Mohamed Ali: The Making of an Icon - Research Paper Example

Muhammad Ali Clay: Biography Mohammed Ali was born in 1942 in Kentucky America. Hes a former heavyweight boxing champion and is d the greatest athlete of all times. He has been awarded the Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated. He also received the award for Sports Personality of the Century by British Broadcasting Corporation. He became the world heavy weight boxing champion at the age of 22 by defeating Sonny Liston in an event that shocked the whole world. It was 1964 when Ali held the world heavyweight boxing title. His fame and friendship does not only remain within the ring, he is considered an icon for religious and social freedom. He rose to fame even outside the boxing ring for his outspoken and brave behavior. When the government demanded of him to join the military in 1957 to fight in Vietnam he refused citing religious reasons. He said that he cannot fight until and unless it is justified through religious teachings. The US government did not recognize this excuse and arrested him for draft evasion charges. The American public shifted their perception about Ali after his conviction (Ezra, 2009). People turned sympathetic towards him and saw him as an inspiration. Due to this incident, he could not professionally box for four years at the prime time of his career. Later Ali’s appeal worked its way to the Supreme Court. He won the case in his favor. His court victory made him an icon for a generation that would reject forceful inclusion in the military or any action against their will. Finally in 1971 he returned to the ring. He won the world heavyweight championship title three times; 1964, 1974 and 1978. His career as a boxing legend involves historical matches with boxing greats like George Foreman and Joe Frazier. Muhammad Ali rose above his sport after mastering it (Remnick, 2011). Ali brought the game of boxing to a whole new level. With his charismatic personality, his sheer power in the ring and his butterfly movements he became an icon for the sports of boxing. Ali is an entertainer when it comes to interviews and TV shows. He is an outspoken personality and would love to talk about issues other than boxing. He was the first African-American athlete who would shout his pride of being from the black race. He stood firm against the white establishment. Ali was kept under surveillance by the FBI, and received the same treatment as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X (Remnick, 2011). He lived a high-profile life and move the masses. Ali was born in Louisville Kentucky. His father Cassius Marcellus Clay senior, a Methodist, allowed his wife Odessa O’Grady Clay to raise Cassius as a Baptist. When he was 12 years old he faced an incident where someone stole his bicycle and he was furious. He was determined to teach the thief a lesson. An officer replied to his anger that he needs to learn to box. He took his advice and learned boxing for four years under the coaching of Chuck Bodak. After embracing Islam he changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali. He hated being called Clay, to him it was his slave name (Remnick, 2011). To him being called Mohamed Ali was an expression of freedom. Ali’s professional boxing debut was in 1960 where he won a six round decision match against Tunney Hunsacker. After that he remained unbeaten with a record of 19-0. He remained undefeated till 1963. His opponents during this stint of boxing included Jim Robinson, Henry Cooper and Doug Jones. He also beat his coach Archie Moore in 1962. His outrageous behavior and his strategy of intimidating the opponents was unprecedented. He would ‘out-black’ someone like Frasier (Remnick, 2011). No matter where he fought would he created a controversy. It was his strategy to either intimidate or instill fear into his opponents’ mind. There was a time when a persons views about Ali would rank him on the scale of social cultural and political beliefs. But despite all the amazing things that are related to the champ academic historians have written very little about the greatest sportsmen of all times. Thomas Hausers autobiography Mohamed Ali: His Life and Times (1991) is considered the best treatment of the mans biography. And then again David Remnicks King of the World: Mohamed Ali and then the Rise of an American Hero (1990) are considered the finest books Ali’s life. These books not only talk about the fighter but give an accurate insight into the fighter’s life. In her book the Making of an Icon: Mohammed Ali Ezra tries to direct the attention of academics to study Mohamed Alis life in a serious and sustained manner. The book represents three aspects of the champ’s life. Alis moral authority was his true political, cultural and financial force (Ezra, 2009). This might seem like an opinion but it has its argumentative strength. Ali’s moral authority was the main reason for attracting masses as an American hero (Ezra, 2009). His exile from professional boxing made him an instantly popular figure. His exile is considered a major reason for his success, turning him from an athlete to an icon (Ezra, 2009). It turns out that the white businessman who controlled Ali’s early years of boxing career were among the prime benefactors of his image (Ezra, 2009). Mohammed Ali was a legend. His life is extraordinary which also makes it easier for the storytellers and narrators exaggerate its details to make it sound more magnificent. Mama doesnt was fighting even when he should not have only because he was under financial pressures. He wanted to make up for the three and a half years lost in exile from professional boxing (Ezra, 2009). This might seem far-fetched but it is easy to make people believe in such extraordinary tales. Mohamed Ali faced many business and promotional challenges. The boxing promoters Main Bout Inc. were Ali’s promoters too but he realized that he might not get a title shot under this promoter. That is why he seriously considered fighting outside of the United States. He also faced a challenge of changing promoters. He wanted to fight in the United States but he was prohibited. His court punishment of keeping him out of the boxing ring made him intermingle his desire to box and the ongoing war against black slavery. For this reason he made statements in which he indicated that he was not fighting for the money but he was fighting for the American black people so they can speak their minds. Its hard to pass comments whether such statements were true or false. But they were certainly full of emotional magnetism. People were drawn to such statements and that made Mohamed Ali a mythological status. The discussion here is not to undermine Mohamed Ali achievements. He certainly was the greatest of all time. And it is hard to call someone a race man. It means a person that seeks black sympathy but giving the impression of fighting for their rights. The comparison between Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohamed Ali reveals that Mohammed Ali was different because he never led any social movements. He was primarily a boxer who had more than one thing on his plate. The period between 1965 and 1967 marks the event of Mohamed Alis conviction of draft evasion. This event changed Mohamed Alis perception of himself. He started to see himself as a race man (Ezra, 2009). Things started going his way even if he did not want them to. He raised his voice against slavery and to uphold social justice and equality. In fact Mohamed Ali made several negative remarks on civil rights movement. He specifically targeted its leaders. The moment he went public about his membership in the Nation of Islam he started raising his voice against the leaders of the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement members dealt with him with the respect and honor. He was admired for his use of progressive elements like Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee (Ezra, 2009). But when Mohamed Ali join the Nation of Islam many workers in the civil rights movement started looking at the champion with revulsion. Momentarily the Nation of Islam after Ali’s you joining and the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr., stood against each other. But, Martin Luther King Jr. first congratulated Mohamed Ali on winning the title. The congratulations was sent through a telegram (Ezra, 2009). There were skeptics who did not approve Mohamed Alis joining the Nation of Islam however distant had some seeds of respect that sprouted into full-grown respect. When Mohamed Ali was arrested for draft evasion charges he had the same attorney as Martin Luther King Jr. (Ezra, 2009). His outspokenness inspires people who were drawn to his brave ideas. When we deny the goal to war with Vietnam the reporters asked him for his official statement. He did not hesitate from speaking about the loopholes and weaknesses of the American government. He was of the mind that why he should go to another country club bombs on brown people when people in Louise will a living a life of poverty. He also added to his statement that going to war with Vietnam is only a means of strengthening the white slave masters (Ezra, 2009). He stood determined this raises the government’s attempt to send him to war because he cant enough was enough and someone had to take a stand. Mohamed Ali is a living legend. He is loved by generations and his struggle against white strip cream is Israel. He is also the greatest boxer of all times. The fame and fortune has been earned by his supreme boxing skills and his outspokenness outside the ring. He is a well-respected figure around the world. References Ezra, M. (2009) Mohamed Ali: The making of an icon. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Remnick, D. (2011) King the world. Pan McMillian. Read More