Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., better known as Muhammad Ali, was considered the greatest boxer of all time.
He started boxing at only 12 years old and won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics. But his life was by no means an easy one.
At the height of his athletic career, he was drafted for the army, but he refused. He was then forced to face 5 years in prison and was also stripped of all of his boxing titles. After his imprisonment, he took a few months to readjust himself back into the routine, but once he did that he was headstrong into the game.
Muhammad Ali was number one in the heavyweight boxing world of the 20th century and he remained the three-time lineal champion of his division. What people may not be aware of was that he also dabbled in music, where he received two Grammy Awards for his performances. After many years of boxing, he came out to the public and revealed that he had Parkinson’s disease. The disease was brought on by several blows to his head from fights. But even so, he remained an active figure in the sports world.
The Olympic Torch
One of Muhammad Ali’s monumental moments in sports wasn’t in the ring but during the ceremony of the Centennial Olympic Games. It was one of the most emotional and touching moments because his condition was at its peak yet he managed to light the Olympic cauldron with confidence. The opening ceremony of the Olympics will forever be globally remembered as a time when Muhammad Ali graced it with his presence.