WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.140 Welcome to the deep dive where we take a monumental 00:00:02.140 --> 00:00:04.759 figure, stack up all the sources, and give you 00:00:04.759 --> 00:00:06.839 the ultimate shortcut to understanding the true 00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:08.839 scope of their impact. And today we're tackling 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:11.800 someone truly colossal. Absolutely. We're peeling 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:14.839 back the layers on a life so influential, so 00:00:14.839 --> 00:00:18.390 relentlessly public, it really... permanently 00:00:18.390 --> 00:00:21.010 redefined the concept of the celebrity athlete. 00:00:21.309 --> 00:00:24.149 We are diving deep into Muhammad Ali, the greatest. 00:00:24.329 --> 00:00:26.589 And we are moving far beyond just the boxing 00:00:26.589 --> 00:00:28.449 rings here. I mean, the material you shared makes 00:00:28.449 --> 00:00:30.829 it clear. Ali wasn't just about physical prowess. 00:00:30.870 --> 00:00:32.890 He was a cultural force, a political force, a 00:00:32.890 --> 00:00:36.250 spiritual one, too. He used that platform, you 00:00:36.250 --> 00:00:38.950 know, that magnetic personality and the famous 00:00:38.950 --> 00:00:41.869 Louisville lip to basically compel the world 00:00:41.869 --> 00:00:44.429 to grapple with huge issues, race, religion, 00:00:44.670 --> 00:00:48.020 defiance, war. That's exactly right. focus today. 00:00:48.119 --> 00:00:50.479 We want to understand the complex man beneath 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:54.039 the myth, right? To truly grasp his legacy, we 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:56.140 have to track that whole journey of transformation. 00:00:56.500 --> 00:00:59.560 It's quite a journey. It really is. So our mission 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:02.179 today is to unpack the critical turning points, 00:01:02.340 --> 00:01:06.140 that controversial conversion, the defiant stand 00:01:06.140 --> 00:01:08.579 against the draft that cost him his prime years, 00:01:08.819 --> 00:01:11.519 and how the political power of Muhammad Ali became, 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:14.700 well, just as legendary as the athletic genius. 00:01:15.310 --> 00:01:17.390 with Cassius Clay Jr. Yeah, and we're going to 00:01:17.390 --> 00:01:20.109 explore how his journey redefined what a star 00:01:20.109 --> 00:01:22.750 could be, all grounded strictly in the sources 00:01:22.750 --> 00:01:25.329 you've provided. It's an ambitious goal because 00:01:25.329 --> 00:01:27.730 he changed so dramatically over his public life, 00:01:27.849 --> 00:01:30.290 and the sources really allow us to trace that 00:01:30.290 --> 00:01:33.090 evolution pretty clearly. They do. So where do 00:01:33.090 --> 00:01:35.409 we start? Louisville. Let's start right there. 00:01:35.489 --> 00:01:37.629 Louisville, Kentucky, in the segregated South, 00:01:37.750 --> 00:01:40.189 and meet the young man who was not yet a champion. 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:43.739 Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. Okay, so Cassius Marcellus 00:01:43.739 --> 00:01:47.099 Clay Jr., born January 17, 1942. And you really 00:01:47.099 --> 00:01:49.099 have to picture the setting. Louisville back 00:01:49.099 --> 00:01:51.579 then was defined by strict racial segregation. 00:01:51.939 --> 00:01:55.120 Deeply segregated. His father, Cassius Sr., he 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:57.310 painted signs and billboards for a living. Right. 00:01:57.390 --> 00:01:59.269 And his mother, Odessa, worked as a domestic 00:01:59.269 --> 00:02:01.409 helper. Different religious backgrounds, too, 00:02:01.469 --> 00:02:04.090 apparently. Yeah, the father was Methodist, but 00:02:04.090 --> 00:02:06.329 Odessa raised the children Baptist. And that 00:02:06.329 --> 00:02:08.870 environment, that segregation, it wasn't just 00:02:08.870 --> 00:02:11.830 background noise. It shaped him profoundly. The 00:02:11.830 --> 00:02:14.830 sources really highlight that the casual, pervasive 00:02:14.830 --> 00:02:17.590 injustice was very real to him. Like that story 00:02:17.590 --> 00:02:19.870 his mother told about being denied a drink of 00:02:19.870 --> 00:02:22.490 water. Exactly. A simple drink of water at a 00:02:22.490 --> 00:02:25.409 store denied just because he was black. She recalled 00:02:25.409 --> 00:02:27.830 that it really affected him. It planted this 00:02:27.830 --> 00:02:31.270 early deep seed of resentment against that whole 00:02:31.270 --> 00:02:34.650 racial hierarchy. You can see how it would. And 00:02:34.650 --> 00:02:38.409 then as a teenager, he's facing the really brutal 00:02:38.409 --> 00:02:41.250 realities of the civil rights struggle head on, 00:02:41.330 --> 00:02:43.509 like the murder of Emmett Till. Oh, absolutely. 00:02:43.729 --> 00:02:45.889 That had a huge impact. Till was murdered in 00:02:45.889 --> 00:02:49.250 Mississippi in 1955. Clay was only 13. And the 00:02:49.250 --> 00:02:52.090 sheer brutality of it just fueled this righteous 00:02:52.090 --> 00:02:54.509 frustration in him. He reacted quite strongly, 00:02:54.610 --> 00:02:56.889 didn't he? He did. One source mentions him actually 00:02:56.889 --> 00:02:59.810 vandalizing a local rail yard. Just this outburst 00:02:59.810 --> 00:03:02.129 of rage and helplessness after hearing the news. 00:03:02.330 --> 00:03:04.610 He later told his daughter, Hannah, that nothing 00:03:04.610 --> 00:03:06.990 would ever shake me up more than the story of 00:03:06.990 --> 00:03:08.889 Emmett Till. So this isn't just a kid growing 00:03:08.889 --> 00:03:11.669 up. This is the development of a political conscience 00:03:11.669 --> 00:03:14.189 already viewing the world through that lens. 00:03:14.379 --> 00:03:16.819 of systematic racial violence. It's fascinating 00:03:16.819 --> 00:03:20.099 to see how that early anger eventually found 00:03:20.099 --> 00:03:24.780 an outlet. And the way he got into boxing, it's 00:03:24.780 --> 00:03:27.099 almost like something out of a movie. The stolen 00:03:27.099 --> 00:03:29.740 bicycle. It really is the classic origin story, 00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:32.699 isn't it? He's 12 years old. His bike gets stolen. 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:35.680 He reports it to a police officer, Joe E. Martin. 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:37.900 Who just happened to be a boxing coach. Exactly. 00:03:38.099 --> 00:03:40.719 And Clay swears he's going to whoop the thief. 00:03:41.230 --> 00:03:43.490 Martin famously tells him, well, you better learn 00:03:43.490 --> 00:03:45.650 how to box first. And that was it, the spark. 00:03:45.870 --> 00:03:47.909 His rise in the amateur ranks was incredibly 00:03:47.909 --> 00:03:50.530 fast. Phenomenal speed. He trained first with 00:03:50.530 --> 00:03:52.830 Martin, then later with Fred Stoner, who Ali 00:03:52.830 --> 00:03:55.610 himself credited with really molding his style, 00:03:55.650 --> 00:03:58.449 that speed, the footwork, the stamina, the whole 00:03:58.449 --> 00:04:01.270 system. And the record shows it. Was it 100 wins 00:04:01.270 --> 00:04:03.620 and just five losses as an amateur? That's right. 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:06.500 Incredible record. And the absolute pinnacle 00:04:06.500 --> 00:04:08.960 of that was winning gold in the light heavyweight 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:12.319 division at the 1960 Rome Olympics. He was already 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:14.960 showing off that unbelievable hand speed and 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:17.379 footwork that would become his trademark. But 00:04:17.379 --> 00:04:20.250 that gold medal. Yeah. It's tied to one of the 00:04:20.250 --> 00:04:23.410 most famous and maybe most disputed stories about 00:04:23.410 --> 00:04:25.610 Ali, isn't it? The whole throwing the medal in 00:04:25.610 --> 00:04:28.430 the river thing. Ah, yes. The Olympic medal controversy. 00:04:28.550 --> 00:04:31.350 This is such a critical piece because it really 00:04:31.350 --> 00:04:35.290 shows the early construction of the Al myth, 00:04:35.430 --> 00:04:38.350 the persona. So the story he told in his autobiography. 00:04:38.490 --> 00:04:40.750 Right. In his 75 autobiography, he claims he 00:04:40.750 --> 00:04:42.910 gets back from Rome, goes into a whites only 00:04:42.910 --> 00:04:45.089 restaurant with a friend, gets refused service. 