i'm cassius clay. i'm going to do this.how pretty i am. >> let me see your mouth closed and keep it closed. >> that's impossible. i'm the greatest. you get too smart, i'll knock you out. i'm not only vital, i'm a poet. i'm a prophet. i'm a resurrector. >> this is one of the most vocal, entertaining people to ever come along, on the american scene, regardless of being in music or sports or politics. >> i'm the savior of the boxing world. if it up with for me, the sport would be dead. >> what you would say about his personality, is there was nothing to take seriously. he was the kid next door, but louder. >> people say i'm cocky. some say i need a good whoopen. some say atalk too much. anything i say, i'm willing to back up. >> if you would have told me then, this would be the most recognizable face in the entire world. muhammad ali would born in louisville, kentucky, in 1942. he started boxing at the age of 12. he went on to win the golden gloves. and suddenly, he stepped center stage in rome at the 1960 olympics. >> in rome

he wants cassius clay in the organization. now cassius now cassius clay, imagine his been mentored by a man who when he says anything to you he begins it with the phrase the honorable elijah mohammed teaches. the honorable elijah mohammed says, the source of all wisdom, the source of all power, of malcolm's power, of all lisa power comes comes from elisha mohammed. but now, malcolm says you know, the the honorable elisha mohammed is a hypocrite. he is not practicing what he is preaching. he is is doing all of these things wrong. what does clay think? have you been lying to me all these years #i'm not sure i believe that. also, malcolm is is venturing out into very dangerous territory. if you leave the nation of islam at that time bad things can happen to you. members of the nation are saying to cassius, malcolm will get with coming to. the chickens will come home to roost and so what's he going to do? he really plays it safe. he stays with and then finally finally elisha mohammed gives him his name, malcolm. >> malcolm wants hi

he knew it when he was cassius clay. young, brash and unpredictable.d theater to the ring, and then changed his name. cassius clay was a slave name, i'm not a slave. >> and muhammad ali. see how he became the self-proclaimed greatest. >> he was so good, so bright. >> just plain crazy. >> in this hour, the historic fight. >> muhammad versus frazier. >> and the draft. against the crippling disease. >> too many blows to the head. >> and then against america's enemy. >> can't we just get along and watch people -- >> hollywood had its version of his story. >> i never stopped being the champ. >> here is how it really unfolded. the greatness behind the greatest. muhammad ali. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen. this is headliners and legends with lester holt. >> he has been called by many the greatest athlete of the 20th century. if you are not old enough to remember muhammad ali's era it is almost impossible to convey just what a force he was. but his one-two combination of being a hero both in the ring and out made him a truly legendary figure. in this hour, how

cassius clay was my slave name.er a slave. >> what does it mean. >> worthy of all praises and ali means most high. >> do you intend to fight under that name? >> yes, sir, i want to be called by that name. i want to be known all over the world as that name. >> he took basically many of the same characteristics he had as cassius clay, but now he had a different framework in which to cast his persalit because he now had this religion and ts set of politics. >> everything good and of authority was made white. we look at jesus, we see a white with blonde hair and blue eyes. we look at all the angels we see white with blonde and blue eyes. if there's a heaven in the sky and the colored folks die and go to heaven, where are the colored angel? they must be in the kitchen preparing the mill it can and honey. >> islam came along at a time when for certain young black people you had a certain set of answers to questions that seed better, more honest and more militant. >> the media and really america in general was not willing

cassius clay was my slave name. slave. >> what does it mean. >> worthy of all praises and ali means most high. >> do you intend to fight under that name? >> yes, sir, i want to be called by that name. i want to be known all over the world as that name. >> he took basically many of the same characteristics he had as cassius clay, but now he had a different framework in which to cast his personality. because he now had this religion and this set of politics. >> everything good and of authority was made white. we look at jesus, we see a white with blonde hair and blue eyes. we look at all the angels we see white with blonde and blue eyes. if there's a heaven in the sky and the colored folks die and go to heaven, where are the colored angel? they must be in the kitchen preparing the milk and honey. >> islam came along at a time when for certain young black people you had a certain set of answers to questions that seemed better, more honest and more militant. >> the media and really america in general was not willing to

