When Ali stated that he intended to fight whoever stole his bicycle, Joe advised him that he must learn how to fight. That single phrase began one of the most legendary boxing careers in history. Ali took his training seriously as a young man. He worked out at the gym six days a week and ran early every morning. By the time he was 21, he was already a world-class athlete.
Ali wanted to be accepted by white America, so he agreed to take part in racial fights. This is what made him very popular with black Americans. The money that was made from these fights was used to improve housing in black neighborhoods. Eventually, this kind of activity led to his being banned from boxing. However, he found another way to make money. Soon, he became one of the best-known athletes in the world.
As soon as he got rid of the ban, he started fighting again. This time, he insisted on fighting anyone who came along. Even when other boxers refused to fight him, Ali would just go ahead and do it anyway. This behavior caused many problems for him later in his career. Many fighters wanted nothing to do with him because of all the trouble he was causing. In addition, some people felt that he was trying to gain fame by making himself look good by beating up men much bigger than he was.
At the end of 2010, historians announced that they believed that someone had stolen Ali's bicycle when he was seven years old.
Mike Tyson has made no secret of his admiration for Muhammad Ali as a child. Tyson made his professional debut little over three years after Ali's final fight, knocking out Hector Mercedes for his first win. As with so many other young fighters who have since become world champions, it was Ali who showed him how to fight.
As far back as 1974, when he was just 18 years old, Tyson wrote: "I want to be like Joe Louis, who was also black and fought for the American army. If I ever get good at fighting, I'll take on everyone from here to Japan."
Tyson went on to say that one of his goals in life is to be as famous as Ali, which isn't very hard to do considering they're both boxing legends.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey that was published in 2007, Tyson said he admired Ali because he was the greatest fighter of all time. Tyson also mentioned that one of his heroes was John L. Sullivan, another great heavyweight champion from a different era. Sullivan fought between 1878 and 1881 and was known as the "Boston Strongboy" for his tremendous strength. He defeated all of his opponents except for Charles “Boxer” Jones, who was considered to be the number one contender for Ali's title at the time.
He realized he could take a punch. Because he was so quick, he didn't have to take many blows when he was younger. But, you know, when he got up after Joe Frazier's hit, that sent a message. That being said, he is a tough person to beat, and Ali acknowledged, "Yeah, my chin is good."
His body is what keeps him in the game today. He has some serious injuries from all his boxing years but still goes out there and fights. At 54 years old, he's not getting any easier to hit.
Ali is a perfect example that you don't need to be strong to box. He used his head more than his arms, and that's why he was able to absorb so many punches over the course of his career.
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