00:04:45.310 --> 00:04:48.939 And in response to this, you know, blatant. segregationist 00:04:48.939 --> 00:04:51.399 insult, he goes and throws his Olympic gold medal 00:04:51.399 --> 00:04:54.079 into the Ohio River. A powerful symbolic act. 00:04:54.259 --> 00:04:57.540 But the sources we have suggest maybe it didn't 00:04:57.540 --> 00:04:59.259 happen quite like that. Well, that's the thing. 00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:01.399 Several people close to him, like his photographer 00:05:01.399 --> 00:05:03.579 Howard Bingham, disputed the specifics later 00:05:03.579 --> 00:05:06.360 on. His biographer, Thomas Hauser, clarified 00:05:06.360 --> 00:05:09.620 it. Ali was refused service at a segregated diner. 00:05:09.639 --> 00:05:11.959 That part seems true. But he actually just lost 00:05:11.959 --> 00:05:14.660 the medal about a year after winning it. The 00:05:14.660 --> 00:05:17.339 throwing it in the river story? It seems that 00:05:17.339 --> 00:05:20.060 was more potent symbolically. It served the narrative 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:23.540 of defiance better. So the rejection of this 00:05:23.540 --> 00:05:26.399 symbol of white America's acceptance, that was 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:29.120 the core truth, even if the details were embellished. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:31.399 Exactly. It was about the meaning more than the 00:05:31.399 --> 00:05:34.160 literal event. As his friend Bundini Brown supposedly 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:37.339 joked, Anki sure bought into that one. It became 00:05:37.339 --> 00:05:39.459 part of the legend. And it makes that moment 00:05:39.459 --> 00:05:42.060 in 96 when he lit the torch at the Atlanta Olympics 00:05:42.060 --> 00:05:44.740 and got a replacement medal. even more poignant. 00:05:44.899 --> 00:05:47.899 A truly incredible bookend, yeah. So he turns 00:05:47.899 --> 00:05:51.740 pro right after Rome in 1960. Wraps up a pretty 00:05:51.740 --> 00:05:53.899 impressive record quickly, 19 -0 by the end of 00:05:53.899 --> 00:05:57.540 63, right? Lots of knockouts. 15 KOs. And already 00:05:57.540 --> 00:06:00.139 predicting the rounds. But it wasn't just the 00:06:00.139 --> 00:06:02.019 fighting that got attention, was it? It was the 00:06:02.019 --> 00:06:04.779 mouth. Oh, the mouth. The Louisville lip. It 00:06:04.779 --> 00:06:06.959 was revolutionary in boxing. Nobody talked like 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:09.540 that. Where did he even get the idea to not just 00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:13.779 win, but to perform, to boast, to predict? It 00:06:13.779 --> 00:06:16.279 was apparently a very conscious decision, inspired 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:19.160 by a professional wrestler named Gorgeous George 00:06:19.160 --> 00:06:23.199 Wagner. Ali met him in Vegas back in 61. Gorgeous 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:25.939 George, really? Yeah. And George's advice was 00:06:25.939 --> 00:06:30.019 pure showmanship. Talk big, make promises, create 00:06:30.019 --> 00:06:33.420 a spectacle. He told Ali it guaranteed paying 00:06:33.420 --> 00:06:36.120 customers. People would come hoping to see him 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:38.720 win, or maybe even more, hoping to see him get 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:42.149 shut up. Huh. So Ali just ran with it. ran with 00:06:42.149 --> 00:06:44.689 it and amplified it a thousand times. He basically 00:06:44.689 --> 00:06:47.649 invented this persona, the big mouth and a bragger, 00:06:47.689 --> 00:06:49.870 as he called himself. It was all about making 00:06:49.870 --> 00:06:51.810 himself the center of attention, the spectacle. 00:06:52.009 --> 00:06:53.790 Which brings us back to things like that weigh 00:06:53.790 --> 00:06:56.259 in before the list and fight later. That crazy 00:06:56.259 --> 00:06:59.680 pulse rate. Was that real fear or was it pure 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:02.500 gorgeous George performance art? That's the brilliance 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:04.560 of it, isn't it? The sources suggest it was probably 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:07.019 a mix. He was young. He had nervous energy, sure. 00:07:07.480 --> 00:07:10.680 But he learned how to channel that, amplify it, 00:07:10.699 --> 00:07:13.800 turn it into this calculated chaos to sell the 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:16.100 fight. Always selling the fight. And around this 00:07:16.100 --> 00:07:18.300 time, he also links up with the trainer who would 00:07:18.300 --> 00:07:19.899 stick with him for pretty much his whole career. 00:07:20.329 --> 00:07:23.230 Angelo Dundee. Yeah, he took over from Archie 00:07:23.230 --> 00:07:26.829 Moore around 1960. There's that funny story that 00:07:26.829 --> 00:07:29.829 Clay actually left Moore's camp, partly because 00:07:29.829 --> 00:07:32.290 Moore expected him to do chores, like washing 00:07:32.290 --> 00:07:35.370 dishes. Seriously, he wouldn't wash dishes. Apparently 00:07:35.370 --> 00:07:37.930 not. Speaks volumes about his personality even 00:07:37.930 --> 00:07:40.730 then, right? That sense of self -importance, 00:07:40.730 --> 00:07:44.209 resenting any kind of subservience. Dundee was 00:07:44.209 --> 00:07:46.050 different. He was more of a calming influence, 00:07:46.449 --> 00:07:49.209 focused on the boxing, the conditioning, managing 00:07:49.209 --> 00:07:51.810 the career, not trying to manage all these politics 00:07:51.810 --> 00:07:55.670 or behavior. A steady hand. But even with Dundee 00:07:55.670 --> 00:07:57.740 and the undefeated record, He wasn't completely 00:07:57.740 --> 00:08:00.139 untouchable in those early years. He got knocked 00:08:00.139 --> 00:08:02.620 down a couple of times. Right. Again, Sonny Banks 00:08:02.620 --> 00:08:04.660 and Henry Cooper, those were important learning 00:08:04.660 --> 00:08:07.360 moments, especially that Cooper fight in 63. 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:10.300 Cooper dropped him hard with a left hook near 00:08:10.300 --> 00:08:12.180 the end of a round. Saved by the bell, essentially. 00:08:12.300 --> 00:08:14.019 Saved by the bell and maybe by Dundee's quick 00:08:14.019 --> 00:08:16.000 thinking. There's the story Dundee might have 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:18.500 deliberately made a small tear in Ali's glove 00:08:18.500 --> 00:08:20.860 to buy a few extra seconds of recovery time while 00:08:20.860 --> 00:08:23.199 the refs sorted it out. Wow. The tricks of the 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:26.569 trade. Indeed. And even a win wasn't always popular. 00:08:26.790 --> 00:08:29.629 After he beat Doug Jones in 63, the crowd apparently 00:08:29.629 --> 00:08:33.450 booed and threw stuff. He was already polarizing 00:08:33.450 --> 00:08:36.070 people, generating these intense reactions. That 00:08:36.070 --> 00:08:38.470 polarizing effect combined with being undefeated. 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:41.200 really set the stage perfectly for that first 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:44.120 fight against Sonny Liston in February 64. A 00:08:44.120 --> 00:08:46.720 real David versus Goliath matchup. Ah, completely. 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:50.500 The world saw Clay as this loudmouth kid. Liston 00:08:50.500 --> 00:08:53.080 was the champion, intimidating, fearsome knockout 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:57.240 power, alleged mob ties. Just terrifying. Clay 00:08:57.240 --> 00:09:00.299 was, what, an 8 -1 underdog? Astronomical odds? 00:09:00.519 --> 00:09:03.120 Huge. But Clay knew how to play the media game 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:06.460 even then. That way in. Legendary. Pure psychological 00:09:06.460 --> 00:09:08.519 warfare. He just went after Liston screaming, 00:09:08.779 --> 00:09:11.320 calling him the big ugly bear, acting completely 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:13.179 unhinged. And that's where the pulse rate comes 00:09:13.179 --> 00:09:15.360 in. 120 beats per minute. Yeah, more than double 00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:17.279 normal. Was it genuine panic? Was it calculated 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:20.279 mania? Who knows? But the effect was undeniable. 