Original subtitles

♪ Ow! Fire ♪

♪ Fire...

The champ is here!

Come on!

♪ Fire...

Make way. Come on, come on, come on.

Excuse me, sir. The champ is here.

Champ is here!

Come on. Put your hands together for the next Heavyweight Champion of the World!

The champ is here!

That's right!

-The champ is here! -Champ is here!

The champ is walking in!

Yeah! They call me a contender!

-Go, sir. -I am the champ!

-Born a champ! -The only champ!

I'm the champ!

-Absolutely. -Yeah!

Y'all know what season it is?

-Bear huntin' season. -Bear huntin' season!

I see you, Cosell.

Got to get this one, Howard.

They ain't never seen no jackets like these.

There we go. Black men in denim.

That's right!

-Good-looking Black men. -Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

-Angie, get 'em out of here. -Sugar Ray! I need Sugar Ray!

How about some Sonny Liston?

Yeah, where's that big ugly bear?

Somebody go wake him up. They said the bear's out there hibernating.

Clowns.

Every last one of 'em.

Shut the door.

♪ Tomorrow is my home ♪

♪ I said, "Fire!" ♪

♪ Fire ♪

♪ Fire ♪

♪ I'm on fire ♪

♪ I said, "Fire..."

Float like a butterfly

and sting like a bee.

Aah!

Rumble, young man, rumble!

Aah!

Sonny Liston is slow and flat-footed.

And he's ugly!

-We're fast! We dance! -Cassius...

-We dance! -The sooner we start the weigh-in,

-the sooner they'll turn the microphone... -I said we dance!

-Come on. -Mwah!

I love y'all.

♪ Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, yeah ♪

♪ I can't lose, I can't die ♪

♪ When I win, then I fly ♪

♪ For how long, I don't know ♪

♪ But I strive for that glow ♪

♪ That fleeting flash in time ♪

♪ when the whole world will know ♪

♪ My name is ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ My name is ♪

♪ Oh, my name is ♪

♪ My name is, my name is ♪

-Listen, the point is publicity. -Yeah, well...

No, no!

You wasted my time.

You said he'd be there.

All that fussing and he didn't even see it.

Look, champ, I saw him outside and I figured

-that if we all came here... -This was supposed to be a moment.

We don't get to do that again.

It was a moment.

I thought, like, that felt like a moment.

He'll be at the weigh-in, Gee.

Champ, he's probably over, you know...

hibernating in his locker room.

Scared, you know?

All right. Let's get ready for the weigh-in.

Get dressed, kid.

They're ready for you.

Cassius, will it be a fight or a footrace?

Cassius.

Cassius, did you catch the final betting line?

Liston's favored seven to one.

I don't care about no odds.

Experts don't know how to rate me.

Never seen a heavyweight like me.

You're the biggest underdog in a heavyweight title fight

since Braddock.

That doesn't worry you?

Yeah! Look at you

right there, you big ugly bear!

Yeah, look at you.

Scared to death!

You don't want no part of me! You don't want no part of me!

-Yeah, come on now. Come on now. -Stand back. Get your man back.

I been waiting for this.

I been waiting for this!

Whoa!

Everybody. Everybody.

To prove that I'm great, I'll drop him in round eight!

I'm fast and trim!

Light on my feet, I dance!

I dance!

Challenger Cassius Clay weighs in at 210 pounds.

Oh, he ain't gonna know what to do with me.

Perfect specimen of a man.

Come on here!

-I want you! -Hey, come on, come on.

I'm-a beat you like I'm your daddy.

I'm gonna beat you...

Get off of me! Come on, man!

Come on, man.

Just make it to the scale.

Get on that scale.

All right, champ.

-And relax. There we go. -You ain't nothing!

You hear me?

You ain't nothing, chump.

-You ain't nothing! -Champion Sonny Liston

weighs in at 218 pounds.

Champ, you heard what Clay said.

What about you? Any prediction?

Two rounds?!

I predict somebody's gonna die tonight!

That's enough! That's enough!

Walk him back!

You can't beat me!

You can't beat me!

Come on, come on!

I'll sit down.

-Cassius... -I'll sit down.

Get off of me.

Challenger Cassius Clay is fined $2,500

for conduct unbecoming.

