Who was Muhammad Ali ?

Muhammad Ali died on 3rd June 2016 at 74. He was called “the greatest”.

Muhammad Ali is the greatest boxer of all time, obviously!

Olympic champion and three-time world heavyweight champion! What a career for this American who started boxing when he was 12 to get revenge on a kid who had stolen his bike! At the height of his career, Muhammad Ali weighed 220 lbs. Yet, he seemed to be dancing. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” was the motto of this man who floored his opponents with powerful punches and light footwork. But “the greatest” didn’t only fight in the ring.

All his life, he fought for a fairer world. Muhammad Ali was black and grew up in America where Blacks had no rights. At the age of 22, the boxer was converted to islam, a religion that for him carried the message of fraternal love. He was born Cassius Clay, and changed his name to Muhammad Ali after the Prophet of islam… And refused to go and fight in the Vietnam war alongside other Americans, because he was a pacifist. This disobedience cost him dearly: he lost the right to box for many years. So what! A huge boxer, civil rights activist, poet, good looking… Muhammad Ali became a legend… whose extraordinary life has inspired many movie directors. Only natural for a hero, no?