00:09:20.340 --> 00:09:22.940 It created chaos. It destabilized things. He's 00:09:22.940 --> 00:09:24.539 yelling that someone is going to die at ringside 00:09:24.539 --> 00:09:26.639 tonight. Every camera, every eye was glued to 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:29.000 him. But the performance had to stop when the 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:32.129 bell rang. He still had to face Liston in the 00:09:32.129 --> 00:09:34.049 ring. And Liston came out exactly as expected, 00:09:34.289 --> 00:09:37.149 looking for that quick, brutal knockout. But 00:09:37.149 --> 00:09:39.929 Clay's speed, his reach, that unconventional 00:09:39.929 --> 00:09:42.690 movement, Liston couldn't land the big shot cleanly. 00:09:42.769 --> 00:09:46.549 And then, in the third round, Clay cuts Liston 00:09:46.549 --> 00:09:48.990 under the eye. First time Liston had ever been 00:09:48.990 --> 00:09:52.029 cut professionally. First time ever. That alone 00:09:52.029 --> 00:09:54.710 must have shattered Liston's aura of invincibility 00:09:54.710 --> 00:09:57.570 a bit. And then came that really bizarre moment 00:09:57.570 --> 00:10:00.590 in the fourth round. The blinding. One of the 00:10:00.590 --> 00:10:04.350 strangest incidents in boxing history. Clay suddenly 00:10:04.350 --> 00:10:06.289 starts complaining he can't see, his eyes are 00:10:06.289 --> 00:10:08.230 burning intensely, he's yelling to Dundee, cut 00:10:08.230 --> 00:10:10.990 him off, I can't see. What was it? The speculation 00:10:10.990 --> 00:10:13.649 was, and Ollie believed this later, that it was 00:10:13.649 --> 00:10:15.909 some kind of ointment used on Liston's cuts, 00:10:16.029 --> 00:10:18.610 maybe Monsel's solution that got onto Liston's 00:10:18.610 --> 00:10:20.929 gloves and then into Clay's eyes, maybe deliberately, 00:10:21.129 --> 00:10:23.309 maybe accidentally. And Dundee had to handle 00:10:23.309 --> 00:10:26.950 the crisis. Right. Dundee famously refused to 00:10:26.950 --> 00:10:29.330 cut the gloves off, basically pushed Clay back 00:10:29.330 --> 00:10:31.769 out there, told him to run, keep moving, let 00:10:31.769 --> 00:10:34.210 the sweat and tears wash it out. Incredible corner 00:10:34.210 --> 00:10:36.529 work under pressure. And Clay somehow survived 00:10:36.529 --> 00:10:39.029 those next couple of rounds. Pure will, mostly 00:10:39.029 --> 00:10:41.610 blind. By the sixth round, though, his vision 00:10:41.610 --> 00:10:43.990 had cleared and he was taking control, peppering 00:10:43.990 --> 00:10:47.190 Liston. And then Liston just quits. Doesn't answer 00:10:47.190 --> 00:10:49.269 the bell for the seventh round, claims a shoulder 00:10:49.269 --> 00:10:53.120 injury. And just like that, Cassius Clay, 22 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:55.220 years old, is the heavyweight champion of the 00:10:55.220 --> 00:10:58.100 world. A massive upset. And his reaction was 00:10:58.100 --> 00:11:00.559 instant, wasn't it? Oh, yeah. Rushing to the 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:02.840 ropes, yelling at the reporters, eat your words, 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:05.039 eat your words. I am the greatest. I shook up 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:07.039 the world. I must be the greatest. I'm the prettiest 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:10.000 thing that ever lived. Just pure, unadulterated 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:12.000 triumph. He didn't just shake up the world by 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:14.840 winning, though. He used that. instant, massive 00:11:14.840 --> 00:11:17.259 platform for perhaps the most radical transformation 00:11:17.259 --> 00:11:20.720 of his life, Cassius Clay Jr. effectively disappeared. 00:11:21.139 --> 00:11:24.200 Immediately. Almost right after the fight, he 00:11:24.200 --> 00:11:26.399 publicly confirmed the rumors he had joined the 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:29.340 Nation of Islam, the NOI. He initially took the 00:11:29.340 --> 00:11:32.279 name Cassius X, following their tradition. Like 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:36.139 Malcolm X. Exactly. And then, soon after, Elijah 00:11:36.139 --> 00:11:38.740 Muhammad, the leader of the NOI, gave him his 00:11:38.740 --> 00:11:42.620 new permanent name, Muhammad Ali. and he immediately 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:44.919 renounced his birth name. Calling it his slave 00:11:44.919 --> 00:11:47.820 name. The sources explain his reasoning there. 00:11:47.980 --> 00:11:50.080 Yeah, he pointed out he was named after Cassius 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:52.759 Marcellus Clay, who was a 19th century white 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:55.440 slave owner, although he later became an abolitionist. 00:11:55.759 --> 00:11:58.360 Ali said he wanted a free name, arguing that 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:00.840 even as an abolitionist, the original Clay held 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:03.899 onto white supremacy. For Ali, the name itself 00:12:03.899 --> 00:12:06.480 was a link to oppression he had to break. Was 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:08.600 the Nation of Islam leadership on board with 00:12:08.600 --> 00:12:11.230 him from the start? Not. Not entirely, no. Initially, 00:12:11.370 --> 00:12:13.929 they were a bit wary. Boxing, with its gambling 00:12:13.929 --> 00:12:16.389 and hype, wasn't exactly aligned with their strict 00:12:16.389 --> 00:12:18.350 doctrines. They kind of kept his involvement 00:12:18.350 --> 00:12:20.629 under wraps at first. Until he won the title. 00:12:20.850 --> 00:12:23.429 Exactly. Once he became heavyweight champion 00:12:23.429 --> 00:12:27.070 with that global spotlight, then they fully and 00:12:27.070 --> 00:12:30.250 publicly embraced him. Elijah Muhammad bestowed 00:12:30.250 --> 00:12:33.750 the name. Muhammad meaning worthy of praise and 00:12:33.750 --> 00:12:36.750 Ali meaning most high. And he instantly became 00:12:36.750 --> 00:12:39.250 their most visible, most powerful spokesman. 00:12:39.790 --> 00:12:43.090 That quote, I am America. I am the part you won't 00:12:43.090 --> 00:12:45.549 recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, 00:12:45.750 --> 00:12:48.509 cocky. My name, not yours. My religion, not yours. 00:12:48.629 --> 00:12:51.480 My goals, my own. Get used to me. Just an incredible 00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:53.559 declaration of independence and black pride. 00:12:53.720 --> 00:12:56.159 But that affiliation, that choice, came at a 00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:58.399 huge personal cost, didn't it? His relationship 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:01.399 with Malcolm X. A devastating cost. Malcolm X 00:13:01.399 --> 00:13:03.779 had been his mentor, hugely influential in his 00:13:03.779 --> 00:13:06.419 conversion. But by the time Ali publicly joined 00:13:06.419 --> 00:13:08.940 the NOI, Malcolm had already had his bitter split 00:13:08.940 --> 00:13:11.840 with Elijah Muhammad. The NOI leadership pressured 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:14.440 Ali to cut ties completely with Malcolm. Which 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:16.600 he did. He did, and Ali later said it was one 00:13:16.600 --> 00:13:18.679 of the biggest regrets of his life. Watching 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:20.519 that friendship fracture under those political 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:22.759 pressures, it's really heartbreaking when you 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:24.980 read about it. The controversies definitely didn't 00:13:24.980 --> 00:13:27.120 stop there. They followed him right back into 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:31.759 the ring. The rematch with Liston in 65. The 00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:34.799 phantom punch. Still one of the most debated 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:37.350 moments in boxing. The fight's over in under 00:13:37.350 --> 00:13:40.809 two minutes. Ali lands this short, chopping right, 00:13:40.870 --> 00:13:43.070 some called it an anchor punch, and Liston goes 00:13:43.070 --> 00:13:45.789 down. But it happened so fast, the punch wasn't 00:13:45.789 --> 00:13:48.669 obvious on first view. Leading to immediate speculation. 00:13:49.009 --> 00:13:51.649 Oh, yeah. Cries that Liston threw the fight. 00:13:51.769 --> 00:13:54.470 The context fueled it. Liston was known to have 00:13:54.470 --> 00:13:57.070 debts. The NOI had this intimidating reputation. 