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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:01,102 --> 00:00:03,071 Help everyone explore new worlds and ideas. 2 00:00:03,171 --> 00:00:05,239 Support your PBS station. 3 00:00:07,275 --> 00:00:09,177 ACTOR: (AS ALI) This is the legend of Cassius Clay, 4 00:00:09,277 --> 00:00:12,346 the most beautiful fighter in the world today. 5 00:00:12,446 --> 00:00:14,148 There'll never be another Muhammad Ali. 6 00:00:14,248 --> 00:00:15,683 He was something fresh. 7 00:00:15,783 --> 00:00:17,718 He was something we'd never seen. 8 00:00:17,818 --> 00:00:20,421 ACTOR: (AS ALI) This I predict and I know the score, 9 00:00:20,521 --> 00:00:23,357 I'll be champ of the world in '64. 10 00:00:23,457 --> 00:00:26,460 NARRATOR: Since he first fought his way to public attention, 11 00:00:28,329 --> 00:00:30,231 he's been among the most charismatic 12 00:00:30,331 --> 00:00:33,434 and polarizing cultural figures on the world stage. 13 00:00:33,534 --> 00:00:36,437 Big mouth, loud mouth, Louisville lip. 14 00:00:36,537 --> 00:00:40,074 BOTH: Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Ahhh! 15 00:00:40,174 --> 00:00:42,310 You said, "Muhammad Ali," you said, "Voice, mouth." 16 00:00:42,410 --> 00:00:44,212 And this might shock and amaze ya, 17 00:00:44,312 --> 00:00:46,314 but I will destroy Joe Frazier. 18 00:00:46,414 --> 00:00:48,216 Ali is the people's champ. 19 00:00:48,316 --> 00:00:50,551 Ali is the revolution. 20 00:00:50,651 --> 00:00:52,753 Cassius Clay is a name no more, is that right? 21 00:00:52,853 --> 00:00:54,555 Yes, sir, it's Muhammad Ali. 22 00:00:54,655 --> 00:00:57,425 Here was this young kid from Louisville 23 00:00:57,525 --> 00:01:00,494 telling the truth about the way things were. 24 00:01:00,594 --> 00:01:03,931 He was gonna be very vocal about the problems this country had. 25 00:01:04,031 --> 00:01:07,301 NARRATOR: In a turbulent time, he fearlessly fused sports, 26 00:01:07,401 --> 00:01:09,503 politics, race and religion. 27 00:01:09,603 --> 00:01:12,906 When Ali refused induction into the United States army... 28 00:01:13,006 --> 00:01:17,378 So many people were ready to crucify him for his stance. 29 00:01:17,478 --> 00:01:19,580 NARRATOR: Stripped of his title and exiled from the ring, 30 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,483 he became a symbol of principled defiance. 31 00:01:22,583 --> 00:01:24,051 LL COOL J: Three and a half years 32 00:01:24,152 --> 00:01:26,720 out of the game because he did what he believed was right. 33 00:01:26,820 --> 00:01:29,357 NARRATOR: In an epic comeback, he beat the odds, 34 00:01:29,457 --> 00:01:33,461 his stunning victories transcending the sport itself. 35 00:01:33,561 --> 00:01:35,729 JIM BROWN: When have you ever had a fighter 36 00:01:35,829 --> 00:01:38,065 become bigger than life, 37 00:01:38,166 --> 00:01:40,100 defy the government and win 38 00:01:40,201 --> 00:01:42,736 and then come back and become champion of the world again? 39 00:01:45,739 --> 00:01:48,576 NARRATOR: This is the story of Muhammad Ali. 40 00:01:48,676 --> 00:01:50,611 ACTOR: (AS ALI) I am the greatest! 41 00:02:01,722 --> 00:02:04,592 NARRATOR: On the night of July 19th, 1996, 42 00:02:04,692 --> 00:02:08,061 the whole world watches as 54-year-old Muhammad Ali 43 00:02:08,162 --> 00:02:09,630 sets the cauldron ablaze 44 00:02:09,730 --> 00:02:12,132 at the Olympic games in Atlanta. 45 00:02:12,233 --> 00:02:13,834 The sight of the Olympic gold medalist 46 00:02:13,934 --> 00:02:16,304 and three-time heavyweight boxing champion 47 00:02:16,404 --> 00:02:19,207 defying Parkinson's disease to light the Olympic flame 48 00:02:19,307 --> 00:02:21,409 warms public affection 49 00:02:21,509 --> 00:02:23,544 for a man who, three decades earlier, 50 00:02:23,644 --> 00:02:26,647 was a racial and political lightning rod. 51 00:02:26,747 --> 00:02:29,517 BROWN: It was a great thing for the country, 52 00:02:29,617 --> 00:02:31,952 and it was a great thing for Muhammad Ali. 53 00:02:32,052 --> 00:02:34,555 But if he were not sick, 54 00:02:34,655 --> 00:02:38,091 would America have allowed him to do the same thing? 55 00:02:38,192 --> 00:02:42,196 Muhammad Ali has been beatified in some ways 56 00:02:42,296 --> 00:02:46,267 because he's no longer threatening to the establishment. 57 00:02:46,367 --> 00:02:48,336 People forgot 58 00:02:48,436 --> 00:02:50,504 that there was a time 59 00:02:50,604 --> 00:02:52,740 when Muhammad Ali was very dangerous. 60 00:02:54,642 --> 00:02:56,544 NARRATOR: He was dangerous in the ring. 61 00:02:56,644 --> 00:02:58,546 ANNOUNCER: If he goes down again, it's over! 62 00:02:58,646 --> 00:03:00,348 Hey, I'm the greatest thing that ever lived! 63 00:03:00,448 --> 00:03:01,849 I shook up the world! 64 00:03:01,949 --> 00:03:04,051 I shook up the world! 65 00:03:04,151 --> 00:03:07,555 NARRATOR: But some saw him as dangerous outside the ring. 66 00:03:07,655 --> 00:03:10,424 Out of all people, it takes a Uncle Tom negro 67 00:03:10,524 --> 00:03:13,193 to keep continually calling me by a slave name, 68 00:03:13,294 --> 00:03:15,195 which is white name, Cassius Clay. 69 00:03:15,296 --> 00:03:17,998 He was against the war when for the first time, 70 00:03:18,098 --> 00:03:20,768 we, as Americans, actually said, "No this isn't right." 71 00:03:20,868 --> 00:03:24,238 He was a champion when we were gaining black pride 72 00:03:24,338 --> 00:03:25,839 and civil rights. 73 00:03:25,939 --> 00:03:27,808 He was our moral conscience, 74 00:03:27,908 --> 00:03:30,010 he was our athletic dream. 75 00:03:30,110 --> 00:03:34,181 Muhammad Ali epitomized 76 00:03:34,282 --> 00:03:36,784 what we were all about in the '60s. 77 00:03:36,884 --> 00:03:39,186 He was on a spiritual quest. 78 00:03:39,287 --> 00:03:41,455 Breaking out, coming out of Louisville, 79 00:03:41,555 --> 00:03:43,223 going on that search for meaning, 80 00:03:43,324 --> 00:03:46,594 going to the Olympics, coming back, meeting the dark forces. 81 00:03:46,694 --> 00:03:48,462 Three and a half years of exile 82 00:03:48,562 --> 00:03:50,264 while he's fighting for his life. 83 00:03:50,364 --> 00:03:51,832 And then coming out on top. 84 00:03:53,233 --> 00:03:54,468 It's the hero's journey, man. 85 00:03:56,604 --> 00:03:58,506 ACTOR: (AS ALI) I'm going to save boxing. 86 00:03:58,606 --> 00:04:01,008 I'm good looking, clean living, 87 00:04:01,108 --> 00:04:03,176 cultured, and I am modest. 88 00:04:03,277 --> 00:04:04,912 (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) 89 00:04:16,624 --> 00:04:18,959 NARRATOR: The man who would become Muhammad Ali 90 00:04:19,059 --> 00:04:21,061 is born Cassius Marcellus Clay 91 00:04:21,161 --> 00:04:23,731 in Louisville, Kentucky in 1942, 92 00:04:23,831 --> 00:04:26,800 the era of the segregated Jim Crow South. 93 00:04:26,900 --> 00:04:29,370 You know, a black man was always supposed to be subservient. 94 00:04:29,470 --> 00:04:30,971 Always supposed to say, "Yes, sir, boss." 95 00:04:31,071 --> 00:04:33,741 And you're supposed to just, you know, play that game forever. 96 00:04:33,841 --> 00:04:36,377 When we woke up in the morning, 97 00:04:36,477 --> 00:04:39,179 the first thing that comes to your mind 98 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:41,649 is that your blackness 99 00:04:41,749 --> 00:04:44,217 is gonna be what white America is gonna look at 100 00:04:44,318 --> 00:04:45,953 and judge you by. 101 00:04:46,053 --> 00:04:47,921 THOMAS HAUSER: Blacks, if they were lucky, 102 00:04:48,021 --> 00:04:50,424 could aspire to be teachers, 103 00:04:50,524 --> 00:04:53,394 but that was the top of the social strata. 104 00:04:53,494 --> 00:04:57,931 Most often it was the black citizens of Louisville who raked manure 105 00:04:58,031 --> 00:05:01,068 into the backstretch at Churchill Downs. 106 00:05:01,168 --> 00:05:03,170 NARRATOR: Cassius and his younger brother, Rudy, 107 00:05:03,270 --> 00:05:06,507 are raised in Louisville's struggling black middle class. 108 00:05:06,607 --> 00:05:09,510 Cassius Clay didn't grow up in a ghetto. 109 00:05:09,610 --> 00:05:14,214 His family lived in a very modest but comfortable house. 110 00:05:14,314 --> 00:05:16,283 He had two parents at home. 111 00:05:16,384 --> 00:05:18,185 There was always enough to eat. 112 00:05:18,285 --> 00:05:20,421 He always had money for clothes. 113 00:05:22,956 --> 00:05:25,526 NARRATOR: Clay's father is a skilled sign painter. 114 00:05:25,626 --> 00:05:27,661 A proud and volatile man. 115 00:05:27,761 --> 00:05:30,130 MAY MAY ALI: You know, my grandfather, Cassius Clay Sr, 116 00:05:30,230 --> 00:05:32,666 you know, he's kind of my father's genes, you know? 117 00:05:32,766 --> 00:05:35,603 Very extroverted and bold and loved himself, 118 00:05:35,703 --> 00:05:37,905 so he got a lot of that from his father. 119 00:05:38,005 --> 00:05:42,510 HAUSER: Odessa Clay was a very sweet nurturing woman. 120 00:05:42,610 --> 00:05:44,077 And when you looked at Cassius, 121 00:05:44,177 --> 00:05:48,849 you saw the two parents fused into one personality. 122 00:05:50,451 --> 00:05:53,487 NARRATOR: As with many classic heroes, 123 00:05:53,587 --> 00:05:56,590 the origin of Muhammad Ali involves a twist of fate. 124 00:06:01,294 --> 00:06:02,796 In 1954, 125 00:06:02,896 --> 00:06:05,599 12-year-old Cassius Clay rides his brand new bicycle 126 00:06:05,699 --> 00:06:08,636 to a black business expo in downtown Louisville. 127 00:06:08,736 --> 00:06:11,439 Cassius spent some time walking around, 128 00:06:11,539 --> 00:06:14,374 getting free candy, seeing what was there. 129 00:06:14,475 --> 00:06:17,210 When it was time to leave, he went outside, 130 00:06:17,310 --> 00:06:22,382 and his new red and white Schwinn bicycle had been stolen. 131 00:06:22,483 --> 00:06:24,852 Somebody told him there was a policeman 132 00:06:24,952 --> 00:06:26,854 in the basement of the building 133 00:06:26,954 --> 00:06:29,189 teaching youngsters how to box. 134 00:06:29,289 --> 00:06:32,259 NARRATOR: Furious young Clay finds Officer Joe Martin 135 00:06:32,359 --> 00:06:33,794 in the Columbia Gym. 136 00:06:33,894 --> 00:06:37,064 Clay is ready to fight whoever stole his bike. 137 00:06:37,164 --> 00:06:38,432 Martin calms him down 138 00:06:38,532 --> 00:06:40,400 and suggests that if he wants to fight, 139 00:06:40,501 --> 00:06:42,470 he should first learn how. 140 00:06:44,438 --> 00:06:48,108 Martin teaches the 89-pound Clay how to box. 141 00:06:48,208 --> 00:06:51,679 And his teenage student is eager to learn. 