cassius clay was my slave name.t means worthy of all praises and ali means most high. >> do you intend to fight under that name? >> yes, sir i want to be called by that name and write autographs with that name. i want to be known all over the world by that name. >> he took basically many of the same characteristics as cassius clay but now a different frame work in which to cast this personality. because he had a religion and set of politics. >> we look at jesus and see a white with blonde hair and blue eyes. angels we see white with blonde hair and blue eyes. if there's a heaven in the sky and the color folk die and go to heaven? where are the colored angels? they must be in the kitchen prehe pairing the milk and honey. >> certain young black people like ali you had a certain set of answers to questions that seemed better. more honest. and more militant. >> >> the media and america in general was not willing to accept the name muhammad ali. >> cassius. >> you know my new name. why you keep calling me that. >> floyd

clay turned pro in the '60s winning most matches by knockout. >> why all the crowd and cameraman? cassiusas just hit town. >> as his star power grew, so did his voice. >> he ain't nothing but a chump. >> clay became as famous for his rants. >> this will be no contest. this will be a total annihilation. >> and rhymes. >> he's going around claiming to be the real heavyweight champ. but after i'm finished he'll just be a tramp. >> as he did for his boxing. >> float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. >> any fight that involved him was a circus. >> boxing announcer bob sheridan. >> athletes at that time were not brash and unspoken. they wanted those people in the seats to go and see him. he was a promoter's dream. >> i'm the prettiest fighter in the ring today. >> there's a fine line between confidence and braggadocio. i had no idea which side of the line he was on. >> sports writer eisenberg covered his fight against sunny lifton. >> lands a left jab on the nose. clay backing away. >> ali was in the ring, but with his hands down and was moving around like this -- >> he was the only fighter i

goes, cassius clay is going to fight tonight. so it was just amazing. so i've been knowing about him since i was pretty much born, through my dad. >> your father was an ali man? >> oh, gosh, he was an ali man. i moved to kentucky about 20 years ago. when he came about ten years ago, the first thing he said, i know ali was born here, i want to know where, i want to go to his museums. it was all about him. if you go to my house in peru, as you walk in, you'll see a huge picture of muhammad ali. so you know how big of a fan he is. >> he belonged to the world, harry smith. >> and i'm just looking at the folks in and out of that square all day, the demographics tell a big story. it's all kinds of people, from all walks of life. all parts of the demographic puzzle. it's really something. >> he was. and i think a lot of young folks probably don't necessarily appreciate this. long before tiger, long before michael jordan, he was a global star, undeniably, the most famous person walking this earth for the better part of two decades. i've

born cassius clay jr. 2 in heavily segregated louisville, kentucky, the older of two boys to mom, odessa, a housekeeper, and dad cassius, a billboard painter. he grew up here. >> cassius didn't appear to be the greatest athlete when he was a kid. i don't think he even played basketball with us. >> robert coleman lived down the street. >> i remember ali punched me on the chest, and i said we can't play no more. >> at 12 years old, cassius discovered the power of his punch through an odd twist of fate, when his bike was stolen. he told a police officer he wanted to beat up the thief. that cop, joe martin, was also a trainer, and encouraged him to try that aggression out in the ring. he was a natural. years later, martin and ali were reyeun reunited on tv's "this is your life." >> both of them together made me what i am today. >> cassius was hooked and dead serious about learning the ropes. he trained at two gyms, hitting the streets before school. >> you could tell he was going to be different. >> we'd ride t

born cassius clay in 1942 in louisville, kentucky, kept an outstanding amateur career winning a goldmedal in the 1960 olympics. turning pro, his cocky and controversial style turned him into a national figure, but his dramatic defeat of heavyweight champ sonny liston in 1964 was a surprise. >> one of the great upsets in the heavyweight history. >> reporter: he shocked the work by joining the nation of islam and changes his name to muhammad ali. the move was controversial and released a newfound religion avoiding the vietnam war. >> my intention is to box to win a clean fight but in war the intention is to kill, kill, kim, kill and continue killing innocent people. >> reporter: stripped of his title and did not fight against until after the supme overturned his case. ali's comeback included a series of worldwide events with championÍz joe frazier and geo foreman making ali the first to win the heavyweight crown three times. but ali's true greatness may have come outside the ring showing courage and character with his long bout of parkinson's disease lighting the torch in the 1960 oly

he was so good, muhammad. >> he was born cassius clay on january 17th, 1942, in louisville, kentucky. when he was 12 years old, his buy cycle was stolen. he was so angry, that he vowed to whoop whomever stole it. that determination propelled clay to win two national golden glove titles and qualify for the u.s. team at the 1960 olympics in rome. >> i met cassius in 1958. in '58 he told me he was going to win the olympics. he won the olympics in '60. >> clay wore his gold medal for two days straight though he would later throw it into the ohio river disillusioned by his second-class treatment when he returned home. with the olympics behind him, he began his professional boxing career. his first big test was against heavyweight champion sonny liston. it was also the first time many would hear clay's effortless ability to compose a rhyme. >> if you like to lose your money, then be a fool and bet on sonny. >> liston was heavily favored but in the end, clay proved prophetic. >> that might be some, that might be all. >> at 22 years old, clay become the youngest heavyweight champion. >> i sho