00:13:57.629 --> 00:14:00.509 Did Liston take a dive due to threats or to clear 00:14:00.509 --> 00:14:03.389 debts? Slow motion replay does show the punch 00:14:03.389 --> 00:14:06.250 landing cleanly jarring Liston's head. But the 00:14:06.250 --> 00:14:08.830 controversy itself just added another layer to 00:14:08.830 --> 00:14:11.169 the Ali mystique. And beyond weird finishes, 00:14:11.549 --> 00:14:14.370 Ali started using the ring as a platform for 00:14:14.370 --> 00:14:16.450 political punishment almost. This is where it 00:14:16.450 --> 00:14:18.210 gets uncomfortable for some people. The political 00:14:18.210 --> 00:14:20.659 edge turned. Kind of cruel sometimes. Take the 00:14:20.659 --> 00:14:23.820 Floyd Patterson fight in 1965. Patterson refused 00:14:23.820 --> 00:14:26.340 to call him Ali and was critical of the NOI. 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:28.750 So Ali went after him verbally. relentlessly 00:14:28.750 --> 00:14:31.429 called him an Uncle Tom. And in the fight itself, 00:14:31.769 --> 00:14:34.570 many observers felt Ali deliberately carried 00:14:34.570 --> 00:14:38.090 Patterson, punishing him, making it last 12 rounds 00:14:38.090 --> 00:14:40.690 before the TKO instead of finishing him earlier. 00:14:40.870 --> 00:14:42.909 It looked like showboating, like humiliation. 00:14:43.190 --> 00:14:45.850 And the Ernie Terrell fight in 67 was even more 00:14:45.850 --> 00:14:48.789 pointed. Even more so. Terrell also insisted 00:14:48.789 --> 00:14:51.639 on calling him Cassius Clay. Ali turned that 00:14:51.639 --> 00:14:54.919 fight into a brutal, prolonged lesson. He's dominating 00:14:54.919 --> 00:14:57.220 Terrell, hitting him, and yelling repeatedly, 00:14:57.600 --> 00:15:00.159 what's my name, Uncle Tom, what's my name? Oof, 00:15:00.179 --> 00:15:02.639 that's harsh. It was. The press was horrified. 00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:05.399 Sports Illustrated's Tex Mall called it a barbarous 00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:08.820 display of cruelty. You saw the NOI's separatist 00:15:08.820 --> 00:15:11.259 ideology, that rejection of assimilation, the 00:15:11.259 --> 00:15:13.220 scorn for those seen as accommodating the white 00:15:13.220 --> 00:15:15.679 establishment manifested right there, physically 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:18.860 in the ring. So this really intense mix of politics, 00:15:19.139 --> 00:15:21.700 religion, and boxing. Yeah. That was the backdrop 00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:23.980 for the single biggest stand he would take, the 00:15:23.980 --> 00:15:26.139 one that truly defined his life outside the ropes, 00:15:26.259 --> 00:15:28.799 refusing the draft. Yeah, and the whole draft 00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:31.159 situation started somewhat ironically, given 00:15:31.159 --> 00:15:33.740 his later stance. Initially, he actually failed 00:15:33.740 --> 00:15:36.919 the armed forces qualifying test. Really? On 00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:39.059 what grounds? His writing and spelling skills 00:15:39.059 --> 00:15:41.639 were below the standard. He later attributed 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:44.940 it to dyslexia. So at first he was classified 00:15:44.940 --> 00:15:48.299 1Y, meaning fit for service only in a national 00:15:48.299 --> 00:15:50.519 emergency or war. Which led to that fantastic 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:53.360 quote. I said I was the greatest, not the smartest. 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:57.620 Classic Ali. But then things changed. They did. 00:15:57.820 --> 00:16:00.840 As the Vietnam War escalated, the military lowered 00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:04.980 its standards in early 1966. Suddenly, Ali was 00:16:04.980 --> 00:16:08.580 reclassified 1A, eligible for immediate induction. 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:11.360 The world heavyweight champion was about to be 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:13.200 drafted. And that's when he took his definitive 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:17.139 stand, refusing to serve. Unequivocally. He stated 00:16:17.139 --> 00:16:19.980 his primary objection was religious war was against 00:16:19.980 --> 00:16:22.340 the teachings of the Quran, as interpreted by 00:16:22.340 --> 00:16:24.539 the Nation of Islam, unless it was a holy war 00:16:24.539 --> 00:16:26.700 declared by Allah himself. But it wasn't just 00:16:26.700 --> 00:16:29.019 religious, was it? His objection was deeply political, 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:31.440 too. Absolutely. And that's captured in his most 00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:33.419 famous quote on the matter. Man, I ain't got 00:16:33.419 --> 00:16:35.500 no quarrel with them, Viacom. Such a simple, 00:16:35.539 --> 00:16:37.840 powerful statement. It cut right to the heart 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:40.279 of it. And he elaborated, making the connection 00:16:40.279 --> 00:16:43.000 explicit. Why should they ask me to put on a 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:45.759 uniform and go 10 ,000 miles from home and drop 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:47.980 bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam 00:16:47.980 --> 00:16:51.179 while so -called Negro people in Louisville are 00:16:51.179 --> 00:16:54.019 treated like dogs and denied basic human rights? 00:16:54.299 --> 00:16:57.299 Wow. He directly linked the foreign war to the 00:16:57.299 --> 00:16:59.559 domestic struggle for civil rights. That was 00:16:59.559 --> 00:17:02.799 incredibly potent. Incredibly. It forced a confrontation 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:05.440 with the hypocrisy of America fighting for freedom 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:08.299 abroad while denying it to its own. Black citizens. 00:17:08.579 --> 00:17:10.680 The reaction from the authorities was swift and 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:14.220 harsh. Immediate and severe. April 28, 1967. 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:17.299 He shows up for induction in Houston. They call 00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:19.880 his name three times. Three times he refuses 00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:21.779 to step forward. He's arrested right then and 00:17:21.779 --> 00:17:23.480 there. In the boxing world. Came down like a 00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:26.119 ton of bricks. The New York State Athletic Commission 00:17:26.119 --> 00:17:28.819 suspended his boxing license that very same day. 00:17:29.099 --> 00:17:31.680 The World Boxing Association stripped him of 00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:34.240 his heavyweight title. His career was effectively 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:37.559 over. And then the legal hammer fell. June 1967, 00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:40.700 he's convicted of draft evasion, sentenced to 00:17:40.700 --> 00:17:43.579 five years in prison and a $10 ,000 fine, a huge 00:17:43.579 --> 00:17:46.240 amount back then. He stayed out on bail while 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:48.660 appealing, but that began nearly four years of 00:17:48.660 --> 00:17:52.119 professional exile. Four years right in his athletic 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:54.619 prime. Angelo Dundee's quote about him being 00:17:54.619 --> 00:17:57.759 robbed of his best years. It really hits home. 00:17:57.880 --> 00:18:01.119 It does. But that sacrifice, willingly giving 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:03.640 up the title, the money, the prime years, all 00:18:03.640 --> 00:18:06.500 for his principles, that shifted the whole conversation. 00:18:06.740 --> 00:18:09.519 It wasn't just seen as protest anymore. It was 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:12.599 seen as deep, costly conviction. And it resonated 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:15.599 hugely with the anti -war and civil rights movements. 