Welcome to the deep dive where we take a monumental
figure, stack up all the sources, and give you
the ultimate shortcut to understanding the true
scope of their impact. And today we're tackling
someone truly colossal. Absolutely. We're peeling
back the layers on a life so influential, so
relentlessly public, it really... permanently
redefined the concept of the celebrity athlete.
We are diving deep into Muhammad Ali, the greatest.
And we are moving far beyond just the boxing
rings here. I mean, the material you shared makes
it clear. Ali wasn't just about physical prowess.
He was a cultural force, a political force, a
spiritual one, too. He used that platform, you
know, that magnetic personality and the famous
Louisville lip to basically compel the world
to grapple with huge issues, race, religion,
defiance, war. That's exactly right. focus today.
We want to understand the complex man beneath
the myth, right? To truly grasp his legacy, we
have to track that whole journey of transformation.
It's quite a journey. It really is. So our mission
today is to unpack the critical turning points,
that controversial conversion, the defiant stand
against the draft that cost him his prime years,
and how the political power of Muhammad Ali became,
well, just as legendary as the athletic genius.
with Cassius Clay Jr. Yeah, and we're going to
explore how his journey redefined what a star
could be, all grounded strictly in the sources
you've provided. It's an ambitious goal because
he changed so dramatically over his public life,
and the sources really allow us to trace that
evolution pretty clearly. They do. So where do
we start? Louisville. Let's start right there.
Louisville, Kentucky, in the segregated South,
and meet the young man who was not yet a champion.
Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. Okay, so Cassius Marcellus
Clay Jr., born January 17, 1942. And you really
have to picture the setting. Louisville back
then was defined by strict racial segregation.
Deeply segregated. His father, Cassius Sr., he
painted signs and billboards for a living. Right.
And his mother, Odessa, worked as a domestic
helper. Different religious backgrounds, too,
apparently. Yeah, the father was Methodist, but
Odessa raised the children Baptist. And that
environment, that segregation, it wasn't just
background noise. It shaped him profoundly. The
sources really highlight that the casual, pervasive
injustice was very real to him. Like that story
his mother told about being denied a drink of
water. Exactly. A simple drink of water at a
store denied just because he was black. She recalled
that it really affected him. It planted this
early deep seed of resentment against that whole
racial hierarchy. You can see how it would. And
then as a teenager, he's facing the really brutal
realities of the civil rights struggle head on,
like the murder of Emmett Till. Oh, absolutely.
That had a huge impact. Till was murdered in
Mississippi in 1955. Clay was only 13. And the
sheer brutality of it just fueled this righteous
frustration in him. He reacted quite strongly,
didn't he? He did. One source mentions him actually
vandalizing a local rail yard. Just this outburst
of rage and helplessness after hearing the news.
He later told his daughter, Hannah, that nothing
would ever shake me up more than the story of
Emmett Till. So this isn't just a kid growing
up. This is the development of a political conscience
already viewing the world through that lens.
of systematic racial violence. It's fascinating
to see how that early anger eventually found
an outlet. And the way he got into boxing, it's
almost like something out of a movie. The stolen
bicycle. It really is the classic origin story,
isn't it? He's 12 years old. His bike gets stolen.
He reports it to a police officer, Joe E. Martin.
Who just happened to be a boxing coach. Exactly.
And Clay swears he's going to whoop the thief.
Martin famously tells him, well, you better learn
how to box first. And that was it, the spark.
His rise in the amateur ranks was incredibly
fast. Phenomenal speed. He trained first with
Martin, then later with Fred Stoner, who Ali
himself credited with really molding his style,
that speed, the footwork, the stamina, the whole
system. And the record shows it. Was it 100 wins
and just five losses as an amateur? That's right.
Incredible record. And the absolute pinnacle
of that was winning gold in the light heavyweight
division at the 1960 Rome Olympics. He was already
showing off that unbelievable hand speed and
footwork that would become his trademark. But
that gold medal. Yeah. It's tied to one of the
most famous and maybe most disputed stories about
Ali, isn't it? The whole throwing the medal in
the river thing. Ah, yes. The Olympic medal controversy.
This is such a critical piece because it really
shows the early construction of the Al myth,
the persona. So the story he told in his autobiography.
Right. In his 75 autobiography, he claims he
gets back from Rome, goes into a whites only
restaurant with a friend, gets refused service.
And in response to this, you know, blatant. segregationist
insult, he goes and throws his Olympic gold medal
into the Ohio River. A powerful symbolic act.
