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Some say that boxing is the closest thing to death; But Ali is the king of boxing who bravely gallops in the death game. In his 20-year boxing career, he has built an unparalleled record, winning Olympic boxing matches, becoming a three-time world heavyweight boxing champion, and competing in more than 200 professional and amateur boxing bouts.
On December 19, 1979, Ali visited China and was cordially received by Deng Xiaoping.
Commensurate with these proud achievements, Ali's famous fast boxing, elegant butterfly footwork, and lion-like fighting spirit, all of which are extremely valuable in the boxing world where Ali's contemporaries are full of masters and boxing kings.
However, people's admiration for Ali does not stop there, he is upright, stubborn and peace-loving. In 1967, he refused to enlist in Vietnam to fight, for which he was harassed and persecuted by the then US government, and became an anti-war warrior for this; He hated racial discrimination, fought for a long time for the status and rights of blacks, and did not want to take the surname of the slave owner and converted to Islam, taking the religious name Muhammad Ali.
After retiring from boxing in 1979, he worked on the cause of world peace. He has donated a considerable portion of his hard-earned money over the years to charities of "black Muslims" to help the poor.
He served as a United Nations envoy to countries of the Third World afflicted by famine and war, using his influence to awaken them to restore peace, rebuild their homes and enlist the support of developed countries.
On December 19, 1979, Ali, who is well-known in the boxing world, visited China as a "messenger of peace" of then US President Carter and was cordially received by Deng Xiaoping. He then came to China again in 1985 and 1993 to promote and promote boxing, which was warmly received by Chinese people.
Ali is worthy of being the greatest boxing champion of the 20th century. In May 1985, the World Boxing Federation held a grand award ceremony for him in Los Angeles, USA, in recognition of his "contribution to boxing and to the cause of human peace".
Like many black families in the United States, Ali spent his childhood in poverty, living on only a few dollars earned by his father for advertising and sometimes from his mother's homework. Most of the clothes worn by Ali and his brother were giveaways from the almshouse; In the evening, the brothers waited hungry for their exhausted mother to bring home a few hamburgers.
When Ali went to elementary school, the school was far from home and the fare was prohibitively expensive. He had to follow the car to the school. Although this tempered his physique, his father was very distressed to see him working so hard, so he cut back on food and clothing, and when Ali was 12 years old, he gave him a brand new bicycle as a gift for Christmas.
On this day, several friends invited Ali to a merchandise fair at the Columbia Assembly Hall. Ali had just owned a new car and was about to take the opportunity to get refreshed, when he heard that there was a free supply of popcorn at the fair, so he rode on the car and went there vigorously. However, when they came out after watching the fair, they found that the bicycle parked in front of the General Assembly Hall had disappeared.
Ali was frightened and frightened, and his eyes were teary. He and a few friends traveled around, looking around, and was later told why he didn't ask them for help because there were police officers in the boxing gym in the Great Hall. So, Ali rushed to the boxing gym in a hurry.
At this time, there are still more than a dozen boxers training in the boxing gym. Some punch quickly into the sandbag. Some practiced sparring in the rope circle, and some were whirring and jumping rope, and the lively scene attracted him at once. Ali looked at the boxers intently, smelling the scent of the boxers' sweat and turpentine, and had long forgotten about looking for a car.
Watching, watching, he only felt an urge in his heart, "I want to be a boxer too!" "At this time, the trainer of the boxing gym came over. He looked Ali up and down, patted him on the shoulder and said, "If you are interested, come to the training!" In this way, Ali went to school in the morning, worked part-time in the afternoon, and began to learn boxing in the evening.
The first time he trained, Ali couldn't wait to jump into the rope loop and train against an older fighter. At first, he went on a rampage without fear. But after a minute, he was so dizzy that he had a bleeding nose and a cracked mouth, and he was a little overwhelmed. Ali gritted his teeth and wanted to persevere, but he couldn't help it, and was finally dragged out of the rope loop.
