SOS school (esami terza media) ( il mondo della box con Muhammad Ali)

MUHAMMAD ALI (1942-2016)

Although this fact was later denied it is said that  shortly after Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, had won his golden medal at the Rome Olympics in 1960, he went to a whites-only restaurant in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky and he was refused service. When he explained he was Cassius Clay and an Olympic champion, the owner shouted to the waitress: “ I don’t give a damn’ who he is. We don’t serve niggers.” Ali went off, tore his medal from his neck and threw it into the Ohio River.

Cassius Clay started training at the age of 11 and he got his first boxing lesson from an Irish-American cop who taught him to protect himself from neighbourhood bullies, but he quickly showed amazing skill at this sport. After winning the Olympic medal he turned professional and in February 1962 he was ready to challenge Sonny Liston for the world heavyweight title. Clay was the underdog (il perdente), but he boasted he was the greatest.  The following day he declared to his public that he had converted to the religion of  Islam and would thereafter  be known as  Muhammad Ali. Clay was able to win the title two years later, in 1964.

Within the black community Ali began to emerge as a respected leader, setting an example of racial pride for African Americans and resistance to white domination during the Civil Rights Movement. Around the rest of the world he became a star, the fastest and most charismatic champion that boxing had ever known, even if  he sometimes had an aggressive  and arrogant character.

Ali’s career almost came to an end in 1967 when he refused to be drafted (arruolato) into the  US Army to fight in Vietnam. He wanted peace and he wasn’t going to “quarrel” with the Viet Congs. He was arrested for draft evasion (diserzione) and convicted to five years in prison. He appealed against this sentence, but he was stripped of his heavyweight title and could no longer earn a living from boxing. In 1970 his title was restored by the Supreme Court and in March 1971 he could get back to the ring. He challenged the world champion Joe Frazer. The match ended with both men in hospital, but Ali had lost. In 1974, however, he was able to defeat Frazer and he became World Champion once again. In 1979 he abandoned the boxing world voluntarily and relinquished (rinunciò) the heavyweight crown. It was announced that Ali was suffering from Parkinson’s Syndrome, presumably due to the many blows he had received to the head. Although the disease affected his speech and movement, his mental faculty remained undimmed (inalterate). In 1996 he received a standing ovation as he brought the Olympic flame into the stadium to open the Atlanta Games. In a poignant (commovente) ceremony, officials presented him with a copy of a gold medal, to replace the one he had thrown into the river in 1960. In 2012 he carried the Olympic flag at the Olympic Games in London, helped by his wife. Muhammad Ali died in 2016.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1.      What happened to Cassius Clay when he came back to Louisville after the Rome Olympic Games?

2.      Who was his first boxing teacher?

3.      Why did he start boxing?

4.      How did the match against Liston finish?

5.      Where does the name Muhammad Ali come from?

6.      What did black people think of him?

7.      Why did his career seem to be over in 1967?

8.      Are there any forms of racism in your country? Explain.