But the sources we have suggest maybe it didn't
happen quite like that. Well, that's the thing.
Several people close to him, like his photographer
Howard Bingham, disputed the specifics later
on. His biographer, Thomas Hauser, clarified
it. Ali was refused service at a segregated diner.
That part seems true. But he actually just lost
the medal about a year after winning it. The
throwing it in the river story? It seems that
was more potent symbolically. It served the narrative
of defiance better. So the rejection of this
symbol of white America's acceptance, that was
the core truth, even if the details were embellished.
Exactly. It was about the meaning more than the
literal event. As his friend Bundini Brown supposedly
joked, Anki sure bought into that one. It became
part of the legend. And it makes that moment
in 96 when he lit the torch at the Atlanta Olympics
and got a replacement medal. even more poignant.
A truly incredible bookend, yeah. So he turns
pro right after Rome in 1960. Wraps up a pretty
impressive record quickly, 19 -0 by the end of
63, right? Lots of knockouts. 15 KOs. And already
predicting the rounds. But it wasn't just the
fighting that got attention, was it? It was the
mouth. Oh, the mouth. The Louisville lip. It
was revolutionary in boxing. Nobody talked like
that. Where did he even get the idea to not just
win, but to perform, to boast, to predict? It
was apparently a very conscious decision, inspired
by a professional wrestler named Gorgeous George
Wagner. Ali met him in Vegas back in 61. Gorgeous
George, really? Yeah. And George's advice was
pure showmanship. Talk big, make promises, create
a spectacle. He told Ali it guaranteed paying
customers. People would come hoping to see him
win, or maybe even more, hoping to see him get
shut up. Huh. So Ali just ran with it. ran with
it and amplified it a thousand times. He basically
invented this persona, the big mouth and a bragger,
as he called himself. It was all about making
himself the center of attention, the spectacle.
Which brings us back to things like that weigh
in before the list and fight later. That crazy
pulse rate. Was that real fear or was it pure
gorgeous George performance art? That's the brilliance
of it, isn't it? The sources suggest it was probably
a mix. He was young. He had nervous energy, sure.
But he learned how to channel that, amplify it,
turn it into this calculated chaos to sell the
fight. Always selling the fight. And around this
time, he also links up with the trainer who would
stick with him for pretty much his whole career.
Angelo Dundee. Yeah, he took over from Archie
Moore around 1960. There's that funny story that
Clay actually left Moore's camp, partly because
Moore expected him to do chores, like washing
dishes. Seriously, he wouldn't wash dishes. Apparently
not. Speaks volumes about his personality even
then, right? That sense of self -importance,
resenting any kind of subservience. Dundee was
different. He was more of a calming influence,
focused on the boxing, the conditioning, managing
the career, not trying to manage all these politics
or behavior. A steady hand. But even with Dundee
and the undefeated record, He wasn't completely
untouchable in those early years. He got knocked
down a couple of times. Right. Again, Sonny Banks
and Henry Cooper, those were important learning
moments, especially that Cooper fight in 63.
Cooper dropped him hard with a left hook near
the end of a round. Saved by the bell, essentially.
Saved by the bell and maybe by Dundee's quick
thinking. There's the story Dundee might have
deliberately made a small tear in Ali's glove
to buy a few extra seconds of recovery time while
the refs sorted it out. Wow. The tricks of the
trade. Indeed. And even a win wasn't always popular.
After he beat Doug Jones in 63, the crowd apparently
booed and threw stuff. He was already polarizing
people, generating these intense reactions. That
polarizing effect combined with being undefeated.
really set the stage perfectly for that first
fight against Sonny Liston in February 64. A
real David versus Goliath matchup. Ah, completely.
The world saw Clay as this loudmouth kid. Liston
was the champion, intimidating, fearsome knockout
power, alleged mob ties. Just terrifying. Clay
was, what, an 8 -1 underdog? Astronomical odds?
Huge. But Clay knew how to play the media game
even then. That way in. Legendary. Pure psychological
warfare. He just went after Liston screaming,
calling him the big ugly bear, acting completely
unhinged. And that's where the pulse rate comes
in. 120 beats per minute. Yeah, more than double
normal. Was it genuine panic? Was it calculated
mania? Who knows? But the effect was undeniable.
It created chaos. It destabilized things. He's
yelling that someone is going to die at ringside
tonight. Every camera, every eye was glued to
him. But the performance had to stop when the
bell rang. He still had to face Liston in the
ring. And Liston came out exactly as expected,
looking for that quick, brutal knockout. But
Clay's speed, his reach, that unconventional
movement, Liston couldn't land the big shot cleanly.
