Cassius Marcellus Clay Research Paper
Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr was born on January 17, 1942 in Louisville Kentucky. He was born into a middle class black family. He didn’t have what some would call a rough child hood. He began boxing at the age of twelve. When Cassius was 12 years old, he and a friend went to the Columbia Auditorium to partake in the free hot dogs and popcorn available for visitors of the Louisville Home Show. When the boys were done eating, they went back to get their bicycles only to discover that Cassius’ had been stolen. Furious, he went back into the auditorium to find a police man. He found police officer Joe Martin, a trainer at a Louisville gym. When Muhammad Ali said he wanted to beat up the person who stole his bike, Martin told him that he should
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He was his own self-promoter, catching the eye of the media with his words. As stated in “Contemporary Black Biography,” In February of 1964, he told readers of Sports Illustrated, "If I were like a lot of...heavyweight boxers...you wouldn 't be reading this story right now. If you wonder what the difference between them and me is, I 'll break the news: you never heard of them. I 'm not saying they 're not good boxers. Most of them...can fight almost as good as I can. I 'm just saying you never heard of them. And the reason for that is because they cannot throw the jive. Cassius Clay is a boxer who can throw the jive better than anybody.” In spite of Clay 's impressive record, he was not expected to beat the champ. The fight was to be held on February 25, 1964 in Miami, Florida. The fight lasted 6 rounds with Clay winning by technical knockout. Because Liston was a prohibitive favorite and had ties to organized crime, many speculated that the fight was fixed. Many believed that the mafia had money on Clay, and that they threatened Listion. He complained of a shoulder injury before the start of the 7th round and told his trainer that he could not continue. Thus making Cassius Clay the heavyweigh champion of the world at the age of
He was his own self-promoter, catching the eye of the media with his words. As stated in “Contemporary Black Biography,” In February of 1964, he told readers of Sports Illustrated, "If I were like a lot of...heavyweight boxers...you wouldn 't be reading this story right now. If you wonder what the difference between them and me is, I 'll break the news: you never heard of them. I 'm not saying they 're not good boxers. Most of them...can fight almost as good as I can. I 'm just saying you never heard of them. And the reason for that is because they cannot throw the jive. Cassius Clay is a boxer who can throw the jive better than anybody.” In spite of Clay 's impressive record, he was not expected to beat the champ. The fight was to be held on February 25, 1964 in Miami, Florida. The fight lasted 6 rounds with Clay winning by technical knockout. Because Liston was a prohibitive favorite and had ties to organized crime, many speculated that the fight was fixed. Many believed that the mafia had money on Clay, and that they threatened Listion. He complained of a shoulder injury before the start of the 7th round and told his trainer that he could not continue. Thus making Cassius Clay the heavyweigh champion of the world at the age of