Muhammad Ali – The Greatest Of ALL Time

Muhammad Ali Is The Epitome Of ALL Time Greatness

The celebration of the 2016 Olympic Games is upon us, and the staff at GETtheTZelement.com thought it apropos to spotlight a gold medalist winner in the sport of boxing … as well as the game of life. He is an official 2015 inductee into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame, and one of the most recognizable athletes of the century. It is with great pleasure we take a moment to spotlight “The Man” … “The Legend” … “The Champion”, Muhammad Ali.

At the age of 12-years-old, young Cassius Clay Jr. – became interested in boxing after reporting the theft of his bike to a local Louisville police officer (Joe Martin, who in turn offered ‘Clay’ boxing lessons at a local gym). With the personal belief he could learn to fight and get his bike back, ‘Clay’ developed the ‘Float Like a Butterfly … Sting Like a Bee’ style of boxing – which earned him a light-heavyweight Golden Gloves title in 1959, and a gold medal (in the light-heavyweight division) at the 1960 Rome Summer Olympic Games.

Cassius became the first 3-time heavyweight champion – using fancy footwork and devastating punches in stunning upsets against boxing opponents: Sonny Liston – 1964 Miami (post-fight press announcement sites “The Champ’s” affiliation with the Nation of Islam, and marks the moment he publicly identifies as ‘Muhammad Ali’ | George Foreman -1974, ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ – Kinshasa, Zaire | Leon Spinks – 1978 New Orleans. Ali’s refusal in 1967 to enter the Vietnam War draft (citing religious beliefs), resulted in a federal charge of draft evasion (punishable by boxing license revocation, passport suspension, and up to 5-years in prison). To his benefit, Ali was permitted to earn a living via guest appearances and speaking-engagements while his federal appeal was being considered. In 1970, the New York Supreme Court made the decision to lift the ban and reinstate his credentials (which set the tone for a professional record of 56 wins – 5 losses, 37 of those wins by way of knockout).

As Ali’s impact on the sport of boxing became more profound, it led to federal legislation in 2000, which resulted in the ‘Muhammad Ali Boxing Act’ (making boxing safer and fairer for professional boxers). In 2015, Ali received a well-deserved induction into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame during a ceremony fit for a champion (in connection with famed boxing greats: Sugar Ray Robinson, Jack Johnson, Joe Gans, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Lennox Lewis, Felix Trinidad, Marco Antonio Barrera, Roger Mayweather – Uncle of Floyd Mayweather, and several others).

In 1984, Ali announced his private battle with Parkinson’s disease (a degenerative neurological condition) and became an advocate for those battling the disorder. Amid medical challenges associated with the disease, ‘The Champ’ continued supporting his legacy of greatness thorough programming and events centered on education, gender equality, civil rights, and global citizenship (sponsored by the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, KY.). The Muhammad Ali Center is a ‘non-profit’ center co-foundered by his wife Lonnie – which promotes the six core principles of ‘Muhammad Ali’ (Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect, and Spirituality), to achieve personal and global greatness (for more on the center, please visit www.alicenter.org).

Muhammad Ali has positively proven his hardships have not been a reason to stop believing in his ability to win. In the spirit of greatness, we proudly recognize and salute this amazing American champion for knowing what he believes, and refusing to conform to expectations and conceptualizations shaped by public opinion. In the spirit of elevating one another to greatness, we encourage anyone with aspirations for distinction to reflect on the legacy of “The Champ”; use details of his life as pivotal reminders – that our uniqueness can shine when we believe we are “The Greatest of All Time”.