142 00:06:51,779 --> 00:06:54,915 Within weeks, young Clay wins his first amateur bout. 143 00:06:55,015 --> 00:06:56,784 It's the start of something bigger 144 00:06:56,884 --> 00:06:59,587 than either of them can possibly imagine. 145 00:06:59,687 --> 00:07:01,622 There was another black trainer 146 00:07:01,722 --> 00:07:06,093 at a black gym named Fred Stoner who he also worked with. 147 00:07:06,193 --> 00:07:08,328 But Joe Martin was the person 148 00:07:08,428 --> 00:07:12,199 that was held up and put out front for the publicity. 149 00:07:12,299 --> 00:07:14,267 Here's the white policeman. 150 00:07:14,367 --> 00:07:16,637 He taught this young fellow how to box. 151 00:07:16,737 --> 00:07:19,072 It's a feel good story. 152 00:07:19,172 --> 00:07:21,108 NARRATOR: Ambitious, driven, Cassius Clay 153 00:07:21,208 --> 00:07:23,877 becomes a National Golden Gloves champion. 154 00:07:23,977 --> 00:07:26,514 ANNOUNCER: It's a TKO decision for Cassius Clay. 155 00:07:28,649 --> 00:07:30,684 NARRATOR: Rock and roll pioneer Lloyd Price 156 00:07:30,784 --> 00:07:32,319 often gigs in Louisville. 157 00:07:32,419 --> 00:07:33,954 But despite the fact that his song, 158 00:07:34,054 --> 00:07:35,789 Stagger Lee is topping the charts, 159 00:07:35,889 --> 00:07:38,191 he's got to find lodging in a guest house 160 00:07:38,291 --> 00:07:39,760 on the black side of town. 161 00:07:39,860 --> 00:07:42,362 LLOYD PRICE: There was a corner spot called Rivers Lounge. 162 00:07:42,462 --> 00:07:47,034 And I would go there because it wasn't far from the guesthouse. 163 00:07:47,134 --> 00:07:49,570 And this young Cassius Clay 164 00:07:49,670 --> 00:07:51,404 would always come by there. 165 00:07:51,505 --> 00:07:53,807 And him and his brother, Rudolph was his name. 166 00:07:53,907 --> 00:07:57,344 And, uh, he said that he's gonna be the champion of the world. 167 00:07:57,444 --> 00:07:59,780 He always had a big mouth, you know. 168 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:01,715 "I'm gonna be the champion of the world." 169 00:08:01,815 --> 00:08:03,283 You know, he had all this energy. 170 00:08:03,383 --> 00:08:06,319 And he was ambitious and young guys at that time, uh, 171 00:08:06,419 --> 00:08:07,888 wasn't thinking like he was thinking. 172 00:08:12,325 --> 00:08:15,929 NARRATOR: John F. Kennedy is running for President in May of 1960 173 00:08:16,029 --> 00:08:19,066 as 18-year-old Golden Gloves champ Cassius Clay 174 00:08:19,166 --> 00:08:22,435 wins the US Olympic trials in San Francisco, 175 00:08:22,536 --> 00:08:25,272 then goes on to take the light heavyweight gold medal 176 00:08:25,372 --> 00:08:26,874 at the summer games in Rome. 177 00:08:26,974 --> 00:08:31,444 1960, I'm in the Olympic Village in Rome, 178 00:08:31,545 --> 00:08:33,614 and this person is sitting on some steps, 179 00:08:33,714 --> 00:08:35,716 and he's got a gold medal around his neck, 180 00:08:35,816 --> 00:08:39,620 and he's talking about what he's going to do with his life in very loud terms. 181 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:41,388 And the thing that caught me about him, I noticed, 182 00:08:41,488 --> 00:08:44,725 all the women turned around when they got five yards away 183 00:08:44,825 --> 00:08:47,227 to take a second look. 184 00:08:47,327 --> 00:08:50,197 NARRATOR: But despite all the attention he gets in Rome, 185 00:08:50,297 --> 00:08:54,134 Clay finds that Olympic gold still won't buy him a place at the table 186 00:08:54,234 --> 00:08:55,769 in his own hometown. 187 00:08:55,869 --> 00:08:58,405 Here we were being idolized as 188 00:08:58,505 --> 00:09:00,540 competing athletes 189 00:09:00,641 --> 00:09:02,442 on one hand, 190 00:09:02,542 --> 00:09:06,914 and then on the other hand there were certain restaurants you couldn't go in. 191 00:09:07,014 --> 00:09:08,348 You know, it's not fun for people to tell you, 192 00:09:08,448 --> 00:09:09,850 "Yo, you can't eat here." 193 00:09:09,950 --> 00:09:11,952 It's irritating when people try to hold you down. 194 00:09:12,052 --> 00:09:14,822 You don't get up and start chanting, you know. (CHUCKLES) 195 00:09:14,922 --> 00:09:16,657 You know, you get up and start swinging. 196 00:09:26,299 --> 00:09:30,003 NARRATOR: Boxing in 1960 has been a notoriously corrupt sport, 197 00:09:30,103 --> 00:09:34,041 rife with mob influence and crooked managers. 198 00:09:34,141 --> 00:09:37,177 Into this cesspool step 11 prominent Louisville businessmen, 199 00:09:37,277 --> 00:09:39,279 backing their hometown Olympic hero. 200 00:09:39,379 --> 00:09:41,314 BOB ARUM: The Louisville Sponsoring Group, 201 00:09:41,414 --> 00:09:43,717 were composed of white men, 202 00:09:43,817 --> 00:09:45,886 uh, who had good intentions. 203 00:09:45,986 --> 00:09:48,521 DAVE KINDRED: They were gonna help Clay be something, 204 00:09:48,622 --> 00:09:52,392 keep him out of the clutches of evil. 205 00:09:52,492 --> 00:09:54,662 NARRATOR: With the sponsoring group in his corner, 206 00:09:54,762 --> 00:09:56,964 the former amateur Olympian begins 207 00:09:57,064 --> 00:10:01,201 his professional career on October 29th, 1960. 208 00:10:01,301 --> 00:10:05,138 Tunney Hunsaker is the first to fall victim to Clay's raw talent. 209 00:10:07,908 --> 00:10:10,043 Realizing their promising young fighter 210 00:10:10,143 --> 00:10:12,345 needs an experienced professional trainer, 211 00:10:12,445 --> 00:10:16,249 the group sends Clay to Miami to work with Angelo Dundee, 212 00:10:16,349 --> 00:10:19,352 who had trained world champion Carmen Basilio. 213 00:10:19,452 --> 00:10:22,455 BOBBY GOODMAN: Few people in the history of our game were ever 214 00:10:22,555 --> 00:10:24,892 finer cornermen than Angelo Dundee. 215 00:10:24,992 --> 00:10:29,262 Angelo used to say, "This kid does everything wrong, 216 00:10:29,362 --> 00:10:30,931 "does everything wrong. 217 00:10:31,765 --> 00:10:33,701 "But it comes out right." 218 00:10:33,801 --> 00:10:37,637 He did everything, what they would characterize as being wrong fundamentally. 219 00:10:37,738 --> 00:10:40,674 He kept his hands down, he swayed back and forth. 220 00:10:40,774 --> 00:10:44,745 He'd just pull out punches just by millimeters. 221 00:10:46,914 --> 00:10:48,281 NARRATOR: Over the next two years, 222 00:10:48,381 --> 00:10:52,052 Dundee guides the unorthodox Clay to 19 victories in a row 223 00:10:52,152 --> 00:10:54,387 against a parade of heavyweights. 224 00:10:54,487 --> 00:10:57,124 Some are a challenge for the flashy young fighter. 225 00:10:58,859 --> 00:11:00,227 Most are not. 226 00:11:02,262 --> 00:11:05,098 Heavyweights were not known to be that fast 227 00:11:05,198 --> 00:11:07,667 and that mobile and that fluid. 228 00:11:07,768 --> 00:11:09,737 And guys couldn't hit him, especially heavyweights. 229 00:11:09,837 --> 00:11:12,205 He might be big and he might be tall, 230 00:11:12,305 --> 00:11:15,075 but if he mess with me he sure will fall. 231 00:11:16,576 --> 00:11:18,111 NARRATOR: Gaining self-confidence, 232 00:11:18,211 --> 00:11:21,448 Clay starts predicting the round his opponents will fall. 233 00:11:21,548 --> 00:11:23,683 PRICE: That he's gonna knock 'em out in the fourth. He did it. 234 00:11:23,784 --> 00:11:25,886 He's gonna knock 'em out in five. He did it. 235 00:11:25,986 --> 00:11:27,755 Seven, he did it. 236 00:11:27,855 --> 00:11:29,622 You know, that self-confidence, 237 00:11:29,723 --> 00:11:31,725 it's amazing what it will do to you. 238 00:11:31,825 --> 00:11:33,660 You want to make a prediction in rhyme 239 00:11:33,761 --> 00:11:35,328 or are you gonna work on that for a while? 240 00:11:35,428 --> 00:11:38,065 Well, it'll have to be in rhyme every time. 241 00:11:38,165 --> 00:11:40,801 MAY MAY: My father had to market his fights 242 00:11:40,901 --> 00:11:43,270 and doing poetry and making rhymes and... 243 00:11:43,370 --> 00:11:45,238 I'll never forget. I said, "Dad, where did you get that from?" 244 00:11:45,338 --> 00:11:46,373 And he says, you know... 245 00:11:46,473 --> 00:11:49,042 He goes, "There was a wrestler, Gorgeous George." 246 00:11:49,142 --> 00:11:50,811 BELINDA ALI: Gorgeous George. 247 00:11:50,911 --> 00:11:54,247 He would say, "He was pretty and he would comb his blond hair 248 00:11:54,347 --> 00:11:56,516 "and have two chicks on his arm..." 249 00:11:56,616 --> 00:11:58,418 "And people would just hate him." 250 00:12:01,621 --> 00:12:05,358 "They would just fill the whole auditorium just to see this guy get hit." 251 00:12:07,795 --> 00:12:09,963 NARRATOR: Inspired by Gorgeous George, 252 00:12:10,063 --> 00:12:13,333 Clay creates his own supremely confident persona. 253 00:12:13,433 --> 00:12:17,537 BOTH: Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! Ahhh! 254 00:12:17,637 --> 00:12:20,774 Rumble, young man, rumble! Ahhh! 255 00:12:20,874 --> 00:12:23,676 LL COOL J: Ali's the archetype for a rapper. 256 00:12:23,777 --> 00:12:25,645 Cockiness, the brashness, 257 00:12:25,745 --> 00:12:28,715 the offensiveness, the abrasiveness. 258 00:12:28,816 --> 00:12:30,818 Hip-hop is about revolution. 259 00:12:30,918 --> 00:12:32,719 Hip-hop is a voice for the people. 260 00:12:32,820 --> 00:12:34,354 Ali is the people's champ. 261 00:12:34,454 --> 00:12:36,523 Ali is the revolution. 262 00:12:36,623 --> 00:12:40,260 The real dive will come on November, the 16th 263 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:42,796 and in your heart you know I'm right. 264 00:12:42,896 --> 00:12:44,464 He's new to this game, 265 00:12:44,564 --> 00:12:46,433 he's got all these microphones and cameras in his face. 266 00:12:46,533 --> 00:12:49,002 He knows that there's a portion of the country 267 00:12:49,102 --> 00:12:51,071 that despises him and hates him. 268 00:12:51,171 --> 00:12:52,505 Ali was completely hip-hop. 269 00:12:54,307 --> 00:12:57,811 NARRATOR: By 1963, Clay's audacious antics 270 00:12:57,911 --> 00:13:02,015 make him unpopular with many sportswriters and boxing fans. 271 00:13:02,115 --> 00:13:05,218 There wasn't much that the older generation liked 272 00:13:06,019 --> 00:13:07,454 about Cassius Clay. 273 00:13:07,554 --> 00:13:09,556 The way he dissed them, 274 00:13:09,656 --> 00:13:11,658 laughed at their questions. 275 00:13:11,758 --> 00:13:14,127 A hint to the wise is sufficient. 276 00:13:14,227 --> 00:13:16,129 I remember seeing a Joe Lewis fight. 