00:18:15.819 --> 00:18:18.099 Massively. Figures like Al Sharpton said it had 00:18:18.099 --> 00:18:20.259 an energizing effect. Here's the heavyweight 00:18:20.259 --> 00:18:22.200 champion of the world, a global icon willing 00:18:22.200 --> 00:18:24.640 to lose everything. It gave immense legitimacy 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:27.119 to both movements. This period also led to a 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:28.740 really significant moment for black athletes, 00:18:28.900 --> 00:18:30.960 didn't it? The Cleveland Summit. Yeah, the Cleveland 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:33.839 Summit in June 67 was crucial. You had major 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:36.359 figures like Jim Brown, Bill Russell, Kareem 00:18:36.359 --> 00:18:38.400 Abdul -Jabbar, then Lou Alcindor gathering with 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:41.420 Ali. What was the purpose? To support him. Initially, 00:18:41.460 --> 00:18:43.759 it was actually to question him, to gauge his 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:46.380 sincerity. Was this real? Was it just another 00:18:46.380 --> 00:18:49.420 publicity stunt? But after hours of talking with 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:51.640 him, hearing his reasoning, they came out and 00:18:51.640 --> 00:18:53.980 publicly announced their full support. That must 00:18:53.980 --> 00:18:56.259 have been huge. It was a landmark moment. It 00:18:56.259 --> 00:18:59.059 solidified the idea that prominent athletes had 00:18:59.059 --> 00:19:01.460 a right, maybe even a responsibility, to use 00:19:01.460 --> 00:19:03.839 their platform for social and political commentary. 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:07.160 So, unable to box, what did Ali do during those 00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:09.740 years in exile? He basically reinvented himself 00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:12.779 as a speaker. He became a fixture on the college 00:19:12.779 --> 00:19:15.019 circuit, traveling the country, giving speeches. 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:17.839 His main one was often titled Black is Best. 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:21.079 Focusing on racial justice. Entirely. Racial 00:19:21.079 --> 00:19:23.579 pride, black self -determination, critiques of 00:19:23.579 --> 00:19:26.119 the war, critiques of systemic racism. It kept 00:19:26.119 --> 00:19:28.859 him financially afloat, sure, but it also massively 00:19:28.859 --> 00:19:31.059 deepened his connection with the youth counterculture 00:19:31.059 --> 00:19:34.200 of the late 60s. He became a true icon for them. 00:19:34.339 --> 00:19:37.109 And all this time. The legal battle is winding 00:19:37.109 --> 00:19:39.390 its way through the courts. It finally reaches 00:19:39.390 --> 00:19:43.150 the Supreme Court in 1971. Clay v. United States. 00:19:43.450 --> 00:19:46.529 And the outcome is often misunderstood. People 00:19:46.529 --> 00:19:49.269 think the court vindicated his conscientious 00:19:49.269 --> 00:19:52.369 objector status based on his religion. But that's 00:19:52.369 --> 00:19:54.569 not actually what happened. No. It was much more 00:19:54.569 --> 00:19:57.589 technical, almost procedural. The Supreme Court 00:19:57.589 --> 00:20:00.390 overturned his conviction, yes, but they did 00:20:00.390 --> 00:20:04.640 it unanimously. However, they explicitly avoided 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:07.900 ruling on the merits of his claim. They didn't 00:20:07.900 --> 00:20:10.500 say his religious beliefs entitled him to exemption. 00:20:10.619 --> 00:20:12.900 So how did they overturn it? They found that 00:20:12.900 --> 00:20:14.720 the Department of Justice and the appeal board 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:17.440 had improperly told Ali his objection wasn't 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:19.720 valid because it wasn't based on belief in a 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:22.819 supreme being in the traditional sense. And crucially, 00:20:22.940 --> 00:20:25.599 the appeal board gave no reason for denying his 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:28.160 claim. The court said that since the board gave 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:30.259 no reason, the conviction couldn't stand because 00:20:30.259 --> 00:20:32.180 it might have rested on that improper advice. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:34.940 Essentially, they threw it out on a technicality. 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:37.819 Clever legal maneuvering. It freed Ali without 00:20:37.819 --> 00:20:39.900 setting a huge precedent on religious objections 00:20:39.900 --> 00:20:42.980 during wartime. Exactly. It was a way to acknowledge 00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:45.740 the process had been unfair to Ali without getting 00:20:45.740 --> 00:20:48.660 into the constitutional minefield of conscientious 00:20:48.660 --> 00:20:51.299 objection itself during the height of the Vietnam 00:20:51.299 --> 00:20:53.339 War's controversy. Now, we also have to talk 00:20:53.339 --> 00:20:56.019 about the darker side of this period, the intense 00:20:56.019 --> 00:20:58.119 government scrutiny he was under. Oh, it was 00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:00.640 immense and frankly terrifying when you look 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:03.720 at the documents now. We know Ali was a target 00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:07.460 of a top secret NSA program codenamed Minaret. 00:21:07.980 --> 00:21:10.220 What did that do? It specifically monitored the 00:21:10.220 --> 00:21:12.420 international communications of Americans who 00:21:12.420 --> 00:21:15.079 were prominent critics of the Vietnam War. We're 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:17.319 talking warrantless wiretapping on a massive 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:20.279 scale aimed at dissenters. And the FBI was involved, 00:21:20.420 --> 00:21:24.480 too. Deeply. He was a major target of COINTELPRO. 00:21:25.160 --> 00:21:27.759 The FBI's infamous counterintelligence program 00:21:27.759 --> 00:21:30.079 designed to disrupt and discredit groups and 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:32.720 individuals they considered subversive. The lengths 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:35.160 they went to were extraordinary. Like what? The 00:21:35.160 --> 00:21:37.599 sources show the FBI got access to his records 00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:39.420 going all the way back to elementary school. 00:21:39.619 --> 00:21:42.079 They noted things like he enjoyed art class as 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:45.039 a kid. It shows the level of paranoia the perceived 00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:47.180 threat he represented just through his words 00:21:47.180 --> 00:21:50.009 and his stand. How did this even come to light? 00:21:50.269 --> 00:21:52.750 Famously, a group of activists broke into an 00:21:52.750 --> 00:21:57.009 FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania in 1971, strategically 00:21:57.009 --> 00:21:59.730 timing it around the huge anticipation for the 00:21:59.730 --> 00:22:02.910 first Ali Frazier fight. They stole files and 00:22:02.910 --> 00:22:05.849 leaked them, exposing COINTELPRO and the extent 00:22:05.849 --> 00:22:08.190 of the surveillance against Ali and many others. 00:22:08.390 --> 00:22:11.230 It was a shocking revelation of government overreach. 00:22:11.369 --> 00:22:14.309 So the conviction is overturned in 71. Ali is 00:22:14.309 --> 00:22:16.609 free to fight again. He'd actually returned conditionally 00:22:16.609 --> 00:22:18.990 in late 1970 in Atlanta. Right. Beating Jerry 00:22:18.990 --> 00:22:22.029 Quarry. Right. Then he beat Oscar Bonavina, which 00:22:22.029 --> 00:22:24.710 set the stage for that incredible era of heavyweight 00:22:24.710 --> 00:22:27.809 boxing. Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman. The 00:22:27.809 --> 00:22:29.869 clashes between those three defined the decade. 00:22:30.049 --> 00:22:32.269 His comeback generated huge buzz immediately. 00:22:32.670 --> 00:22:34.809 Didn't Wilt Chamberlain challenge him? He did. 00:22:35.009 --> 00:22:38.230 Wilt Distilt, the basketball legend. Seven foot 00:22:38.230 --> 00:22:41.069 one, 60 pounds heavier than Ali. Massive reach 00:22:41.069 --> 00:22:43.500 advantage. It sounded like a potential. disaster 00:22:43.500 --> 00:22:45.619 for Ali. How did Ali get out of that one? Pure 00:22:45.619 --> 00:22:48.599 Ali. The Louisville lip strikes again. They did 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:52.380 a joint TV interview and Ali just mercilessly 00:22:52.380 --> 00:22:55.059 taunted Chamberlain, shouting timber over and 00:22:55.059 --> 00:22:58.000 over, predicting the tree will fall. He basically 00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:00.019 psyched Chamberlain out of the fight. No way. 00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:02.619 Yep. Chamberlain eventually backed down, partly 00:23:02.619 --> 00:23:04.380 because the Lakers owner offered him a record 00:23:04.380 --> 00:23:06.339 contract on the condition he dropped the whole 00:23:06.339 --> 00:23:09.720 boxing idea. Ali dodged a literal giant. Which 00:23:09.720 --> 00:23:12.980 cleared the path for the real showdown. Ali versus 00:23:12.980 --> 00:23:16.960 Frazier I, March 1971. The fight of the century. 