One day in Louisville Kentucky, an African American boy was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. on January 17, 1942. Chances are you and many others have heard of Cassius. who began his boxing career at the age of twelve. At the age of seventeen, weighing almost one hundred and eighty pounds and standing six feet tall, he was crowned the nation's Golden Gloves heavyweight in the lightweight division. Previously, when he was just fourteen years old, he held the Golden Gloves light heavyweight division title for his hometown of Louisville (Wilson). Cassius Clay has the boxing record of a champion where he won the world heavyweight championship for the first time in 1964 when he was just a young man of twenty-two. Cassius continued to win in 1974 and 1978. Marcellus' fight total was sixty-one with only five defeats and fifty-six victories. Clay has thirty-seven knockouts in his credited fights. So who is this person Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.? It “floats like a butterfly, it stings like a bee. He refused to fight in the Vietnam War...so who would he be? (Dawn11). Even though Ali's boxing career began under the name Cassius Marcellus Clay, he is known as the great Muhammad Ali who changed his birth name after changing religion to become a member of the Nation of Islam in early sixties. “GG” (Myers2) was the nickname given to Muhammad as a baby because his parents said he always said “gee, gee, gee, gee” (Myers2). Once he was a teenager and won the Golden Gloves Championship, he told his family that he was letting them know that he was going to be the Golden Gloves Champion (Myers). Clay's boxing career began at a young age when he had his bicycle stolen, which infuriated him to the point that he... middle of paper ...... Clay, Jr. Also known as Muhammad Ali was not only the world's greatest fighter in the boxing ring, but he recited poetry, greeted fans with a smile, and influenced Americans by living by example. Muhammad Ali is not only the greatest boxer, but a great man who is remembered as great and who made a difference for people of color and non-colored people in America. Works Cited Ali, Hana and Ali Muhammad. The soul of a butterfly. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. PrintEdwards, Audrey and Wohl, Gary. The life in pictures of Muhammad Ali. New York: Franklin Watts, 1976. PrintHttp://wikipedia.org/wiki/muhammad_aliMyers, Walter Dean. Muhammad Ali: the people's champion. New York: Harper Collins, 2010. PrintMyers, Walter Dean. The greatest: Mohammed Ali. New York: Scholastic Press, 2001. PrintWilson, Beth P. Muhammad Ali. New York: The Sons of GP Putnam, 1974. Print