277 00:13:16,229 --> 00:13:18,498 Um, they asked him his reaction, he said, "I glad I win." 278 00:13:18,598 --> 00:13:21,835 Suddenly there was this guy who was not only articulate, 279 00:13:21,935 --> 00:13:23,470 but almost poetic 280 00:13:23,570 --> 00:13:25,572 and with a great deal of braggadocio to boot. 281 00:13:25,672 --> 00:13:28,008 ACTOR: (AS ALI) I am the man this poem is about, 282 00:13:28,108 --> 00:13:30,577 the next champ of the world, there isn't a doubt. 283 00:13:30,677 --> 00:13:31,778 (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) 284 00:13:31,879 --> 00:13:34,414 If he told funny poems, it would be one thing, 285 00:13:34,514 --> 00:13:36,850 but he tells funny poems, he tells you how great he is 286 00:13:36,950 --> 00:13:38,986 to have written them and how great a fighter he is. 287 00:13:39,086 --> 00:13:40,787 And he's the greatest of all time. 288 00:13:40,888 --> 00:13:42,622 That rubbed some people the wrong way. 289 00:13:42,722 --> 00:13:44,524 He was the best at everything, 290 00:13:44,624 --> 00:13:47,227 he was the most beautiful and he hadn't really proven himself yet. 291 00:13:47,327 --> 00:13:51,164 So all the people are looking at him like, "Who does he think he is?" 292 00:13:51,264 --> 00:13:54,067 NARRATOR: But the example of a proud, confident black man 293 00:13:54,167 --> 00:13:56,769 appeals to a young generation who admire the fact 294 00:13:56,870 --> 00:13:59,372 that Clay isn't afraid to represent. 295 00:14:01,074 --> 00:14:04,211 To African Americans, he was a source of pride 296 00:14:04,311 --> 00:14:06,813 in that he took great delight in who he was 297 00:14:06,914 --> 00:14:09,049 and in broadcasting it to everyone. 298 00:14:09,149 --> 00:14:12,252 Just to say that you love yourself and have self-pride, 299 00:14:12,352 --> 00:14:14,087 showed people that they can do the same. 300 00:14:14,187 --> 00:14:17,157 He made me feel proud to be a black man. 301 00:14:17,257 --> 00:14:20,060 He just represented a symbol of strength to me. 302 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:22,495 ACTOR: (AS ALI) I am going to make boxing popular again, 303 00:14:22,595 --> 00:14:25,498 me with my beautiful, colorful personality. 304 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:29,669 NARRATOR: 21-year-old Clay is eager to prove 305 00:14:29,769 --> 00:14:31,404 he's more than a pretty face. 306 00:14:31,504 --> 00:14:33,373 Now a top heavyweight contender, 307 00:14:33,473 --> 00:14:35,875 he campaigns to fight the reigning champ, 308 00:14:35,976 --> 00:14:37,210 Sonny Liston. 309 00:14:37,310 --> 00:14:40,813 He went after Sonny with a vengeance. 310 00:14:40,914 --> 00:14:42,682 I want that bear. 311 00:14:42,782 --> 00:14:43,951 -And what's going to happen to him? -I want that bear. 312 00:14:44,051 --> 00:14:44,985 REPORTER: What's gonna happen to him? 313 00:14:45,085 --> 00:14:46,719 He might be great, but he'll fall in eight. 314 00:14:46,819 --> 00:14:50,757 He's driving a bus onto Sonny's lawn 315 00:14:50,857 --> 00:14:52,892 and he's yelling, "I want the bear! 316 00:14:52,993 --> 00:14:55,262 "Get the bear out here. Come on, bear." 317 00:14:55,362 --> 00:14:57,464 It was starting to get under Sonny's skin. 318 00:14:57,564 --> 00:14:59,332 That big, ugly bear. I'm tired of hearing this. 319 00:14:59,432 --> 00:15:01,234 And everywhere I go they're talking about Liston. 320 00:15:01,334 --> 00:15:03,436 I can't wait for him and he's gonna fall in eight. 321 00:15:03,536 --> 00:15:05,505 HAUSER: He really tormented Liston. 322 00:15:05,605 --> 00:15:08,441 And finally Liston said, "Yeah, I'll fight him. 323 00:15:08,541 --> 00:15:10,577 "It'll be easy money." 324 00:15:10,677 --> 00:15:15,515 Everybody believed that Liston would annihilate this guy 325 00:15:15,615 --> 00:15:18,285 because he was all talk. 326 00:15:18,385 --> 00:15:22,189 If Sonny Liston whoops me, I'll kiss his feet in the rain! 327 00:15:22,289 --> 00:15:24,257 NARRATOR: With a record of 36-1, 328 00:15:24,357 --> 00:15:26,526 Liston is a fearsome champion, 329 00:15:26,626 --> 00:15:29,862 a former mob enforcer with ties to organized crime. 330 00:15:29,963 --> 00:15:31,298 BRYANT GUMBEL: He was frightening. 331 00:15:31,398 --> 00:15:35,602 Sonny was a guy who was meant to hurt people. 332 00:15:35,702 --> 00:15:38,071 Sonny Liston was Godzilla. 333 00:15:38,171 --> 00:15:42,442 Sonny Liston was going to reign for 1000 years. 334 00:15:44,044 --> 00:15:46,413 NARRATOR: Adding to the foreboding sense of drama 335 00:15:46,513 --> 00:15:50,517 was the presence of members of the controversial Nation of Islam. 336 00:15:50,617 --> 00:15:54,287 Nation of Islam was an isolationist group. 337 00:15:54,387 --> 00:15:58,558 Uh, Elijah Mohammad wanted his own nation 338 00:15:58,658 --> 00:16:01,028 inside the United States. 339 00:16:01,128 --> 00:16:03,030 You know, so it was... It was scary. 340 00:16:03,130 --> 00:16:04,564 NARRATOR: For the past few years, 341 00:16:04,664 --> 00:16:07,600 Clay has been studying the tenants of the Nation of Islam, 342 00:16:07,700 --> 00:16:10,270 as espoused by its leader, Elijah Muhammad, 343 00:16:10,370 --> 00:16:14,807 who preaches that white people are devils created by an evil scientist. 344 00:16:14,907 --> 00:16:19,146 But Clay is drawn to the basic message of black empowerment. 345 00:16:19,246 --> 00:16:23,616 It made him understand and promote, "What is your history? 346 00:16:23,716 --> 00:16:26,019 "What is your African history? Who are you? 347 00:16:26,119 --> 00:16:28,455 "What is your name? Why do you have that name?" 348 00:16:28,555 --> 00:16:33,593 I'd never heard anything like I heard going to the meetings with Ali. 349 00:16:33,693 --> 00:16:35,562 About, you are somebody. 350 00:16:35,662 --> 00:16:39,299 A black man got as much right to live as any other man. 351 00:16:39,399 --> 00:16:41,568 For the first time in my life, 352 00:16:41,668 --> 00:16:46,339 as a grown man who had been a star, had sold millions of records, 353 00:16:46,439 --> 00:16:49,376 you start to feel like you are somebody. 354 00:16:49,476 --> 00:16:52,745 And I can understand how he got hooked. 355 00:16:52,845 --> 00:16:56,049 NARRATOR: Clay is inspired by the Nation's assertion of black pride, 356 00:16:56,149 --> 00:17:00,787 but the presence in his camp of the Nation of Islam's controversial Malcolm X 357 00:17:00,887 --> 00:17:02,589 threatens the Liston fight. 358 00:17:02,689 --> 00:17:05,892 Malcolm X, I want to talk with you briefly 359 00:17:05,992 --> 00:17:07,294 about your affiliation with Cassius. 360 00:17:07,394 --> 00:17:08,961 How long have you known him? 361 00:17:09,062 --> 00:17:10,330 About three years. 362 00:17:10,430 --> 00:17:11,898 NARRATOR: Just months before, 363 00:17:11,998 --> 00:17:13,566 Malcolm X caused an uproar 364 00:17:13,666 --> 00:17:16,303 by suggesting that President Kennedy's assassination 365 00:17:16,403 --> 00:17:19,772 was a case of quote, "The chickens coming home to roost." 366 00:17:19,872 --> 00:17:22,375 REPORTER: You did not say that you were glad the President was killed? 367 00:17:22,475 --> 00:17:24,277 No, that's what the press said. 368 00:17:24,377 --> 00:17:26,813 NARRATOR: The promoter fears that negative publicity 369 00:17:26,913 --> 00:17:28,181 will kill ticket sales. 370 00:17:28,281 --> 00:17:30,950 So Clay's camp gets Malcolm to leave Miami 371 00:17:31,050 --> 00:17:32,952 until the day of the fight. 372 00:17:33,052 --> 00:17:35,888 February 25th, 1964. 373 00:17:35,988 --> 00:17:38,225 Boxing experts and fans agree that 374 00:17:38,325 --> 00:17:41,161 Liston will clobber the Louisville Lip. 375 00:17:41,261 --> 00:17:44,164 They thought, "Well, even if it's gonna be fast, 376 00:17:44,264 --> 00:17:47,334 "it's gonna be really ugly and bloody, 377 00:17:47,434 --> 00:17:50,103 "just what we fight fans want." 378 00:17:50,203 --> 00:17:52,539 NARRATOR: It was fast and it was bloody, 379 00:17:52,639 --> 00:17:55,408 but it was not what most fight fans expected. 380 00:17:55,508 --> 00:17:58,911 ANNOUNCER: The challenger from Louisville, Kentucky, 381 00:17:59,011 --> 00:18:01,814 Cassius Clay! 382 00:18:01,914 --> 00:18:04,351 ROBERT LIPSYTE: When the two men entered the ring, 383 00:18:04,451 --> 00:18:09,222 we suddenly realized that David was bigger than Goliath. 384 00:18:09,322 --> 00:18:11,158 ANNOUNCER: Another jarring right hand attack. 385 00:18:11,258 --> 00:18:12,259 There goes another one! 386 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:14,994 Sonny wobbles! Sonny wobbles! 387 00:18:15,094 --> 00:18:16,529 Cassius has him hurt. 388 00:18:16,629 --> 00:18:18,598 NARRATOR: Clay dominates Liston from the bell, 389 00:18:18,698 --> 00:18:20,533 dancing around the slower champion, 390 00:18:20,633 --> 00:18:23,035 and opening a cut under his left eye. 391 00:18:23,136 --> 00:18:25,238 After seven punishing rounds, 392 00:18:25,338 --> 00:18:27,207 Liston claims an injured shoulder 393 00:18:27,307 --> 00:18:29,376 and won't come out for round eight, 394 00:18:29,476 --> 00:18:32,645 making Cassius Clay the new heavyweight champ. 395 00:18:33,980 --> 00:18:35,282 I don't have a mark on my face, 396 00:18:35,382 --> 00:18:37,049 and I upset Sonny Liston, 397 00:18:37,150 --> 00:18:38,918 and I just turned 22 years old. 398 00:18:39,018 --> 00:18:40,620 I must be the greatest. 399 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:42,189 I told the world. 400 00:18:42,289 --> 00:18:44,791 There were a number of people who immediately said, 401 00:18:44,891 --> 00:18:46,593 "Oh, the fix was in." 402 00:18:46,693 --> 00:18:48,928 HAUSER: Sonny Liston quit against Cassius Clay. 403 00:18:49,028 --> 00:18:50,830 He was just getting beaten up. 404 00:18:50,930 --> 00:18:52,199 He didn't like it. 405 00:18:52,299 --> 00:18:54,901 He was a bully and he couldn't take it. 406 00:18:55,001 --> 00:18:57,170 NARRATOR: After his stunning upset of Liston, 407 00:18:57,270 --> 00:19:01,508 Clay holds a press conference that would only amplify the shock factor. 408 00:19:01,608 --> 00:19:06,813 Somebody said, "Are you a card-carrying member of the Black Muslims?" 409 00:19:06,913 --> 00:19:09,482 And he blew up. 410 00:19:09,582 --> 00:19:12,885 NARRATOR: Clay confirms that he's a member of the Nation of Islam. 411 00:19:12,985 --> 00:19:18,458 And he said, "I don't have to be what you want me to be. 412 00:19:18,558 --> 00:19:21,994 "I'm free to be who I want." 413 00:19:22,094 --> 00:19:28,501 This is about as revolutionary a statement as I've ever heard in sports. 414 00:19:28,601 --> 00:19:31,037 NARRATOR: Now the heavyweight boxing champion, Cassius Clay, 415 00:19:31,137 --> 00:19:33,273 is free to be himself. 