Born Cassius Clay in 1942, he's known more commonly by the name he adopted upon conversion to Islam -- Muhammad Ali. The man is also known by the self-proclaimed designation of "The Greatest." There is little debate that Ali is one of the titans of heavyweight boxing. The story of his boxing career mixes history with triumph and defeat.
Amateur Years
Cassius Clay began fighting after thugs stole his bicycle at age 12. After telling a police officer that he wanted to beat up the culprits, he was urged to learn how to fight. He won his first sanctioned amateur bout in 1954 by split decision before winning the Golden Gloves championship in 1956 as a light heavyweight. In 1959, Clay won the Amateur Athletic Union's national title and Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions. In 1960, he represented the United States at the Rome Olympics, winning a gold medal.
First Heavyweight Title
After returning home, Clay turned pro and won all of his early bouts, most by knockout. In 1963, Clay defeated British heavyweight champion Henry Cooper and set his sights on world champion Sonny Liston. Clay was a 7-1 underdog going into the 1964 title fight, but won when Liston failed to answer the bell for the seventh round. The next day, he held a news conference, announcing his conversion to Islam and adopting the name Cassius X, soon to be Muhammad Ali
Controversy
After his conversion, Ali became the subject of intense controversy in the boxing world. Many refused to even use his newly adopted name. The Justice Department pursued Ali for alleged draft evasion after he failed to report for induction into the United States military on religious grounds. In the middle of this controversy, Ali beat challenger Ernie Terrell -- who continued to refer to Ali as "Clay" -- taunting him with, "What's my name?" during their bout. In 1967, Ali was convicted of draft evasion and stripped of his titles, boxing licenses and passport.
Return and Retirement
Ali later won his court case, returning to the ring in 1970. He had three legendary bouts, losing to Joe Frazier in the Fight of the Century in 1971, regaining the title with an eighth-round knockout of George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle and retaining the title with a TKO over Frazier in 1975 in the Thrilla in Manila. Ali lost the title to Leon Spinks in 1978 before regaining in later that year in a win over Spinks. Ali retired in 1979, but returned to the ring against heavyweight champ Larry Holmes in 1980. Ali lost when he was unable to answer the bell for the 11th round.
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