What you fining me for?

You need to fine him for that ugly face of his!

And donate the money to the Bureau of Wildlife!

-That's what you should do. -Sonny, Sonny, there's word

you requested for the fight to be delayed because of a shoulder injury.

Any truth in that,

and how's your shoulder now?

My shoulder all right. Don't even matter.

Beat a fraud like that with one hand.

Yeah, all an excuse!

You shouldn't even be

-in the same ring with me! -Hey, hey, hey.

-He knows it! He's slow and flat-footed! -Hey, hey.

BP's way too high.

-What? -BP's way too high. I can't sign off.

Do it again. Do it again.

Look, I want to get his heart rate.

Everybody back.

-Everybody back up. -All right.

Just relax. Relax.

His heart rate's 120 and...

120 and rising.

-I can't certify him to fight. -Okay, okay. No.

-I can't certify him. -Listen, listen, listen, listen, listen.

Listen. Listen, the fight isn't till 10:00 tonight, right?

There's no rule that says you have to certify him

right now, right? Am I right? Am I right?

He's right.

If he were my fighter, he'd be

-on his way to the hospital now. -Okay, okay. He's fine.

He just needs to calm down.

All right, you got to calm down.

-I'm good. I'm calm. -He's good. He's calm.

He's calm.

We'll give him one hour.

You understand?

One.

-Sir, thank you. Okay. -One hour.

-Give him some space. -Yeah.

-Give him some space. Everybody. -Let him breathe.

Deep breaths.

I got less than an hour.

How do we get his pressure down?

If you're asking if there's some kind of magic pill,

it doesn't exist.

He's just got to calm down.

An hour's enough time to get his mojo in order.

If I hear one more goddamn word about "mojo"...

-Okay. Okay. -Get out.

All right, everybody heard the champ. Get out.

Can't even feel himself

-with all this damn noise going... -Man, shut up.

No, no, chum, I'm just trying to get you some quiet...

I said shut up!

Every time I turn around, there you are.

Blowing my head up, saying what you think I want to hear.

Don't matter if it's true as long as I'm putting money in your pocket.

Champ, it's not like that...

Just get out! Damn!

Get out! Everybody. Now.

Get out.

I said get out.

We're not gonna win the fight

if we can't get...

Stay here.

I said everybody out.

I'm not everybody.

What's wrong, Gee?

What if I let them all down?

You ain't gonna let nobody down. You're gonna whup Liston.

No, man.

The bookies are right.

Liston's bigger than me. He's stronger than me.

I had a little chance, but only if I got in his head.

All this time, I thought I was breaking him down.

But you saw him in there.

He ain't worried about me one bit.

So what?

So I can't beat him.

He knows it. Everybody knows it.

Gee, you beat every fighter they put in front of you.

You beat Kentucky.

Archie Moore.

All those reporters and everybody who said you wouldn't even be here.

You stared down MacDonald.

The commission.

Mom, Dad.

You stood your ground and they just blinked.

Pretty sure I seen you beat Death in that Cooper fight.

You beat Death, Gee.

How Sonny Liston stand a chance?

How is he?

Oh. Uh, yeah, doctor says he's fine.

-Just needed a minute. -Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Uh, reporters are saying

he had a panic attack

brought on by mortal fear.

Yeah. That's how you sell papers.

-Yeah. -But you're not worried.

-No. No. -Yeah.

'Cause you get a payoff either way.

What's that supposed to mean?

You win, you get your share of the purse.

He loses,

and you cash in on the illegal wager you made.

-Listen, it's not what you think... -No, see, I don't want

an explanation.

I want you to know what's at stake.

Cassius Clay may just be another fighter to you...

No, no, no. Cassius is like a son to me.

No, he's the future of the Nation of Islam.

-Okay. -Okay.

If he falls to Sonny Liston,

the Nation will hold you personally responsible.

We'll make sure you never train another fighter again in your life.

We'll make sure that you never do anything...

again...

in your life.

Uh...

if I were you, I'd lose the bet.

Okay.

How much?

Don't worry about it.

I'm worried about it. How much?

I laid my own. The gym's not in danger.

Okay, well, that's a relief.

Oh, for Christ's sake.

Because I've only been busting my hump for years

to keep our operation on the up-and-up.

