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Today Would Have Been Muhammad Ali’s 76th Birthday
By: Ken Hissner
In 1960 a brash young boxer from Louisville, KY, came on the scene. Cassius Clay won the National AAU light heavyweight title defeating Roy Ector at 0:55 of the third and last round in Louisville.
In the Golden Gloves he won the Inter-city title April 7th defeating Joe Reynolds in Toledo, OH. He qualified for the Olympic Trials. He won the Eastern Regional defeating Henry Cooper by TKO2 at 2:49 in Louisville. In the Trials he would go onto defeat Fred Lewis by DEC and Allen Hudson by TKO 3 in San Francisco. In the finals he defeated Yvon Because TKO 2 at 1:50 in Rome. He had competed at heavyweight but lost to Percy Price of the Marine Corp out of Philadelphia so he was allowed to compete at light heavyweight.
In the Olympic Games in Rome Clay defeated Genadiy Schatkov, Australian’s Tony Madigan and for the Gold Medal he defeated 3-time European Champion Zbigniew Pietrzkowski of Poland. The world now was his as he would turn professional in October of 1960. There have been different records shown for him such as 134-7, 137-7, 99-8 and 61-6.
There have been reports Clay lost in 1955 to James Davis in the Novice GG tourney. In the same year he lost to John Hampton. In 1957 he lost to Donnie Hall by split decision. He lost to Terry Hodge by TKO1. He lost to Jimmy Ellis whom he would split with, in the amateurs.
In 1958 Clay was TKO by 2 Kent Green. At the Pan Am Games he lost to Amos Johnson in the semis. Percy Price was the last to defeat him in the Olympic Trials. That’s at least seven losses. Some reported he ended up 100-7.
He would turn professional in October of 1964 and win his first nineteen bouts earning him a Championship bout with Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston. Clay would win the title when Liston couldn’t go on after six rounds. The fight was even with each boxer getting a vote and the other judge a draw. After this fight he announced he had joined the Islamic faith and would be called Muhammad Ali.
A rematch was scheduled just three months later with Ali delivering the “phantom punch” knocking out Liston at 2:12 of the first round. This fight has always been under scrutiny asking did Liston take “a dive?”
Ali would go onto win the title three times after losses. His final record was 56-5 with 37 knockout wins. He only lost once by stoppage. As a husband he lost three times before being married a fourth and last time.
Ali became quite a humanitarium. In 1990 he went to Iraq where their President Saddam Hussein allowed him to bring back fifteen American hostages. This in itself was remarkable.
So on January 17th of 2018 Ali would have celebrated his 76th birthday! Long live the memory of the “Greatest!”
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Ali’s Birthday & Seven Heavyweight Champions Who Are Capricorns!
Ali’s Birthday & Seven Heavyweight Champions Who Are Capricorns!
By: Ken Hissner
Cus D’Amato at his home in the Catskills of New York once told this writer back in 1982 that “if a new kid came into the gym and is a Capricorn(12/22-1/20) I will work with him”. Well, he trained and managed heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson who was born January 4th with a 55-8-1 (40) record who passed away on May 11th, 2011 at the age of 71. He was the 1952 Olympic middleweight champion.
On the 17th of January we celebrate the 75th birthday of Muhammad Ali, 56-5 (37), who passed away on June 3rd, 2016. Ali received the Presidential Medal of Freedom award from President George W. Bush in November of 2005. In 1998 Ali received the “GQ Man of the Year Award” presented to him by Whitney Houston. Ali received the “Personality of the Century Award. In 1974 Ali received the Sports Illustrated “Sports Person of the Year Award. In 1999 Ali received the “Sports Personality of the Year Award” by the BBC. Ali was the 1960 Olympic light heavyweight champion. In November of 1990 Ali met with Iraq President Sadam Hussein and brought back 15 American hostages to the US. It was something no President of this country ever did without paying ransom for them or firing a shot.
There are six other heavyweight champions who were born under the sign of Capricorn. Philadelphia’s formerWBC & WBA champion “Terrible” Tim Witherspoon, 55-13-1 (38), is 59 having been born on December 27th. South Africa’s Corrie “The Sniper” Sanders, 42-4 (31), was the WBO heavyweight champion was born on January 7th, 1966 and at 46 he passed away on 9/23/12.
New Zealand’s Joe Parker, 22-0 (18), won the WBO heavyweight title December 10th, 2016, and is 25 born January 9th, 1992, and currently living in Las Vegas, NV. Former WBC & WBA heavyweight champion “Big” George Foreman, 76-5 (68), was born January 10th, 1949 and is 68, living in Houston, TX. He was the 1968 Olympic heavyweight champion. “Smokin” Joe Frazier, 32-4-1 (27), was born January 12th, 1944 and passed on November 7th, 2011 at age 67. He was the 1964 Olympic heavyweight champion.