>> reporter: to the mostly white male sportswriting corps, clay had no chance. >> cassius clay is the only man here who thinks he is going to win. >> reporter: but clay surprised no one more than liston, dancing, and opening up liston's face with jab after jab. >> he ran around here, ran this way, he ran that way. he looked like a crazy fighter. >> reporter: after six rounds, sonny liston had had enough, spitting out his mouthpiece before the seventh. the fight was over, but the new champ was just getting started. what's going through your head? >> sheer, unaloid, insane joy. >> reporter: this young african american, fighting in a south that still kept the best hotels off limits to him, scolded the writers. >> i shook up the world, now what are you going to say about that now, hun. >> reporter: the next day, clay announced he was a muslim, no secret to many in miami who had seen malcolm x. visiting the training sessions. cassius clay was now muhammad ali. >> ninan: next on the cbs weekend news, the classic prank muhammad ali pulled on ed bradley for "60 minutes." ( laughter ) ♪ type 2

by 18, cassius clay. >> i met him in the olympic. everybody loved him. he wore his gold medal around. >> size, fast week, jabs, he was a dancer in the ring. winning most machs by as his star power grew so did his voice. clay became famous for his rants. >> this will be no contest. >> and rhymes. >> after i am finished you will just be a friend. >> as he did for his boxing. >> any fight that involved him. >> boxing announcer bob sheraton. >> they wanted the people in the seats to go see him. he was a promotors dream. >> i am the prettiest in the town today. >> jerry iz-- >> listen this is a long one to lead it off. clay backing away. moving to his left. >> his hands were down. >> he was the only fighter i knew who -- his knockouts jabbing with the left by -- >> it it was one of the biggest upsets in history. and cassius clay. >> and the biggest fight came outside of the ring. >> under no conditions -- when you receive up to a $400 visa prepaid card on tempur-breeze mattresses with select adjustable bases. plus get zero percent apr financing for five years

. ♪ >> he was really just the kid next door, born cassius clay jr. ly segregated louisvil louisville, kentucky. the oler of two boys from mom odessa and dad cassius. a billboard painter. he grew up here. >> cassius going to be the greatest athlete when he was a kid, i don't think he could play softball and baseball with us. >> robert coleman lived down the street. >> we used to all attend a camp through the ymca. i remember ali punched me in the chest one day, said we can't play no more. >> at 12 years old, cassius discovered the power of his punch through an odd twist of fate when his bike was stolen. he told a police officer he wanted to beat up the thief. that cop, joe martin, was also a trainer and encouraged him to try that aggression out in the ring. he was a natural. years later, martin and ali were reunited on tv's "this is your life." >> he taught me the jabs and the hooks and both of them together made me what i am today. >> cassius was hooked and dead serious about learning the ropes. trained at two gyms, hitting the streets before school.

it said, from cassius clay. january 1964. next heavyweight champion of the world.tty confident. >> he was confident. >> he's claiming what was to come. >> reporter: what he wrote on that glove proved to be prophetic. a month later against all the oddsmakers, cassius clay defeated sonny liston to become the heavyweight champion of the world. he then punched his way through famous fights with joe frazier, and george foreman, entertaining with his pummeling jabs, prancing footwork and a personality filled with poetic wit, like this famous, float by a butterfly, sting like the bee. >> i love it, love him. >> reporter: his controversial conversion to islam changing his name to muhammad and refusal to fight in vietnam on religious grounds shut down his career for a few years. temporarily taking away his titles. he was down, but not out, and in standing firm for his principles on racial justice and religious freedom, he won the respect of many. he made a comeback in the ring, regaining his lost titles, and he remains today the only man who has three times been crowned hea

just like odessa and cassius clay, sr. believed their son could be. across the world many people know mohammad ali as a brave, compassionate and charming man. and the american people are proud to call mohammad ali one of our own. [ applause ]. >> there he was 2005 sitting beside carol burnett, another icon from a very different walk of life and very different occupation. you heard president bush there say his record was 56-5. the more important number, that is 61 professional bouts in a punishing profession. that's a lot of punishing blows. even as good as mohammad ali was, things like the ali shuffle, this enormous man who was at the same time so graceful, had such fluid movement. we now know the price he paid for those crushing blows. he delivered scores more than that. it is just part of the life and legacy we're covering tonight with news of the death this evening of mohammad ali at the age of 74. back with more right after this. >> i love boxing. that's why i'm the greatest of all times. and i'm just pretty, this colorful, this intelligent, this

