Muhammad Ali :: essays research papers

Muhammad AliThe greatest mystery of the 1996 Olympic summer games in Atlanta, was solved at28 minutes past midnight the day of the opening ceremony. The crowd erupted whenthe Olympic torch was passed to Muhammad Ali. The Olympic opulent medal boxerMuhammad Ali lifted the torch and trembled before a crowd screaming Ali. Hethen sent the fire soaring high above the stadium to ignite the ceremonialOlympic cauldron. This moment was sincerely yours one of the finest ever to many sportsfan, considering the tragedy Ali has been through, he still executed the missionas a true champion. Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay in Louisville, KY., onJanuary 17, 1942. He grew up in a poor family. His adolescence was influenced bya prejudice society, and the poor black neighborhood where he grew up. Ali hadproblems in school at an early stage and felt he wanted to do somethingdifferent. His dreams were going to be fulfilled at an age of 12, when JoeMartin, a police officer and a boxing instructor, encouraged Ali to start withboxing. Ali showed great skills at an early stage of his boxing career. At theage of 16, Ali had won both Golden Glove Titles, two National AAU Titles, he wasby now nationally recognized. When the 1960 Rome Olympic Game was about to takeoff, Ali was provided with an opportunity to represent his country. At thispoint he had fought 103 amateur matches, and had only lost five. Ali went withthe Olympic team to Rome, and he did not only participate, he also won theprecious Olympic gold medal. Ali returned folk from Italy, and he felt that hehad made a difference when he won the gold medal for his country. When he gotback to his hometown, Louisville, he thought that he was going to be treated asa champion, but he was still discriminated by the white society. In anger, Alidecided to throw his Olympic gold medal into the Ohio river, as a protestagainst what he perceived as racism in his hometown. At this point Ali wanted totake a survive against the discrimina tion of the blacks in the US, and did so byhis actions. By the age of 22 Clay had a professional boxing record of 19 winsand no loss. On February 25, 1964, Ali got the chance to fight for the worldheavyweight championship. Despite his prior record, Ali was considered to be theunderdog, few experts gave him a chance. Before the fight Ali used the media