416 00:19:33,373 --> 00:19:37,410 No one could get their mind around the idea 417 00:19:37,510 --> 00:19:40,112 that this great kid from Louisville 418 00:19:40,213 --> 00:19:42,849 raised by a Baptist mother 419 00:19:42,949 --> 00:19:44,517 was suddenly announcing 420 00:19:44,617 --> 00:19:46,886 that he was a member of the Nation of Islam. 421 00:19:46,986 --> 00:19:48,355 NARRATOR: A few weeks later, 422 00:19:48,455 --> 00:19:50,257 public opinion of the new heavyweight champ 423 00:19:50,357 --> 00:19:53,226 goes from bad to worse. 424 00:19:53,326 --> 00:19:55,295 Cassius Clay is a name no more, is that right? 425 00:19:55,395 --> 00:19:57,196 Yes, sir, it's Muhammad Ali. 426 00:19:57,297 --> 00:19:59,332 Muhammad means "worthy of all praises" 427 00:19:59,432 --> 00:20:02,869 and Ali means "most high" in a Asian-African language. 428 00:20:02,969 --> 00:20:05,171 LIPSYTE: This was the toughest guy on the planet. 429 00:20:05,272 --> 00:20:09,676 He turns his back on Christianity. 430 00:20:09,776 --> 00:20:13,780 He turns his back on his family name. 431 00:20:14,514 --> 00:20:17,350 And it began the split 432 00:20:17,450 --> 00:20:20,820 between people who loved him and people who hated him. 433 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:22,088 My name is Muhammad, 434 00:20:22,188 --> 00:20:23,523 you all keep calling me Cassius. 435 00:20:23,623 --> 00:20:25,425 I'm tired of telling you. You know, you're intelligent. 436 00:20:25,525 --> 00:20:27,093 My name is Muhammad Ali. 437 00:20:27,193 --> 00:20:28,595 Not Cassius. 438 00:20:28,695 --> 00:20:30,263 Is there anybody special who gave you the name? 439 00:20:30,363 --> 00:20:33,065 Yes, sir, my leading teacher, the most honorable, Elijah Muhammad. 440 00:20:33,165 --> 00:20:36,336 NARRATOR: Elijah Muhammad's influence is growing. 441 00:20:36,436 --> 00:20:38,538 Not only does he give Ali his new name, 442 00:20:38,638 --> 00:20:41,374 he introduces him to Sonji Roi, 443 00:20:41,474 --> 00:20:44,644 who becomes Ali's first wife in August of '64. 444 00:20:44,744 --> 00:20:46,513 IZENBERG: Muhammad Ali had four wives. 445 00:20:47,246 --> 00:20:48,881 Sonji, 446 00:20:48,981 --> 00:20:51,284 Khalilah, Veronica 447 00:20:51,384 --> 00:20:53,119 and now Lonnie. 448 00:20:53,219 --> 00:20:57,490 I found the first wife, in a strange way, maybe the most interesting. 449 00:20:57,590 --> 00:21:00,192 She was very firmly in love with him. 450 00:21:00,293 --> 00:21:02,329 Their honeymoon is short-lived. 451 00:21:02,429 --> 00:21:04,531 HAUSER: We no longer had Cassius Clay. 452 00:21:04,631 --> 00:21:06,666 We now had Muhammad Ali 453 00:21:06,766 --> 00:21:10,069 who was a member of the Nation of Islam, 454 00:21:10,169 --> 00:21:12,171 which made him very unpopular. 455 00:21:12,271 --> 00:21:15,842 It was getting very hard to find a place where he could fight. 456 00:21:15,942 --> 00:21:20,547 Originally the Liston rematch was set for Boston, 457 00:21:20,647 --> 00:21:23,082 then Muhammad suffered a hernia. 458 00:21:23,182 --> 00:21:25,452 The fight was postponed. 459 00:21:25,552 --> 00:21:27,954 Boston washed its hands of it, 460 00:21:28,054 --> 00:21:30,823 and it finally wound up in Lewiston, Maine, 461 00:21:30,923 --> 00:21:33,593 which is one of the few places that would take it. 462 00:21:33,693 --> 00:21:35,595 NARRATOR: Then, two months before the rematch, 463 00:21:35,695 --> 00:21:40,833 Malcolm X, who had broken with Elijah Muhammad to embrace orthodox Islam 464 00:21:40,933 --> 00:21:43,803 is gunned down by members of the Nation of Islam 465 00:21:43,903 --> 00:21:46,406 on February 21st, 1965. 466 00:21:52,579 --> 00:21:55,314 HAUSER: Muhammad Ali had broken from Malcolm 467 00:21:55,415 --> 00:21:58,618 and sided with Elijah Muhammad, 468 00:21:58,718 --> 00:22:02,655 so there was concern that Malcolm's followers 469 00:22:02,755 --> 00:22:05,525 might exact retribution against Ali. 470 00:22:05,625 --> 00:22:07,460 The rumor had been spread 471 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:10,329 that there was a carload of gunmen 472 00:22:10,430 --> 00:22:12,432 coming up from New York 473 00:22:12,532 --> 00:22:16,403 to kill Muhammad Ali in the ring. 474 00:22:17,904 --> 00:22:20,006 HAUSER: Ali-Liston Two was a mess. 475 00:22:20,106 --> 00:22:23,910 It was a mess outside the ring and it was a mess once the fight started. 476 00:22:27,547 --> 00:22:29,148 NARRATOR: Midway through round one, 477 00:22:29,248 --> 00:22:30,883 Ali hits Liston with a blow 478 00:22:30,983 --> 00:22:34,120 that would become infamous as the "Phantom Punch." 479 00:22:37,056 --> 00:22:39,759 ANNOUNCER: Did you see the punch? Did you see it? 480 00:22:39,859 --> 00:22:41,561 Was it the punch heard around the world? 481 00:22:41,661 --> 00:22:44,096 It wasn't even a punch seen around the world. 482 00:22:44,196 --> 00:22:47,967 HAUSER: The punch was hard enough to knock Liston down, 483 00:22:48,067 --> 00:22:51,203 but he thought Liston could've gotten up. 484 00:22:51,303 --> 00:22:55,307 IZENBERG: It took about eight seconds after nine and 10 485 00:22:55,408 --> 00:22:57,810 that the crowd began to chant, "Fix! Fix! Fix!" 486 00:22:59,879 --> 00:23:02,915 NARRATOR: Ali's second disputed win over Liston 487 00:23:03,015 --> 00:23:05,485 does little to win over his boxing critics. 488 00:23:05,585 --> 00:23:08,087 He has other critics as well. 489 00:23:08,187 --> 00:23:10,790 BROWN: A certain portion of black America loved him. 490 00:23:10,890 --> 00:23:13,626 Another portion of black America did not love him. 491 00:23:13,726 --> 00:23:16,395 The black community was divided, 492 00:23:16,496 --> 00:23:19,799 those who thought integration was a great thing 493 00:23:19,899 --> 00:23:23,603 and those who did not think of integration in that way, 494 00:23:23,703 --> 00:23:25,872 but thought of equal rights 495 00:23:25,972 --> 00:23:28,675 and our freedom, equality and justice. 496 00:23:28,775 --> 00:23:32,044 I'm not out there marching and going places I'm not wanted. 497 00:23:32,144 --> 00:23:35,081 Those of us who were young, 498 00:23:35,181 --> 00:23:37,584 who understood our manhood 499 00:23:37,684 --> 00:23:39,418 and who took pride in it, 500 00:23:39,519 --> 00:23:43,089 we were not asking to be a part of white America, 501 00:23:43,189 --> 00:23:46,493 but demanding our rights just like any other citizen. 502 00:23:52,398 --> 00:23:55,434 NARRATOR: Ali's support of the Nation of Islam's separatist policy 503 00:23:55,535 --> 00:23:58,270 alienates many in the Civil Rights Movement, 504 00:23:58,370 --> 00:24:00,707 including Floyd Patterson, 505 00:24:00,807 --> 00:24:03,476 who turns his November '65 bout with Ali 506 00:24:03,576 --> 00:24:06,445 into a social, political and religious battle. 507 00:24:06,546 --> 00:24:08,748 LIPSYTE: He said that a Black Muslim 508 00:24:08,848 --> 00:24:11,751 has no place being heavyweight champion in America. 509 00:24:11,851 --> 00:24:15,021 And that he, as a Catholic, 510 00:24:15,121 --> 00:24:19,626 was going to bring the title back to this country. 511 00:24:19,726 --> 00:24:21,227 BROWN: Floyd was a nice man, 512 00:24:21,327 --> 00:24:25,798 but his approach was what we call an Uncle Tom approach, 513 00:24:25,898 --> 00:24:29,201 doing all the things that white America wanted you to do. 514 00:24:29,301 --> 00:24:32,371 You ain't nothin', but an Uncle Tom for white people. 515 00:24:32,471 --> 00:24:34,306 What's my name Uncle Tom negro? 516 00:24:34,406 --> 00:24:37,443 I'll jump on you now. What's my name? 517 00:24:37,544 --> 00:24:40,346 When Muhammad Ali got him in the ring, 518 00:24:40,446 --> 00:24:44,016 he became pretty cruel in his beating of Floyd. 519 00:24:46,185 --> 00:24:49,789 He was really giving him a lesson, talking to him. 520 00:24:49,889 --> 00:24:51,524 Hitting him and talking to him. 521 00:24:53,593 --> 00:24:55,828 HAUSER: Ali would disable Patterson, 522 00:24:55,928 --> 00:24:59,198 then step back, admire his work, 523 00:24:59,298 --> 00:25:01,968 and then beat on him some more. 524 00:25:02,068 --> 00:25:04,370 ANNOUNCER: I believe they're gonna stop it. 525 00:25:04,470 --> 00:25:07,206 NARRATOR: Ali beats Patterson by technical knockout. 526 00:25:07,306 --> 00:25:10,476 Two months later, he sues his wife Sonji for divorce. 527 00:25:10,577 --> 00:25:13,312 She'd lost favor with her husband's increasingly influential 528 00:25:13,412 --> 00:25:15,748 Muslim inner circle. 529 00:25:15,848 --> 00:25:17,717 IZENBERG: They said it was 'cause she wore makeup. 530 00:25:17,817 --> 00:25:20,352 She wore daring dresses. 531 00:25:20,452 --> 00:25:23,322 They didn't want her 'cause they had already picked out Khalilah, 532 00:25:23,422 --> 00:25:26,993 who was working in a Nation of Islam restaurant. 533 00:25:27,093 --> 00:25:29,128 NARRATOR: His brief marriage now over, 534 00:25:29,228 --> 00:25:32,699 so is his six year contract with the Louisville Sponsoring Group. 535 00:25:32,799 --> 00:25:35,735 Herbert Muhammad becomes Ali's manager. 536 00:25:35,835 --> 00:25:39,371 KINDRED: Herbert Muhammad was the son of Elijah Muhammad 537 00:25:39,471 --> 00:25:41,507 who Muhammad Ali 538 00:25:41,608 --> 00:25:44,811 counted as his spiritual father. 539 00:25:44,911 --> 00:25:47,546 Uh, Herbert was an extension of that. 540 00:25:47,647 --> 00:25:50,549 NARRATOR: Herbert Muhammad joins with pro football superstar 541 00:25:50,650 --> 00:25:52,685 Jim Brown and lawyer Bob Arum 542 00:25:52,785 --> 00:25:56,055 to form their own boxing promotion company, Main Bout. 543 00:25:56,155 --> 00:25:58,124 What we said was 544 00:25:58,224 --> 00:26:01,093 the heavyweight champion of the world is boxing 545 00:26:01,193 --> 00:26:04,063 and we should control basically boxing. 546 00:26:04,163 --> 00:26:07,767 NARRATOR: But Main Bout can't control the US draft board. 547 00:26:07,867 --> 00:26:10,369 Ali was rejected for service in '64 548 00:26:10,469 --> 00:26:12,171 when he failed the written test. 549 00:26:12,271 --> 00:26:16,042 But the Vietnam war is escalating in February of '66 550 00:26:16,142 --> 00:26:18,377 and the army has lowered its standards. 