00:23:17.240 --> 00:23:19.779 And it lived up to the hype. Maybe the most anticipated 00:23:19.779 --> 00:23:22.660 fight ever. You had Ali, the returning exiled 00:23:22.660 --> 00:23:25.019 champion, the symbol of defiance. Against Joe 00:23:25.019 --> 00:23:27.420 Frazier, the undisputed champ who'd kept the 00:23:27.420 --> 00:23:29.799 division going, seen by many as the establishments 00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:32.880 guy. Exactly. And the rhetoric Ali used in the 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:35.299 buildup was brutal. Probably the harshest trash 00:23:35.299 --> 00:23:37.720 talk of his career. He wasn't just predicting 00:23:37.720 --> 00:23:39.900 victory. He was attacking Frazier personally. 00:23:40.279 --> 00:23:42.529 Attacking his identity. calling him an Uncle 00:23:42.529 --> 00:23:44.890 Tom, a tool of the white establishment. Yeah, 00:23:45.049 --> 00:23:48.130 painting Frazier as the choice of the segregationists, 00:23:48.309 --> 00:23:51.690 the KKK even, claiming he, Ali, was fighting 00:23:51.690 --> 00:23:56.009 for the little man in the ghetto. It was incredibly 00:23:56.009 --> 00:23:58.630 divisive and deeply hurtful to Frazier, who had 00:23:58.630 --> 00:24:01.170 actually supported Ali financially during his 00:24:01.170 --> 00:24:03.829 exile. That personal animosity fueled the fight 00:24:03.829 --> 00:24:06.430 itself. But the fight also showed the effects 00:24:06.430 --> 00:24:09.130 of Ali's time away, didn't it? It really did. 00:24:09.349 --> 00:24:11.690 The four years off had cost him something. Frazier 00:24:11.690 --> 00:24:13.890 was relentless, that bobbing, weaving style, 00:24:14.029 --> 00:24:16.430 constant pressure, and a vicious body attack. 00:24:16.869 --> 00:24:19.309 Ali tried leaning on the ropes, covering up, 00:24:19.470 --> 00:24:21.990 hoping to tire Frazier out maybe the early seeds 00:24:21.990 --> 00:24:24.500 of the rope -a -dope. Could be. But it didn't 00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:26.359 quite work that night. Not against prime Frazier. 00:24:26.500 --> 00:24:29.000 Frazier kept coming. He wobbled Ali badly with 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:31.500 a huge left hook in the 11th. And then in the 00:24:31.500 --> 00:24:33.839 15th and final round, another monster left hook 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:36.099 put Ali down flat on his back. First time he'd 00:24:36.099 --> 00:24:37.920 been knocked down like that. As a pro, yeah. 00:24:38.319 --> 00:24:40.819 He got up, showed incredible heart, but the decision 00:24:40.819 --> 00:24:44.119 was clear. Unanimous for Frazier, Ali's first 00:24:44.119 --> 00:24:47.000 professional loss. A real wake -up call. He then 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:49.500 had another setback a couple years later, in 00:24:49.500 --> 00:24:52.960 73. Against Ken Norton. Tough fight. Norton actually 00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:55.700 broke Ali's jaw. There's some dispute whether 00:24:55.700 --> 00:24:57.700 it happened early, like the second round, or 00:24:57.700 --> 00:25:00.380 late in the fight. But either way, Norton won 00:25:00.380 --> 00:25:03.700 the decision, Ali's second defeat. But Ali, being 00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:06.880 Ali, he comes back, wins the rematch against 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:09.240 Norton, though it was a controversial split decision. 00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:12.140 Right. Which then set up the rematch everyone 00:25:12.140 --> 00:25:16.500 wanted. Ali Frazier II in January 1974. How did 00:25:16.500 --> 00:25:19.180 that one go? Ali won a unanimous decision this 00:25:19.180 --> 00:25:21.619 time, but it wasn't without controversy either. 00:25:21.799 --> 00:25:24.099 There was a bizarre moment in the second round. 00:25:24.509 --> 00:25:27.789 where the referee, Tony Perez, mistakenly thought 00:25:27.789 --> 00:25:30.049 he heard the bell and stepped in right when Ali 00:25:30.049 --> 00:25:32.029 had Frazier hurt and was pressing the attack. 00:25:32.210 --> 00:25:34.769 Giving Frazier time to recover. Exactly. Frazier's 00:25:34.769 --> 00:25:37.329 corner was furious. They also complained bitterly 00:25:37.329 --> 00:25:39.609 that Ali was constantly clinching, tying Frazier 00:25:39.609 --> 00:25:41.750 up whenever he got close or had Ali on the ropes. 00:25:41.950 --> 00:25:44.390 It wasn't the clean fight people hoped for. But 00:25:44.390 --> 00:25:46.890 all of this, the losses, the controversies, the 00:25:46.890 --> 00:25:49.470 rematches, it was all building towards maybe 00:25:49.470 --> 00:25:51.269 the single greatest sporting spectacle of the 00:25:51.269 --> 00:25:53.690 20th century. The Rumble in the Jungle, October 00:25:53.690 --> 00:25:58.190 30th, 1974, Kinshasa, Zyre. Ollie challenging 00:25:58.190 --> 00:26:00.529 George Foreman for the title. And Foreman looked 00:26:00.529 --> 00:26:03.039 unbeatable. Absolutely terrifying. Foreman was 00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:05.940 younger, stronger, maybe the hardest puncher 00:26:05.940 --> 00:26:07.980 the division had ever seen. He had destroyed 00:26:07.980 --> 00:26:10.559 Joe Frazier in two rounds. He destroyed Ken Norton 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:13.980 in two rounds. Ali was 32, clearly past his absolute 00:26:13.980 --> 00:26:16.920 physical peak. He was a huge underdog again. 00:26:17.180 --> 00:26:19.019 Four to one, almost nobody gave him a chance. 00:26:19.319 --> 00:26:21.759 Howard Cussell famously thought Ali would be 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:24.559 annihilated. But Ali embraced the underdog role, 00:26:24.660 --> 00:26:27.200 didn't he? The pre -fight hype was vintage Ali. 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:29.579 Oh, completely. That's when he delivered that 00:26:29.579 --> 00:26:31.859 incredible poem. I wrestled with an alligator, 00:26:32.059 --> 00:26:33.980 I done tussled with a whale, handcuffed lightning, 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:37.039 thrown thunder in jail. Pure magic. And he connected 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:39.240 deeply with the people in Zahra. The crowds were 00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:42.720 chanting, Ali bumaye, Ali bumaye, Ali kill him. 00:26:42.759 --> 00:26:44.720 He turned it into his home turf advantage. And 00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:47.339 then, the fight itself. He unveils the rope -a 00:26:47.339 --> 00:26:49.299 -dope. This wasn't just resting on the ropes, 00:26:49.380 --> 00:26:52.119 was it? No, no, no. It was a calculated, psychological 00:26:52.119 --> 00:26:55.619 and physical masterpiece. He shocked everyone, 00:26:55.859 --> 00:26:59.019 including his own corner, led by Dundee, by deliberately 00:26:59.019 --> 00:27:01.599 going to the ropes early in the fight. He covered 00:27:01.599 --> 00:27:05.000 up. leaned back, let Foreman tee off on him. 00:27:05.099 --> 00:27:07.819 Just absorbing punishment. Absorbing it, yes, 00:27:08.099 --> 00:27:10.839 but strategically. Blocking punches with his 00:27:10.839 --> 00:27:13.839 arms, letting Foreman hit his body, areas less 00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:16.180 likely to cause a knockout. And all the while, 00:27:16.259 --> 00:27:18.779 he's talking to Foreman, taunting him, whispering 00:27:18.779 --> 00:27:21.359 things like, that all you got, George? They told 00:27:21.359 --> 00:27:23.359 me you could punch, George. Well, Foreman is 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:26.059 just unloading huge punches. Huge punches, yes. 00:27:26.220 --> 00:27:29.359 But Foreman wasn't known for his stamina. Ali 00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:32.059 was banking on Foreman punching himself out in 00:27:32.059 --> 00:27:34.420 the heat and humidity. He was literally letting 00:27:34.420 --> 00:27:36.920 Foreman exhaust his energy reserves. And it worked. 00:27:37.299 --> 00:27:40.480 Perfectly. By the eighth round, Foreman was visibly 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:43.460 tired, his punches losing their snap. Ali saw 00:27:43.460 --> 00:27:46.359 his opening. He exploded off the ropes with a 00:27:46.359 --> 00:27:48.980 flurry, a stunning five -punch combination that 00:27:48.980 --> 00:27:51.880 sent Foreman crashing down. Knockout. Ali had 00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:53.599 done the impossible again. He was heavyweight 00:27:53.599 --> 00:27:55.579 champion for the second time. The scale of that 00:27:55.579 --> 00:27:58.420 event. Wasn't it watched by like a billion people? 