And then, in the third round, Clay cuts Liston
under the eye. First time Liston had ever been
cut professionally. First time ever. That alone
must have shattered Liston's aura of invincibility
a bit. And then came that really bizarre moment
in the fourth round. The blinding. One of the
strangest incidents in boxing history. Clay suddenly
starts complaining he can't see, his eyes are
burning intensely, he's yelling to Dundee, cut
him off, I can't see. What was it? The speculation
was, and Ollie believed this later, that it was
some kind of ointment used on Liston's cuts,
maybe Monsel's solution that got onto Liston's
gloves and then into Clay's eyes, maybe deliberately,
maybe accidentally. And Dundee had to handle
the crisis. Right. Dundee famously refused to
cut the gloves off, basically pushed Clay back
out there, told him to run, keep moving, let
the sweat and tears wash it out. Incredible corner
work under pressure. And Clay somehow survived
those next couple of rounds. Pure will, mostly
blind. By the sixth round, though, his vision
had cleared and he was taking control, peppering
Liston. And then Liston just quits. Doesn't answer
the bell for the seventh round, claims a shoulder
injury. And just like that, Cassius Clay, 22
years old, is the heavyweight champion of the
world. A massive upset. And his reaction was
instant, wasn't it? Oh, yeah. Rushing to the
ropes, yelling at the reporters, eat your words,
eat your words. I am the greatest. I shook up
the world. I must be the greatest. I'm the prettiest
thing that ever lived. Just pure, unadulterated
triumph. He didn't just shake up the world by
winning, though. He used that. instant, massive
platform for perhaps the most radical transformation
of his life, Cassius Clay Jr. effectively disappeared.
Immediately. Almost right after the fight, he
publicly confirmed the rumors he had joined the
Nation of Islam, the NOI. He initially took the
name Cassius X, following their tradition. Like
Malcolm X. Exactly. And then, soon after, Elijah
Muhammad, the leader of the NOI, gave him his
new permanent name, Muhammad Ali. and he immediately
renounced his birth name. Calling it his slave
name. The sources explain his reasoning there.
Yeah, he pointed out he was named after Cassius
Marcellus Clay, who was a 19th century white
slave owner, although he later became an abolitionist.
Ali said he wanted a free name, arguing that
even as an abolitionist, the original Clay held
onto white supremacy. For Ali, the name itself
was a link to oppression he had to break. Was
the Nation of Islam leadership on board with
him from the start? Not. Not entirely, no. Initially,
they were a bit wary. Boxing, with its gambling
and hype, wasn't exactly aligned with their strict
doctrines. They kind of kept his involvement
under wraps at first. Until he won the title.
Exactly. Once he became heavyweight champion
with that global spotlight, then they fully and
publicly embraced him. Elijah Muhammad bestowed
the name. Muhammad meaning worthy of praise and
Ali meaning most high. And he instantly became
their most visible, most powerful spokesman.
That quote, I am America. I am the part you won't
recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident,
cocky. My name, not yours. My religion, not yours.
My goals, my own. Get used to me. Just an incredible
declaration of independence and black pride.
But that affiliation, that choice, came at a
huge personal cost, didn't it? His relationship
with Malcolm X. A devastating cost. Malcolm X
had been his mentor, hugely influential in his
conversion. But by the time Ali publicly joined
the NOI, Malcolm had already had his bitter split
with Elijah Muhammad. The NOI leadership pressured
Ali to cut ties completely with Malcolm. Which
he did. He did, and Ali later said it was one
of the biggest regrets of his life. Watching
that friendship fracture under those political
pressures, it's really heartbreaking when you
read about it. The controversies definitely didn't
stop there. They followed him right back into
the ring. The rematch with Liston in 65. The
phantom punch. Still one of the most debated
moments in boxing. The fight's over in under
two minutes. Ali lands this short, chopping right,
some called it an anchor punch, and Liston goes
down. But it happened so fast, the punch wasn't
obvious on first view. Leading to immediate speculation.
Oh, yeah. Cries that Liston threw the fight.
The context fueled it. Liston was known to have
debts. The NOI had this intimidating reputation.