551 00:26:18,477 --> 00:26:21,547 Weeks before his bout with Ernie Terrell in Chicago, 552 00:26:21,648 --> 00:26:25,017 Ali is notified that Uncle Sam wants him. 553 00:26:25,117 --> 00:26:28,254 The fight was doing extraordinarily well when 554 00:26:28,354 --> 00:26:31,624 the US government reclassified Muhammad Ali 555 00:26:31,724 --> 00:26:34,360 from 1Y and made him 1A. 556 00:26:34,460 --> 00:26:37,063 And a television reporter 557 00:26:37,163 --> 00:26:40,900 went to Ali who was training in Miami 558 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:42,735 before anybody could reach him. 559 00:26:42,835 --> 00:26:45,004 I just don't understand yet how I can be 560 00:26:45,104 --> 00:26:46,639 reclassified as 1A 561 00:26:46,739 --> 00:26:48,474 without testing me in no way, 562 00:26:48,574 --> 00:26:49,909 just calling me like this 563 00:26:50,009 --> 00:26:51,543 and I just don't understand it. 564 00:26:51,644 --> 00:26:53,545 In other words, you think they called you 565 00:26:53,646 --> 00:26:55,014 only because you're the heavyweight champion? 566 00:26:55,114 --> 00:26:57,016 And a Muslim, too. 567 00:26:57,116 --> 00:27:00,953 And that's when Ali said, "I got nothing against the Viet Cong, 568 00:27:01,053 --> 00:27:03,622 "they never called me the N-word." 569 00:27:04,523 --> 00:27:05,692 Everything hit the fan. 570 00:27:07,159 --> 00:27:09,495 NARRATOR: Ali declares that if he's drafted, 571 00:27:09,595 --> 00:27:11,297 he won't fight in Vietnam. 572 00:27:11,397 --> 00:27:15,101 KINDRED: Ali put it in racial and religious terms 573 00:27:15,201 --> 00:27:17,870 that made him a hero to millions of people 574 00:27:17,970 --> 00:27:19,571 who thought that it was a bad war. 575 00:27:19,672 --> 00:27:21,440 When he basically said, 576 00:27:21,540 --> 00:27:23,542 "I ain't goin." 577 00:27:23,642 --> 00:27:26,212 Um, a lot of us were kind of like, "Yeah baby, I ain't going either. 578 00:27:26,312 --> 00:27:28,247 "I'm just trying to figure out another way of doing it, 579 00:27:28,347 --> 00:27:30,316 "so that I don't have to go to jail in the process." 580 00:27:41,427 --> 00:27:47,533 MAN: You're not apologizing for the unpatriotic statements that you made? 581 00:27:47,633 --> 00:27:50,737 That'll be taken up with the government. 582 00:27:50,837 --> 00:27:52,404 NARRATOR: Ali's unpopular stand 583 00:27:52,504 --> 00:27:56,342 causes Chicago politicians to scuttle the Terrell fight, 584 00:27:56,442 --> 00:28:00,346 leaving his management looking for another fight in a new venue. 585 00:28:00,446 --> 00:28:02,715 We wanted to fight in, uh... 586 00:28:02,815 --> 00:28:06,685 Pittsburgh and they ruled it out there. And then they tried Maine, 587 00:28:06,786 --> 00:28:10,056 but they didn't want us in Maine. 588 00:28:10,156 --> 00:28:12,825 NARRATOR: The growing controversy over his anti-draft stand 589 00:28:12,925 --> 00:28:15,194 makes Ali toxic in the US, 590 00:28:15,294 --> 00:28:18,697 forcing him to win his next four fights in Canada and Europe 591 00:28:18,798 --> 00:28:20,800 where he's a bigger draw than ever. 592 00:28:20,900 --> 00:28:24,236 A point not lost on one Texas millionaire. 593 00:28:24,336 --> 00:28:29,175 I got a call from this real character, Judge Roy Hofheinz, 594 00:28:29,275 --> 00:28:32,078 who owned the Astrodome in Houston. 595 00:28:32,178 --> 00:28:34,814 And he said, "You bring that boy down here. 596 00:28:34,914 --> 00:28:38,217 "Nobody is gonna tell him he can't fight here." 597 00:28:38,317 --> 00:28:40,086 NARRATOR: Ali knocks out Cleveland Williams 598 00:28:40,186 --> 00:28:42,321 before a record-setting indoor crowd. 599 00:28:43,923 --> 00:28:46,025 Smelling another box office bonanza, 600 00:28:46,125 --> 00:28:49,929 New York hosts Ali's next victory over Ernie Terrell. 601 00:28:50,029 --> 00:28:52,832 Ali is now 28-0 in the ring 602 00:28:52,932 --> 00:28:54,834 and still 1A in the draft. 603 00:28:54,934 --> 00:28:56,668 In April of '67, 604 00:28:56,769 --> 00:28:58,905 he finally gets his draft notice 605 00:28:59,005 --> 00:29:01,340 and reports to the induction center in Houston 606 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:05,611 to begin one of the longest, toughest fights of his life. 607 00:29:05,711 --> 00:29:08,080 JOURNALIST: Former world heavyweight champion Cassius Clay 608 00:29:08,180 --> 00:29:10,682 refused to take the oath of induction into the army. 609 00:29:10,783 --> 00:29:12,084 The Black Muslim fighter, 610 00:29:12,184 --> 00:29:14,353 who's also known as Muhammad Ali, 611 00:29:14,453 --> 00:29:17,556 was immediately stripped of his title by the World Boxing Association. 612 00:29:17,656 --> 00:29:21,693 When a guy says he's not going to fight for his country, 613 00:29:21,794 --> 00:29:25,131 that irritates a whole lot of people. 614 00:29:25,231 --> 00:29:30,569 He moved from the sports pages to the front pages. 615 00:29:30,669 --> 00:29:35,875 NARRATOR: Within days, Ali is stripped of his license to box in all 50 states. 616 00:29:40,246 --> 00:29:43,049 JOURNALIST: Nine top negro athletes meet with Cassius Clay 617 00:29:43,149 --> 00:29:45,551 to discuss his anti-draft stand. 618 00:29:45,651 --> 00:29:47,253 Jim Brown and Bill Russell 619 00:29:47,353 --> 00:29:50,456 organized a summit meeting in Cleveland. 620 00:29:50,556 --> 00:29:53,092 JOURNALIST: Clay's induction refusal cost him his title 621 00:29:53,192 --> 00:29:56,028 and he faces a possible five-year prison sentence. 622 00:29:56,128 --> 00:29:58,630 BROWN: The army was willing to make a deal. 623 00:29:58,730 --> 00:30:02,001 They were willing to guarantee that he would go on Special Services 624 00:30:02,101 --> 00:30:03,836 and he would be able to box. 625 00:30:03,936 --> 00:30:05,671 Behind the scenes, 626 00:30:05,771 --> 00:30:08,040 Herbert Muhammad, as a businessman, 627 00:30:08,140 --> 00:30:11,410 looked upon that as a possible option. 628 00:30:11,510 --> 00:30:16,548 The meeting started with them talking to Ali about accepting the deal. 629 00:30:16,648 --> 00:30:20,987 You wouldn't have to worry about being a soldier as such. 630 00:30:21,087 --> 00:30:22,621 You can do public relations. 631 00:30:22,721 --> 00:30:25,591 But Ali's attitude was, "Nope. 632 00:30:25,691 --> 00:30:27,393 "Mmm-mmm. Don't wanna deal." 633 00:30:29,528 --> 00:30:31,097 NARRATOR: Two weeks later, 634 00:30:31,197 --> 00:30:33,933 Ali is convicted of draft evasion in federal court. 635 00:30:34,033 --> 00:30:35,801 Sentenced to five years in prison 636 00:30:35,902 --> 00:30:38,104 and banned from boxing for three years, 637 00:30:38,204 --> 00:30:40,539 he remains free while his case is appealed. 638 00:30:40,639 --> 00:30:43,309 Whatever suffering or punishment I may have to take, 639 00:30:43,409 --> 00:30:45,311 it'll all be because of my religion. 640 00:30:45,411 --> 00:30:47,914 He was unafraid of the political repercussions, 641 00:30:48,014 --> 00:30:50,917 unafraid of any cultural repercussions, 642 00:30:51,017 --> 00:30:52,919 unafraid of losing money. 643 00:30:53,019 --> 00:30:54,887 He said he would probably fight again, 644 00:30:54,987 --> 00:30:56,588 but it was okay if he didn't. 645 00:30:56,688 --> 00:31:00,026 Long as he believed that he was the people's champ, 646 00:31:00,126 --> 00:31:01,393 that was good enough for him. 647 00:31:03,295 --> 00:31:05,131 NARRATOR: A month after his conviction, 648 00:31:05,231 --> 00:31:07,900 Ali marries 17-year-old Belinda Boyd 649 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:10,469 with the approval of Nation of Islam leaders. 650 00:31:10,569 --> 00:31:14,640 She fully supports her husband's refusal to be drafted. 651 00:31:14,740 --> 00:31:16,909 He said, "I can't kill anybody." 652 00:31:17,009 --> 00:31:18,544 I just said, "Trust me, 653 00:31:18,644 --> 00:31:22,081 "you'll be greatest man ever who lived if you don't go." 654 00:31:24,050 --> 00:31:25,451 NARRATOR: Facing five years in prison 655 00:31:25,551 --> 00:31:28,120 and unable to fight while appealing his case, 656 00:31:28,220 --> 00:31:30,556 newly-wed Ali needs to earn money. 657 00:31:30,656 --> 00:31:33,825 So, he embarks on a college lecture tour. 658 00:31:33,926 --> 00:31:36,062 I would like to hear this from you! 659 00:31:36,162 --> 00:31:39,065 And I want the world and the cameras to hear it! 660 00:31:39,165 --> 00:31:41,267 Who's the heavyweight champion of the world? 661 00:31:41,367 --> 00:31:43,035 (ALL CHEERING) 662 00:31:43,135 --> 00:31:48,140 HAUSER: The student audiences loved his opposition to the war in Vietnam, 663 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:51,443 but they were very much opposed when he spoke to them 664 00:31:51,543 --> 00:31:55,447 against the idea of interracial dating, 665 00:31:55,547 --> 00:31:59,785 against the idea of living in the same community. 666 00:31:59,885 --> 00:32:03,289 During those three and a half years that he wasn't fighting, 667 00:32:03,389 --> 00:32:06,625 basically the only two things that he was doing, 668 00:32:06,725 --> 00:32:08,894 uh, was going on college campuses 669 00:32:08,995 --> 00:32:12,564 and the other was being on television with Howard Cosell. 670 00:32:14,066 --> 00:32:15,534 REPORTER: What do you say to that? 671 00:32:15,634 --> 00:32:18,204 ALI: I predict that the fans will be angry at the experts 672 00:32:18,304 --> 00:32:21,240 for misleading them so much. 673 00:32:21,340 --> 00:32:24,276 I think that his relationship with Howard Cosell 674 00:32:24,376 --> 00:32:28,247 was critical to his acceptance by America. 675 00:32:28,347 --> 00:32:31,583 DON MISCHER: Howard had the deepest respect for the champ. 676 00:32:31,683 --> 00:32:34,320 Howard many times privately, 677 00:32:34,420 --> 00:32:36,955 um, defended Ali 678 00:32:37,056 --> 00:32:40,492 and Ali's right to express himself, 679 00:32:40,592 --> 00:32:43,495 and the right to feel the way he felt 680 00:32:43,595 --> 00:32:46,098 about where we were with civil rights at those times. 681 00:32:46,198 --> 00:32:49,001 But Howard also didn't take any punches. 682 00:32:49,101 --> 00:32:51,603 If he felt like Ali had overstepped his bounds, 683 00:32:51,703 --> 00:32:53,172 he would confront him. 684 00:32:53,272 --> 00:32:55,741 It was part of the chemistry of these guys. 685 00:32:55,841 --> 00:32:57,743 You had two gigantic egos. 686 00:33:10,189 --> 00:33:12,824 NARRATOR: After three and a half years in exile, 687 00:33:12,924 --> 00:33:16,495 Ali remains free as his appeals proceed in federal court. 688 00:33:16,595 --> 00:33:19,631 And while politics cost Ali his boxing license, 689 00:33:19,731 --> 00:33:22,568 politics provides a chance to fight again. 690 00:33:22,668 --> 00:33:25,437 Georgia has no state boxing commission. 691 00:33:25,537 --> 00:33:28,240 Individual municipalities can sanction a fight. 