Muhammad Ali. He was a typical schoolboy, nothing special. However, it was the day where his beloved bike was stolen and that one incident turned his life around to become the greatest boxer the world has ever seen.

Early Life

Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born on January 17, 1942 in segregated Louisville, Kentucky.

Clay attended a coloured school in 1948-1954. He and his brothers were known to be literal wrecking balls in their neighbourhood, as they were known for their accidental destruction and curiosity. A notable example is when they broke a neighbor's birdbath while playing. However, Clay and his brother grew up in a middle class neighbourhood, definitely better compared to most heavyweight boxer legends, but nothing too special. He was often required to work odd jobs around the area, such as a babysitter to earn more money.

2 years after graduating from elementary school, Clay attended an all black school from 1956-1960 and was quite a well-known figure on campus. He was known to race the school bus on foot just to build his stamina, kind of crazy to think about it. He was described as a witty, playful person who always managed to make people laugh in the cafeteria due to his playful and calm nature. 

However, he often struggled with learning in class due to his dyslexia. He frequently daydreamt and doodled on his paper rather than actually paying attention (some of us can relate)

But, it was during this time that his life took a turn for the best

The robbery

At the age of 12, October, 1954, Clay’s life took a dramatic turn.

His father recently gifted him a brand new, red and white Schwinn bicycle, which he treasured dearly.

Clay and his friends rode to the Columbia Auditorium in downtown Louisville to attend the Louisville Home Show, a community event which promised to give out free popcorn and candy. Ali parked his bike outside, and after enjoying his free popcorn and candy, discovered his beloved bike was GONE, NON-EXISTENT, and never to be seen again.

He immediately reported this theft to an officer named Joe E. Martin who was also a boxing coach. Clay reportedly wanted to beat up the thief, and get his bike back, however Martin suggested he should actually learn how to throw a punch first.

Clay took his advice and pulled up to Colombia Gym at Louisville. This is where he trained for the next 6 years, developing his fighting skills, power and stamina. 

Clay reportedly trained there 6 times a week, relentlessly running, jumping rope, shadowboxing, and fighting literally any dude in amateur tournaments.

Did he win?

Yeah, he cooked them brah

He won 100 of his fights and only lost 5 times.

On top of the 100 fights he ALREADY won, he brought home a prestigious national boxing championship: The Kentucky Golden Glove titles, SIX TIMES! 

It was the 1960s, when Ali turned 18 and began professional boxing…

The Professional Boxing turn-around

During that same year he competed in his first olympic debut, in the lightweight division. Absolutely destroying his competition and securing gold for the United States of America.

Literally a few weeks following his Olympic debut, he made his first professional debut in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky fighting police chief and part-time boxer Tunney Hunsaker.

He cooked, winning by a 6 round unanimous decision.

He began cooking even more by tiling up an undefeated 19-0 win streak over the next 3 years, beating at the time, some of the greatest boxing legends such as Tony Esperti, Jim Robinson, Donnie Fleeman, and Lamar Clark.

In 1962, he even famously fought his brief coach Archie Moore, who he knocked out…4th round by the way. Yeah this guy is good.

Ali was even named “The Louisville Lip” as he famously predicted the round in which he would secure a knockout for every fight, and he was mostly correct! Surprisingly.

1964. The year where he shot his shot at the world championships. 

The only problem?

It was defended by heavyweight boxer legend, Sonny Liston, known for his devastating power shots and size, he was clearly favoure-

Oh, he quit. Like gave up?

Yeah.

Anyways, Cassius Clay scored a 3 pointer and became the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, famously screaming “I shook up the world!” 

After his shocking win, he shocked the world once again by officially changing his name to Muhammad Ali and converting to islam, diverting away from his “slavery name” Cassius Clay.

Imagine his dad thinking his surname is a slave name.

Anyways, in 1965, a highly anticipated, albeit delayed, rematch occurred in Lewistown during May. Aight, IDK HOW, but Ali cooked in during round one, knocking him out with a controversial "phantom punch”. Ali was simply so fast, only a few people actually saw the punch impact Liston's face, it was so fast he immediately fell, which led to A LOT of critics deem it to be fake or a complete miss.

In 1967, at the absolute PEAK of his athletic career, Ali refused to be drafted into the United States military due to his conflicting religious beliefs and refusal of war. 

Because of his refusal, he suffered heavy consequences:

1. The World Boxing Association and The New York Athletic Commission stripped him of his hard earned HeavyWeight Title.

2. He was banned from boxing and had his professional licence revoked, leading to a 3 and a half year ban during his prime.

