Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer, activist, entertainer and philanthropist. Nicknamed The Greatest, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated figures of the 20th century and as one of the greatest boxers of all time.

Ali was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He began training as an amateur boxer at age 12. At 18, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics and turned professional later that year. He became a Muslim after 1961. He won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston in a major upset on February 25, 1964, at age 22. On March 6, 1964, he announced that he no longer would be known as Cassius Clay but as Muhammad Ali. In 1966, Ali refused to be drafted into the military, citing his religious beliefs and ethical opposition to the Vietnam War. He was found guilty of draft evasion so he faced 5 years in prison and was stripped of his boxing titles. He stayed out of prison as he appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which overturned his conviction in 1971, but he had not fought for nearly four years and lost a period of peak performance as an athlete. Ali's actions as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War made him an icon for the larger counterculture generation, and he was a very high-profile figure of racial pride for African Americans during the civil rights movement and throughout his career. As a Muslim, Ali was initially affiliated with Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam (NOI). He later disavowed the NOI, adhering to Sunni Islam, and supporting racial integration like his former mentor Malcolm X.

Ali was a leading heavyweight boxer of the 20th century, and he remains the only three-time lineal champion of that division. His joint records of beating 21 boxers for the world heavyweight title and winning 14 unified title bouts stood for 35 years. He is the only fighter to have been ranked as the world's best heavyweight by BoxRec twelve times. He has been ranked among BoxRec's ten best heavyweights seventeen times, the third most in history. He won 8 fights that were rated by BoxRec as 5-Star, the third most in the history of the heavyweight division. Ali is the only boxer to be named The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year six times. He has been ranked the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, and as the greatest athlete of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated, the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC, and the third greatest athlete of the 20th century by ESPN SportsCentury. He was involved in several historic boxing matches and feuds, most notably his fights with Joe Frazier, such as the Fight of the Century and the Thrilla in Manila, and his fight with George Foreman, known as The Rumble in the Jungle, which has been called "arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century" and was watched by a record estimated television audience of 1 billion viewers worldwide, becoming the world's most-watched live television broadcast at the time. Ali thrived in the spotlight at a time when many fighters let their managers do the talking, and he was often provocative and outlandish. He was known for trash-talking, and often free-styled with rhyme schemes and spoken word poetry, anticipating elements of hip hop.

Da 5 Bloods

6.5

When We Were Kings

7.7

O.J.: Made in America

8.4

Pelé

7.3

Touched by an Angel

7.2

Andre the Giant

7.3

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

6.9

Tyson

6.9

Explained

7.5

I Am Ali

6.8

Requiem for a Heavyweight

7.2

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

7.4

Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration

8.0

Untold: Deal with the Devil

6.9

Be Water

6.8

Facing Ali

7.4

WrestleMania

6.6

O.J.: Made in America

8.0

Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight

6.4

Untold: Jake Paul the Problem Child

6.0

Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali

7.3

Beatles '64

6.5

McEnroe

6.0

What's My Line?

6.8

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street

7.4

Bill Russell: Legend

7.0

The Trials of Muhammad Ali

7.1

The Real Rocky

5.9

The Dick Cavett Show

6.6

The Greatest

5.6

What's My Name | Muhammad Ali

7.4

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything

7.7

Muhammad Ali: The Greatest

6.0

Black Is Beltza

5.8

Soul Power

6.3

In Search of Greatness

6.7

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am

7.5

Muhammad Ali

8.1

Malcolm X

6.4

Doin' Time

4.5

Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme

6.9

Say Hey, Willie Mays!