692 00:33:28,340 --> 00:33:30,576 So, black state senator, Leroy Johnson 693 00:33:30,676 --> 00:33:34,012 strikes a deal with Atlanta's white mayor, Sam Massell. 694 00:33:34,113 --> 00:33:36,048 Leroy Johnson said, 695 00:33:36,148 --> 00:33:38,484 "I want this fight to happen. 696 00:33:38,584 --> 00:33:41,287 "I carry a lot of votes with me." 697 00:33:41,387 --> 00:33:43,555 NARRATOR: Thus, Ali's comeback begins, 698 00:33:43,655 --> 00:33:46,392 surprisingly, in the Deep South. 699 00:33:46,492 --> 00:33:49,261 Here's an African American reviled around America, 700 00:33:49,361 --> 00:33:52,531 suddenly Atlanta is embracing him. 701 00:33:52,631 --> 00:33:53,999 BELINDA: He said, "I got my license. 702 00:33:54,100 --> 00:33:55,334 "And I'm gonna fight in Georgia, 703 00:33:55,434 --> 00:33:57,069 "I'm gonna fight in Georgia." 704 00:33:57,169 --> 00:33:59,037 I said, "In Georgia?" (LAUGHS) 705 00:33:59,138 --> 00:34:01,140 I said, "Down south?" 706 00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:03,041 He said, "Yeah." I said, "Oh, Lord. 707 00:34:03,142 --> 00:34:05,544 "We in trouble now." 708 00:34:05,644 --> 00:34:09,848 NARRATOR: Ali returns to the ring on October 26th, 1970. 709 00:34:09,948 --> 00:34:14,453 ANNOUNCER: I don't believe that anybody is happier than this young man 710 00:34:14,553 --> 00:34:17,156 to once again step into the ring. 711 00:34:17,256 --> 00:34:19,858 NARRATOR: 28-year-old Ali was stripped of his title, 712 00:34:19,958 --> 00:34:21,427 but he's never lost a fight 713 00:34:21,527 --> 00:34:24,230 and Jerry Quarry is not considered competitive. 714 00:34:27,599 --> 00:34:30,569 Ali opens a cut over Quarry's eye in round three... 715 00:34:31,870 --> 00:34:33,905 And the fight is stopped. 716 00:34:34,005 --> 00:34:36,608 SUGAR RAY LEONARD: Inactivity is deadly for any fighter. 717 00:34:36,708 --> 00:34:39,878 And for Muhammad Ali to have come back 718 00:34:39,978 --> 00:34:44,883 and still display the incredible hand speed and fluidity, 719 00:34:44,983 --> 00:34:47,619 that he showed was amazing. 720 00:34:53,425 --> 00:34:55,394 NARRATOR: While Ali's draft evasion appeal 721 00:34:55,494 --> 00:34:57,596 works its way up to the Supreme Court, 722 00:34:57,696 --> 00:34:59,431 the NAACP sues 723 00:34:59,531 --> 00:35:02,301 the New York State Athletic Commission in federal court, 724 00:35:02,401 --> 00:35:05,437 arguing that their ban on Ali is discriminatory. 725 00:35:06,372 --> 00:35:08,407 Their ban is lifted. 726 00:35:10,075 --> 00:35:12,778 Free to fight in New York again, 727 00:35:12,878 --> 00:35:17,683 Ali stops Oscar Bonavena at Madison Square Garden in December, 1970... 728 00:35:17,783 --> 00:35:20,652 ANNOUNCER: It's over! Ali is the knockout winner! 729 00:35:20,752 --> 00:35:23,422 NARRATOR: ...setting up a title shot against Joe Frazier 730 00:35:23,522 --> 00:35:26,158 for an unprecedented five million dollar purse. 731 00:35:26,258 --> 00:35:30,729 And now we have a chance to see who the real champion of the world is. 732 00:35:30,829 --> 00:35:32,063 That was revolutionary. 733 00:35:32,164 --> 00:35:35,000 You know, 2.5 million apiece? Wow. 734 00:35:35,100 --> 00:35:37,303 Back then, that was a vast sum of money. 735 00:35:37,403 --> 00:35:40,172 Even Mickey Mantle was not making that much money. 736 00:35:40,272 --> 00:35:42,007 Let Joe Frazier talk all he want. 737 00:35:42,107 --> 00:35:44,610 We got a few miles to straighten all this mess up. 738 00:35:44,710 --> 00:35:48,847 He brought people to the sport that didn't even necessarily follow boxing. 739 00:35:48,947 --> 00:35:50,749 They just liked Muhammad Ali. 740 00:35:50,849 --> 00:35:54,620 I have fixed up the round that Joe Frazier will go down! 741 00:35:54,720 --> 00:35:56,255 LAILA ALI: You got this person who's standing up 742 00:35:56,355 --> 00:35:58,190 and he's been stripped of his title. 743 00:35:58,290 --> 00:35:59,725 People wanted to see, "Who is this guy?" 744 00:35:59,825 --> 00:36:03,229 His fights meant more than just the sport of boxing. 745 00:36:03,329 --> 00:36:06,131 His fights were like a fight for justice. 746 00:36:06,232 --> 00:36:07,799 Ali was carrying the weight of everything. 747 00:36:07,899 --> 00:36:10,135 I don't think it's possible to overstate 748 00:36:10,236 --> 00:36:15,774 how much Ali embodied the hopes, aspirations, beliefs 749 00:36:15,874 --> 00:36:19,645 of young people in general and young African Americans in particular. 750 00:36:19,745 --> 00:36:23,415 Joe's gonna come out smokin' and I ain't gonna be jokin'. 751 00:36:24,950 --> 00:36:28,119 NARRATOR: The bout is set for March 8th, 1971. 752 00:36:28,220 --> 00:36:29,555 As the fight approaches, 753 00:36:29,655 --> 00:36:32,258 the battle between two unbeaten heavyweights 754 00:36:32,358 --> 00:36:34,326 becomes far more than a boxing match. 755 00:36:35,227 --> 00:36:37,162 Get your hands off of me! 756 00:36:37,263 --> 00:36:41,367 If you were a liberal, you were rooting for Ali. 757 00:36:41,467 --> 00:36:44,536 If you were a conservative, you were rooting for Joe. 758 00:36:44,636 --> 00:36:46,037 GUMBEL: It was a clash of cultures. 759 00:36:46,137 --> 00:36:51,109 There were the people who were, uh, demanding civil rights, 760 00:36:51,209 --> 00:36:53,211 who were against Vietnam 761 00:36:53,312 --> 00:36:55,180 and the people who thought Vietnam was right. 762 00:36:55,281 --> 00:36:58,884 Then, "Damn it, we're gonna put our views in the ring and settle it once and for all." 763 00:36:59,818 --> 00:37:01,152 March 8th, '71. 764 00:37:01,253 --> 00:37:03,054 The world flat out stopped. 765 00:37:03,154 --> 00:37:08,327 The apartment that we lived in was going crazy for that fight. 766 00:37:08,427 --> 00:37:09,861 KINDRED: We were glued to the radio. 767 00:37:09,961 --> 00:37:12,898 I can still see Ali leaning back over the ropes 768 00:37:12,998 --> 00:37:15,834 saying, "No contest!" 769 00:37:15,934 --> 00:37:19,438 Meanwhile Frazier's pounding him, you know, 20 times. 770 00:37:19,538 --> 00:37:22,574 Ali absorbed an enormous amount of punishment, 771 00:37:22,674 --> 00:37:24,743 gave out an enormous amount of punishment. 772 00:37:24,843 --> 00:37:27,346 Yeah, and when the 15th came and they said 773 00:37:27,446 --> 00:37:29,014 he'd been knocked down, it was like... 774 00:37:31,216 --> 00:37:32,918 "This can't be." 775 00:37:33,018 --> 00:37:35,887 NARRATOR: Ali gets quickly to his feet, but the damage is done. 776 00:37:35,987 --> 00:37:38,324 Ali suffers his first loss. 777 00:37:38,424 --> 00:37:40,692 It's Frazier by unanimous decision. 778 00:37:43,829 --> 00:37:46,398 GUMBEL: This can't have happened. This is impossible. 779 00:37:46,498 --> 00:37:48,567 And it was impossible not because 780 00:37:48,667 --> 00:37:50,969 we didn't believe Joe Frazier could beat Muhammad Ali. 781 00:37:51,069 --> 00:37:55,173 It was impossible because his beating him meant they were right. 782 00:37:55,273 --> 00:37:57,309 And they couldn't be right. 783 00:37:57,409 --> 00:38:00,812 And the right wing idiots, and the hard hat guys, 784 00:38:00,912 --> 00:38:02,213 and the ugly Americans, 785 00:38:02,314 --> 00:38:04,350 they were standing in the way of history. 786 00:38:04,450 --> 00:38:06,485 They were standing in the way of change. 787 00:38:06,585 --> 00:38:09,455 They were on the side of wrong. 788 00:38:09,555 --> 00:38:12,458 And so they couldn't be right, they just couldn't. 789 00:38:12,558 --> 00:38:17,763 In the first blush of defeat, Ali was gracious and elegant. 790 00:38:17,863 --> 00:38:21,232 He was perfect in giving Frazier credit. 791 00:38:21,333 --> 00:38:23,034 I've been always handing out the defeat, 792 00:38:23,134 --> 00:38:25,671 so now I'm defeated, and now I see how other people felt. 793 00:38:25,771 --> 00:38:28,306 And when I do come back, if I ever do, 794 00:38:28,407 --> 00:38:30,642 I'll have more of a hungrier determination, 795 00:38:30,742 --> 00:38:32,844 which is something you lose in intoxication 796 00:38:32,944 --> 00:38:34,713 of so-called greatness. 797 00:38:34,813 --> 00:38:36,882 By the next morning, he had been robbed. 798 00:38:36,982 --> 00:38:39,250 IZENBERG: He went on every late night talk show. 799 00:38:39,351 --> 00:38:41,453 He convinced half of America or more 800 00:38:41,553 --> 00:38:43,221 that he had won the fight, 801 00:38:43,321 --> 00:38:45,156 and it killed Frazier. 802 00:38:45,256 --> 00:38:48,360 He was the only one who believed, coming out of that fight, 803 00:38:48,460 --> 00:38:51,797 that he would be champion again. 804 00:38:51,897 --> 00:38:54,700 NARRATOR: Four months after his unanimous loss to Frazier, 805 00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:58,670 Ali wins a stunning, unanimous decision in the Supreme Court, 806 00:38:58,770 --> 00:39:02,708 which overturns his conviction for draft evasion. 807 00:39:02,808 --> 00:39:06,378 I mean, nobody would've believed that that could've happened 808 00:39:06,478 --> 00:39:08,780 when Ali refused to step forward. 809 00:39:15,687 --> 00:39:17,589 NARRATOR: With prison no longer looming, 810 00:39:17,689 --> 00:39:19,558 Ali is free to renew his quest 811 00:39:19,658 --> 00:39:22,461 to reclaim the title that had been taken from him, 812 00:39:22,561 --> 00:39:25,597 a title now held by George Foreman. 813 00:39:25,697 --> 00:39:27,933 Ali's momentous match against Foreman 814 00:39:28,033 --> 00:39:30,902 is an event unlike anything boxing has ever seen. 815 00:39:31,002 --> 00:39:32,738 In 1974, 816 00:39:32,838 --> 00:39:35,340 promoter Don King and a consortium of backers 817 00:39:35,441 --> 00:39:39,778 make a deal with Zaire's strongman President Mobutu Sese Seko 818 00:39:39,878 --> 00:39:43,314 to host a worldwide live satellite broadcast 819 00:39:43,415 --> 00:39:45,851 of The Rumble in the Jungle. 820 00:39:45,951 --> 00:39:49,020 Ali basically showed that he could 821 00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:51,089 transcend the sport. 822 00:39:51,189 --> 00:39:55,226 He brought half of the media of the world to Kinshasa, Zaire. 823 00:39:55,326 --> 00:39:58,464 NARRATOR: 10 long years after he first shook up the world, 824 00:39:58,564 --> 00:40:03,134 32-year-old Ali is once again challenging a heavily favored champion. 825 00:40:03,234 --> 00:40:08,674 Foreman was, uh, the second coming of Sonny Liston. 826 00:40:08,774 --> 00:40:11,309 ARUM: Remember this wasn't an ordinary heavyweight. 827 00:40:11,409 --> 00:40:14,546 This was a guy who could knock down walls. 