Did Liston take a dive due to threats or to clear
debts? Slow motion replay does show the punch
landing cleanly jarring Liston's head. But the
controversy itself just added another layer to
the Ali mystique. And beyond weird finishes,
Ali started using the ring as a platform for
political punishment almost. This is where it
gets uncomfortable for some people. The political
edge turned. Kind of cruel sometimes. Take the
Floyd Patterson fight in 1965. Patterson refused
to call him Ali and was critical of the NOI.
So Ali went after him verbally. relentlessly
called him an Uncle Tom. And in the fight itself,
many observers felt Ali deliberately carried
Patterson, punishing him, making it last 12 rounds
before the TKO instead of finishing him earlier.
It looked like showboating, like humiliation.
And the Ernie Terrell fight in 67 was even more
pointed. Even more so. Terrell also insisted
on calling him Cassius Clay. Ali turned that
fight into a brutal, prolonged lesson. He's dominating
Terrell, hitting him, and yelling repeatedly,
what's my name, Uncle Tom, what's my name? Oof,
that's harsh. It was. The press was horrified.
Sports Illustrated's Tex Mall called it a barbarous
display of cruelty. You saw the NOI's separatist
ideology, that rejection of assimilation, the
scorn for those seen as accommodating the white
establishment manifested right there, physically
in the ring. So this really intense mix of politics,
religion, and boxing. Yeah. That was the backdrop
for the single biggest stand he would take, the
one that truly defined his life outside the ropes,
refusing the draft. Yeah, and the whole draft
situation started somewhat ironically, given
his later stance. Initially, he actually failed
the armed forces qualifying test. Really? On
what grounds? His writing and spelling skills
were below the standard. He later attributed
it to dyslexia. So at first he was classified
1Y, meaning fit for service only in a national
emergency or war. Which led to that fantastic
quote. I said I was the greatest, not the smartest.
Classic Ali. But then things changed. They did.
As the Vietnam War escalated, the military lowered
its standards in early 1966. Suddenly, Ali was
reclassified 1A, eligible for immediate induction.
The world heavyweight champion was about to be
drafted. And that's when he took his definitive
stand, refusing to serve. Unequivocally. He stated
his primary objection was religious war was against
the teachings of the Quran, as interpreted by
the Nation of Islam, unless it was a holy war
declared by Allah himself. But it wasn't just
religious, was it? His objection was deeply political,
too. Absolutely. And that's captured in his most
famous quote on the matter. Man, I ain't got
no quarrel with them, Viacom. Such a simple,
powerful statement. It cut right to the heart
of it. And he elaborated, making the connection
explicit. Why should they ask me to put on a
uniform and go 10 ,000 miles from home and drop
bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam
while so -called Negro people in Louisville are
treated like dogs and denied basic human rights?
Wow. He directly linked the foreign war to the
domestic struggle for civil rights. That was
incredibly potent. Incredibly. It forced a confrontation
with the hypocrisy of America fighting for freedom
abroad while denying it to its own. Black citizens.
The reaction from the authorities was swift and
harsh. Immediate and severe. April 28, 1967.
He shows up for induction in Houston. They call
his name three times. Three times he refuses
to step forward. He's arrested right then and
there. In the boxing world. Came down like a
ton of bricks. The New York State Athletic Commission
suspended his boxing license that very same day.
The World Boxing Association stripped him of
his heavyweight title. His career was effectively
over. And then the legal hammer fell. June 1967,
he's convicted of draft evasion, sentenced to
five years in prison and a $10 ,000 fine, a huge
amount back then. He stayed out on bail while
appealing, but that began nearly four years of
professional exile. Four years right in his athletic
prime. Angelo Dundee's quote about him being
robbed of his best years. It really hits home.
It does. But that sacrifice, willingly giving
up the title, the money, the prime years, all
for his principles, that shifted the whole conversation.
It wasn't just seen as protest anymore. It was
seen as deep, costly conviction. And it resonated
hugely with the anti -war and civil rights movements.
Massively. Figures like Al Sharpton said it had
an energizing effect. Here's the heavyweight
champion of the world, a global icon willing
to lose everything. It gave immense legitimacy
to both movements. This period also led to a
really significant moment for black athletes,
didn't it? The Cleveland Summit. Yeah, the Cleveland
Summit in June 67 was crucial. You had major
figures like Jim Brown, Bill Russell, Kareem
Abdul -Jabbar, then Lou Alcindor gathering with
Ali. What was the purpose? To support him. Initially,
it was actually to question him, to gauge his
sincerity. Was this real? Was it just another
publicity stunt? But after hours of talking with
him, hearing his reasoning, they came out and
publicly announced their full support. That must
have been huge. It was a landmark moment. It
solidified the idea that prominent athletes had
a right, maybe even a responsibility, to use
their platform for social and political commentary.
