Martin and Mohammad

Over the past two days, January 16/17th, we have witnessed not only the commemoration of the unforgettable Martin Luther King Jr., but also the 70th birthday of arguably the most iconic sportsman of the 20th cebntury, Mohammad Ali.

Martin Luther, born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia worked tirelessly all his adult life for racial equality and civil rights in the USA. His father and grandfather had both been ministers, and he learned to read pre-school courtesy of his school-teacher mother.

Martin was an exemplary student, skipping grades both at  elementary and high schools enjoying reading, singing, playing ball games, entering Morehouse College, Atlanta, when only 15, and having already been the victim of racist abuse, he decided to campaign for racial equality.  

College graduation saw him become Dr. King, before he married and moved to Alabama, having followed in his father’s footsteps and become a minister. He became a very active campaigner for racial equality, participating in many peaceful demonstrations protesting the unfair treatment of African-Americans, making his iconic I Have A Dream speech in 1963, before winning, in 1964, the Nobel Peace Prize, only to be assassinated in 1968, at the height of his popularity.

Americans rightly celebrate Martin Luther King Day every January – on his birthday – and  August 28 is called Dream Day, in memory of that famous speech. Martin Luther was undoubtedly one of the most iconic black men of his time, but he was not alone in that.

Another, arguably equally influential character was the immortal ‘Float Like A butterfly, Sting Like a Bee’ charismatic boxing legend Cassius Clay, who became better known as Mohammad Ali, who celebrates his 70th birthday today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmaHGY7BEog

Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. At 12, he and a friend went, on their bikes to the Columbia Auditorium, only to find that Muhammad’s had been stolen. He angrily reported this to police officer Joe Martin, a boxing coach at the Columbia Gym, who told the young man he should learn to fight, and within a few days, Muhammad began boxing training.

Training six days a week, he woke early enough to go running before school, working out at the gym afterwards. Ali created his own eating regimen, such as milk and raw eggs for breakfast, totally avoiding from junk food, alcohol, and cigarettes to become the best boxer he could be.

He won the Olympic heavyweight boxing gold medal in 1960 and turned professional. Over the next four years, Ali outrageously boasted that he was the greatest of all time, and even began predicting the outcomes of his fights, always correctly. By the time he fought Sonny Listoin in 1964, he was already hugely popular.

Up to 1967, he beat every opponent with ease, and was iconic to the public, but being convicted of draft dodging in that year meant his exile from the professional ring for almost four years. In fact it would be 1974 before that incredible ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ fight in Zaire against George Foreman which Ali won to regain his crown.

Then, in 1978, having lost the title again to Leon Spinks, Ali became the first man in history to win that title three times by defeating Spinks in a re-match. He retired on June 26, 1979, beset by Parkinson’s disease,  but he had undoubtedly been the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, in his professional career, winning 56 bouts and losing a mere 5, 37 of his wins by knockout.

Increasingly slurred speech, shaking hands, and more meant that  doctors diagnosed Ali with the awful degenerative condition in 1984, and he gradually faded from public view, though many a fan was moved to tears when seeing his discomfort as he lit the Olympic flame of the 1996 opening Ceremonies of in Atlanta.

For almost 30 years now, this iconic and courageous man, who gave so much pleasure in his heyday to so many, has worked tirelessly in helping world charities, and is loved greatly to this day and for many remains an iconic 20th century hero. We wish him well.