Muhammad Ali Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth & Biography

Muhammad Ali was an American professional boxer and activist who is widely regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. Known as “the Greatest”, he was a three-time world heavyweight champion, an Olympic gold medalist and a global cultural icon whose courage outside the ring matched his brilliance inside it. From a stolen bicycle in Louisville to the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire, his life is one of the most extraordinary stories in sports. This is his full story.

Quick Facts

Full Name	Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.)
Age	74 years old at death
Date of Birth	January 17, 1942
Date of Death	June 3, 2016
Birthplace	Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Nationality	American
Occupation	Professional Boxer and Activist
Wife	Lonnie Ali (married 1986–2016)
Children	Nine children, including boxer Laila Ali
Net Worth	Approx. $50 million (Celebrity Net Worth, 2016)

Who Is Muhammad Ali?

Muhammad Ali was an American professional boxer and activist. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky, he stood 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) tall and was 74 years old when he died on June 3, 2016. His wife was Lonnie Ali, to whom he was married from 1986 until his death.

Ali is often regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. He was a three-time world heavyweight champion, the first boxer to win the title three times, and he held the Ring magazine heavyweight title from 1964 to 1970, was the undisputed champion from 1974 to 1978 and was the WBA and Ring heavyweight champion from 1978 to 1979. His professional record was 56 wins, with 37 by knockout, and 5 losses. In 1999, he was named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated and Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC. His net worth at the time of his death was estimated at approximately $50 million (Celebrity Net Worth, 2016). Like fellow sporting icons Michael Jordan and Usain Bolt, Ali’s name became shorthand for greatness itself.

Early Life & Background

Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky. His father, Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr., was a sign and billboard painter, and his mother, Odessa Grady Clay, cleaned houses. When Cassius was 12, his bicycle was stolen, and a local policeman, Joe E. Martin, suggested the furious boy take up boxing. Martin became his first trainer, and Clay won his first bout within weeks. He went on to win six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles and two national Golden Gloves titles as an amateur.

In 1960, at the age of 18, Clay won the light-heavyweight gold medal at the Rome Olympics, and he turned professional later that year. He soon became known for his speed, his footwork and his habit of predicting the round in which he would stop his opponents, summed up in his famous phrase, “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”. In 1964, he shocked the world by beating Sonny Liston to win the heavyweight title, and shortly afterwards he announced that he had converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.

Career

Ali defended his title nine times before his career was interrupted in 1967, when he refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, citing his religious beliefs. He was stripped of his titles and his boxing licence, and he did not fight for more than three years, at the peak of his powers. His conviction was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971, and he returned to the ring, losing the “Fight of the Century” to Joe Frazier in 1971, his first professional defeat, before beating Frazier in their 1974 rematch.

His greatest triumph came in October 1974, in the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Kinshasa, Zaire, where he used his “rope-a-dope” tactic to tire the fearsome George Foreman before knocking him out in the eighth round to regain the title. He beat Frazier again in the “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975, a brutal fight many consider the greatest in boxing history, and he won the title for a third time in 1978, beating Leon Spinks in their rematch. He retired in 1981 with a record of 56 wins and 5 losses, and he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984.

In retirement, Ali became one of the most beloved figures in the world. He lit the Olympic flame at the Atlanta 1996 Games, in a moment that moved millions, and he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. He raised funds and awareness for Parkinson’s research and carried out humanitarian work around the world. He died on June 3, 2016, in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the age of 74, and his funeral in Louisville drew tributes from presidents, athletes and admirers across the globe. Like Michael Phelps, Ali showed that the greatest athletes can change the world far beyond their sport.

Facts About Muhammad Ali

• He was a three-time world heavyweight champion, the first boxer to win the title three times, and his professional record was 56 wins, with 37 by knockout, and 5 losses.
• He won the light-heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics, at the age of 18, and he was named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated in 1999.
• He beat George Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle” in 1974 and Joe Frazier in the “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975, two of the most famous fights in boxing history.
• He was stripped of his titles and boxing licence for more than three years after refusing induction into the U.S. Army in 1967, and his conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1971.
• He lit the Olympic flame at the Atlanta 1996 Games and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, and he died on June 3, 2016, at the age of 74.

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