Cassius Clay was 12 years old and lived in Louisville, Kentucky. One day, his new bike was stolen. In tears, he told Officer Joe Martin, “I’m going to whip the person who stole my bike!” Joe said, “Well, then I’d better teach you how to fight.” Joe Martin was the boxing coach at the Columbia Gym.
Cassius Clay went to Columbia Gym and he learned to fight. He trained hard. When he was 15, he wore heavy boots and shadowboxed on the street. He raced school buses and drank raw eggs in his milk. He loved boxing. He wanted to go to the Olympics.
He was also very polite and religious. After school, he worked in the Nazareth College library. When the boxing team went to other towns, Cassius always stayed in his hotel room and read his bible. In 1958, he went to the Olympic trials in San Francisco. But there was a problem. Cassius was afraid to fly. So he bought a parachute, wore it on the plane, and prayed in the aisle.
At the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Cassius won the gold medal. In 1964, he became the world heavyweight champion. He changed his name to Muhammad Ali and joined the Muslims. Ali refused to go to war in Vietnam, and his title was taken away. He won his title back in 1974 when he fought George Foreman in Zaire, Africa.
