
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer, activist, entertainer and philanthropist. Nicknamed The Greatest, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated figures of the 20th century and as one of the greatest boxers of all time. Ali was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He began training as an amateur boxer at age 12. At 18, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics and turned professional later that year. He became a Muslim after 1961. He won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston in a major upset on February 25, 1964, at age 22. On March 6, 1964, he announced that he no longer would be known as Cassius Clay but as Muhammad Ali. In 1966, Ali refused to be drafted into the military, citing his religious beliefs and ethical opposition to the Vietnam War. He was found guilty of draft evasion so he faced 5 years in prison and was stripped of his boxing titles. He stayed out of prison as he appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which overturned his conviction in 1971, but he had not fought for nearly four years and lost a period of peak performance as an athlete. Ali's actions as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War made him an icon for the larger counterculture generation, and he was a very high-profile figure of racial pride for African Americans during the civil rights movement and throughout his career. As a Muslim, Ali was initially affiliated with Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam (NOI). He later disavowed the NOI, adhering to Sunni Islam, and supporting racial integration like his former mentor Malcolm X. Ali was a leading heavyweight boxer of the 20th century, and he remains the only three-time lineal champion of that division. His joint records of beating 21 boxers for the world heavyweight title and winning 14 unified title bouts stood for 35 years. He is the only fighter to have been ranked as the world's best heavyweight by BoxRec twelve times. He has been ranked among BoxRec's ten best heavyweights seventeen times, the third most in history. He won 8 fights that were rated by BoxRec as 5-Star, the third most in the history of the heavyweight division. Ali is the only boxer to be named The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year six times. He has been ranked the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, and as the greatest athlete of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated, the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC, and the third greatest athlete of the 20th century by ESPN SportsCentury. He was involved in several historic boxing matches and feuds, most notably his fights with Joe Frazier, such as the Fight of the Century and the Thrilla in Manila, and his fight with George Foreman, known as The Rumble in the Jungle, which has been called "arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century" and was watched by a record estimated television audience of 1 billion viewers worldwide, becoming the world's most-watched live television broadcast at the time. Ali thrived in the spotlight at a time when many fighters let their managers do the talking, and he was often provocative and outlandish. He was known for trash-talking, and often free-styled with rhyme schemes and spoken word poetry, anticipating elements of hip hop.
173 acting credits
Acting · 173

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962

The Mike Douglas Show
1961

Touched by an Angel
1994

The Merv Griffin Show
1962

Wogan
1982

What's My Line?
1950

Bambi
1948

Apostrophes
1975

The Dick Cavett Show
1968

Explained
2018

WWE Pay Per View
1985

Mid-South Wrestling
1981

American Made
2017

Bill Russell: Legend
2023

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything
2021

The Captain and Tennille
1976

The Seventies
2015

Shut Up and Dribble
2018

O.J.: Made in America
2016
Der Sport-Spiegel
1963

Muhammad Ali
2021

70 Years of Youth Revolt
2020

Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration
2001

Da 5 Bloods
2020

The Century of Icons
2022

What's My Name | Muhammad Ali
2019

WWE: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology
2006

A Life in Ten Pictures
2021

James Bond: The First 21 Years
1983

Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
2013

Pelé
2021

Night of 100 Stars III
1990

Untold: Deal with the Devil
2021

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
2021

David Frost Vs
2025

Beatles '64
2024

The Greatest
1977

TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
2004

When We Were Kings
1996

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
2008

Tyson
2008

Andre the Giant
2018

Doin' Time
1985

O.J.: Made in America
2016

Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL
2022

Requiem for a Heavyweight
1962

The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
1998

Stand
2023

Boulevard! A Hollywood Story
2021

Monday Night Mayhem
2002

Best of Enemies
2015

Facing Ali
2009

WWE: Undertaker 20-0 - The Streak
2012

Untold: Jake Paul the Problem Child
2023

Black Is Beltza
2018

WrestleMania
1985

Jack Paar: Smart Television
2003

McEnroe
2022

Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme
2000

The Journey of the African-American Athlete
1996

Freedom Road
1979

Sticky: A (Self) Love Story
2016

Ali-Frazier I: One Nation... Divisible
2000

The Real Rocky
2011

The Trials of Muhammad Ali
2013

Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali
2021

Soul Power
2009

Kings of The Ring - History of Heavyweight Boxing 1919-1990
1995

Body and Soul
1981

Say Hey, Willie Mays!
2022

Africa Rising
2019

I Am Ali
2014

James Brown - The Night James Brown Saved Boston
2008

Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World
2001

The Rumble in the Jungle: George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali
1974