>> he was born cassius marcellus clay, one of two boys. the clay's provided a good home but there was no protecting cassius from the indignities from racism. >> louisville was a city where blacks rake maneuver, and they may have served ma jewelups. >> but it was a crime when his new bicycle was stolen, and a police officer told cassius he would teach him to fight if he caught up with the thief and every waking moment was dedicated to his training, a passion that did not carry over to his school work. >> ali graduated, and it really was boxing that saved him. without boxing, what would have become of cassius clay? >> boxing allowed cassius clay to realize his dreams. >> he had a dream, he told me, he was running down broadway, the main street of louisville, and he took off over the truck, and he wanted to soar. >> in 1960, he won an olympic gold medal in rome, and he was set for a title fight against the fearsome champion, sonny listen. >> they gave my guy no chance. they thought i was nuts. >> you look at me. i am loaded with confidence. i

. >> reporter: in 1964, 22-year-old boxer cassius clay had left his home in louisville, kentucky, toifth street gym in miami for his big fight against the reigning king of the ring sonny liston. when the smithsonian museum of african-american history and culture opens one of the featured exhibitions will be the story of cassius clay. muhammad ali and his celebrated career. >> he has several pieces of material from the fifth street where he had trained when he was cassius clay. >> reporter: inside one of the giant processing rooms for the thousands of items being readied for the exhibition, collections chief rene anderson shows off a prize piece from a prize fighter. >> this is practice you gloves from cassius clay. it is signed and he has always been a competent person. >> i'm young, i'm handsome, i'm fast, i'm pretty and can't possibly be beat! >> reporter: cassius clay was young, handsome and in those days, he was known as the louisville lip, for what was seen as his cocky, some would call, arrogant confidence. >> it says -- from cassius clay. january 1964. next heavyweight champio

he was sensational. >> he was born cassius clay on january 17th, 1942. in louisville, kentucky. when he was 12 years old, his buy cycle was stolen. he was so angry, that he vowed to whoop whomever stole it. that determination propelled clay to win two national golden glove titles and qualify for the u.s. team at the 1960 olympics in rome. >> i met cassius in 1958. in '58 he told me he was going to within the olympics. he won the olympics in '60. >> clay wore his gold medal for two days straight though he would later throw it into the ohio river disillusioned by his second class treatment when he returned home. with the olympics behind him, he began his professional boxing career. his first big test was against heavyweight champion sonny liston. it was also the first time many would hear clay's effortless ability to compose a rhyme. >> if you like to lose your money then be a fool and bet on sonny. >> liston was heavily favored but in the end, clay proved prophetic. >> that might be all. >> at 22 years old, clay become the youngest heavyweight champion. >> i shook up the world. >>

i saw an interview with then cassius clay, with steve allan, from 1963, that's on the internet. and in that interview they said something about floyd patterson and first clay made a joke and said that he knocked him out twice in one round. floyd's jaw was somewhat challenged. and he said that -- he said, his legs should sue his body for lack of support. and then he kind of stopped and laughed and chuckled and he said, now, i shouldn't have said, that i really like floyd. that's before floyd didn't recognize his new name. louisville was the home of cassius clay, muhammad ali. and one of the great attractions in louisville is the muhammad ali center. which i've had the opportunity to visit and go through and you can sit and watch all of ali's fights. any one of them. sit in a chair and push a button and there it is. and just watch any fight. i watched that second patterson-ali fight, floyd was doing good through those six rounds, but it's a center and the about what he did for children, there's a lot of displays about what he did for children and what he did for peace and his effor

>> if i'd just stayed cassius clay, the fighter?>> reporter: yeah, yeah. >> oh, you wouldn't be here, probably, today. interviewing me. you couldn't ask me the questions you're talking to me, because you can't go asking no other boxer the questions you're probably going to have laid out for me. my name wouldn't be muhammad ali, i wouldn't be the world's most famous human. see, i'm the world's most recognized face. >> reporter: do you like yourself? do you feel that you are a success as a man? >> well, that's where mainly the success comes. mainly a black man to be in white america, and to say what i've said, and to do what i've done, and is still number one, i mean, this don't happen in hollywood. this don't happen in beverly hills to those black people. they don't stand up and say and do the things i do, if it means jeopardizing the life or the money. so i'm more successful, and proven that i'm a man than anything else. >> reporter: is there anything you don't like about yourself? >> oh, a lot of things. >> reporter: oh, name one o