Selling my soul to keep

-the Managers' Guild at bay. -Oh.

Selling my soul, Angie!

And you lay a bet on your own fight?

You an idiot?

They're gonna want a piece of everything we do going forward.

-It's not gonna get out. -It's not gonna get out?

The Nation knows. It's out!

How much you put up?

I bet everything.

You bet...

all the money you've been saving

-for your wife's dream house? -Yeah.

The money you've been saving

-for ten years? -Yeah.

-That money. Yeah. -You put that money up?

Everything?

Yeah.

Does she know?

-No. No. -No.

That would be stupid.

Yeah.

You lose, you're in hock to the same guys

we've been trying to get off our backs for how many years?

You win, you got the Black Muslims gunning for you.

Not to mention when Cassius finds out you bet on Liston.

I didn't bet on Liston.

You...

He's gonna win, Chris.

He's gonna win.

-Angie. Angie. -He's gonna win.

It's a miracle you got him this far so fast.

Uh, what are you dancing for?

I know he's gonna get a belt one day.

I know it in my heart and soul.

But tonight?

Really?

You win, you little prick, I want some.

Tell 'em I'm not ready.

Since when do you need to be ready for your own mother?

Oh...

-I'm scared. -Mm.

I know you are, baby.

I ever tell you what I saw the night you was born?

Mm.

Angels, Gee.

I saw angels.

And I knew right then

God would always be by your side.

He chose you.

"For I shall fear no evil.

Thou art with me."

Oh.

Although I don't know what the Black Muslims think about all that.

Well, now, I can't speak on behalf of all the Black Muslims,

but I do agree with you.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

Malcolm.

Odessa.

A very bright young man once said to me...

"Listen, Malcolm,

if God is with you,

can't no man be against you."

-Hmm? -That's right.

And He is with you, Cassius.

He is with you.

And I believe every person in this room...

knows that to be true.

-Clear to fight. -Good.

-Let's get ready for the fight. -All right.

-Let's get warmed up. -We got to work.

What? You said he's okay, right?

Eh, he's cleared to fight.

I wouldn't say he's okay.

You won't even break a sweat tonight, champ.

That boy's so scared.

Roger, what that paper say?

Same old shit.

Talking about how you gonna murder the kid.

You want to read it?

Uh, b...

♪ When you just can't get the one you love ♪

♪ you just have to try to use...

When's Geraldine coming?

She's not.

People say they...

they want the truth.

They don't.

♪ I'm gonna pack my rags and go...

They just want the pieces that they like.

♪ Yes, I said I ♪

♪ that I've got the blues ♪

♪ Think I'm gonna pack my ♪

Greetings and a warm welcome.

This is Howard Cosell from Miami Beach, Florida,

where we are moments away from the fight between champion Sonny Liston

and challenger Cassius Clay

for the heavyweight championship of the world.

The buzz has been building for weeks,

and now it's time.

This arena's filled to the brim,

and this will go down as the most watched heavyweight title fight in history.

One of these fighters will be leaving here

with the first meaningful loss of their career,

as both men enter the ring with near perfect records.

Liston is an astounding 35-one,

including his two most recent wins over former champion Floyd Patterson.

Clay, the Olympic champion in 1960,

has amassed his own spotless record at 19-zero.

The only question is which of these men will raise the belt

and who will suffer the shame of defeat.

Going by the betting line,

that person will be Clay.

Liston enters the ring as a seven-to-one favorite,

making Clay the biggest underdog in a title fight

in the recent history of the heavyweight championship division.

And it isn't just the bettors who don't think Clay stands a chance.

A prefight poll of the 37 boxing writers in attendance here tonight

resulted in 36 picking Liston.

All of them expecting a knockout.

Anyone who's ever fought Liston says he's the hardest puncher they've ever faced,

and now he's got this kid going up against him.

And that's what Clay is, a kid

going up against a man.

And not just any man.

The most complete heavyweight I've ever seen.

There's no question Liston wins this fight.

It's "how much damage does he do?"

I think there's a likelihood there could be serious if not unprecedented injury.

It's too soon.

Faversham and the rest of those white men got greedy and rushed him.

Now they gonna get Clay killed.

-I don't think so. -You don't even know

anything about boxing, Berta.

