Younger Muhammad Ali, then often known as Cassius Clay, knocked out opponent Sonny Liston for his first world title in boxing on at the present time in historical past, Feb. 25, 1964.
Twenty-two-year-old Clay achieved the unthinkable by dethroning Liston, who was then the world heavyweight boxing champion, in keeping with Historical past.com.
Ali beat the steep odds by profitable the battle in a seventh-round technical knockout.
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The battle introduced 8,300 followers to the Conference Corridor in Miami Seaside, Florida, to observe the matchup between Liston and Clay, whose nickname again then was the “Louisville Lip.”
Liston was an eight-to-one favourite after constructing a status for pummeling different champs like Floyd Patterson, Historical past.com reviews.
Cassius Clay, proper, in motion vs. Sonny Liston within the World Heavyweight Title battle on Feb. 25, 1964, at Conference Corridor in Miami, Florida. (Tony Triolo/Sports activities Illustrated/Getty Pictures)
Forward of the historic match, Clay predicted he’d knock out Liston within the eighth spherical and would “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”
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But it surely turned out that Clay wanted much less time to take down Liston, who complained of a shoulder harm suffered within the first spherical.
Boxer Cassius Clay punches boxer Sonny Liston within the sixth spherical throughout their battle on Feb. 25, 1964, in Miami, Florida. (Getty Pictures)
This reportedly prompted Liston to throw a number of swings unsuccessfully as Clay delivered “fast and punishing jabs” to Liston’s head, Historical past.com famous.
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Clay celebrated his world title win at a personal after-party in Miami.
It featured such attendees as civil rights chief Malcolm X — a buddy of Clay’s.
Started boxing at age 12
Clay, born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1942, first started boxing at age 12, in keeping with Historical past.com.
By age 18, Clay had clinched greater than 100 wins in newbie competitions.
Clay gained the Worldwide Golden Gloves heavyweight title in 1959 and a gold medal within the mild heavyweight class on the 1960 Rome Olympic Video games.
Cassius Clay throws his palms up in victory over Sonny Liston (not pictured) of their World Heavyweight Title battle on Feb. 25, 1964, in Miami, Florida. (Concentrate on Sport/Getty Pictures)
After the Olympics, Clay went undefeated in his first 19 bouts as a boxing professional, main him to the well-known matchup with Liston.
Two days after the battle, Clay introduced he’d be becoming a member of the Nation of Islam and spoke on the private significance of the Muslim faith.
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That very same yr, Clay rejected the title given to his household by slave house owners — and took the Muslim title of Muhammad Ali.
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The three-time heavyweight champion boxer whose electrifying prowess within the ring and controversial outspokenness exterior of it made him one of many world’s most recognizable personalities of the twentieth century lived till the age of 74.
He handed away in 2016 after a battle with a respiratory sickness at a Phoenix hospital.
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