00:27:58.779 --> 00:28:00.880 Estimated one billion viewers worldwide. Yeah. 00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:03.920 The most watched live television broadcast in 00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:07.059 the world up to that point. It cemented Ali not 00:28:07.059 --> 00:28:09.900 just as a boxer, but as a global phenomenon. 00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:13.480 An incredible triumph. But the epic trilogy with 00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:15.539 Frasier wasn't quite finished. There was one 00:28:15.539 --> 00:28:18.109 more chapter, maybe the most brutal of all. The 00:28:18.109 --> 00:28:22.609 Thrilla in Manila, October 1st, 1975. Ali versus 00:28:22.609 --> 00:28:25.150 Frazier III, this time in the Philippines. And 00:28:25.150 --> 00:28:27.450 the conditions were extreme. Unbelievably harsh. 00:28:27.930 --> 00:28:30.690 Temperatures near 100 degrees Fahrenheit, suffocating 00:28:30.690 --> 00:28:32.670 humidity inside the arena. And the fight itself 00:28:32.670 --> 00:28:36.490 was just war. 14 rounds of relentless back and 00:28:36.490 --> 00:28:39.009 forth punishment. Both men absorbed incredible 00:28:39.009 --> 00:28:42.250 blows. Ali used the rope -a -dope at times. Frazier 00:28:42.250 --> 00:28:44.569 kept boring in with body shots and hooks. Ali 00:28:44.569 --> 00:28:46.529 started to take control late though. Yeah, in 00:28:46.529 --> 00:28:48.430 the later rounds, Ollie's punches started taking 00:28:48.430 --> 00:28:51.049 a terrible toll on Frazier. His eyes were swelling 00:28:51.049 --> 00:28:54.069 shut. Ollie landed some huge shots in the 13th 00:28:54.069 --> 00:28:56.329 and 14th rounds. Until Frazier's corner stopped 00:28:56.329 --> 00:28:58.990 it. Before the 15th and final round could start, 00:28:59.369 --> 00:29:01.849 Eddie Futch, Frazier's legendary trainer, made 00:29:01.849 --> 00:29:04.450 the decision. Frazier could barely see. Both 00:29:04.450 --> 00:29:07.170 eyes were practically closed. Futch told him, 00:29:07.230 --> 00:29:09.609 sit down, son. It's all over. No one will ever 00:29:09.609 --> 00:29:12.910 forget what you did here today. Ollie won by 00:29:12.910 --> 00:29:16.640 TKO. But the cost. Ali himself said it was the 00:29:16.640 --> 00:29:19.299 closest he'd come to death. He did. He collapsed 00:29:19.299 --> 00:29:21.000 from exhaustion after the fight was stopped. 00:29:21.240 --> 00:29:35.019 He later confessed, Even after Manila, even after 00:29:35.019 --> 00:29:37.160 that level of punishment, Ali's career wasn't 00:29:37.160 --> 00:29:39.869 over. He went on to achieve something no heavyweight 00:29:39.869 --> 00:29:42.029 had done before. Win the title a third time. 00:29:42.450 --> 00:29:45.430 He lost it in a surprising upset to Leon Spinks 00:29:45.430 --> 00:29:48.450 in early 78. Spinks had only had seven pro fights. 00:29:48.650 --> 00:29:50.950 Quite the shocker. Huge shock. But Ali being 00:29:50.950 --> 00:29:53.630 Ali, he demanded an immediate rematch, got himself 00:29:53.630 --> 00:29:56.470 in better shape, outboxed Spinks over 15 rounds 00:29:56.470 --> 00:29:58.910 later that same year in New Orleans, and won 00:29:58.910 --> 00:30:01.230 the title back. First man ever to win the heavyweight 00:30:01.230 --> 00:30:03.650 championship three times. He retired after that 00:30:03.650 --> 00:30:06.319 briefly. Yeah. but then came back again. He did 00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:09.099 retire in 79, but financial pressures reportedly 00:30:09.099 --> 00:30:12.720 pulled him back. And that led to the really difficult, 00:30:12.980 --> 00:30:16.299 tragic end to his fighting career. the fight 00:30:16.299 --> 00:30:19.019 against Larry Holmes in 1980. Holmes was his 00:30:19.019 --> 00:30:21.059 former sparring partner, right? And the champion 00:30:21.059 --> 00:30:23.740 at the time. Yes. And Ali. Ali just wasn't the 00:30:23.740 --> 00:30:25.880 same fighter. It was painful to watch. He was 00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:29.220 overweight, slow, and the sources mentioned clear 00:30:29.220 --> 00:30:31.619 signs of physical deterioration were already 00:30:31.619 --> 00:30:34.680 visible. The slurred speech, the trembling hands. 00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:37.440 Holmes dominated him. Completely. Holmes was 00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:39.579 clearly holding back at times, not wanting to 00:30:39.579 --> 00:30:42.619 hurt his idol too badly. But after 10 one -sided 00:30:42.619 --> 00:30:45.460 rounds, Angelo Dundee had seen enough. He stopped 00:30:45.460 --> 00:30:47.700 the fight in the corner. It was the only time 00:30:47.700 --> 00:30:50.259 in Ali's entire career that he lost by stoppage. 00:30:50.400 --> 00:30:52.680 That quote from Sylvester Stallone at ringside, 00:30:52.779 --> 00:30:55.559 it sums up the feeling, doesn't it? It really 00:30:55.559 --> 00:30:58.019 does. Stallone said it was like watching an autopsy 00:30:58.019 --> 00:31:00.579 on a man who was still alive. Just devastating 00:31:00.579 --> 00:31:03.259 to see the decline of such a magnificent athlete. 00:31:03.480 --> 00:31:06.019 He fought one last time after Holmes. Yeah, a 00:31:06.019 --> 00:31:08.460 final fight against Trevor Burbick in the Bahamas 00:31:08.460 --> 00:31:12.180 in 1981, lost a 10 -round decision, and then 00:31:12.180 --> 00:31:15.220 finally, he retired for good. And it wasn't long 00:31:15.220 --> 00:31:17.900 after retiring that those physical signs became 00:31:17.900 --> 00:31:22.579 a formal diagnosis. 1984. Diagnosed with Parkinson's 00:31:22.579 --> 00:31:25.119 syndrome. Naturally, there was immediate speculation 00:31:25.119 --> 00:31:28.299 connecting it to his boxing career, to the cumulative 00:31:28.299 --> 00:31:30.859 head trauma, especially from brutal fights like 00:31:30.859 --> 00:31:33.640 Manila. Did Ali accept that link? He and his 00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:36.500 doctors often disputed a direct causal link being 00:31:36.500 --> 00:31:38.960 definitively proven, though the connection seems 00:31:38.960 --> 00:31:42.259 plausible to many. But Ali's personal perspective 00:31:42.259 --> 00:31:44.900 on the illness was quite different. How did he 00:31:44.900 --> 00:31:47.539 view it? He framed it spiritually. He saw it 00:31:47.539 --> 00:31:49.839 as a trial from God. He said things like, he 00:31:49.839 --> 00:31:51.839 gave me this illness to remind me that I am not 00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:54.480 number one. He is. He found a way to accept it, 00:31:54.500 --> 00:31:56.700 not as a punishment, but as a test, something 00:31:56.700 --> 00:31:59.119 to humble him and deepen his faith. And that 00:31:59.119 --> 00:32:01.819 faith seemed to fuel a renewed focus on his role 00:32:01.819 --> 00:32:04.299 outside the ring as a humanitarian. Absolutely. 00:32:04.579 --> 00:32:06.759 The People's Champion really came into its own 00:32:06.759 --> 00:32:09.640 in his later years. He traveled tirelessly, became 00:32:09.640 --> 00:32:12.700 a UN messenger of peace, undertook some incredible 00:32:12.700 --> 00:32:16.220 missions. Like the trip to Iraq in 1990. Remarkable 00:32:16.220 --> 00:32:18.869 story. Right before the first Gulf War, Saddam 00:32:18.869 --> 00:32:21.269 Hussein was holding foreign nationals as human 00:32:21.269 --> 00:32:24.589 shields. Ali flew to Baghdad, met with Saddam 00:32:24.589 --> 00:32:27.130 and successfully negotiated the release of 14 00:32:27.130 --> 00:32:30.690 American hostages using his global fame for direct 00:32:30.690 --> 00:32:33.490 humanitarian diplomacy. He was involved in other 00:32:33.490 --> 00:32:35.470 political actions, too, wasn't he? Like the Olympic 00:32:35.470 --> 00:32:38.000 boycott. Yeah, he played a role in convincing 00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:41.140 Kenya and some other nations to boycott the 1980 00:32:41.140 --> 00:32:44.440 Moscow Olympics in protest of the Soviet invasion 00:32:44.440 --> 00:32:47.619 of Afghanistan. He used his influence consistently. 