I know Cassius.

He might mess around

and win that belt.

If he does,

he gonna change the world.

Thirteen first round knockouts.

No one's been able to survive...

He's not brassy. He's not loud.

It's like a circus.

Loud press conferences, writing predictions,

-calling Liston a big ugly bear. -What do you think, Coach?

Clay got a chance to win?

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

I hope "The Lip" gets his ass kicked.

Poetry. But tonight it becomes...

You might want to go watch at home, Whit.

This gym's for Cassius Clay fans only tonight.

This is a man

-who's never tasted... -Go on now.

In the ring. He's been faster than everyone.

Let's go!

He's facing a fighter who doesn't blink,

who doesn't care about flair,

who doesn't play the villain.

He's just there.

Still, there's something about Clay's confidence.

He believes what he's saying.

And when a young man believes...

There's always a chance, Bobby.

I know that face.

I'm nervous, Chris.

More than usual.

Why?

We-we got a... we got a packed house.

Biggest audience in TV history.

You're never gonna make more money on an investment in one night than tonight.

-We-we did it. -I know. Hey, I-I know.

I just worry about...

that investment after tonight.

You heard the reporters.

The kid has mortal fear.

-The reporters are selling newspapers. -It's not about the reporters, Chris.

Look, I'm okay with him losing the fight.

I am.

I just don't want to lose more than that.

I was just in the locker room.

Spoke to Angelo.

He knows.

The fight gets too ugly, he throws in the towel. It's that simple.

It's that simple.

Bill, he's invested in this fight, too.

Don't forget that.

He's gonna protect Cassius.

He always does.

Yeah.

He doing better?

Hard to tell.

-I don't know what's gotten into him. -Think he had a dream

so big he never thought he'd get here.

But what he don't realize is that this isn't just his dream.

It's the people's dream.

It's God's dream.

Give him a good speech, Angie, okay?

He-he don't trust me talking to him anymore.

Speech won't matter.

There's a special thing

only champions have.

Mm-hmm.

They don't know they have it till they step in there

with the whole world watching.

Everything on the line.

That's when he'll look for it.

And if it's there, he'll find it.

We're gonna need two buckets, Bun.

One on the apron, one on the floor.

Just in case.

What we need two buckets for?

You know, Liston got knocked down once.

Cleveland Williams, right?

Yeah, I remember that fight. Sonny came back, whupped his ass.

Dropped a house on that man.

Yeah. Some people said that Cleveland couldn't see that next round.

He got something in his eyes.

-What you saying, Ange? -Oh, it's just rumors.

But... should just play it safe.

Just in case.

Mm-hmm.

Turn it up.

Real speed.

There it is.

That's it.

It's only natural to guess what might happen.

You do this for Sonny.

Even the combatants in this tilt for the title

have made their predictions.

You ready to go to work?

But the reality is, none of this matters once the first bell rings.

And that moment is quickly approaching.

Float like a butterfly.

Sting like a bee.

Rumble, young man, rumble.

Mm-hmm.

♪ To be young ♪

♪ gifted and Black ♪

♪ Oh, what a lovely, precious dream ♪

♪ To be young, gifted and Black ♪

♪ Open your heart...

You don't make it to the ring without the ancestors

who bled in the fields.

♪ In the whole world, you know...

Every time you stepped into the ring...

the whole community was standing behind you.

♪ You are young, gifted and Black...

You're fighting for your people.

That's what it means to be great.

♪ There's a world waiting for you ♪

♪ Yours is the quest that's just begun ♪

♪ So, when you're feeling, feeling real low ♪

♪ there's a great truth that you should know ♪

♪ To be young ♪

♪ gifted and Black, hit it ♪

♪ is where it's at ♪

♪ is where it's at ♪

Welcome to Miami Beach

and to the enormous Convention Hall for what may be

the richest heavyweight champion fight of all time.

And into the arena now comes the somber and menacing figure

of Charles "Sonny" Liston, the champion,

aptly named the most frightening man in the world.

♪ Skin and bones ♪

♪ A mind that's weak...

They aren't ready.

Liston, onetime convict

and twice the lightning conqueror of Floyd Patterson,

is a man of action.

Looked on Clay's antics with contempt.

