazier, and the Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman. He was known for an unorthodox style, often keeping his hands low and relying on reflexes and footwork, as well as for rhyming trash talk and predicting the round of his knockouts, and he is seen as a pioneer of hip-hop.

He retired in 1981 and turned to religion, philanthropy and activism. In 1984 he made public his diagnosis of Parkinson's syndrome, and he died on June 3, 2016, in a hospital in the Phoenix area of Arizona after being admitted with a respiratory illness.