Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky. The son of Cassius Marcellus Sr., a sign and mural painter, and Odessa Grady, a housewife.

Cassius (later Muhammad Ali) certainly had boxing talent and that had been proved beyond doubt when he claimed the light-heavyweight gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics at the age of 18.

But when Cassius decided to turn professional, boxing was ruled mostly by the mob. And Cassius turned the sport of boxing on its head. Right from the way he took his guard with his left arm by his hip, to the way he danced around the ring, prophesized, swayed to avoid punches and preened and strutted and bragged. Ali was special indeed.

The heavyweight champion at that time was Sonny Liston, who, as rumour had it, was funded by the mob in his early years. Liston had tremendous hitting power in both hands and his presence in the ring was an intimidating factor. Liston had dispatched the earlier champion Floyd Patterson twice in quick time and nobody who was anybody gave the young Clay a hope in hell against Liston.

But Clay came through; he was just too quick for the Liston who he likened to the big ugly bear. Only 3 of the 46 sportswriters had picked Clay to win the title and Clay gave it back to them in full. Just after the fight, he accepted the teachings of Islam and gave up his slave name, Cassius Clay, in favour of Muhammad Ali.

As Ali's success in the ring continued, he also became champion of the civil rights movement against the treatment of blacks in the United States.

In 1967, Ali refused induction into the U.S army for the Vietnam War and the government promptly took away his boxing license and the WBA and the WBC stripped him of the heavyweight title. He was inactive from March 22, 1967 to October 1970, which many feel would have been his best years. He had immediately appealed against his ban and the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously voted n his favour.

This set the stage for the first of the three legendary fights against 'Smokin' Joe Frazier, who had fought his way to the title in Ali's absence. The first fight was simply labeled "The Fight of the century". For the first time in the history of the sport two undefeated heavyweights with equally valid claims to the crown were to spar together. Frazier won that match but it was the start of one of the greatest rivalries in the history of the sport.

Ali regained the title in 1974, defeating George Foreman in "The Rumble in the Jungle". A documentary called "When we were Kings" was based on this battle. The fight took place in the stade du 20 Mai, Kinhasa, Zaire where nearly 60,000 chanted "Ali, bomaye" - "Ali, kill him". But the Ali the world saw was a very different one. He did not dance around the ring as he said he would. He did not throw quick jabs all the time, just an occasional one, absorbed all the punishment 'Big George' could hand-out to him and employed the famous Rope-A-Dope to tire him out. Then he struck back in the eighth round with a lightning left-right combination and Foreman was just unable to get back on his feet, whether it was from exhaustion or the force of the blows one may never tell but the fact remained that Ali was champion again.

Ali and Frazier met once again. This time in 'The Thrilla in Manila' as Ali had titled the fight. During his 14 fights, in the six years that followed the fight, Ali was never the same. The two men fought like gladiators in the ring trying to pound each other into submission and no ordinary men would have been able to stand there for as long as these two greats did. After the fight Ali said "What you saw, was next to death".

This, to many experts, was the beginning of the end of Muhammad Ali. To understand this you have to know that Ali's career was in three phases - one, from 1960 to the draft; two, from his comeback to "The Rumble in the Jungle"; three, after 'The Thrilla in Manila to his retirement.

In the third phase, Ali had 14 bouts, he went 176 rounds for an average of 12.6, more than double than in the first phase.

Ali was beaten by Leon Spinks, the Olympic gold medallist, in 1978 for the heavyweight title but he came back to capture the crown for the third time. The first boxer to do so.

He finally retired in 1981, when he lost a 10-round decision to Trevor Berbick in 1981.

He was then diagonised with "Parkinson's syndrome", a degenerative condition which many say is the result of all the blows he took to the head during his career. But his fight against the disease has brought him even more admirers.

In the 1996 Atlanta Games, when he lit the Olympic Cauldron, with his hands visibly shaking from the effects of Parkinson's, he touched a chord in the hearts of all those watching.

One of the most adored athletes in the world, Ali was special, is special and will remain a special human being for as long as he graces the Earth.

Career Record:
Total: 61 - Won: 56 (91.8 %)- Lost: 5 (8.2 %)- KOs: 37 (60.7 %)
Before Exile: 29 - Won: 29 (100 %) - KOs: 23 (79.3 %)
After Exile: 32 - Won: 27 (84.4 %)- Lost: 5 (15.6 %)- KOs: 14 (43.8 %)
Championship Bouts: 25 - Won: 23 (92 %)- Lost: 2 (8 %)- KOs: 14 (56 %)
Three-time World heavyweight champ (1964-67, 1974-78,1978-79)

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