A slender light heavyweight coach saw that he was so brave and liked him very much, put his arm around his shoulders and said, "Kid, don't be afraid, you'll be fine." Come, let me teach you the basic techniques of boxing! ”
Since then, under the careful guidance of coaches, Ali has worked hard, sometimes walking on the street, he will also involuntarily beat and practice, in order to exercise his physique, he not only runs with the bus, but also races with the horse in the morning. Whenever he entered the boxing ring rope circle, he attacked his opponent in high spirits, and everyone said that this young man had a kind of manhood.
Three years later, Ali's skills have grown greatly. Finally, one day, the coach asked him to participate in a fight against white fighter Lonnie O'Keeffe, which was played on the "Future Boxing King" TV show, and 14-year-old Ali, with great fearlessness, first attacked his opponent, and the two sides fought inextricably. In the end, Ali won by points to win the first fight of his boxing career.
Originally, Ali's father hoped that his son would grow up to become a lawyer or teacher, but when he was pleasantly surprised to see his son's outstanding performance in boxing, he was the first to shout like Columbus discovered the New World: "My son will become the new world heavyweight champion!" ”
In 1960, at the age of 18, Ali competed in the Rome Olympics. He fought bravely and well, like a fierce jaguar, against the best players of the world. Because of his youth, strength and outstanding boxing skills, he swept the elite of boxing and won the Olympic light heavyweight boxing championship in one fell swoop.
Ali's victory in Rome won honor for the United States. Upon his return, he received a grand welcome. In New York, he was accommodated in the opulent suites of the luxurious Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
In his hometown of Louisville, he was warmly welcomed by thousands of people, escorted by police and honor guards along the road; Blacks and whites applauded; Along the way, many buildings hang banners such as "Welcome to the Triumphal Home of Marcellus Clay".
Ali (second from right) competes at the 1960 Olympics in Rome
The mayor specially received Ali and even promised that the city government had planned to let him meet the president... For a time, Ali's mind was full of beautiful dreams of being an American child.
However, the Olympic hero did not expect that his victory would not change his discrimination as a descendant of black slaves due to the deep-rooted policies of racial discrimination.
One day, Ali and his friend Lonnie were riding their newly purchased motorcycle home after attending the mayor's reception, and on the way, when a downpour suddenly occurred, they hurriedly got out of the car and hid in a bar on the side of the road, Ali and Lonnie found two random seats to sit in.
Then the pot-bellied shopkeeper sitting at the counter whispered a few words to the hostess, and then the waitress walked up to them and said, "We can't entertain you here." ”
Although Ali has already been mentally prepared for this, at this moment, he feels that this matter is still very absurd. Because he is now a hero of the United States and a proud part of the United States. He brought the gold medal to the United States, and the gold medal will not solve all these problems ?!
"Miss, I'm Little Cathers Marcellus Clay. Olympic champion. ”
Lonnie proudly took the gold medal out from under Ali's shirt and straightened its red, white and blue ribbons to make the gold medal shine in the light.
The hostess seemed to be infected. She hurried up to her boss and said a few words excitedly and urgently. Who expected, the fat boss became even more popular when he heard it. He roared unscrupulously: "I don't care who he is!" I have long said that we do not entertain blacks! ”
As soon as the voice fell, the bar that was still noisy just now suddenly fell silent, and everyone focused on Ali's body. "You..." Ali was so angry that he wanted to pull out his powerful fist, and Lonnie quickly hugged him and dragged him out of the bar. The rain is still falling.
Ali raised his head and let the rain wet his whole body, as if to let this cool rain clear his mind. But it wasn't over yet, when Ali staggered to the motorcycle and stomped on the engine, there was another burst of laughter and scolding in his ears: "Hey, Olympic Negro! Black people want to go into bars too! ”
Ali looked back and saw that it was the members of the "speeding party" that he had just met in the bar made up of white youths. Ali sneered at them, increased the motorcycle throttle, made a "click" sound, and roared away in front of them.
