ISLAMABAD: The sports world on Thursday remembered one of the greatest boxers in history Muhammad Ali who was born on January 17 in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1942.
Three-time heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, who boasted that he was “The Greatest” and usually backed it up, died June 3, 2016, at the age of 74.
He was born Cassius Clay and converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali in 1964, shortly after having upset overwhelming favourite Sonny Liston via technical knockout to capture the heavyweight title in Miami Beach, Radio Pakistan reported Thursday.
The 6-feet and 3-inch tall Ali, who possessed a remarkable combination of speed and power, and bragged about his ability to “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee,” proved the victory was no fluke by knocking out Liston in the first round of a 1965 rematch in Lewiston, Maine.
With a wit as sharp as the punches he used to “whup” opponents, Ali dominated sports for two decades before time and Parkinson’s disease, triggered by thousands of blows to the head, ravaged his magnificent body, muted his majestic voice and ended his storied career in 1981.
