Muhamad Ali – Racism and the Making of a Legend

Muhamad Ali – Racism and The Making of a Legend
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September 12, 2022
Muhamad Ali is one of the most outstanding athletes of all time in the sport of boxing, not because he has the most wins or the best set of records among all boxers, but because he is a wonderful entertainer who keeps spectators and audiences on the edge of their seats. His famous trash talk is one of the most anticipated parts of his interview because it gives viewers thrills until the day of the fight. Muhamad Ali's fights were one of the most anticipated fights back then, and fans from all over the world, especially the black community, gave their full support to their fellow people.
With this tendency of Muhamad Ali being dubbed "The Greatest of All Time," he has inspired many contemporary boxers and has now become their inspiration or someone they look up to. One of the reasons he acquired fame is that he is also an activist who fights for his people's rights and continues to participate in such activities even during his busiest prime days. In this paper, we will delve deeper into how Muhamad Ali impacted the world of boxing, from his early days as a child to the peak of his career.
Early life
Muhamad Ali, or Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. as he was called before changing his name, was born in Kentucky in 1942, during the height of racism and segregation in the American south. His father, Cassius Clay Sr., was a billboard painter at the time and needed to support Ali in school, while his mother, Odessa Grady Ali, was a domestic household worker who needed to withstand racism while also supporting his two kids CITATION Cla00 \l 1033 (Claire & Nolte, 2000). Ali also has a brother, Rahman Ali, who subsequently changes his name.
Ali had a strict upbringing since he needed to be vital to survive his environment at the time; in this atmosphere, he learned to defend himself. According to folklore, Ali was introduced to boxing after his bike was stolen, and he planned to get revenge on the guy who stole his bike by beating him up, as he told the police officers he spoke with. Fortunately, the police officer with whom he speaks is also a boxing coach at the local gym, and it is here that he offers to teach Ali how to box correctly if he wants to beat the person who stole his bike. Moreover, at those precise times, the young Muhamad Ali was on his path to becoming the greatest boxer of all time, and that is how Ali began his boxing career.
Nevertheless, throughout his teen days, he was still unknown and merely a common boxer at the time. He needed to earn his name first. This was when Ali fought a number of little and big battles in his local area. Clay or Ali won his first amateur battle when he was 14 years old, and in the years after, he won a revolutionary golden gloves competition for light heavyweight fighters.
At this point, Ali is building his confidence to fight in even more significant tournaments. Things changed for the good when Ali fought for the Golden Gloves Tournament Championship and the AAU national title for the light heavyweight division. This was when Ali was picked to represent or to play for the USA at the 1960 Rome Olympics CITATION Gor95 \l 1033 (Gorn, 1995)...