Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer, activist, entertainer and philanthropist. Nicknamed The Greatest, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated figures of the 20th century and as one of the greatest boxers of all time. Ali was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He began training as an amateur boxer at age 12. At 18, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics and turned professional later that year. He became a Muslim after 1961. He won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston in a major upset on February 25, 1964, at age 22. On March 6, 1964, he announced that he no longer would be known as Cassius Clay but as Muhammad Ali. In 1966, Ali refused to be drafted into the military, citing his religious beliefs and ethical opposition to the Vietnam War. He was found guilty of draft evasion so he faced 5 years in prison and was stripped of his boxing titles. He stayed out of prison as he appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which overturned his conviction in 1971, but he had not fought for nearly four years and lost a period of peak performance as an athlete. Ali's actions as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War made him an icon for the larger counterculture generation, and he was a very high-profile figure of racial pride for African Americans during the civil rights movement and throughout his career. As a Muslim, Ali was initially affiliated with Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam (NOI). He later disavowed the NOI, adhering to Sunni Islam, and supporting racial integration like his former mentor Malcolm X. Ali was a leading heavyweight boxer of the 20th century, and he remains the only three-time lineal champion of that division. His joint records of beating 21 boxers for the world heavyweight title and winning 14 unified title bouts stood for 35 years. He is the only fighter to have been ranked as the world's best heavyweight by BoxRec twelve times. He has been ranked among BoxRec's ten best heavyweights seventeen times, the third most in history. He won 8 fights that were rated by BoxRec as 5-Star, the third most in the history of the heavyweight division. Ali is the only boxer to be named The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year six times. He has been ranked the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, and as the greatest athlete of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated, the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC, and the third greatest athlete of the 20th century by ESPN SportsCentury. He was involved in several historic boxing matches and feuds, most notably his fights with Joe Frazier, such as the Fight of the Century and the Thrilla in Manila, and his fight with George Foreman, known as The Rumble in the Jungle, which has been called "arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century" and was watched by a record estimated television audience of 1 billion viewers worldwide, becoming the world's most-watched live television broadcast at the time. Ali thrived in the spotlight at a time when many fighters let their managers do the talking, and he was often provocative and outlandish. He was known for trash-talking, and often free-styled with rhyme schemes and spoken word poetry, anticipating elements of hip hop.
Born: 17 January 1942 • Died: 03 June 2016
Played In
David Frost Vs
self (archive footage)
Beatles '64
Self (archive footage)
WWE Hall of Fame 2024
Muhammad Ali
Franz Klammer - The Ski "Kaiser" Will Be 70
Self (archive footage)
70 Jahre Annemarie Moser-Pröll – Ein Leben als Wintermärchen
Self (archive footage)
Cassius X: Becoming Ali
Self (archive footage)
Untold: Jake Paul the Problem Child
Self (archive footage)
Tribute to Chuck Wepner: The Legacy and Retirement of the Real Rocky Balboa
Self (archive footage)
Bill Russell: Legend
Self (archive footage)
Stand
Self (archive footage)
My Father Muhammad Ali
Self (archive footage)
The Century of Icons
Self (archive footage)
Say Hey, Willie Mays!
Self (archive footage)
Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL
Self (archive footage)
McEnroe
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The King of Miami Beach
Muhammad Ali
Self (archive footage)
Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali
Self (archive footage)
Parkinson at 50
Self (archive footage)
Untold: Deal with the Devil
Self - Professional Boxer (archive footage)
Boulevard! A Hollywood Story
Self (archive footage)
City of Ali
1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything
Self (archive footage)
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
Self (archive footage)
A Life in Ten Pictures
Self (archive footage)
Mister Candid Camera
Self (archive footage)
Pelé
Self (archive Footage)
Ron Lyle
Self (archive footage)
Earnie Shavers
70 Years of Youth Revolt
Self (archive footage)
Da 5 Bloods
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ali's Comeback: The Untold Story
Self (archive footage)
Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston
Self (archive footage)
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
Self (archive footage)
Africa Rising
Self - Boxer (archive footage)
Thrilla in Manila
Self
What's My Name | Muhammad Ali
Self (archive footage)
Shut Up and Dribble
Self (archive footage)
In Search of Greatness
