1964 : Clay knocks out Liston
On February 25, 1964, 22-year-old Cassius Clay shocks the odds-makers
by dethroning world heavyweight boxing champ Sonny Liston in a
seventh-round technical knockout. The dreaded Liston, who had twice
demolished former champ Floyd Patterson in one round, was an 8-to-1
favorite. However, Clay predicted victory, boasting that he would
"float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" and knock out Liston in the
eighth round. The fleet-footed and loquacious youngster needed less
time to make good on his claim--Liston, complaining of an injured
shoulder, failed to answer the seventh-round bell. A few moments
later, a new heavyweight champion was proclaimed.
Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1942.
He started boxing when he was 12 and by age 18 had amassed a record of
over 100 wins in amateur competition. In 1959, he won the
International Golden Gloves heavyweight title and in 1960 a gold medal
in the light heavyweight category at the Summer Olympic Games in Rome.
Clay turned professional after the Olympics and went undefeated in his
first 19 bouts, earning him the right to challenge Sonny Liston, who
had defeated Floyd Patterson in 1962 to win the heavyweight title.
On February 25, 1964, a crowd of 8,300 spectators gathered at the
Convention Hall arena in Miami Beach to see if Cassius Clay, who was
nicknamed the "Louisville Lip," could put his money where his mouth
was. The underdog proved no bragging fraud, and he danced and
backpedaled away from Liston's powerful swings while delivering quick
and punishing jabs to Liston's head. Liston hurt his shoulder in the
first round, injuring some muscles as he swung for and missed his
elusive target. By the time he decided to discontinue the bout between
the sixth and seventh rounds, he and Clay were about equal in points.
A few conjectured that Liston faked the injury and threw the fight,
but there was no real evidence, such as a significant change in
bidding odds just before the bout, to support this claim.
To celebrate winning the world heavyweight title, Clay went to a
private party at a Miami hotel that was attended by his friend Malcolm
X, an outspoken leader of the African American Muslim group known as
the Nation of Islam. Two days later, a markedly more restrained Clay
announced he was joining the Nation of Islam and defended the
organization's concept of racial segregation while speaking of the
importance of the Muslim religion in his life. Later that year, Clay,
who was the descendant of a runaway Kentucky slave, rejected the name
originally given to his family by a slave owner and took the Muslim
name of Muhammad Ali.
Muhammad Ali would go on to become one of the 20th century's greatest
sporting figures, as much for his social and political influence as
his prowess in his chosen sport. After successfully defending his
title nine times, it was stripped from him in 1967 after he refused
induction into the U.S. Army on the grounds that he was a Muslim
minister and therefore a conscientious objector. That year, he was
sentenced to five years in prison for violating the Selective Service
Act but was allowed to remain free as he appealed the decision. His
popularity plummeted, but many across the world applauded his bold
stand against the Vietnam War.
In 1970, he was allowed to return to the boxing ring, and the next
year the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Ali's draft evasion conviction.
In 1974, he regained the heavyweight title in a match against George
Foreman in Zaire and successfully defended it in a brutal 15-round
contest against Joe Frazier in the Philippines in the following year.
In 1978, he lost the title to Leon Spinks but later that year defeated
Spinks in a rematch, making him the first boxer to win the heavyweight
title three times. He retired in 1979 but returned to the ring twice
in the early 1980s. In 1984, Ali was diagnosed with pugilistic
Parkinson's syndrome and has suffered a slow decline of his motor
functions ever since. He was inducted into the International Boxing
Hall of Fame in 1990. In 1996, he lit the Olympic flame at the opening
ceremonies of the Summer Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Ali's daughter,
Laila, made her boxing debut in 1999.
At a White House ceremony in November 2005, Ali was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1964 : Clay knocks out Liston
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=6818
1870 : African American congressman sworn in
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4788
1986 : Marcos flees the Philippines
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4789
#########################################
On February 25, 1964, 22-year-old Cassius Clay shocks the odds-makers
by dethroning world heavyweight boxing champ Sonny Liston in a
seventh-round technical knockout. The dreaded Liston, who had twice
demolished former champ Floyd Patterson in one round, was an 8-to-1
favorite. However, Clay predicted victory, boasting that he would
"float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" and knock out Liston in the
eighth round. The fleet-footed and loquacious youngster needed less
time to make good on his claim--Liston, complaining of an injured
shoulder, failed to answer the seventh-round bell. A few moments
later, a new heavyweight champion was proclaimed.
Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1942.
He started boxing when he was 12 and by age 18 had amassed a record of
over 100 wins in amateur competition. In 1959, he won the
International Golden Gloves heavyweight title and in 1960 a gold medal
in the light heavyweight category at the Summer Olympic Games in Rome.
Clay turned professional after the Olympics and went undefeated in his
first 19 bouts, earning him the right to challenge Sonny Liston, who
had defeated Floyd Patterson in 1962 to win the heavyweight title.
On February 25, 1964, a crowd of 8,300 spectators gathered at the
Convention Hall arena in Miami Beach to see if Cassius Clay, who was
nicknamed the "Louisville Lip," could put his money where his mouth
was. The underdog proved no bragging fraud, and he danced and
backpedaled away from Liston's powerful swings while delivering quick
and punishing jabs to Liston's head. Liston hurt his shoulder in the
first round, injuring some muscles as he swung for and missed his
elusive target. By the time he decided to discontinue the bout between
the sixth and seventh rounds, he and Clay were about equal in points.
A few conjectured that Liston faked the injury and threw the fight,
but there was no real evidence, such as a significant change in
bidding odds just before the bout, to support this claim.
To celebrate winning the world heavyweight title, Clay went to a
private party at a Miami hotel that was attended by his friend Malcolm
X, an outspoken leader of the African American Muslim group known as
the Nation of Islam. Two days later, a markedly more restrained Clay
announced he was joining the Nation of Islam and defended the
organization's concept of racial segregation while speaking of the
importance of the Muslim religion in his life. Later that year, Clay,
who was the descendant of a runaway Kentucky slave, rejected the name
originally given to his family by a slave owner and took the Muslim
name of Muhammad Ali.
Muhammad Ali would go on to become one of the 20th century's greatest
sporting figures, as much for his social and political influence as
his prowess in his chosen sport. After successfully defending his
title nine times, it was stripped from him in 1967 after he refused
induction into the U.S. Army on the grounds that he was a Muslim
minister and therefore a conscientious objector. That year, he was
sentenced to five years in prison for violating the Selective Service
Act but was allowed to remain free as he appealed the decision. His
popularity plummeted, but many across the world applauded his bold
stand against the Vietnam War.
In 1970, he was allowed to return to the boxing ring, and the next
year the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Ali's draft evasion conviction.
In 1974, he regained the heavyweight title in a match against George
Foreman in Zaire and successfully defended it in a brutal 15-round
contest against Joe Frazier in the Philippines in the following year.
In 1978, he lost the title to Leon Spinks but later that year defeated
Spinks in a rematch, making him the first boxer to win the heavyweight
title three times. He retired in 1979 but returned to the ring twice
in the early 1980s. In 1984, Ali was diagnosed with pugilistic
Parkinson's syndrome and has suffered a slow decline of his motor
functions ever since. He was inducted into the International Boxing
Hall of Fame in 1990. In 1996, he lit the Olympic flame at the opening
ceremonies of the Summer Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Ali's daughter,
Laila, made her boxing debut in 1999.
At a White House ceremony in November 2005, Ali was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1964 : Clay knocks out Liston
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=6818
1870 : African American congressman sworn in
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4788
1986 : Marcos flees the Philippines
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4789
#########################################
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