9/2/14 O&A Inspirational Tuesday: Muhammad Ali

Inspirational Tuesday

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A heart is not judged by how much you love;

but by how much you are loved by others.  

L Frank Baum from the Wizard of Oz 

 

muhammad-ali-s-greatness-remixed-for-maximum-inspiration-video--387b85c789Nicknamed The Greatest, Muhammad Ali was involved in several historic boxing matches. Notable among these were the first Sonny Liston fight, three with rival Joe Frazier, and one with George Foreman, where he regained titles he had been stripped of seven years earlier. Ali remains the only three-time World Heavyweight Champion; he won the title in 1964, 1974, and 1978. He is one of the most recognized sports figures of the past 100 years, crowned Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated and Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC.

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Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky. Unlike many boxers, he was raised in a supportive, African American middle-class family. The older of two boys, he was named for his father, Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr., who himself was named in honour of the 19th century abolitionist and politician. Clay won six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two national Golden Gloves titles, an Amateur Athletic Union National Title, and the Light Heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Ali would claim in his 1975 autobiography that he threw his medal into the Ohio River after he and a friend of his were being refused service at a whites-only restaurant, and fighting with a white gang.

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In his retirement, Ali has devoted much of his time to philanthropy. He announced that he has Parkinson’s disease in 1984, a degenerative neurological condition, and has been involved in raising funds for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Over the years, Ali has also supported the Special Olympics and the Make a Wish Foundation among other organizations. In 2005, Ali received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush.

Muhammad Ail Bio

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