So, unable to box, what did Ali do during those
years in exile? He basically reinvented himself
as a speaker. He became a fixture on the college
circuit, traveling the country, giving speeches.
His main one was often titled Black is Best.
Focusing on racial justice. Entirely. Racial
pride, black self -determination, critiques of
the war, critiques of systemic racism. It kept
him financially afloat, sure, but it also massively
deepened his connection with the youth counterculture
of the late 60s. He became a true icon for them.
And all this time. The legal battle is winding
its way through the courts. It finally reaches
the Supreme Court in 1971. Clay v. United States.
And the outcome is often misunderstood. People
think the court vindicated his conscientious
objector status based on his religion. But that's
not actually what happened. No. It was much more
technical, almost procedural. The Supreme Court
overturned his conviction, yes, but they did
it unanimously. However, they explicitly avoided
ruling on the merits of his claim. They didn't
say his religious beliefs entitled him to exemption.
So how did they overturn it? They found that
the Department of Justice and the appeal board
had improperly told Ali his objection wasn't
valid because it wasn't based on belief in a
supreme being in the traditional sense. And crucially,
the appeal board gave no reason for denying his
claim. The court said that since the board gave
no reason, the conviction couldn't stand because
it might have rested on that improper advice.
Essentially, they threw it out on a technicality.
Clever legal maneuvering. It freed Ali without
setting a huge precedent on religious objections
during wartime. Exactly. It was a way to acknowledge
the process had been unfair to Ali without getting
into the constitutional minefield of conscientious
objection itself during the height of the Vietnam
War's controversy. Now, we also have to talk
about the darker side of this period, the intense
government scrutiny he was under. Oh, it was
immense and frankly terrifying when you look
at the documents now. We know Ali was a target
of a top secret NSA program codenamed Minaret.
What did that do? It specifically monitored the
international communications of Americans who
were prominent critics of the Vietnam War. We're
talking warrantless wiretapping on a massive
scale aimed at dissenters. And the FBI was involved,
too. Deeply. He was a major target of COINTELPRO.
The FBI's infamous counterintelligence program
designed to disrupt and discredit groups and
individuals they considered subversive. The lengths
they went to were extraordinary. Like what? The
sources show the FBI got access to his records
going all the way back to elementary school.
They noted things like he enjoyed art class as
a kid. It shows the level of paranoia the perceived
threat he represented just through his words
and his stand. How did this even come to light?
Famously, a group of activists broke into an
FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania in 1971, strategically
timing it around the huge anticipation for the
first Ali Frazier fight. They stole files and
leaked them, exposing COINTELPRO and the extent
of the surveillance against Ali and many others.
It was a shocking revelation of government overreach.
So the conviction is overturned in 71. Ali is
free to fight again. He'd actually returned conditionally
in late 1970 in Atlanta. Right. Beating Jerry
Quarry. Right. Then he beat Oscar Bonavina, which
set the stage for that incredible era of heavyweight
boxing. Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman. The
clashes between those three defined the decade.
His comeback generated huge buzz immediately.
Didn't Wilt Chamberlain challenge him? He did.
Wilt Distilt, the basketball legend. Seven foot
one, 60 pounds heavier than Ali. Massive reach
advantage. It sounded like a potential. disaster
for Ali. How did Ali get out of that one? Pure
Ali. The Louisville lip strikes again. They did
a joint TV interview and Ali just mercilessly
taunted Chamberlain, shouting timber over and
over, predicting the tree will fall. He basically
psyched Chamberlain out of the fight. No way.
Yep. Chamberlain eventually backed down, partly
because the Lakers owner offered him a record
contract on the condition he dropped the whole
boxing idea. Ali dodged a literal giant. Which
cleared the path for the real showdown. Ali versus
Frazier I, March 1971. The fight of the century.
And it lived up to the hype. Maybe the most anticipated
fight ever. You had Ali, the returning exiled
champion, the symbol of defiance. Against Joe
Frazier, the undisputed champ who'd kept the
division going, seen by many as the establishments
guy. Exactly. And the rhetoric Ali used in the
buildup was brutal. Probably the harshest trash
talk of his career. He wasn't just predicting
victory. He was attacking Frazier personally.