He's been content to wait for this celebrity-filled night

to provide the answers.

But Liston made one prediction.

He said Cassius Clay wouldn't get past the third round this morning.

When Clay turned the weighing-in ceremony into a circus act,

Liston cut that prediction to two rounds.

Here he is. The champion of the world, Charles "Sonny" Liston.

Gentlemen, join me in the middle.

I want a clean break at all times. No rabbit punching, no kidney punching.

Low blows will cost you a round.

In case of a knockdown, I want you to go to

the furthest corner and stay there until I call you out fighting. Any questions?

Good luck to both of you.

Gentlemen, touch gloves.

Sonny Liston, 218 pounds.

Cassius Clay, 211.

He's giving away seven to the champion.

Cassius Clay now comes for him, the moment of truth.

For months, he's taunted Liston.

He said what he's going to do to him. He's predicted eight rounds.

Now he has to make his fists do what his mouth has predicted.

And there's the bell.

Clay showing no fear of the champion.

Moving around Sonny Liston in the center of the ring.

He's going around this ring as fast as he said he would.

There we go, champ.

A big swing

and a miss by Sonny Liston as Clay escapes the corner.

This is what Clay said he would do.

The champion chasing the younger challenger

around the ring, unable to connect.

Liston here trying for his third successive one-round win

in world heavyweight championship fights.

Ten seconds left in round one.

A big left hook to the face of the champion.

Liston looks hurt, trying to recover.

Three or four punches.

What a first round Clay's having here...

against Sonny Liston.

There's the bell for the first.

And they're still fighting.

The bell's gone, and the referee hasn't heard it.

Break it up. Break it up.

Fighting about eight seconds after the end of the first round.

They didn't hear the bell, and neither did referee

-Barney Felix. -You're doing great, kid.

You're doing great. You're doing exactly what we talked about. You look beautiful.

Faster than I thought.

That won't last. Stop reaching.

He win that round?

This ain't going 15, champ.

You're reaching. Stop going for the knockout punch.

Strengthen your stance, start chopping.

You're doing it. Look at me.

-Yeah. -Everything we talked about.

Everything we talked about, you're doing it.

-He's too slow. -Cassius. Cassius.

-Mm-hmm. -He's too slow. He's too slow.

Just keep on wearing him down.

Wear him down. He ain't gonna make it past round four.

It's preordained.

-How are your legs? -Hey, I'm good.

Oh, yeah, you look amazing.

The 22-year-old challenger, the boy who said he would

make the big, ugly bear look silly in the ring tonight,

and for about one minute, towards the end of that round, he did.

This hall buzzes with excitement

because Clay has shown that, perhaps...

After all,

he can do what he said he would do.

Clay is hurt. This might be it. Sonny Liston may have the knockout.

Get him off. Get him off.

Come on, get him off you, Gee!

Stay away from him.

Clay is blinking now. He's felt one or two punches already.

He's got to keep moving. Keep away.

There's an 84-inch reach there from Liston.

He predicted a two-round knockout and seems intent to deliver.

Ten seconds in the second round.

The challenger somehow managing to keep his poise after taking

a vicious left hook at the beginning

of the round.

Clay has now gone further than Patterson did in either of his fights.

He's done better than Floyd Patterson,

and he's hurt Liston in the process.

They said you'd never make it to three.

Nobody thought you'd still be here.

Slow down, champ.

You keep wanting this boy to be an easy out.

That's not what this is.

Good job, Cassius.

You got him, Cassius.

You hear the people?

They're cheering for him.

-You hear that, Willie? -No, no. They're here for you, Sonny.

They want you to win.

Look at me.

Get out there and give them what they want.

He's tired. Make him pay.

And Liston is cut underneath his left eye.

Those jabs from Clay have opened up a cut on Liston's face.

He's clubbing viciously, primitively, and savagely now to try and beat down

this young challenger.

It's looking as though Cassius Clay might pull off

the greatest sensation of modern times.

There's the bell for round three.

Liston's face is bleeding, and the champion heads back to his corner

in desperate trouble.

You got this boy thinking he can win this, Sonny.

The next round is everything, you hear me?

Everything.

Oh, that bear ready to fall, champ.

He's right, kid.

-Do it now, knock him out. -No. I said eight.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

He's still Sonny Liston, okay?