Perhaps it was the villains of the "speeding party" who thought Ali was weak and bullying, and they drove closely behind. When Ali drove to the bridge in Jefferson County, they chased after them and squeezed Ali's car in the middle of the bridge.
At this time, a gangster nicknamed "Frog" in the "Speeding Party" waved a bicycle chain and roared, "Olympic Negro, you are also a boxer?" Hand over the gold medal! Ali grabbed the bicycle chain with one hand, pulled it fiercely, and before it could react, he stretched out his iron fist and struck a right straight fist, hitting the "frog" in the face with a swift wind and thunder.
Only a scream was heard, and the "frog" fell to the ground, his nose bleeding. The other villains were so frightened that their faces turned earthy, they threw away their armor and fled...
The harsh reality made Ali sober that the gold medal could not change everything, and the black people could not escape the fate of discrimination. He drove the car like crazy in the rain, as if to let the spinning wheel completely crush his innocent dream of being a good American boy.
Ali drove the car to a stop by the Ohio River. He jumped out of the car and stared at the gushing pale black river in a daze. Suddenly, he took out the Olympic gold medal he had been fighting for just now from his arms and threw it into the river. Lonnie hurried forward to stop it, but it was too late. The red, white, and blue ribbons were slowly dragged into the water by the sinking gold medals.
"I don't need it anymore, no—I need it!" Ali muttered. Soon after, Ali returned to the mosque, officially converted to Islam, and decided not to take the surname of the slave owner, changing his name "Catherus Marcellus Clay Jr." to his religious name "Muhammad Ali" in protest against the system of discrimination against blacks. After the Olympics, Ali became a professional boxer. Consecutive victories have built his confidence to challenge the boxing champion Liston.
However, the title of the king of boxing does not have a fixed world match with a set interval like the world champion in other sports. In the fight for the boxing king, the challenger challenges the current boxing king, and once you are defeated, even if you have just achieved the boxing king, you will become an "expired" boxing king.
Therefore, in order to maintain his honor, the current boxing champion is generally reluctant to fight easily, especially in the face of those younger and junior challengers. Sony Liston is no exception. To this end, Ali has to use his brain.
At the end of 1962, Ali defeated veteran boxing champion Archie to win his sixteenth consecutive professional match. At the post-match congratulatory meeting for him, he saw Soni Liston present and deliberately proudly declared: "Anyway, I am ready to face Liston, I predict that I will defeat him in 8 rounds." ”
Sony Liston, born May 8, 1932 in St. Louis, USA, is an American professional boxer. He died on 30 December 1970
"8 rounds?!" Almost everyone present was surprised by Ali's "wild words". Because at that time, Sony Liston's boxing skills were superior to all famous fighters, and it was almost difficult to beat.
Sure enough, Sony Liston was deeply enraged. He jumped up from his seat, glared at Ali coldly with his eyes, and gritted his teeth and said, "Don't be crazy, boy, you won't be able to exceed one round under me." After that, he brushed his sleeves away.
However, afterwards, Sony Liston still did not come up with a specific date for the battle. Ali decided to "lead the snake out of the hole" again.
One day, he learned that Sony Liston was gambling in a hotel, so he rushed there and shouted at him: "Liston, do you have the guts to fight me?" ”
Sony Liston, who was addicted to shaking the dice to gamble for money, didn't seem to hear, he didn't look at Ali, and continued to shake his dice.
Seeing his indifferent look, Ali took another step closer, raised his fist, and continued to "stimulate" him with words. Unexpectedly, Sony Liston suddenly took out a pistol from his pocket, aimed it at Ali's head, and pulled the trigger. "Bang! Bang! Ali reflexively bowed his head to avoid it. Bang! Bang! "Two more shots, Ali dodged lifelessly...
Hindsight: Ali understood that Sony Liston was really. He somewhat regretted his actions, even though it was feigned for war.
However, Ali's frequent challenges, fueled by public opinion, Sony Liston finally accepted the challenge, and the Boxing Championship was scheduled to be held in Miami, United States on February 25, 1964.
