Posted on 12/18/2010 10:20:36 AM PST by fabrizio
From Wikipedia:
“”He was arrested and found guilty on draft evasion charges, stripped of his boxing title, and his boxing license was suspended. He was not imprisoned, but did not fight again for nearly four years while his appeal worked its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was successful.””
These things are so easy to check so I don’t know why more don’t do it.
I’m afraid that was a different Smokin’ Joe. (There are a few of us around.) I’m not one to take another guy’s credit!
He did not ever go to jail for dodging the draft. He did go to jail, (for just 10 days I believe), for a traffic type violation tho.
Ever seen interviews of him? “Whaddy mean boxshing causes bwain damage!?”
Now Ali did indeed make a sign to President George W.Bush at the White House presentation. He made a loopy wacky twisting of his finger right in the President's face. Was he suborned to do this by the crass anti-Bush brigade? This I do not know.
Did some research on his given name: CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY. The boxer changed his name to Ali. His statement was said to be: "I aint havin'' no slave name". Cassius Marcellus Clay was an abolitionist pre civil war. He was beaten unconscious at one meeting of pro-slavery supporters. Some "slave name". In another meeting he was shot by pros-slavery rowdies and took three months to recover.
At one time Clay had over a hundred hangers on and kept fighting, because if he gave up, their meal ticket would end. I saw on television his four round defeat of "Big Cat Williams". Williams fought, with surgery previously from being shot by a policeman in the abdomen. Clay was at his best that night. I take no pleasure in his condition.
no matter how many times I see that, it still doesn’t seem right
There was a B-ball player that did the same thing but I forget his name.
A fellow old timer here, followed his entire time from Rome ‘60 on. ..... The Big Cat, CW, 3 rounds, not four in that fight. Ali at his greatest with Williams. (Go to the youtube vids if you have not yet. My God what a warrior!) From the first Liston fight on, his younger body grew into his full developed 6’3 height and he moved like a welterweight. Anyone who followed boxing from his first pro fight thru Ali/Fraz 3, (when that was IT for Ali after), saw that Ali was done. Louis, or maybe Gene Tunney, were the only boxers that could even think of keeping up with Ali. Then again Ali outweighed each 15-30 lbs. and that counts a LOT in that weight group. Read Thomas Houser’s Book “Muhammad Ali’.....Fantastic read.
Didn’t Cassius Clay fight Sonny Liston?
;-)
Yep, In their first go. Announced his conversion the next day.....To ‘Cassius X’. (Muhammed Ali was later). Listened to the first Clay/Liston fight on the radio, saw the second Ali/Liston fight on the then kinda new ‘closed circuit’ theater broadcast deal. Spring’65, A long darn time ago that was.
I think he was the only Muslim to immediately come forward to denounce 9-11, I’ll give him that.
I remember the boy classmates in 7th grade all excited over a Liston/Clay fight. I remember one boy writing a poem about it (an assignment), and all of the other boys loving the poem. I even remember something like, “Big Sonny Liston is just like a piston...”
(WHY I remember this...I couldn’t tell you!! The strange things we remember!)
His mind is still sharp, Parkinsons does not effect cognitive ability.
Ali PUBLICALLY supported the re-election of Ronald Reagan in 1984.
On a billboard.
http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/26/sports/scouting-boxers-vote.html
. .Since early October, billboards in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan have shown President Reagan throwing a playful punch at the jaw of Muhammad Ali while Joe Frazier and Floyd Patterson look on. The words ‘’We’re voting for the man’’ accompany the scene.
The three former heavyweight champions have all endorsed the Republican Presidential ticket and the Reagan-Bush ‘84 committee is taking advantage of their support.
Thanks. I missed this development.
A fellow old timer here, followed his entire time from Rome '60 on....The Big Cat, CW, 3 rounds, not four in that fight. Ali at his greatest with Williams.
Correction taken here and I was pleased to have all your information. As you will see from my profile, I do get literature recomended by Freepers. Will get the book by Thomas Houser.
To sort of keep on topic, I will make a remark about the subject, then beg the toleration of the mods to make a comment about the old days of the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports. Tough mugs in the tavern getting into the action.
It was the redoubtable Daniel Pipes who mentioned the 2005 medal of freedom at the White House. Ali made a gesture that embarassed the President. As many boxers found to their cost, they were used by others. I read that Ali and his connections went with the Black Muslims to frighten off the sordid types who infested boxing. They were indeed frightened off. Next up the anti-war aspect of this group and Ali had to follow. Poor Malcolm X being an example.
Just like to say that somewhere else I would like to put up my best telivision fights one day. Carmen Basilio, Gaspar Ortega, Dick Tiger, Sugar Ray Robinson (though past his best, Hurricane Jackson and of course Charles (Sonny) Liston, including Ali himself.
I had not known that Ali did not go to jail; but, that his conviction was reversed on a technicality by the U.S. Supreme Court.
In any case, he did not dodge the draft. He openly refused to be drafted and then submitted himself to the authorities. He was convicted, stripped of his title, and lost his license to box. (His license to box was restored upon the reversal of his conviction.)
In my book, Ali was not a draft dodger because of his willingness to go to jail. I would say the same of Hutterites who refused service during WWI (when we didn’t have a conscientious objector provision). During WWII, c.o.’s were not required to bear arms, but were required to serve in capacities such as medic. I don’t know if that policy prevailed during the Vietnam era.
It is interesting that naturalized citizens must agree to take up arms to defend this country and, yet, natural born citizens can refuse, albeit only for religious reasons. I, myself, am of the opinion that the right to vote should only be reserved for those who actually pay taxes, are willing to serve and actually serve on juries, and are willing to serve in the military upon a Congressionally-authorized draft.
I am not without sympathy for those who are repulsed by those who, somehow, avoid service, whether Mohammed Ali or Dick Cheney; and, I thank my fellow freeper for correcting me on the specific matter as to whether Ali went to jail for refusing induction.
I was and remain a huge Ali fan.
At the same time if you examine his life he did a LOT of terrible things. Supporting the murder of Malcolm X has to be way up there.
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