Don't take any chances. Just get him out of there.

Oh, he already done, Angie. I can play with him a few more rounds.

Listen to me, don't fuck around right now.

Don't fuck around. Knock him out. This is your chance.

This is the big one, kid.

-Right here. Come on. Go, go, go. -Go get him.

-Knock him out. -He's already done, Angie.

Oh, for Christ's sake.

Sensation

piling upon sensation here

in the Miami Beach Convention Hall tonight, where they're charging

$250 for a ringside seat

and the people are getting every cent worth.

Clay seems contemptuous at the punches

-from the champion. -Knock him out.

Those young legs keep him clear of trouble, forcing Liston to come to him.

That left hand drawn towards Liston's face,

the whole time forcing the older man to bring the fight

-and to draw the strength away... -Come on, baby.

From the champion.

Ten seconds left in round four.

Get him. Here we go.

Here we go.

Come on, champ!

Let's go. Yeah. Get him! Get him!

Oh.

Liston with a late hit after the bell,

as the challenger stumbles back to his corner.

-Angie, I can't see. -Whoa. Oh, whoa, whoa.

-I can't see. -Calm down.

-Let me look, let me look. -They're cheating me, Angie.

No, no, no, no. Breathe, breathe.

I can't see.

-Open your... -I can't see.

Nope. He's got something in there. We got to flush it out.

No, no, no, not that one. Get the other one.

Give me some water. Move that.

-Everything okay here? -Everything's fine.

Everything's fine. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it.

Champ, it's now or never, huh?

Now or never.

-I can't fight him blind. -No, no.

-It's okay. Everything's fine. -Everything okay?

Fine. Everything's fine. Everything's fine.

-Don't worry about him. Don't worry ab... -Hey, Angie, take my gloves off.

-No, no. -Take my gloves off.

Listen, we're not stopping the fight. Listen, do you trust me?

-You got to trust me. You trust me? Good. -Yeah.

-Yeah. -Get up. Come on. Get up.

Come on, champ.

Come on. Come on, get in there.

-Ride that bicycle. -No, I can't see.

-I can't see. -Then run.

Go.

Clay is blinking.

He seems to have something in his eye.

Oh, Clay is in trouble now.

Liston unsympathetic. He's merciless.

H-Hang in there, kid! Hang in there!

Clay not putting up much of an offense.

He can't see. He needs to do something to stop Liston's attack.

And now, he's pawing up with a left hand

against the champion's face, trying to create some distance.

Move it!

A big body shot.

And another hook to the challenger's chin. Ten seconds.

There it is!

This is destiny. How you gonna win against God?

-Hey, kid. You made it through. -Uh-huh.

How you feeling? How are your eyes? Huh?

I can't see nothing past your big old nose.

He's back.

That was great, champ.

Just turned the whole fight around right there.

Stand up, stand up, stand up.

Get that stool out of there. Don't let him know you're tired.

All right? This is it, kid.

You better give him everything you got, huh?

Give him everything you got.

-I'll put him out. -Everything you got. Let's go.

It's bear hunting season. You got a license to kill.

Clay seems to have fixed the problem with his eye,

exploding out of his corner and ready to fight.

Float like a butterfly.

-♪ Ante up ♪ -♪ Yap that fool...

Give him everything you got!

♪ Get him, get him...

-Go! -Keep going!

♪ Yap him, zap him, yap him, zap him ♪

Get him off you, champ.

♪ It's the perfect timing, you see the man shining ♪

-♪ Ante up ♪ -♪ Yap that fool ♪

-♪ Ante up ♪ -♪ Kidnap that fool ♪

♪ Get him, get him, get him, hit him, hit him, hit him ♪

♪ Yap him, zap him, yap him, zap him ♪

♪ Uh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

Round seven is about to begin, and already,

this fight has carved out a place in boxing history.

The underdog, Cassius Clay,

has shown something very few believed possible.

Liston is still on his stool.

I'm not sure what's going on.

Something's happening here.

-He's not getting up. -Still champ, Sonny.

You always gonna be champ.

Clay has won.

Something happened in Liston's corner.

Cassius Clay is the new heavyweight champion of the world!

Pandemonium here in the arena.

