The Greatest: Muhammad Ali

As Clay rose up the heavyweight ranks, he drew criticism for his association with the Nation of Islam, which issued fierce criticisms of white America. The notoriety made a fight with Liston all the more appealing, and so a deal was made for Clay to fight for the title in February 1964 in Miami Beach. Clay used his characteristically clownish antics to defuse Liston’s attempts at intimidation, and where most saw Liston as experienced, Clay insisted that he was old. Clay was proven right in victory, although the outcome was so surprising that many suspected foul play. Soon after the fight, Clay declared that he was a member of the Nation of Islam and would henceforth be known as Muhammad Ali. Many sportswriters refused to accept the new name, insisting that “he had been duped into becoming a Muslim by the Nation of Islam and that the organization would use Ali as a symbol of racial hatred” (49). Boxing (like all sports) intersected with questions of race, with a Black champion threatening white supremacy. Ali’s affiliation with the Nation made his win even more offensive, and so reporters reinterpreted the menacing Liston as “the good guy” who would punish Ali for his religious and political dissent (50).