Clay refused to serve in the military:
1) His newly found Muslim religion turned out to be (and always was) a horribly violent religion where white people were garbage. So, he was a hypocrite.
2) He refused to fight for our country, but it was ok to pucnh other people in the head for big bucks. I'm glad we had enough guts to make him pay for it. Again, he was a hypocrite.
So, I put him right up there with Frankie, George Hamilton, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Livingston, etc.
Righto! Clay refused to fight against a regime of official atheism while holding to a sect that is anything but pacifist.
But Joe Frazier gave him a real whoppin. So did Norton and Spinks and Holmes. Jimmy Young beat him too but lost via corrupt judges.
His Muslim management kept him in the ring too long and he was just too old to box. His brain damage is probably from later fights and not a cumulative collection of damage eventually leading to the progressive disease of Parkinsons.
I was just refuting him being a draft dodger. He went to jail for his beliefs. He didn't run away to Canada as so many did.