828 00:40:14,646 --> 00:40:17,516 Everybody felt that Ali was gonna get hurt. 829 00:40:17,616 --> 00:40:19,885 This was a... You know, this was a monster. 830 00:40:19,985 --> 00:40:22,420 I was so afraid that George Foreman 831 00:40:22,521 --> 00:40:24,923 was gonna kill Ali. 832 00:40:25,023 --> 00:40:28,760 NARRATOR: Both fighters train in Zaire for the bout on October 30th, 833 00:40:28,860 --> 00:40:32,798 but it's Ali who is embraced by throngs of African fans. 834 00:40:32,898 --> 00:40:35,601 PRICE: It's unreal the amount of people, 835 00:40:35,701 --> 00:40:39,404 ten to fifteen thousand people in the crowd, 836 00:40:39,505 --> 00:40:42,140 following him, just shouting his name. 837 00:40:42,240 --> 00:40:44,275 "Ali, bomaye!" 838 00:40:44,375 --> 00:40:45,877 "Ali, bomaye!" 839 00:40:45,977 --> 00:40:48,079 He'd say, "Stop the car." And then he'd get out, 840 00:40:48,179 --> 00:40:50,315 and he'd, "Bomaye! Bomaye!" 841 00:40:50,415 --> 00:40:52,217 He just wanted to create a crowd. 842 00:40:52,317 --> 00:40:55,453 Pretty soon you couldn't even walk across the street. 843 00:40:55,554 --> 00:40:57,556 LL COOL J: All of that worked in Ali's favor. 844 00:40:57,656 --> 00:40:59,324 I mean, he was playing psychological games, 845 00:40:59,424 --> 00:41:02,594 he's punching voodoo dolls, he's got people beating on drums. 846 00:41:02,694 --> 00:41:05,063 "The champ is here!" (IMITATING DRUMS) 847 00:41:05,163 --> 00:41:06,498 "The champ is here." 848 00:41:06,598 --> 00:41:09,601 Me and maybe one other person thought he could beat George Foreman. 849 00:41:09,701 --> 00:41:11,102 He believed it. 850 00:41:11,202 --> 00:41:13,972 He believed it. 851 00:41:14,072 --> 00:41:17,375 NARRATOR: Ali's confidence isn't shared by many boxing experts. 852 00:41:17,475 --> 00:41:21,513 But during the fight, Ali would add "rope-a-dope" to the lexicon, 853 00:41:21,613 --> 00:41:23,915 and a great new chapter to his legend. 854 00:41:24,015 --> 00:41:27,185 ANNOUNCER: Ali stands back, eyes this man up, leans on the rope. 855 00:41:27,285 --> 00:41:31,523 Ali goes back on the ropes, and the ropes go back more. 856 00:41:31,623 --> 00:41:33,124 And Foreman misses by that much. 857 00:41:33,224 --> 00:41:35,193 ANNOUNCER: That wild left hand is not working. 858 00:41:35,293 --> 00:41:38,897 Angelo sends his corner guys around to the corners. 859 00:41:38,997 --> 00:41:40,832 He says, "Tighten the ropes, tighten the ropes." 860 00:41:40,932 --> 00:41:42,968 And Ali's saying, "No, leave 'em, leave 'em." (CHUCKLES) 861 00:41:44,502 --> 00:41:46,638 Ali formed in his mind, 862 00:41:46,738 --> 00:41:48,874 he formed the rope-a-dope right there and then. 863 00:41:50,308 --> 00:41:55,380 To take that kind of punishment from a guy like George, 864 00:41:55,480 --> 00:41:58,116 you know, who knocked most guys out like they were rag dolls. 865 00:41:58,216 --> 00:42:00,586 I can't fathom taking those kind of blows 866 00:42:00,686 --> 00:42:03,521 from a guy who punches that hard. 867 00:42:03,622 --> 00:42:05,591 Those punches could crack ribs. 868 00:42:05,691 --> 00:42:08,426 How could you take this in your body? 869 00:42:08,526 --> 00:42:10,328 And Ali was taking it. 870 00:42:10,428 --> 00:42:14,165 And Foreman was punching himself out. 871 00:42:14,265 --> 00:42:17,068 I had predicted that Foreman was gonna annihilate him. 872 00:42:17,168 --> 00:42:19,805 And inbetween rounds when he started to wear George down, 873 00:42:19,905 --> 00:42:22,240 he said, "Hey, big fellow, what do you think now?" 874 00:42:23,341 --> 00:42:24,776 (CROWD CHEERING) 875 00:42:26,277 --> 00:42:27,846 He knocked George out. 876 00:42:27,946 --> 00:42:29,547 ANNOUNCER: Muhammad Ali has done it! 877 00:42:29,648 --> 00:42:31,650 LEONARD: When Muhammad Ali put George down, 878 00:42:31,750 --> 00:42:34,519 he had proven that he is indeed the greatest. 879 00:42:34,620 --> 00:42:36,622 ANNOUNCER: This great man has done it! 880 00:42:36,722 --> 00:42:40,558 Ali beats Foreman, humiliates him. 881 00:42:40,659 --> 00:42:45,831 He stops and he says, "Fellas, you'll never know what this means to me." 882 00:42:47,098 --> 00:42:48,033 (CLICKS FINGERS) 883 00:42:48,133 --> 00:42:49,635 That should've been his retirement. 884 00:42:50,435 --> 00:42:52,303 How can you top that. 885 00:42:52,403 --> 00:42:55,040 BELINDA: You've went through the trials, your ups and your downs, 886 00:42:55,140 --> 00:42:56,241 your glory times, 887 00:42:56,341 --> 00:42:57,709 this is the time to retire. 888 00:42:57,809 --> 00:42:59,110 He had proven the point, 889 00:42:59,210 --> 00:43:02,247 you can't go any further once you prove the point. 890 00:43:02,347 --> 00:43:05,651 And, there's something about the romance of athletics 891 00:43:05,751 --> 00:43:08,754 that is hard for people to give up. 892 00:43:08,854 --> 00:43:13,091 For him every fight was another drama, another circus, 893 00:43:13,191 --> 00:43:14,926 and he loved every minute of it. 894 00:43:15,026 --> 00:43:19,064 LIPSYTE: All those available ladies, 895 00:43:19,164 --> 00:43:25,270 all this love and admiration, it's very hard to walk away from that. 896 00:43:32,878 --> 00:43:36,247 NARRATOR: When Elijah Muhammad dies in February of '75, 897 00:43:36,347 --> 00:43:39,484 his son Wallace leads the majority of the Nation of Islam 898 00:43:39,584 --> 00:43:41,887 toward traditional Sunni Islam. 899 00:43:41,987 --> 00:43:44,790 Ali, who has always had white men in his corner, 900 00:43:44,890 --> 00:43:47,025 embraces the change. 901 00:43:47,125 --> 00:43:49,828 LL COOL J: Prejudice is a two-way street, you know? 902 00:43:49,928 --> 00:43:50,829 He was driving down one side of it 903 00:43:50,929 --> 00:43:52,397 at one point in his life, 904 00:43:52,497 --> 00:43:54,565 not unlike Malcom X who had a similar journey, 905 00:43:54,666 --> 00:43:56,501 and he evolved. 906 00:43:56,601 --> 00:43:58,136 He said, "Whites can become Muslims now." 907 00:43:58,236 --> 00:44:00,739 He says, "So you can become a Muslim." 908 00:44:00,839 --> 00:44:02,473 And he hugged me. 909 00:44:02,573 --> 00:44:06,144 There wasn't any racism in Ali. 910 00:44:06,244 --> 00:44:09,614 NARRATOR: Later that year, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos 911 00:44:09,715 --> 00:44:11,950 plays host to the third Ali-Frazier fight, 912 00:44:12,050 --> 00:44:15,754 The Thrilla in Manila, on October 1st, 1975. 913 00:44:15,854 --> 00:44:18,623 GUMBEL: They'd been the two most dominant fighters of their time. 914 00:44:18,724 --> 00:44:19,758 Towards the end of their career, 915 00:44:19,858 --> 00:44:21,226 oh, here they are again in this big fight 916 00:44:21,326 --> 00:44:23,494 and this is going to be the culmination of it all. 917 00:44:23,594 --> 00:44:27,065 NARRATOR: For both fighters, it would also mark the beginning of the end. 918 00:44:27,165 --> 00:44:31,336 The fight took place at about 11 am Manila time. 919 00:44:31,436 --> 00:44:36,207 Outside, the hot Philippine sun was beating down. 920 00:44:36,307 --> 00:44:41,747 And inside, this fight between these two great athletes was going on. 921 00:44:41,847 --> 00:44:43,548 PRICE: And these two guys was going at each other 922 00:44:43,648 --> 00:44:45,250 like they was gonna just kill each other. 923 00:44:46,818 --> 00:44:49,654 They both took an enormous beating. 924 00:44:49,755 --> 00:44:52,057 They were both heroic that night. 925 00:44:52,157 --> 00:44:55,126 NARRATOR: After 14 rounds of battle in the sweltering heat, 926 00:44:55,226 --> 00:44:58,329 Frazier and Ali, both mentally and physically spent, 927 00:44:58,429 --> 00:45:01,366 go to their corners to await the final round. 928 00:45:01,466 --> 00:45:05,871 That moment that you're sitting on your stool, 929 00:45:05,971 --> 00:45:07,873 your eyes swollen shut, 930 00:45:07,973 --> 00:45:10,241 your legs are gone. 931 00:45:10,341 --> 00:45:13,711 (SIGHS) You're totally exhausted. 932 00:45:13,812 --> 00:45:15,580 You look across and see your opponent 933 00:45:15,680 --> 00:45:19,217 and he is just as in bad shape as you are. 934 00:45:19,317 --> 00:45:22,220 All of a sudden your mind and your heart says, 935 00:45:22,320 --> 00:45:23,989 "You ready to go?" 936 00:45:24,089 --> 00:45:26,925 And either you answer "yes" or "no." 937 00:45:27,025 --> 00:45:28,927 Most guys say "no." 938 00:45:29,027 --> 00:45:30,896 The special ones say "yes." 939 00:45:32,163 --> 00:45:33,464 Ali was the one who said "yes." 940 00:45:36,434 --> 00:45:38,669 PRICE: Joe couldn't answer the bell. 941 00:45:38,770 --> 00:45:41,406 And Ali just passed out in the ring. 942 00:45:41,506 --> 00:45:43,508 And he said it was the nearest thing to dying. 943 00:45:50,281 --> 00:45:52,818 NARRATOR: In the year after his punishing victory over Frazier, 944 00:45:52,918 --> 00:45:55,386 Ali defends his title four times, 945 00:45:55,486 --> 00:45:58,857 including a brutal 15-round win over Ken Norton. 946 00:45:58,957 --> 00:46:01,126 His longtime ring doctor, Ferdie Pacheco, 947 00:46:01,226 --> 00:46:03,428 sees the writing on the wall. 948 00:46:03,528 --> 00:46:06,097 KINDRED: Pacheco went to Norton's locker room 949 00:46:06,197 --> 00:46:10,802 and told him, "Congratulations, you just ended Ali's career." 950 00:46:10,902 --> 00:46:15,106 Norton had lost, but Ali was physically beat up. 951 00:46:15,206 --> 00:46:18,176 NARRATOR: The following year, his speed and skills diminished, 952 00:46:18,276 --> 00:46:21,980 Ali survives a 15-round slugfest with Earnie Shavers... 953 00:46:22,080 --> 00:46:24,115 ANNOUNCER: Muhammad Ali, not down but hurt. 954 00:46:24,215 --> 00:46:26,818 NARRATOR: ...the hardest hitting heavyweight in boxing. 955 00:46:28,119 --> 00:46:31,422 He said that, Earnie Shavers hit me so hard 956 00:46:31,522 --> 00:46:33,691 that my ancestors in Africa 957 00:46:33,791 --> 00:46:35,360 turned over in their graves. 958 00:46:37,162 --> 00:46:40,932 Which was a fabulous line, except the way that he said it 959 00:46:41,032 --> 00:46:44,335 was just the beginning of a slur in his speech. 960 00:46:51,576 --> 00:46:53,211 NARRATOR: In February of '78, 961 00:46:53,311 --> 00:46:55,813 Ali loses his title to Leon Spinks, 962 00:46:55,914 --> 00:46:58,716 a novice with just seven fights under his belt. 963 00:46:58,816 --> 00:47:00,551 But he's not done yet. 964 00:47:00,651 --> 00:47:05,023 He fights Spinks again, beats him, regains the title. 965 00:47:05,123 --> 00:47:09,694 And then Don King gets Ali to fight Larry Holmes. 966 00:47:09,794 --> 00:47:12,363 And I was absolutely horrified. 