The police are lining the ring, trying to keep people from coming in.

This is the greatest spectacle in the last quarter century of boxing.

-I told you. -Hey.

Y'all didn't like that one too much, did you? I didn't even get hit.

Don't ever write about me like that again.

-I told you. I am the greatest! -You hear that, Gee?

Heavyweight champion of the world, Gee!

I'm a bad man.

I don't have a mark on my face. I told you. I told you.

-You told me. You told me. -Didn't I tell you?

-I told you. -You told me.

I'm so great,

I don't have a mark on my face,

and I upset Sonny Liston, and I just turned 22 years old.

I must be the greatest. I told the world.

I talk to God every day.

If God is with me, can't nobody be against me.

-Huh? He's in the ring. -Cassius. Cassius.

Let me ask you this now, now.

At the weigh-in, you said in eight.

Yeah, I did. I'm king of the world.

Oh, my God, I'm so pretty.

-I'm so pretty. I'm pretty! -You're not that pretty.

I'm a bad man!

You're the greatest, baby! You're the greatest!

I am the greatest!

I shook up the world! I shook up the world!

I shook up the world!

I mean, from this day forward,

your name will be known all over the planet.

Brother, you are holding the world's biggest megaphone.

And you made a lot of promises of what you would do if you won.

And I plan to stand by all of them.

-Don't make it sound so easy. -Oh, it is easy. Too easy.

Easy to say, but, well, maybe perhaps harder to live with.

I've been signing up for hard my whole life.

You know, I have to admit that, uh,

I've never met a young man more suited for this,

and that makes my heart happy.

We need you, champ... your people need you...

to stay the course, no matter what, even if I'm not there with you.

You stay the course.

What do you mean?

They find ways to come for you.

So you can't...

Some days...

Some days, it just seems like too much for any man.

Mm?

But it's in these moments that, uh...

I want you to listen to God first.

You make sure that his voice is louder than anything else.

Louder than anybody.

What do you mean when you're not here?

-You are the heavyweight... -Nah, he couldn't get him.

He couldn't get him.

There's no space for that.

Now not a good time?

Mr. and Mrs. Clay,

this must be a proud day.

Oh, proud don't even begin to say it.

Mm.

We sure would appreciate, you know, just a...

a moment, celebrate as a family.

Ah.

Of course.

Cassius, I'll see you over there?

-Yeah. -All right.

What?

You got that energy, Pop.

Oh, come on, son. What energy?

I'm-I'm here.

Trying to celebrate you.

Look, you got a right to-to party with whoever you want to tonight.

-After all, you earned it. -That's right.

We don't want to get in the way of you celebrating.

I just want to get one good, close-up look at you.

Oh, everything after that bell was a blur.

Oh, look at you, Gee.

Nobody in their right mind think you went six rounds

with the Sonny Liston, of all people.

I promised you I wouldn't let that man mark me up.

And you didn't let me down, baby.

You have never let me down, Gee.

No, Bird.

Never.

So proud of you.

I know you got a party to get to.

Who are you?

I'm the greatest.

-That's right. -Who are you?

-The greatest's mama. -That's right. That's right.

I'm gonna take a cab back to the hotel.

No, I got you, Mama. Whenever you're ready.

Thank you, baby.

-Love you, Bird. -Love you.

Never seen your mama so afraid.

But I never seen her so happy.

-What about you? -Me?

Oh, Gee, I always knew you had a chance.

But what you did out there tonight in that ring?

Whew.

Even I ain't know you had all that in you.

You shook up the world.

What I'm supposed to call you now?

I see the Prophet in a few days.

Hmm.

I'll find out then.

But it don't matter.

Whatever my name is...

you call me "son."

That works for me.

Whew.

What's that I hear about this party, huh?

You too old to party, man.

-♪ If you leave me ♪ -♪ Leave me ♪

-♪ I'll go crazy ♪ -♪ Oh, yes ♪

-♪ If you leave me ♪ -♪ Leave me ♪

-♪ I'll go crazy ♪ -♪ Oh, yes ♪

♪ 'Cause I love you...

Champ is here. Champ is here!

You saw how I slid with that one.

The champ is here!

Let me see you say it one more time with me.

-Say, "The champ is here." -The champ is here!