00:32:47.819 --> 00:32:50.079 And his charitable giving was immense throughout 00:32:50.079 --> 00:32:52.980 his life. Massive. Millions donated, often very 00:32:52.980 --> 00:32:56.160 quietly, without fanfare. Supporting hunger relief 00:32:56.160 --> 00:32:58.440 efforts, worldwide estimates say helping feed 00:32:58.440 --> 00:33:01.319 over 22 million people. And it wasn't just later 00:33:01.319 --> 00:33:03.859 in life. The sources note that back in 1967, 00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:06.619 during his exile, he was the largest single black 00:33:06.619 --> 00:33:09.059 donor to the United Negro College Fund. That 00:33:09.059 --> 00:33:11.839 commitment to giving back was always there. We 00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:13.980 should also track his spiritual journey. We started 00:33:13.980 --> 00:33:16.019 with the Nation of Islam, which was very specific, 00:33:16.140 --> 00:33:18.299 very political. How did that evolve? It evolved 00:33:18.299 --> 00:33:20.839 significantly towards a more universal understanding 00:33:20.839 --> 00:33:25.140 of Islam. In the mid -1970s, after Elijah Muhammad 00:33:25.140 --> 00:33:28.640 died and his son, Wareddin Muhammad, began moving 00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:32.299 the NOI towards mainstream Sunni Islam, Ali followed 00:33:32.299 --> 00:33:35.420 that path. He formally converted to Sunni Islam. 00:33:35.660 --> 00:33:37.519 Moving away from the black separatist ideology. 00:33:38.059 --> 00:33:40.799 Yes, embracing the broader universal tenets of 00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:44.180 Sunni Islam. This shift was deepened by his travels, 00:33:44.339 --> 00:33:47.019 particularly his pilgrimages to Mecca. He went 00:33:47.019 --> 00:33:49.700 on the Hajj. twice, according to the sources, 00:33:49.940 --> 00:33:53.759 once in 1972 and again in 1988. Those experiences 00:33:53.759 --> 00:33:56.460 reportedly had a profound impact, reinforcing 00:33:56.460 --> 00:33:58.940 that sense of universal brotherhood within Islam. 00:33:59.200 --> 00:34:01.359 And his later statements reflected this broader 00:34:01.359 --> 00:34:03.779 tolerance, especially after 9 -11. Absolutely. 00:34:04.019 --> 00:34:06.539 He was very quick and very forceful in condemning 00:34:06.539 --> 00:34:08.840 the attacks and distancing Islam from the terrorists. 00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:11.619 He made public statements emphasizing that Islam 00:34:11.619 --> 00:34:17.769 is a religion of peace and calling the had perverted 00:34:17.769 --> 00:34:19.849 the religion. He even explored other aspects 00:34:19.849 --> 00:34:23.110 of Islamic tradition later on. Yeah. His 2003 00:34:23.110 --> 00:34:26.090 autobiography, The Soul of a Butterfly, mentions 00:34:26.090 --> 00:34:28.849 his growing interest in Sufism, which is the 00:34:28.849 --> 00:34:31.010 more mystical, contemplative branch of Islam. 00:34:31.190 --> 00:34:33.829 So a continuous spiritual evolution throughout 00:34:33.829 --> 00:34:36.170 his life. Finally, we have to touch on his unique 00:34:36.170 --> 00:34:39.590 cultural footprint beyond boxing. beyond politics 00:34:39.590 --> 00:34:43.070 he was a cultural force unlike any other many 00:34:43.070 --> 00:34:46.090 people quite seriously identify him as a key 00:34:46.090 --> 00:34:49.289 precursor to hip -hop maybe even the first rapper 00:34:49.289 --> 00:34:51.650 because of the rhyming and boasting exactly the 00:34:51.650 --> 00:34:54.489 freestyled rhymes the boasts the spoken word 00:34:54.489 --> 00:34:57.150 poetry he delivered before fights think of the 00:34:57.150 --> 00:34:59.650 rumble in the jungle poem it had the cadence 00:34:59.650 --> 00:35:02.869 the swagger the word play that would become central 00:35:02.869 --> 00:35:05.869 to hip -hop he even released spoken word albums 00:35:05.869 --> 00:35:08.619 back in the 60s one of which i am greatest was 00:35:08.619 --> 00:35:11.480 grammy nominated artists like chuck d jay -z 00:35:11.480 --> 00:35:14.179 countless others cite him as a direct influence 00:35:14.179 --> 00:35:16.420 and then there's that unique detail about his 00:35:16.420 --> 00:35:18.980 hollywood star right the only star on the hollywood 00:35:18.980 --> 00:35:21.000 walk of fame that isn't on the sidewalk it's 00:35:21.000 --> 00:35:23.239 mounted vertically on a wall next to the dolby 00:35:23.239 --> 00:35:25.920 theater entrance it was ali's specific request 00:35:25.920 --> 00:35:28.599 he didn't want the name muhammad which he shared 00:35:28.599 --> 00:35:30.539 of course with the prophet muhammad to be walked 00:35:30.539 --> 00:35:33.579 upon by people a powerful statement about the 00:35:33.579 --> 00:35:36.099 primacy of his faith even in the heart of hollywood 00:35:36.099 --> 00:35:38.719 and his hometown louisville has honored him in 00:35:38.719 --> 00:35:41.849 a very significant way. They have. In 2019, they 00:35:41.849 --> 00:35:44.309 renamed their international airport the Louisville 00:35:44.309 --> 00:35:47.550 Muhammad Ali International Airport. And the logo 00:35:47.550 --> 00:35:50.170 they created is fantastic. It's Ali's silhouette, 00:35:50.449 --> 00:35:53.449 arms raised in victory against the backdrop of 00:35:53.449 --> 00:35:56.010 a butterfly. Float like a butterfly. Sting like 00:35:56.010 --> 00:35:58.929 a bee. It perfectly captures his essence. And 00:35:58.929 --> 00:36:01.949 you look at the boxing accolades alone. The only 00:36:01.949 --> 00:36:04.949 three -time lineal heavyweight champion, Sports 00:36:04.949 --> 00:36:07.650 Illustrated Sportsman of the Century, more Ring 00:36:07.650 --> 00:36:10.079 Magazine Fight of the Year awards. than any other 00:36:10.079 --> 00:36:12.920 boxer. The legacy is just immense on every level. 00:36:13.019 --> 00:36:17.019 What an incredible life. Looking back over this 00:36:17.019 --> 00:36:19.960 deep dive, the story of Muhammad Ali really feels 00:36:19.960 --> 00:36:22.619 defined by that. unavoidable link, that synergy 00:36:22.619 --> 00:36:26.199 between Cassius Clay's athletics genius and Muhammad 00:36:26.199 --> 00:36:28.860 Ali's political and spiritual defiance. You can't 00:36:28.860 --> 00:36:31.539 separate them. He didn't just win titles. He 00:36:31.539 --> 00:36:34.539 used the platform those titles gave him and even 00:36:34.539 --> 00:36:36.760 the loss of those titles during his exile to 00:36:36.760 --> 00:36:40.019 force America and the world, really, to confront 00:36:40.019 --> 00:36:42.519 fundamental issues of race, war and religion. 00:36:42.679 --> 00:36:45.219 Absolutely. And his defiance, particularly refusing 00:36:45.219 --> 00:36:47.920 the draft, it fundamentally changed the expectations 00:36:47.920 --> 00:36:50.710 for athletes. It wasn't just about being great 00:36:50.710 --> 00:36:52.730 at your sport anymore, he showed that having 00:36:52.730 --> 00:36:55.190 that platform meant you had a voice, maybe even 00:36:55.190 --> 00:36:58.039 a responsibility to speak out. Even at tremendous 00:36:58.039 --> 00:37:00.619 personal cost. Tremendous cost. Losing his prime 00:37:00.619 --> 00:37:03.760 years, facing prison, enduring that intense government 00:37:03.760 --> 00:37:05.940 surveillance we talked about, the FBI, the NSA. 00:37:06.179 --> 00:37:08.900 It shows how threatening his principled stand 00:37:08.900 --> 00:37:11.380 was perceived to be by the establishment. It's 00:37:11.380 --> 00:37:13.260 also this powerful journey of constant evolution, 00:37:13.519 --> 00:37:16.440 isn't it? From the sometimes provocative separatist 00:37:16.440 --> 00:37:18.920 rhetoric of the Louisville Lip, influenced by 00:37:18.920 --> 00:37:22.340 the early NOI, to the global humanitarian figure 00:37:22.340 --> 00:37:25.039 embracing universal tolerance within mainstream 00:37:25.039 --> 00:37:27.829 Islam and even Sufism. later in life. And that 00:37:27.829 --> 00:37:30.829 very transition, that arc from a fierce, sometimes 00:37:30.829 --> 00:37:33.610 divisive adherence to a specific group's teachings 00:37:33.610 --> 00:37:36.869 towards a much broader, more universal message 00:37:36.869 --> 00:37:40.190 of tolerance and philanthropy. That's maybe the 00:37:40.190 --> 00:37:41.969 perfect final thought for you, the listener, 00:37:42.110 --> 00:37:45.030 to consider. We've traced Ali's journey. Think 00:37:45.030 --> 00:37:47.389 about that tension in his life, the evolution 00:37:47.389 --> 00:37:49.809 of his convictions as he aged, gained experience, 00:37:49.949 --> 00:37:53.269 faced adversity, and saw more of the world. What 00:37:53.269 --> 00:37:55.909 can Ali's life teach you about how deeply held 00:37:55.909 --> 00:37:58.070 beliefs can evolve, how public identity shifts, 00:37:58.289 --> 00:38:00.510 and maybe how we reconcile our earlier selves 00:38:00.510 --> 00:38:02.889 with who we become later? It's about personal 00:38:02.889 --> 00:38:05.269 growth, played out on the biggest stage imaginable. 00:38:05.409 --> 00:38:06.869 A really compelling question to ponder. Thank 00:38:06.869 --> 00:38:08.750 you for joining us on The Deep Dive. We'll see 00:38:08.750 --> 00:38:09.289 you next time.