Muhammad won a spot on the U.S.A Olympic boxing team in 1960. That was the year they went to Rome, Italy to compete. He was an imposing fighter in the ring. He was 6 feet 3 inches tall, he was one of the tallest boxers back then. Everyone at the Olympics knew Muhammad by his amazing footwork and his powerful jab. Ali won his first 3 fights in the Olympics, then went on to beat Zbigniew Pietrzkowski of Poland to get his gold medal. After winning his gold in the Olympics, everyone saw Ali as an American hero. He went professional right after the Olympics too. Louisville Sponsoring Group is who was backing him and got is to be professional. During the 1960’s Muhammad won every single fight he fought, almost all of them by knockouts too. He defeated British heavy weight champion Henry Cooper in 1963 then went on to knock out Sonny Liston in 1964 to become the heavy weight champion of the world. After winning gold in the Olympics and becoming the heavy weight champion of the world, Muhammad Ali wasn’t afraid to brag about his skills. He started calling himself “The Greatest” . One of his greatest quotes was “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee in the boxing ring.”
Seth Swartz
Sports Greats 