-Ladies and... -Get off the stage, man.

Acting crazy.

L-Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, the man of the hour,

too sweet to be sour.

And someone that I can call a brother that I love deeply.

The greatest of all time,

and the new heavyweight champion of the world,

Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.

Thank you, brother.

We brought it home.

You did it, champ.

Angelo, what's going on?

We should be out celebrating.

How many times did you

find me bouncing off the ropes here in the middle of the night?

Too many to count.

You always made sure I was okay.

Some of those times, you-you had more belief in my dreams than I did.

Well, it finally paid off.

Open it.

I can open it. You want me to open it?

-Y-You want... -I got it.

Okay. Yeah. Okay.

Angie.

That's our new house.

The realtor's meeting us with the keys tomorrow.

How?

I bet on the right man.

So did you.

You're so beautiful.

-I won't dance on the money. -Okay.

Yeah!

-Sound more like it. -There we go.

-Vanilla, right? -That's right.

Two vanillas.

-Two vanilla ice creams. -Mm-hmm.

-What's up, man? Thank you. -Thank you.

Hold up, champ.

Hold your spoon. Act like you taking a bite.

♪ Nobody's invincible, no plan is foolproof...

If he keeps talking about me, he'll go in round three.

And if that don't do, I'll cut it to two.

And back to what I said, if he run, I'll cut it to one and it'll be no fun.

And if he don't want to fight, he could just leave his ugly self home that night.

That's right.

Is it heavy?

Uh, the belt?

No.

The title. The words.

"Heavyweight champion."

Bring a lot of eyes with it, a lot of expectations.

Does it...

weigh on you?

No, sir.

I wouldn't have the title if I listened to anything other than

what I expect of myself.

Some will say you do not deserve the honor you are about to receive.

Because they do not know, as I do, your greater purpose in this faith.

There's a path you must walk.

It is long.

And many will seek to tempt you from it.

Even trusted friends.

You will not be led astray, will you?

No.

I follow only Allah and the words He speak through you.

Then, from this day forward,

you will be known as...

Hey, hey.

♪ Let me hold you...

Heard this the best bakery on the block.

Uh...

Give me one of those crullers.

I'll take a cream puff.

Actually, two cream puffs. That'd be nice.

♪ Let me hold you...

What's this one here?

It's called halva, from ancient Arabia.

Belinda, why don't you give him a try?

♪ I ♪

Nice. Thank you.

♪ Just want to hold you till...

I'll "halva-nother" one.

That's real good.

How much I owe you?

Nothing, champ.

We just happy you came.

-Really? -Yes, sir.

Thank you.

♪ Let me love you ♪

-You see him? -No.

♪ All night ♪

♪ Let me love you ♪

Champ? Sir, I was wondering if I could have your autograph?

Of course you can.

♪ All night ♪

♪ I just wanna love you ♪

-And that's for you. -Thank you.

Be good, all right? Stay out of trouble.

♪ Till you're right ♪

Oh, yeah, he's definitely in there.

♪ Stay a while ♪

♪ I want you, I want you...

Yeah. Oh.

Hey, hey. Cassius is still inside. I'm his body double.

Champ is here!

-Good to see y'all. -Congrats, Cassius.

-Assalamu alaikum. -Wa alaikum assalam.

Hey, Cassius.

-You need to stop following me, Marvin. -This ain't the time.

I was promised an interview post-title fight.

America needs to know, are you a Black Muslim?

Not now.

Cassius, are you a member of the Nation of Islam?

I have a new name now.

An original name. A Black name.

Cassius Clay is a slave name, and I'm no longer a slave.

-That's right. -I didn't choose it, and I don't want it.

My name is Muhammad Ali.

Muhammad means "worthy of all praise," and Ali means "most high."

♪ Oh ♪

♪ Come here, child ♪

♪ Come here, child ♪

♪ Stay a while ♪

♪ Why don't you stay a while ♪

♪ Hey, let me hold you, yeah ♪

♪ Let me hold you, yeah ♪

♪ Oh, child, let me love you ♪

♪ Let me love you ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ Let me hold you, yeah ♪

♪ Let me hold you ♪

♪ Oh, let me love you ♪

-♪ Let me love you, yeah ♪ -♪ Yeah, oh ♪