6.2

WWE: Undertaker 20-0 - The Streak

8.8

Body and Soul

3.9

The Merv Griffin Show

5.6

The Mike Douglas Show

5.1

Freedom Road

4.8

Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes

7.2

Monday Night Mayhem

5.3

Wogan

4.5

Ali's Comeback: The Untold Story

7.2

James Brown - The Night James Brown Saved Boston

6.6

WWE: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology

7.4

Something's Happening

4.2

Stand

7.3

Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World

7.3

Legends of Mid-South Wrestling

9.3

Sticky: A (Self) Love Story

5.0

Biography: 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper

7.7

70 Years of Youth Revolt

7.3

Le Siècle des icônes

7.0

Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston

7.5

a.k.a. Cassius Clay

7.5

Norman Mailer: The American

7.0

Muhammad Ali The Whole Story

8.5

Tribute to Chuck Wepner: The Legacy and Retirement of the Real Rocky Balboa

10.0

Night of 100 Stars III

4.0

James Bond: The First 21 Years

5.0

WWE Hall of Fame 2024

6.8

Africa Rising

7.5

Champions Forever

8.0

Europa: The Last Battle

5.5

A Life in Ten Pictures

8.0

Apostrophes

8.5

Ali Rap

6.0

The Super Fight

10.0

Mike Tyson vs Larry Holmes

9.0

Parkinson at 50

10.0

Cassius X: Becoming Ali

10.0

Mister Candid Camera

7.0

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III

10.0

My Father Muhammad Ali

2.0

Kings of The Ring - History of Heavyweight Boxing 1919-1990

2.0

Sugar Ray Robinson: The Bright Lights and Dark Shadows of a Champion

9.0

Money Talks

3.0

TV in Black: The First Fifty Years

4.0

Funny Girl to Funny Lady

2.0

Les vendredis d'Apostrophes

6.0

Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami

1.0

The Journey of the African-American Athlete

10.0

B.B. King: Live In Africa '74

7.0

Ali's Dozen

7.0

The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

5.0

Muhammad Ali: Fighting Spirit

6.0

Shut Up and Dribble

1.0

Ali's 65

7.0

BAMBI Awards

9.0

Der Sport-Spiegel

6.0

The Kennedy Who Changed The World

0.0

City of Ali

0.0

Black Soul

0.0

Ron Lyle

0.0

Earnie Shavers

0.0

The King of Miami Beach

0.0

Muhammad and Larry

0.0

Black Power Salute

0.0

Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL

0.0

The Fighters

0.0

Ali the Man: Ali the Fighter

0.0

Fight of the Century

0.0

Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson I

0.0

Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson II

0.0

Cassius Clay vs. Doug Jones

0.0

The Rumble in the Jungle: George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali

0.0

Cassius Clay vs. Alonzo Johnson

0.0

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier I

0.0

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II

0.0

Larry Holmes vs. Muhammad Ali

0.0

Champions Forever - World Heavyweight Champs!

0.0

The Documented Life and Times of Muhammad Ali - The Greatest

0.0

Cassius le grand

0.0

The Best of ABC's Wide World of Sports: The 60's

0.0

Black Rodeo

0.0

Out From Ali's Shadow: The Larry Holmes Story

0.0

Muhammad Ali vs. Trevor Berbick

0.0

Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick

0.0

Darts Tarts – Welcome to my World

0.0

Rumble in the Jungle

0.0

Thrilla in Manila

0.0

Larry Holmes vs. David Bey

0.0

Diana

0.0

Muhammad Ali - The Greatest Collection

0.0

Franz Klammer - The Ski "Kaiser" Will Be 70

0.0

70 Jahre Annemarie Moser-Pröll – Ein Leben als Wintermärchen

0.0

Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston II

0.0

Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston I

0.0

Kings of the Ring: Four Legends of Heavyweight Boxing

0.0

When Ali Met Cathal

0.0

The Last Round: Chuvalo vs. Ali

0.0

Jack Paar: Smart Television

0.0

Ali-Frazier I: One Nation... Divisible

0.0

Leon Spinks vs Muhammad Ali II

0.0

Boxing's Greatest Champions

0.0

Legends Never Die

0.0

Muhammad Ali - Rumble in the Jungle

0.0

Naked Sport: Welcome to the Sewer

0.0

WCW Halloween Havoc 1994

0.0

The Fight

0.0

The Champ and the King

0.0

Muhammad Ali, the Greatest

0.0

Wake Up and Apologise

0.0

When Ali Came to Britain

0.0

Die Muhammad Ali Story

0.0