Cassius Clay Wins World Heavyweight Title
Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) shocked the world by defeating Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title
February 25, 1964
The Biggest Upset in Boxing History
On February 25, 1964, a 22-year-old Cassius Clay stepped into the ring in Miami Beach, Florida, to face heavyweight champion Sonny Liston, one of the most feared men in boxing. Liston had knocked out Floyd Patterson in the first round twice, and almost no one gave Clay a chance. The odds were 7-to-1 in Liston's favor. Sportswriters expected a quick knockout. Instead, Clay danced around the ring with dazzling speed, throwing combinations and frustrating the slower, more powerful Liston. When Liston failed to come out for the seventh round, Clay exploded in celebration, shouting at ringside reporters that he had shocked the world — and he had.
The Birth of Muhammad Ali
The day after the fight, Clay announced that he had joined the Nation of Islam. Shortly thereafter he rejected his "slave name" and declared that he would be known as Muhammad Ali. The name change was controversial in the sports world, and many sportswriters refused for years to use his new name. Ali went on to become the most famous athlete in the world, defending his heavyweight title nine times before being stripped of his title and boxing license in 1967 for refusing military induction into the Vietnam War, citing his religious beliefs. He was eventually vindicated by the Supreme Court and returned to boxing, winning back the heavyweight title twice more.
The Greatest of All Time
Muhammad Ali's influence extended far beyond boxing. He was a poet, a provocateur, a civil rights figure, and one of the most recognizable human beings on Earth. His quick wit, his refusal to be defined by others' expectations, and his willingness to sacrifice his career for his principles made him a complex and towering figure of the 20th century. He lit the Olympic flame at the 1996 Atlanta Games, revealing to the world that he was battling Parkinson's disease. When he died in 2016, tributes poured in from every corner of the globe. His first title fight against Liston was the moment it all began — the night the world first heard him roar that he was the greatest.