Attacking his identity. calling him an Uncle
Tom, a tool of the white establishment. Yeah,
painting Frazier as the choice of the segregationists,
the KKK even, claiming he, Ali, was fighting
for the little man in the ghetto. It was incredibly
divisive and deeply hurtful to Frazier, who had
actually supported Ali financially during his
exile. That personal animosity fueled the fight
itself. But the fight also showed the effects
of Ali's time away, didn't it? It really did.
The four years off had cost him something. Frazier
was relentless, that bobbing, weaving style,
constant pressure, and a vicious body attack.
Ali tried leaning on the ropes, covering up,
hoping to tire Frazier out maybe the early seeds
of the rope -a -dope. Could be. But it didn't
quite work that night. Not against prime Frazier.
Frazier kept coming. He wobbled Ali badly with
a huge left hook in the 11th. And then in the
15th and final round, another monster left hook
put Ali down flat on his back. First time he'd
been knocked down like that. As a pro, yeah.
He got up, showed incredible heart, but the decision
was clear. Unanimous for Frazier, Ali's first
professional loss. A real wake -up call. He then
had another setback a couple years later, in
73. Against Ken Norton. Tough fight. Norton actually
broke Ali's jaw. There's some dispute whether
it happened early, like the second round, or
late in the fight. But either way, Norton won
the decision, Ali's second defeat. But Ali, being
Ali, he comes back, wins the rematch against
Norton, though it was a controversial split decision.
Right. Which then set up the rematch everyone
wanted. Ali Frazier II in January 1974. How did
that one go? Ali won a unanimous decision this
time, but it wasn't without controversy either.
There was a bizarre moment in the second round.
where the referee, Tony Perez, mistakenly thought
he heard the bell and stepped in right when Ali
had Frazier hurt and was pressing the attack.
Giving Frazier time to recover. Exactly. Frazier's
corner was furious. They also complained bitterly
that Ali was constantly clinching, tying Frazier
up whenever he got close or had Ali on the ropes.
It wasn't the clean fight people hoped for. But
all of this, the losses, the controversies, the
rematches, it was all building towards maybe
the single greatest sporting spectacle of the
20th century. The Rumble in the Jungle, October
30th, 1974, Kinshasa, Zyre. Ollie challenging
George Foreman for the title. And Foreman looked
unbeatable. Absolutely terrifying. Foreman was
younger, stronger, maybe the hardest puncher
the division had ever seen. He had destroyed
Joe Frazier in two rounds. He destroyed Ken Norton
in two rounds. Ali was 32, clearly past his absolute
physical peak. He was a huge underdog again.
Four to one, almost nobody gave him a chance.
Howard Cussell famously thought Ali would be
annihilated. But Ali embraced the underdog role,
didn't he? The pre -fight hype was vintage Ali.
Oh, completely. That's when he delivered that
incredible poem. I wrestled with an alligator,
I done tussled with a whale, handcuffed lightning,
thrown thunder in jail. Pure magic. And he connected
deeply with the people in Zahra. The crowds were
chanting, Ali bumaye, Ali bumaye, Ali kill him.
He turned it into his home turf advantage. And
then, the fight itself. He unveils the rope -a
-dope. This wasn't just resting on the ropes,
was it? No, no, no. It was a calculated, psychological
and physical masterpiece. He shocked everyone,
including his own corner, led by Dundee, by deliberately
going to the ropes early in the fight. He covered
up. leaned back, let Foreman tee off on him.
Just absorbing punishment. Absorbing it, yes,
but strategically. Blocking punches with his
arms, letting Foreman hit his body, areas less
likely to cause a knockout. And all the while,
he's talking to Foreman, taunting him, whispering
things like, that all you got, George? They told
me you could punch, George. Well, Foreman is
just unloading huge punches. Huge punches, yes.
But Foreman wasn't known for his stamina. Ali
was banking on Foreman punching himself out in
the heat and humidity. He was literally letting
Foreman exhaust his energy reserves. And it worked.
Perfectly. By the eighth round, Foreman was visibly
tired, his punches losing their snap. Ali saw
his opening. He exploded off the ropes with a
flurry, a stunning five -punch combination that
sent Foreman crashing down. Knockout. Ali had
done the impossible again. He was heavyweight
champion for the second time. The scale of that
event. Wasn't it watched by like a billion people?
Estimated one billion viewers worldwide. Yeah.
The most watched live television broadcast in
the world up to that point. It cemented Ali not
just as a boxer, but as a global phenomenon.
An incredible triumph. But the epic trilogy with
Frasier wasn't quite finished. There was one
more chapter, maybe the most brutal of all. The
Thrilla in Manila, October 1st, 1975. Ali versus
Frazier III, this time in the Philippines. And
the conditions were extreme. Unbelievably harsh.
