6 Ways Muhammad Ali Changed Boxing and the World

Muhammad Ali was a paragon and a paradox, a brilliant fighter in the boxing ring and a committed man to Black people’s causes outside it. America had not experienced anyone like him -- a man of conviction who understood that his international platform was an entrée to spread the word for equal rights for all. In the process of becoming the youngest boxer, at 22, to take the title from a reigning heavyweight champion, in a stunning upset of the perceived indomitable Sonny Liston, it was then that he was taken seriously as a man, and his voice of Black power, equal opportunity and fairness resounded. He at once changed boxing and the world, making him truly The Greatest. Here’s how: Boxing: Self-Promotion Before Ali, no one boasted or predicted the outcome of fights or called opponents names or even chided the media after a victory. He did all that, and he did it smartly, with humor and certainly at times with a mean spirit. But he promoted the fight. He said things like, “To beat me, you have to be greater than great.” It infuriated fans. People watched his early fights in particular because they wanted to see him lose. Black America overwhelmingly rooted for him because he represented its causes and was not afraid to communicate the frustrations and concerns of the people. Also, his interviews with the late sports commentator Howard Cosell were legendary for their humor — the two had a strong rapport — and Ali’s candor. Boxers of all weight classes have tried (with most of them failing) to hype fights in Ali’s fashion. The World: The Perception of Black Men When Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay, he infuriated and scared white America. Whites were uncomfortable. They called him racist because he called them racist, something no boxer had ever done — and has not done since. His religion switch to Islam and attachment to Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam, the organization led by Elijah Muhammad, scared them, which he embraced. His commitment was to speaking out on injustices, oftentimes doing so with no filter. He spoke around the world and at universities like Harvard with conviction, pride and intelligence, even though there was a time as an adult when he could barely read. His strength and unwavering commitment to his core values helped to elevate the image of the Black man, whose voice had been muted by racially motivated hate and laws. Boxing: Strategy Hardly ever did a fighter — a good one, anyway — enter a bout without a game plan that was thought out to maximize the opportunity to win. But Ali took strategizing to a new level. When Ali faced George Foreman in 1974, much of the boxing public either expected a Foreman slaughter or wished for one. Foreman had destroyed Joe Frazier, who had beaten Ali. And in the second round when Ali curled up and lay on the ropes and let the powerful Foreman pound away at him — while yelling obscenities at him, no less — it was almost a certainty that Ali would fall. But he outsmarted Foreman, who tired by the eighth round. It was then that Ali unleashed a barrage of punches that floored the champion. Ali won the fight in Zaire that was dubbed "The Rumble in the Jungle." Ali called his tactic the “rope-a-dope,” and he did not share his strategy with his handlers. Beyond that, the people of the African nation were firmly in support of Ali, who always entered the ring with an agenda beyond winning. "He found something to fight for," Foreman said, "other than money and championship belts. And when that person finds something like that, you can't hardly beat them." The World: Conviction Ali went to prison as a conscientious objector on religious grounds after refusing to enter the Army and fight in the Vietnam War. He said, "I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong” and that “no Viet Cong ever called me ni**er.” He was immediately stripped of his heavyweight title and vilified by those who called him a “draft dodger” and worse. Ali never flinched. He did not fight during what would have been the prime of his career -- from March 1967 to October 1970 — from ages 25 to almost 29. In what became an extensive legal, political, professional and personal battle, Ali was convicted of draft evasion, stripped of his boxing title, and he became a lightning rod — and a voice — for opinions on the Vietnam War. Muhammad Ali's willingness to speak out against racism in the United States, and the effect it had on domestic and foreign policy, earned him many supporters and detractors. In 1971, nearly five years after it began, Ali's legal battle finally culminated with a unanimous decision (8-0 with Thurgood Marshall abstaining) by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning his draft conviction. Boxing: Style For a big man of 6-foot-3, 240 pounds or so, Ali’s grace in the ring was something the sport had not seen in the heavyweight division. He was light on his feet, and he knew it. “I’m so fast that if I turn out the light I’m in bed before the room gets dark,” he quipped. The “Ali Shuffle,” rapid-fire footwork, became the thing to do for boxers and fans alike. He bounced on his toes and fired left-handed jabs that were atypically fast for a heavyweight. He wore tassels on his shoes and used the ring as his personal showcase, not a place of savagery (other than when he punished Cleveland Williams for not calling him Ali after his name change. Williams, battered and bloodied, eventually was beaten into submission -- and he called him "Ali," too). Foreman said in a documentary about being knocked out by Ali: "Probably the best punch of the night was never landed. Muhammad Ali, as I was going down, stumbling, trying to hold myself, he saw me stumbling. Ordinarily you finish a fighter off; I would have. He got ready to throw the right hand, and he didn't do it. That's what made him, in my mind, the greatest fighter I ever fought." The World: A Statesman of the World As Ali grew older and wiser, many of those who hated him when he bragged continuously about beating the unbeatable Sonny Liston at 22 — “I shook up the world,” he yelled from the ring. “I shook up the world. ... I’m a bad man.” — grew to respect and appreciate him, if not love him. Ali began to see the world differently, less radically, just as Malcolm X had. That was ironic because Ali admired Malcolm X, but turned his back on him when the charismatic leader broke from the Nation of Islam. Ali later said he regretted doing so and wish he had apologized to Malcolm X. If Ali tempered his approach, he did not change his message. He remained an advocate for Blacks, in America and Africa, but he also preached world peace. Parkinson’s disease slowed Ali and eventually took away his speaking ability. But when he shakily lit the Olympic torch in 1996 in Atlanta, the whole world cheered or cried, for Ali represented courage, strength and perseverance. Parkinson’s had a face, and because it was Ali’s, research and awareness have increased one million-fold.

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