Muhammad Ali, the Greatest
1974

Parkinson at 50
2021

Legends of Mid-South Wrestling
2013

Muhammad Ali: The Whole Story
1996

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
2019

Pelé Forever
2004
Ali's 65
2007

a.k.a. Cassius Clay
1970

Thrilla in Manila
2008

Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick
1986

In Search of Greatness
2018

Norman Mailer: The American
2012

Kings of the Square Ring
1978

Muhammad and Larry
2009

Malcolm X
1972

Muhammad Ali The Whole Story
1996

Naked Sport: Welcome to the Sewer
1993

The Fighters
1974
The Documented Life and Times of Muhammad Ali - The Greatest
2002

WCW Halloween Havoc 1994
1994

Die Muhammad Ali Story
1996

Goal!
1966

Fight of the Century
1971
Boxing's Greatest Knockouts
1987

Sugar Ray Robinson: The Bright Lights and Dark Shadows of a Champion
1998

Tribute to Chuck Wepner: The Legacy and Retirement of the Real Rocky Balboa
2023

Funny Girl to Funny Lady
1975

The Making of 'Ali'
2001
Legends Never Die
2006

Mike Tyson vs Larry Holmes
1988

The Summer of Love
2017

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier I
1971

Something's Happening
1967
Darts Tarts – Welcome to my World
2006

Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes
2018
Muhammad Ali - The Greatest Collection
1999

Ron Lyle
2021

Black Power Salute
2008
Boxing Barmy
1996

United We Stand: The Ali Summit
2018

Cassius X: Becoming Ali
2023

Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston
2019

Thrilla in Manila
2019

Ali's Dozen
2006

Ali's Comeback: The Untold Story
2020

The King of Miami Beach
2022
Kings of the Ring: Four Legends of Heavyweight Boxing
1995

WWE Hall of Fame 2024
2024
Boxing Crazy
1997

City of Ali
2021

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II
1974

Muhammad Ali vs. Trevor Berbick
1981

Money Talks
1972

Diana
1981
Ali Rap
2006

Atlanta 1996: Games of the XXVI Olympiad - Opening Ceremony
1996

The Champ and the King
2018
When Boxing Ruled The World
2001

Cassius Clay vs. Doug Jones
1963
Franz Klammer - The Ski "Kaiser" Will Be 70
2023

Boxing's Greatest Champions
1995

B.B. King: Live In Africa '74
1998

The Last Round: Chuvalo vs. Ali
2003

Leon Spinks vs Muhammad Ali II
1978

Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami
2008

Les vendredis d'Apostrophes
2015

The Fight
1974

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III
1975

Mister Candid Camera
2021

The Best of ABC's Wide World of Sports: The 60's
1990

Earnie Shavers
2021
70 Jahre Annemarie Moser-Pröll – Ein Leben als Wintermärchen
2023
Out From Ali's Shadow: The Larry Holmes Story
2006

When Ali Met Cathal
2009

Champions Forever - World Heavyweight Champs!
2000

Champions Forever
1989

Ali: The Mission
2013

Robbed
2014

Black Rodeo
1972

My Father Muhammad Ali
2023

Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston II
1965

Muhammad Ali: The Greatest
2014

Rumble in the Jungle
2009
Mike Tyson Presents: The Heavyweights
1988

Muhammad Ali: The Greatest
1991

When Ali Came to Britain
—

Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston I
1964

The Super Fight
1970

Muhammad and Larry
1980

Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson II
1972

Muhammad Ali - Rumble in the Jungle
2016

Wake Up and Apologise
1972

Muhammad Ali: Fighting Spirit
2009

Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson I
1965

Black Soul
1974
Cassius Clay vs. Alonzo Johnson
1961

Cassius le grand
1964
Muhammad Ali, the Greatest
2001