THE Comeback

He had an insane comeback after his ban. He returned in October 1970 after his long exileand had his first major fight in 1974 to reclaim his heavyweight title in a legendary fight against Big George Foreman, also known as “Rumble in the Jungle”. The fight was so popular it brought in 100 Million USD in revenue during that time and was broadcasted to 1 Billion people around the globe. Ali won by 8th round knockout after Foreman was unable to get up from Ali's barrage, with Ali claiming the undisputed heavyweight title. 

Ali went on to fight three more times before his second major fight named Thrilla in Manilla against Joe Frazier III. This fight was actually the third bout these two had, and pushed through their limits until the 15th round where Ali won by TKO, after Frziers coach threw in the towel. (Originally from boxing, a way to signal surrender in order to save the boxer from permanent damage)

After his incredible win against Foreman and Fraizr, Ali fought another 10 times, generating a record of 7 wins and 3 losses before his physical abilities started having noticeable deficiencies. Due to the aggressive nature of boxing, Ali was showing signs of declining athletic abilities, before being diagnosed with parkinson disease in 1984. 

However before that period, he was still putting up a great fight, defending his title against some of the hardest hitting boxers in history like Ernie Shaver (who reportedly had a harder hitting punch than Mike Tyson).

In February of 1978, he lost his heavyweight title toLeon Spink, but gained it back in September, to become the very first three time heavyweight world champion.

He had a brief retirement phase, before returning to fight Larry Holmes in 1980.

Ali lost. 10th round. Sadly, you could clearly see his declining physical condition due to his developing Parkinson's and was stopped by his long-time trainer Angelo Dundee before continuing into the 11th round.

Ali fought his final bout against Trever Berbick, which also resulted in a loss by a 10th round unanimous decision.

Retirement and life with Parkinson's.

Muhammad Ali officially retired from boxing in 1981, but that wasn't the end of his journey.

Ali started diverting his focus onto philanthropy, religion, and activism.

Ali completely shifted away from his trash-talking persona, and moved to a more humble, and quiet lifestyle, dedicating his time to helping humanity, uniting people, and supporting charities around the world.

He also still remained to be a massive public figure, frequently travelling around the globe for goodwill missions, supporting various charities, and even engaged in highly dangerous negotiations with Iraq, which led to the release of American hostages in 1990.

Wait, what.

Muhammad Ali, a trash-talking legend, convinced literally one of the most powerful men on the planet to release 15 American hostages???

Yeah.

On November 23rd, 1990, Muhammad Ali and former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, landed in Iraq to formally speak with Saddam Hussien about the release of the hostages.

He got aired. For like, 9 days.

During those 9 days, he completely won the heart of the public. He visited sick children, prayed in mosques, and generated massive public goodwill among Iraqi citizens.

Finally, on November 29th, Saddam agreed to have a recorded one-on-one meeting with Ali, and using his calm persona and the fact that he was the most famous muslim in the world, he convinced Saddam to release all 15 American hostages.

Saddam even stated: "I'm not going to let Muhammad Ali return to the U.S. without having a number of the American citizens accompanying him". 

December 2nd, 1990 was the date Ali brought home 15 American hostages from the grasp of Iraq, and a few weeks later, the gulf war broke out, and those Americans probably wouldn't have made it if they were still there.

Following through the 1990s, Ali made another remarkable public appearance during the 1996 Olympics, when his trembling body lit the olympic flame, showcasing a moment of vulnerability, yet unwavering resilience. It was like his inner champion was shining through for a second.

Moving towards the 2000s era, Ali was literally deemed the "Sportsman of the century”, highlighting his incredible feats and influence over the world as a boxer. 

Passing and life after his passing

2016 was the year that marked the unfortunate passing of Muhamad Ali at his home, at age 74. Within seconds of the news releasing, it went completely viral. Billions of people on social media displayed their grief, admiration, respect, and tribute to the greatest Ali.

Lonnie Ali (Muhammad Alis wife, now widow) continues to carry his legacy, and is the lifetime director of Louisville, Kentucky-based museum and cultural center.

There is even an annual day dedicated to kindness, called “Day of Compassion” where the community gathers around to encourage volunteerism and acts of empathy towards each other.

Even his 9 children still continue to participate in various philanthropic and activism efforts to honour their fathers contribution to sport, civil rights and human rights.

The end of Ali’s story, and the beginning of yours.

Muhammad Ali's story is the ultimate testament on how relentless work, sheer passion, and discipline can take you to places you never even knew you could reach.

“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it – then I can achieve it.”

Ali didn't just work hard and let the rest handle itself, he taught his mind to believe he was the best, he was the GOAT, and that worrying simply does nothing to ourselves, and only worsens our situation.

Instead of worrying about the future and thinking you're not good enough for something, if your mind already believes you conquered it, you already won, and nothing can stop you?

You already won, before your mind can believe you failed.

Will you Float like a Butterfly and Sting like a Bee?