Boxing Pictures :: Boxing World: March 2011

Muhammad Ali Pictures

Mohammad Ali in his early years. Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. He was the oldest of two boys in the family, and was named after his father. His father Cassius Clay, Sr. painted billboards for a living, and his mother Odessa Grady Clay was a stay at home mom. He picked up boxing from a Louisville police officer that responded to his bike being stolen at the age of 12. Cassius was also being trained by a black trainer that was at the local community center. So while he was earning money doing a spot on a local TV show that Martin was hosting, he was getting trained by the other guy as well.

Fred Stoner the trainer at the local community center was his trainer through out his entire amateur career. During this time he went on to win 6 Golden Glove titles in Kentucky, as well as two national Golden Glove Titles. He earned a Amateur Athletic Union National Title, and the light heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Cassius Clays amateur record was 100 - 5.

Once he got back to Louisville he started training for his professional career. His first fight as a professional was against Tunney Hunsaker who was a police chief in West Virginia. Cassius was not like normal heavyweight Here is another photo of a young Mohammad Ali. boxers that most people were used to. Instead of holding his hands up high to protect his face he was able to move quickly to avoid being punched. He said that this stance was described as "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee". No other professional heavy weight had did that successfully, or has done it successfully since. Between the years of 1960 and 1963 he had a record of 19 - 0 with 15 of them being knockouts.

Around 1964 he got the opportunity for his first title shot against the current heavy weight champion. He fought Sonny Liston and after by the third round Clay was ahead on points and was able to open a cut under Sonny's left eye. That stayed true until the fourth round when Clay got something in his eyes and couldn't see clearly. It was said by some that Sonny had either put something on his gloves, or it was what they used to close up the cut under Sonny's eye. This lasted until around the fourth round when his eyes stopped burning and he was able to see. He then started dominating the fight again and was looking to end the fight around the sixth round. But everyone was shocked when Sonny didn't respond to the bell that started the seventh round saying that he had hurt his shoulder and could not continue.

Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. ended up changing his name around this time as well, in 1965 to Muhammad Ali. He did this because he joined the Nation of Islam. And did it right around the time that he fought Sonny for the second time. This fight ended a little Mohammad Ali was known for using quickness to protect himself, then using his hands. quicker. This fight lasted less then one full round when Ali knocked out Sonny with what was considered the "Phantom Punch". Many people feel that Ali threw a punch and Sonny took a dive, either because of threats from the Islam nation, or because he needed to pay unpaid debts.

Ali failed the U.S. Armed Forces qualifying test because his reading and writing skills were not up to satisfactory conditions. Later during the war the law was changed and he was eligible to go into the draft. But at this time he said that he will not fight in a war that his god does not approve of. After a long court battle he won in the supreme court where he was let go. After this time he was able to begin fighting again. And he fought Jerry Quarry in Georgia and won in three rounds after they stopped the fight because of a cut that Quarry suffered. He then fought in New York and beat Oscar Bonavena in Madison Square Garden in 1970 in the 15th round. This gave him the opportunity to fight Joe Frazier.

This fight was considered the "Fight Of The Century", and was one of the most famous fights of the time. It's still one of the most popular fights of all time now, and after 15 rounds Frazier punched Ali and winning the fight. This was the fist lose for Ali. After this fight he fought Ken Norton and lost the Here is a photo of Ali during his prime. fight in a split decision, he ended up winning the rematch by split decision. The led up to a rematch with Joe Frazier, although it was a non title fight because Fazier had already lost the heavy weight belt to George Foreman. Ali ended up winning the match in the twelve round.

This gave Ali the chance to regain his belt by fighting George Foreman. This fight was to be labeled as the "Rumble In The Jungle" because it was fought in Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali won that fight to the surprise of everyone, even some of Ali's supporters didn't believe that he would be able to beat Foreman. Ali's plan was to wear out Foreman, because none of Foreman's fight went past the third or fourth round. His plan worked and he ended the fight in the eight round by giving Foreman some shots that would put him down.

In 1975 Ali faced Chuck Wepner in a match that went 15 rounds, with Ali being the winner. In October of the same year he ended up fighting Joe Frazier for the third time and this fight was called the "Thrilla In Manila". This is because regarding the fight Ali has said that "It will be a killa, and a chilla, and a thrilla, when I get the gorilla in Manila". After the fight went back and forth through out the rounds, Ali won when Frazier was unable to answer the 15th round bell because his eye was swollen shut.

Ali retired after his last fight in 1981 to an upcoming fighter Trevor Berbick when he lost by a unanimous decision after ten rounds. In 1984 Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's Syndrome, a disease that is more common in fighters because of the repeated head trauma's that they suffer through out their career. Since then he has had appearances in many different things, and has had movies, and books written about him.Here are some pictures of Muhammad Ali through out his career, as well as some family members, and other friends.

Here is a snapshot taken of Ali right before his match.

This Photo on the left was taken right before one of his fights. The other photo

on the right is a picture of Ali's famous saying that he is known for. "Float Like

A Butterfly, Sting Like A Bee".

Here is a picture of a golden glove that was signed by Muhammad Ali.

Here is a golden glove that has been signed by Muhammad Ali. Ali also commonly wore black boxing gloves in the ring. These types of memorabilia can get really expensive depending on the demand

for that specific item. Or the demand of items from a specific athlete.