Soni Liston and Muhammad Ali
After the start of the match, the two fighters fought in a 6-meter-square ring. The two sides come and go, and it is difficult to distinguish for a while. When the second round began, the extraordinary Sony Liston took the lead, and his fists rained down on Ali.
Ali deftly dodged and looked for an opportunity to fight back, and finally, he saw the right moment and hit his opponent in the head with his powerful throw, only to knock Liston back a few steps and almost fall. So angry that Soni Liston held back the pain, a vicious tiger pounced, and attacked Ali again. The two fought each other in short combat, fighting quickly, and the scene was wonderful.
The two sides fought fiercely until the fifth round, Sony Liston was a little weak, while Ali was still like a rabbit, flashing left and right with his original butterfly steps, continuing to consume the opponent's physical strength. By the sixth round, Ali saw that his opponent was at the end of a strong crossbow, roared sharply, and used the "killer copper" left short fist, pounced on the opponent like a whirlwind, and hit Sony Liston only with the power to parry.
Ali still did not let up, chased fiercely, flew forward, and threw another punch, hitting the opponent's chin... At the break, a tired Sony Liston sat on a short bench, his eyes dull, and could no longer play. The thrilling title of boxing tournament ended after 6 rounds, and Ali put on the gold belt and became the new champion.
At a White House dinner with President Carter in 1977
In May of the following year, he accepted the challenge of Sony Liston as a boxing champion, knocking his opponent out in just 1 minute and 42 seconds. This beautiful title defense has caused a sensation in the world of boxing. Since then, he has been invincible and invincible in many international competitions in the United States, Japan, the Philippines, Zaire and other places...
Just when Ali was at the pinnacle of boxing. In 1967, he suddenly received a notice from the U.S. Recruitment Bureau asking him to enlist in the army and go to Vietnam to serve as cannon fodder for the war of aggression. The strong and righteous Ali did not give in, he stood up resolutely and resisted, and wrote a poem.
The poem reads: "The Vietnamese people have no grudge against us, why should they rush to fight." "His actions have angered the U.S. government. On March 22, 1967, the U.S. District Court revoked Ali's boxing license in all states and confiscated his passport, fined him $10,000, and faced five years in prison for refusing military service. He even pressured the World Boxing Federation to strip him of his title of champion.
Ali did not flinch, appealing and giving anti-war speeches at universities and black organizations. His popularity, combined with his eloquent eloquence, earned him more sympathy. Ali was spared prison due to bail from all walks of life and pressure from public opinion, but he was still excluded from boxing for three years.
Ali visits sick children
He was not able to return to boxing until 1970. This deprived Ali of what should have been a glorious "golden age."
In March 1971, the comeback Ali suffered the first defeat of his career, being knocked out twice by then-champion Fraser. But Ali did not lose heart. "No one can defeat Muhammad Ali once and for all", determined to regain lost time and restore its former glory.
For this reason, he wakes up every morning and immerses himself in hard training. He lived a highly self-disciplined life, not smoking, drinking, and not indulging in alcohol. In order to find a strong player to practice, he also took out a sum of money and set up a bonus of 2,000 US dollars for knocking himself out during practice.
Finally, Ali regained his strength and defeated Fraser first. On October 30, 1974, he defeated the famous boxing king Fuhrman and once again ascended to the throne of boxing.
On August 16, 1978, the 36-year-old Ali defeated Spinks who had just defeated him seven months earlier. Ascending to the throne of the world boxing king for the third time has reached the peak of his boxing career. On December 11, 1981, Ali announced his retirement after his last match. He won the heavyweight title 22 times in 20 years.
On June 11, 2016, Muhammad Ali's funeral was held in his hometown of Louisville
On June 3, 2016, Ali died in a local hospital in Phoenix at the age of 74!
A humble article, the writing is immature, and I beg the officials in the ranks to forgive or give advice. Thank you!
History is a never-ending stage with a story that never ends