Self (archive footage)
The Champ and the King
Self (archive footage)
Black Is Beltza
Self (voice) (archive footage)
Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes
Self (archive footage)
United We Stand: The Ali Summit
archival footage
Explained
Self (archive footage)
Andre the Giant
Self (archive footage)
American Made
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Summer of Love
O.J.: Made in America
Self (archive footage)
Muhammad Ali - Rumble in the Jungle
Self (archive footage)
O.J.: Made in America
Self (archive footage)
Sticky: A (Self) Love Story
Self
Les vendredis d'Apostrophes
Self (archive footage)
Best of Enemies
Self (archival)
The Seventies
Self (archive footage)
Robbed
Self
I Am Ali
Self (archive footage)
Muhammad Ali: The Greatest
Self (Archival Footage)
Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
Himself (archive footage)
Legends of Mid-South Wrestling
Himself
The Trials of Muhammad Ali
Self (archive footage)
Ali: The Mission
Self (archive footage)
WWE: Undertaker 20-0 - The Streak
Self (archive footage)
Norman Mailer: The American
Self
The Real Rocky
Self (archive footage)
Muhammad and Larry
Himself
Muhammad Ali: Fighting Spirit
himself
Rumble in the Jungle
Self
Soul Power
Self (archive footage)
Facing Ali
Self
When Ali Met Cathal
Muhammad Ali
Thrilla in Manila
Himself (archive footage)
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
Self (archive footage)
Black Power Salute
Self (archive footage)
Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami
Himself
Tyson
Self (archive footage)
James Brown - The Night James Brown Saved Boston
Self (archive footage)
Ali's 65
Ali's Dozen
Self
WWE: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology
Muhammad Ali
Darts Tarts – Welcome to my World
Self (archive footage)
Ali Rap
Himself
Legends Never Die
Self (archive footage)
Out From Ali's Shadow: The Larry Holmes Story
Self (Archival Footage)
Pelé Forever
Self (archive footage)
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
Self (archive footage)
Jack Paar: Smart Television
Self
The Last Round: Chuvalo vs. Ali
Himself
The Documented Life and Times of Muhammad Ali - The Greatest
Monday Night Mayhem
Self (archive footage)
The Making of 'Ali'
Self
Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World
Himself
Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration
Self
When Boxing Ruled The World
Self
Muhammad Ali, the Greatest
Self (archive footage)
Ali-Frazier I: One Nation... Divisible
Self
Champions Forever - World Heavyweight Champs!
Himself
Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme
Himself
Muhammad Ali - The Greatest Collection
Sugar Ray Robinson: The Bright Lights and Dark Shadows of a Champion
Himself
B.B. King: Live In Africa '74
Self
The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Self - Roastee (archive footage)
Boxing Crazy
When We Were Kings
Self
Boxing Barmy
Muhammad Ali The Whole Story
Self
Muhammad Ali: The Whole Story
Self
Atlanta 1996: Games of the XXVI Olympiad - Opening Ceremony
Self
The Journey of the African-American Athlete
Self (archive footage)
Die Muhammad Ali Story
Muhammad Ali
Boxing's Greatest Champions
Self
Kings of the Ring: Four Legends of Heavyweight Boxing
Himself
Kings of The Ring - History of Heavyweight Boxing 1919-1990
Himself (Archival Footage)
WCW Halloween Havoc 1994
Himself (Ringside)
Touched by an Angel
Self
Naked Sport: Welcome to the Sewer
Self
Muhammad Ali: The Greatest
Night of 100 Stars III
Self
The Best of ABC's Wide World of Sports: The 60's
Self
Champions Forever
Self
Mike Tyson vs Larry Holmes
Self
Mike Tyson Presents: The Heavyweights
Boxing's Greatest Knockouts
Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick
Self
Doin' Time
Himself
WrestleMania
Muhammad Ali (Enforcer)
WWE Pay Per View
James Bond: The First 21 Years
Self
Wogan
Self
Mid-South Wrestling
Muhammad Ali (Fan - Archive Footage)
Muhammad Ali vs. Trevor Berbick
Self
Body and Soul
Himself
Diana
Self
Muhammad and Larry
Freedom Road
Gideon Jackson
Kings of the Square Ring
Leon Spinks vs Muhammad Ali II
The Greatest
Cassius Clay / Muhammad Ali
The Captain and Tennille
Self - Guest
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III
Self
Funny Girl to Funny Lady
Self
Apostrophes
Self
The Rumble in the Jungle: George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali
Self
Muhammad Ali, the Greatest
Self
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II
Self
The Fighters
Self
Black Soul
Self
The Fight
Himself
Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson II
Self
Money Talks
Self
Wake Up and Apologise
Self
Malcolm X
Self (archive footage)
Black Rodeo
Self
Fight of the Century
Self
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier I
Self
a.k.a. Cassius Clay
Self
The Super Fight
Himself
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
Something's Happening
Goal!
Self
Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson I
Self
Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston II
Self
Cassius le grand
Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston I
Self
Der Sport-Spiegel
Self
Cassius Clay vs. Doug Jones
Self
Requiem for a Heavyweight
Himself (as Cassius Clay)
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
Cassius Clay vs. Alonzo Johnson
Self
What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest
Bambi
Self (archive footage)
When Ali Came to Britain