Brian Pacheco Eng 008 Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali born Cassius Clay, born on January 17, 1942 and was a professional boxer and activist. Ali was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky and began to train amateur boxing at the age of twelve. At the age of eighteen, Ali won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 olympics in Rome and turned professional later that year. At the age of 22, he won WBA, WBC, and lineal heavyweight titles from Sonny Liston in a big upset. Ali then changed his name to Cassius Clay from his “slave name” Muhammad Ali. In 1966, two years after winning his heavyweight title, Ali antagonized the white establishment by refusing to be drafted into the U.S. military, citing his religious beliefs and opposition to American involvement in the Vietnam War. Eventually, he was arrested, found guilty of draft evasion charges, and stripped of his boxing titles. Ali is regarded as one of the leading heavyweight boxers of the 20th century. He rema