Temperatures near 100 degrees Fahrenheit, suffocating
humidity inside the arena. And the fight itself
was just war. 14 rounds of relentless back and
forth punishment. Both men absorbed incredible
blows. Ali used the rope -a -dope at times. Frazier
kept boring in with body shots and hooks. Ali
started to take control late though. Yeah, in
the later rounds, Ollie's punches started taking
a terrible toll on Frazier. His eyes were swelling
shut. Ollie landed some huge shots in the 13th
and 14th rounds. Until Frazier's corner stopped
it. Before the 15th and final round could start,
Eddie Futch, Frazier's legendary trainer, made
the decision. Frazier could barely see. Both
eyes were practically closed. Futch told him,
sit down, son. It's all over. No one will ever
forget what you did here today. Ollie won by
TKO. But the cost. Ali himself said it was the
closest he'd come to death. He did. He collapsed
from exhaustion after the fight was stopped.
He later confessed, Even after Manila, even after
that level of punishment, Ali's career wasn't
over. He went on to achieve something no heavyweight
had done before. Win the title a third time.
He lost it in a surprising upset to Leon Spinks
in early 78. Spinks had only had seven pro fights.
Quite the shocker. Huge shock. But Ali being
Ali, he demanded an immediate rematch, got himself
in better shape, outboxed Spinks over 15 rounds
later that same year in New Orleans, and won
the title back. First man ever to win the heavyweight
championship three times. He retired after that
briefly. Yeah. but then came back again. He did
retire in 79, but financial pressures reportedly
pulled him back. And that led to the really difficult,
tragic end to his fighting career. the fight
against Larry Holmes in 1980. Holmes was his
former sparring partner, right? And the champion
at the time. Yes. And Ali. Ali just wasn't the
same fighter. It was painful to watch. He was
overweight, slow, and the sources mentioned clear
signs of physical deterioration were already
visible. The slurred speech, the trembling hands.
Holmes dominated him. Completely. Holmes was
clearly holding back at times, not wanting to
hurt his idol too badly. But after 10 one -sided
rounds, Angelo Dundee had seen enough. He stopped
the fight in the corner. It was the only time
in Ali's entire career that he lost by stoppage.
That quote from Sylvester Stallone at ringside,
it sums up the feeling, doesn't it? It really
does. Stallone said it was like watching an autopsy
on a man who was still alive. Just devastating
to see the decline of such a magnificent athlete.
He fought one last time after Holmes. Yeah, a
final fight against Trevor Burbick in the Bahamas
in 1981, lost a 10 -round decision, and then
finally, he retired for good. And it wasn't long
after retiring that those physical signs became
a formal diagnosis. 1984. Diagnosed with Parkinson's
syndrome. Naturally, there was immediate speculation
connecting it to his boxing career, to the cumulative
head trauma, especially from brutal fights like
Manila. Did Ali accept that link? He and his
doctors often disputed a direct causal link being
definitively proven, though the connection seems
plausible to many. But Ali's personal perspective
on the illness was quite different. How did he
view it? He framed it spiritually. He saw it
as a trial from God. He said things like, he
gave me this illness to remind me that I am not
number one. He is. He found a way to accept it,
not as a punishment, but as a test, something
to humble him and deepen his faith. And that
faith seemed to fuel a renewed focus on his role
outside the ring as a humanitarian. Absolutely.
The People's Champion really came into its own
in his later years. He traveled tirelessly, became
a UN messenger of peace, undertook some incredible
missions. Like the trip to Iraq in 1990. Remarkable
story. Right before the first Gulf War, Saddam
Hussein was holding foreign nationals as human
shields. Ali flew to Baghdad, met with Saddam
and successfully negotiated the release of 14
American hostages using his global fame for direct
humanitarian diplomacy. He was involved in other
political actions, too, wasn't he? Like the Olympic
boycott. Yeah, he played a role in convincing
Kenya and some other nations to boycott the 1980
Moscow Olympics in protest of the Soviet invasion
of Afghanistan. He used his influence consistently.