967 00:47:12,463 --> 00:47:15,200 NARRATOR: The Holmes bout is set for October 1980, 968 00:47:15,300 --> 00:47:18,904 a year after Ali's last fight against Spinks. 969 00:47:19,004 --> 00:47:21,606 His deterioration is evident. 970 00:47:21,706 --> 00:47:25,043 Even to those of us who'd never looked at Ali with clear eyes, 971 00:47:25,143 --> 00:47:28,646 it was clear that he was done. 972 00:47:28,746 --> 00:47:31,416 NARRATOR: Holmes wins by TKO in the 11th round, 973 00:47:31,516 --> 00:47:34,886 the first time Ali has ever failed to go the distance. 974 00:47:34,986 --> 00:47:36,988 KINDRED: Whatever damage had been done to Ali 975 00:47:37,088 --> 00:47:39,524 in all of these 12, 15 round fights, 976 00:47:39,624 --> 00:47:45,830 all of that had come together to leave him a shell of what he once was. 977 00:47:45,931 --> 00:47:49,300 NARRATOR: A year later, Ali steps into the ring one last time 978 00:47:49,400 --> 00:47:52,770 to fight Trevor Berbick on December 11th, 1981. 979 00:47:52,870 --> 00:47:54,505 MARYUM: The whole family went. 980 00:47:54,605 --> 00:47:57,909 And up until the fight, we were begging him in his hotel room, 981 00:47:58,009 --> 00:48:00,178 "Don't fight, you don't need to do this anymore." 982 00:48:02,313 --> 00:48:03,814 NARRATOR: After the loss to Berbick, 983 00:48:03,915 --> 00:48:06,851 Ali finally calls it a career. 984 00:48:06,952 --> 00:48:10,688 LEONARD: It's hard to tell a champ that it's time, it's over. 985 00:48:10,788 --> 00:48:14,292 Because we always believe we can always win that fight. 986 00:48:14,392 --> 00:48:16,027 Ali fought. That's what he did. 987 00:48:16,127 --> 00:48:19,330 And we who loved him really had no say in it 988 00:48:19,430 --> 00:48:22,000 and no right to say, "No, we don't want you to fight anymore 989 00:48:22,100 --> 00:48:23,868 "because it ruins our memory." 990 00:48:23,969 --> 00:48:26,371 Well, he had a right to say, "I will choose when I'm gonna leave it." 991 00:48:26,471 --> 00:48:27,472 And he did. 992 00:48:36,147 --> 00:48:39,784 The first few years of retirement were hard for Ali. 993 00:48:39,884 --> 00:48:43,921 He was no longer in the spotlight as heavyweight champion of the world. 994 00:48:44,022 --> 00:48:45,923 But the worst thing 995 00:48:46,024 --> 00:48:48,393 was that the Parkinson's syndrome 996 00:48:48,493 --> 00:48:50,595 was becoming clearer and clearer. 997 00:48:50,695 --> 00:48:52,930 LAILA: When you stay in the ring too long, 998 00:48:53,031 --> 00:48:54,199 it's gonna really start wearing down on you. 999 00:48:54,299 --> 00:48:56,234 And that's exactly what happened to my father. 1000 00:48:58,069 --> 00:49:03,074 NARRATOR: Ali's Parkinson's syndrome is made public in 1984. 1001 00:49:03,174 --> 00:49:05,243 It's really hard for me and everyone else to see a man 1002 00:49:05,343 --> 00:49:08,679 who used to be so great with words, 1003 00:49:08,779 --> 00:49:10,881 and now that's one of the things that he can't do. 1004 00:49:10,982 --> 00:49:13,684 It's a sad thing because you wonder 1005 00:49:13,784 --> 00:49:16,054 what he would be saying now. 1006 00:49:16,154 --> 00:49:18,123 PRICE: We need that Louisville Lip because 1007 00:49:18,223 --> 00:49:20,625 there's nobody speaking 1008 00:49:20,725 --> 00:49:25,263 for African-Americans or Americans like Ali spoke. 1009 00:49:25,363 --> 00:49:27,332 That voice just isn't there. 1010 00:49:27,432 --> 00:49:29,900 When Ali stopped really talking in public 1011 00:49:30,001 --> 00:49:32,503 and really doing whole Ali thing, 1012 00:49:33,938 --> 00:49:36,541 he had said so much that it still echoes. 1013 00:49:36,641 --> 00:49:42,280 I have enough inside here and inside here to replay it for life. 1014 00:49:47,118 --> 00:49:50,088 We're in a hotel room in Las Vegas at an event, 1015 00:49:50,188 --> 00:49:52,357 and this is like '90s, so the Parkinson's is... 1016 00:49:52,457 --> 00:49:55,760 He can still walk, but he's talking very soft. 1017 00:49:55,860 --> 00:49:57,862 And he goes, "You know I wanna make it to heaven, 1018 00:49:57,962 --> 00:50:00,365 "and I wasn't a perfect person, and this Parkinson's shut me down. 1019 00:50:00,465 --> 00:50:02,833 "I can't do nothin' wrong now, you know!" 1020 00:50:02,933 --> 00:50:06,771 But he said, "I'd rather suffer now, than in the hereafter." 1021 00:50:06,871 --> 00:50:10,075 NARRATOR: By 1986, Ali is five years into retirement 1022 00:50:10,175 --> 00:50:12,477 and on his third marriage. 1023 00:50:12,577 --> 00:50:16,781 He and his second wife, Khalilah, were divorced in 1975. 1024 00:50:16,881 --> 00:50:20,151 KHALILAH: He was doing a lot of cheating. He's weak for women. 1025 00:50:20,251 --> 00:50:22,453 I just didn't know how weak he was. 1026 00:50:22,553 --> 00:50:25,223 NARRATOR: Ali's next marriage to Veronica Porsche, 1027 00:50:25,323 --> 00:50:27,192 would last 10 years. 1028 00:50:27,292 --> 00:50:31,129 My father would say he was the best Muslim he could be. 1029 00:50:31,229 --> 00:50:34,532 Given that he was this gorgeous, Adonis boxer, 1030 00:50:34,632 --> 00:50:37,335 (CHUCKLES) that all the women loved. 1031 00:50:37,435 --> 00:50:40,905 NARRATOR: In the summer of '86, Ali and Veronica are divorced. 1032 00:50:41,005 --> 00:50:45,143 Later that year, he marries his fourth wife, Lonnie Williams, 1033 00:50:45,243 --> 00:50:48,413 who he first met in Louisville back in 1963. 1034 00:50:55,720 --> 00:50:58,556 NARRATOR: In 1996, Ali would make a memorable return 1035 00:50:58,656 --> 00:51:00,825 to the global spotlight. 1036 00:51:00,925 --> 00:51:05,263 We were thinking, "Who would be an American Olympian 1037 00:51:05,363 --> 00:51:09,400 "who could light the cauldron that would mean the most 1038 00:51:09,500 --> 00:51:12,069 "to people watching around the globe?" 1039 00:51:12,170 --> 00:51:15,240 Ali was the guy who made the most sense. 1040 00:51:15,340 --> 00:51:18,676 And it was not met with wide-open endorsement. 1041 00:51:18,776 --> 00:51:21,412 There were some people who said, "Well, you know... 1042 00:51:21,512 --> 00:51:23,548 "He was a draft dodger, wasn't he?" 1043 00:51:23,648 --> 00:51:26,016 NARRATOR: Mischer and Ali's longtime friend Howard Bingham 1044 00:51:26,117 --> 00:51:31,789 work out a deal, in which they agree to keep Ali's torch-lighting role a secret. 1045 00:51:31,889 --> 00:51:34,392 Howard Bingham calls me, "Your dad's lighting the torch, 1046 00:51:34,492 --> 00:51:37,595 "don't tell anyone! Just call your sisters and brothers." 1047 00:51:37,695 --> 00:51:40,598 And I'm in the control room at the bottom of the stadium with 26 cameras 1048 00:51:40,698 --> 00:51:43,268 and, you know, directing the world feed. 1049 00:51:43,368 --> 00:51:45,603 But even down there, 1050 00:51:45,703 --> 00:51:49,140 in the bowels of the stadium, I could hear what was going on up there. 1051 00:51:49,240 --> 00:51:52,377 And I never dreamed that it would be that strong and that powerful. 1052 00:51:52,477 --> 00:51:55,380 You know, when my father gets nervous, he shakes more. 1053 00:51:55,480 --> 00:51:57,448 So, he's shaking the torch, and I'm like, 1054 00:51:57,548 --> 00:51:59,617 "Oh, Lord, Dad gonna burn down the stadium!" 1055 00:51:59,717 --> 00:52:01,486 (LAUGHING) 1056 00:52:01,586 --> 00:52:04,889 There was a part of me saying, "Oh, my God, look at Muhammad." 1057 00:52:05,690 --> 00:52:07,525 Feeling sorry, 1058 00:52:07,625 --> 00:52:10,961 but then, the other part of me said, 1059 00:52:11,061 --> 00:52:13,298 "For God's sake, that's Muhammad Ali." 1060 00:52:13,398 --> 00:52:16,934 MISCHER: To have predicted in 1967, how much Ali 1061 00:52:17,034 --> 00:52:21,806 and his personality would resonate around the world, 1062 00:52:21,906 --> 00:52:23,941 twenty or 30 years later, 1063 00:52:24,041 --> 00:52:26,544 there were a lot of people that would have said, "That will never happen." 1064 00:52:26,644 --> 00:52:32,517 The transformation of Ali from the most hated man in America 1065 00:52:32,617 --> 00:52:35,953 to this beatified Ali of today... 1066 00:52:36,053 --> 00:52:37,855 A complete reversal. 1067 00:52:37,955 --> 00:52:41,158 But those of us who believed we were in the right back in the '60s, 1068 00:52:41,259 --> 00:52:43,127 this simply validates it. 1069 00:52:43,228 --> 00:52:45,330 That, "Hey, you finally came around. 1070 00:52:45,430 --> 00:52:48,032 "You know, you couldn't stop the march of history." 1071 00:52:48,132 --> 00:52:50,100 "He saw where it was going. 1072 00:52:50,201 --> 00:52:51,669 "He pointed the way. 1073 00:52:51,769 --> 00:52:55,806 "You hated him for it, but you couldn't stop it." 1074 00:52:55,906 --> 00:53:00,645 NARRATOR: Ali is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in January, 2005. 1075 00:53:00,745 --> 00:53:03,981 Later that year, the non-profit Muhammad Ali Center 1076 00:53:04,081 --> 00:53:05,916 opens in downtown Louisville, 1077 00:53:06,016 --> 00:53:11,188 not far from where his bike had been stolen over 50 years before. 1078 00:53:11,289 --> 00:53:14,058 His legacy is that when you believe in yourself, 1079 00:53:14,158 --> 00:53:18,563 no matter what the odds are, if you're on the right side of history, 1080 00:53:18,663 --> 00:53:20,398 and if you perfect your craft, 1081 00:53:20,498 --> 00:53:22,166 you can accomplish anything. 1082 00:53:22,267 --> 00:53:25,603 He stood up on a level that nobody else stood up, 1083 00:53:25,703 --> 00:53:28,273 and he had a platform that no one else had. 1084 00:53:28,373 --> 00:53:32,243 Risking his personal success and his personal wealth 1085 00:53:32,343 --> 00:53:34,312 to basically tell the truth. 1086 00:53:34,412 --> 00:53:36,481 People today are fond of saying, 1087 00:53:36,581 --> 00:53:39,750 "Yes, Muhammad Ali stood up for his principles." 1088 00:53:39,850 --> 00:53:44,389 But there's been a determined effort to wipe away 1089 00:53:44,489 --> 00:53:48,726 cognizance of what those principles once were. 1090 00:53:48,826 --> 00:53:54,899 Don't wipe out the memories of what Muhammad stood for in the 1960s. 1091 00:53:54,999 --> 00:53:56,934 Take it, build on it, 1092 00:53:57,034 --> 00:54:02,006 and show how Muhammad Ali and America both changed, 1093 00:54:02,106 --> 00:54:04,309 and came together in the end. 1094 00:54:04,409 --> 00:54:06,811 He was no saint. He was no devil. 1095 00:54:08,212 --> 00:54:09,847 He was Muhammad Ali, 1096 00:54:10,948 --> 00:54:13,984 and nobody else ever was or ever could be. 90477

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