The sport of boxing is known worldwide; a sport where men and women duke it out with their opponents to prove who is the toughest. Though-out the decades there have been many fighters and many fights, but few known quite as well as Cassius Clay, also known as Muhammad Ali. The fighter that referred to himself as, “the greatest” (biography.com) and a man that could, “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” (about.com). From the beginning of his career, which was started after a police officer told him he might want to learn to fight, he was known as an underdog. He took on the Olympics in 1960 at the age of 18 and won the gold medal. Yet being a gold medalist wouldn’t help persuade the public view of him as a serious contender for the world heavy weight contender. Ali would fight as the challenger for the light-heavy weight world title against Sonny Liston on February, 25 1964. Clay would shock the world into no longer doubting him as serious opponent with a technical knock-out and continue to shock them with an announcement a day later.
Clay was a cock young boxer, who ran his mouth continuously before he fight to the point of being fined 2500 dollars (boxrec.com). The public underdog that majority had expected to lose, and lose quickly at that, to heavy hitter Liston. Liston had age with which experience comes with going for him, while Clay had youth and the speed that comes with it. Rumors spread like a wildfire through the convention hall that Clay would show up after the weigh-ins before the fight but Clay showed up early to watch his “brother make his professional debut” despite the public opinion (newyorktimes.com). Once the in the ring the battle for the title begins, with Ali and Liston giving their all.
Liston could ...
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...that just because popular belief isn’t in your favor, doesn’t mean you should stand down no matter what the case.
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After being defeated early on in his career, Joe got a job working at Ford, but soon quit when his amateur boxing career took off. After being trained for a while his coaches encouraged him to pair up with a more experienced, connected coach so Joe found George Slayton who was manager of the Detroit Athletic Club. Under his direction, Joe made it to Detroit's Golden Gloves competition in 1933, but was defeated by Max Merak, a Notre Dam football star. Three months after winning his next decisive victory, the National AAU light-weight championship in St. Louis, Joe went pro. In his 54 amateur fights, Joe had won fourty-three by knock-out, seven by decision and lost four by decision.
William Harrison Dempsey, better known as Jack Dempsey, was born on June 24, 1895. He was born in Colorado but became a “nomadic traveler” when he began his boxing career in the small rickety towns of his home state (“Biography”). At the age of sixteen, Dempsey started training to box. To support himself and his dream, he dug ditches, picked peaches, traveled with the circus, and cut timber (“Fast Facts”). When he started his career as a boxer he fought under the name “Kid Blackie” (“Biography”). He won the heavy weight championship by knocking out Jess Willard in 1919 (Smith). He kept this title until September 23, 1926 (“Fast Facts”). By the time he retired his record was 60-7-8. Fifty of his sixty wins were knockouts (“Biography”). Dempsey died on May 31, 1983 at the age of
As recently as 1997, Robinson was renamed the best of all time -- "pound for pound" -- when The Ring magazine chose him the best boxer in its 75 years of publication.
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James Braddock took his father’s lessons to heart when he practiced fighting in the old schoolyard before he reached his teenage years. He practiced for several years to be an amateur fighter. When Braddock first started boxing he avoided professional competitions for two years. Instead, they froze the title, which means Braddock earned money touring the country giving public appearances and boxing exhibitions. In 1926, he entered the professional boxing circuit in the light heavyweight division. Braddock started out well, knocking out opponent after opponent in the first few rounds.
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Muhammad Ali was a man made to box. He had a great career before him since he made his first professional fight under President Eisenhower presidency. His Professional Career was really impressive. His had a great balance and was able to move his hands and feet in great speed and coordination. Ali was said to dance in the ring while destroying his opponents. Ali started fighting at a very short age, and his first teacher was Joe Martin (Hauser 18). Through hard work and discipline, he became a professional fighter and eventually the Heavyweight champion of the world. Although he lost the title twice, he regained it three times, putting him in the history books. His boxing career was put to an end when he started suffering from Parkinson's disease. This was the end of his boxing, but his greatness will never die.
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In the beginning of his career, he stood at 6' 3" and he had a highly irregular style for a heavyweight boxer btu that didn't mean he wasn't good. Rather than the normal boxing style of carrying the hands high to defend the face, he instead relied on his ability to avoid a punch. The person who first introduced him to boxing was the police officer who started it all. Joe E. Martin. Martin lead Clay to his first trainer, Fred Stoner, who trained with Cassius during his entire amateur career. With the aid of Stoner, Clay went on to win 6 Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, 2 national Golden Gloves titles, an Amateur Athletic Union National Title, and the Light Heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Olympics in Rome.
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Shortly after winning the Gold Medal, Ali started looking for better opportunities by saying, “that was my last amateur fight, I’m turning pro, but I don’t know exactly how. I want a good contract with a good manager.” Ali felt that he was on top of the world after winning in the Olympics and felt confident that people of the U.S. would be proud of his accomplishment as he brought home the “Gold”. What Ali would return to find wasn’t anything like he had expected.
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