And his charitable giving was immense throughout
his life. Massive. Millions donated, often very
quietly, without fanfare. Supporting hunger relief
efforts, worldwide estimates say helping feed
over 22 million people. And it wasn't just later
in life. The sources note that back in 1967,
during his exile, he was the largest single black
donor to the United Negro College Fund. That
commitment to giving back was always there. We
should also track his spiritual journey. We started
with the Nation of Islam, which was very specific,
very political. How did that evolve? It evolved
significantly towards a more universal understanding
of Islam. In the mid -1970s, after Elijah Muhammad
died and his son, Wareddin Muhammad, began moving
the NOI towards mainstream Sunni Islam, Ali followed
that path. He formally converted to Sunni Islam.
Moving away from the black separatist ideology.
Yes, embracing the broader universal tenets of
Sunni Islam. This shift was deepened by his travels,
particularly his pilgrimages to Mecca. He went
on the Hajj. twice, according to the sources,
once in 1972 and again in 1988. Those experiences
reportedly had a profound impact, reinforcing
that sense of universal brotherhood within Islam.
And his later statements reflected this broader
tolerance, especially after 9 -11. Absolutely.
He was very quick and very forceful in condemning
the attacks and distancing Islam from the terrorists.
He made public statements emphasizing that Islam
is a religion of peace and calling the had perverted
the religion. He even explored other aspects
of Islamic tradition later on. Yeah. His 2003
autobiography, The Soul of a Butterfly, mentions
his growing interest in Sufism, which is the
more mystical, contemplative branch of Islam.
So a continuous spiritual evolution throughout
his life. Finally, we have to touch on his unique
cultural footprint beyond boxing. beyond politics
he was a cultural force unlike any other many
people quite seriously identify him as a key
precursor to hip -hop maybe even the first rapper
because of the rhyming and boasting exactly the
freestyled rhymes the boasts the spoken word
poetry he delivered before fights think of the
rumble in the jungle poem it had the cadence
the swagger the word play that would become central
to hip -hop he even released spoken word albums
back in the 60s one of which i am greatest was
grammy nominated artists like chuck d jay -z
countless others cite him as a direct influence
and then there's that unique detail about his
hollywood star right the only star on the hollywood
walk of fame that isn't on the sidewalk it's
mounted vertically on a wall next to the dolby
theater entrance it was ali's specific request
he didn't want the name muhammad which he shared
of course with the prophet muhammad to be walked
upon by people a powerful statement about the
primacy of his faith even in the heart of hollywood
and his hometown louisville has honored him in
a very significant way. They have. In 2019, they
renamed their international airport the Louisville
Muhammad Ali International Airport. And the logo
they created is fantastic. It's Ali's silhouette,
arms raised in victory against the backdrop of
a butterfly. Float like a butterfly. Sting like
a bee. It perfectly captures his essence. And
you look at the boxing accolades alone. The only
three -time lineal heavyweight champion, Sports
Illustrated Sportsman of the Century, more Ring
Magazine Fight of the Year awards. than any other
boxer. The legacy is just immense on every level.
What an incredible life. Looking back over this
deep dive, the story of Muhammad Ali really feels
defined by that. unavoidable link, that synergy
between Cassius Clay's athletics genius and Muhammad
Ali's political and spiritual defiance. You can't
separate them. He didn't just win titles. He
used the platform those titles gave him and even
the loss of those titles during his exile to
force America and the world, really, to confront
fundamental issues of race, war and religion.
Absolutely. And his defiance, particularly refusing
the draft, it fundamentally changed the expectations
for athletes. It wasn't just about being great
at your sport anymore, he showed that having
that platform meant you had a voice, maybe even
a responsibility to speak out. Even at tremendous
personal cost. Tremendous cost. Losing his prime
years, facing prison, enduring that intense government
surveillance we talked about, the FBI, the NSA.
It shows how threatening his principled stand
was perceived to be by the establishment. It's
also this powerful journey of constant evolution,
isn't it? From the sometimes provocative separatist
rhetoric of the Louisville Lip, influenced by
the early NOI, to the global humanitarian figure
embracing universal tolerance within mainstream
Islam and even Sufism. later in life. And that
very transition, that arc from a fierce, sometimes
divisive adherence to a specific group's teachings
towards a much broader, more universal message
of tolerance and philanthropy. That's maybe the
perfect final thought for you, the listener,
to consider. We've traced Ali's journey. Think
about that tension in his life, the evolution
of his convictions as he aged, gained experience,
faced adversity, and saw more of the world. What
can Ali's life teach you about how deeply held
beliefs can evolve, how public identity shifts,
and maybe how we reconcile our earlier selves
with who we become later? It's about personal
growth, played out on the biggest stage imaginable.
A really compelling question to ponder. Thank
you for joining us on The Deep Dive. We'll see
you next time.