born cassius clay. known to the world as muhammad ali.hat an american journey for the man who was easily the most famous man in the world for decades at a time. and a singular sports star. we haven't really seen the likes of and may not for a long time to come. as we said, death came earlier this evening. a lot of journalists are reacting to this. here is robert lipsight in the "new york times," muhammad ali, the three-time world heavyweight boxing championship, who helped define his turbulent times as the most charismatic and controversial sports figure of the 20th century, died on friday. he was 74 years old. as i was saying earlier this evening, our friend matt lauer had the great luck and good fortune in life to have been a friend of muhammad ali, and remained a friend later in life. matt was close as well to members of the ali extended family. and tonight, for us, matt lauer has a look back. >> i'm the king of the world! >> hold it, hold it. >> i'm pretty. >> you're not that pretty. >> i'm a bad man. >> reporter: he called himself th

so malcolm saw himself moving away from the nation, and he hoped to bring cassius clay, who became cassiusnd then muhammad ali, but he wanted cassius clay to join his movement and attract -- disenchanted with the civil rights movement into malcolm's organization. >> so the nation of islam, which is the one that malcolm x represented, that was seen as a threat by many white americans. how did the press and the public deal with the friendship of the two men. at what point were they aware of the friendship? >> it was mostly a secret friendship until february 1964. and that was a crucial month for cassius clay, that's the month he defeat sonny liston so win the heavyweight championship of the world. before that fight, malcolm joined cassius in miami and suddenly the press started to ask questions. what is going on here? cassius, are you a member of the nation of islam? should we worry about this? so suddenly now the press is clued in. malcolm leaves to take some of the heat off of cassius, and comes back for the fight. as a matter of fact, right before the fight in the dressing room, they got

. >> reporter: cassius clay-- the future muhammad ali-- hammers at sonny liston, heavyweight champion of the world. clay is a decided underdog, but he pounds the champ into submission in just six rounds. >> at the end of this round, liston's corner will call the doctor to the ring and, over the champion's protest, stop the fight. >> reporter: now, clay is boxing's new heavyweight champion. >> clay is proclaiming, "i am the greatest! i am the king!" >> reporter: just that quickly, a unique figure emerges in american sport, and will go on to become a global icon. >> i am just like oxygen-- all over the world! >> reporter: born january 17, 1942, cassius marcellus clay, jr., grew up in louisville, kentucky. he learned to fight at an early age, seeking vengeance for a stolen bicycle, and he piled up awards as a young boxer. in the 1960 rome olympics, clay stopped a polish fighter to take the light-heavyweight gold. but returning home to segregated louisville, he was denied service at a whites-only restaurant, and threw his olympic medal into the ohio river. despite that frustration, clay l

the new champion is cassius clay. >> it was one of t biggest upsetting in boxing history and cassius the youngest champion in the boxing world. >>> next, ali's biggest fight came outside of the ring. >>> under no conditions do we take part in taking lives of other humans. wahhhh... right. in. your. stomach! watch this!... >>yikes, that ice cream was messing with you, wasn't it? try lactaid, it's real ice cream, without that annoying lactose. lactaid. it's the milk that doesn't mess with you. >>> i'm just 22 years old. i must be the greatest. >>> almost as quickly as cassius clay arrived, he vanished. >> his life changed the next morning. >> in 1964 after he stunned the nation by winning the heavyweight title he joined the black separatists joining the nation of islam and became muhammad ali. >> did the two of you ever talk about why it was important to change his name? >> it was important because he believed he had a slave name. he wanted a new identity. >> you know my new name. quit calling me that. >> will your next fight be billed as cassius clay or muhammad ali? >> muhammad ali.

we have an image of the man, cassius clay, his upset victory over sonny liston in 1965. >> this morning, we will be hearing from friends, family, experts and of course from the man himself. we do begin with jim avila who is outside the hospital where ali died in scottsdale, arizona. good morning, jim. >> reporter: good morning, paula and dan. the champ was rushed to this hospital four days ago. his spokesman said at the time, we shouldn't panic. ali was in fair condition. but by the end of the week as his family began to gather here, it became clear ali's condition was grave. muhammad ali was taken from his home outside paradise valley, arizona, may 31st at 1:00 in the afternoon. the ambulance call said a 74-year-old man with respiratory issues needed transport to the hospital. he had breathing problems that led to a similar hospitalization in scotts dale last year. his daughter, laila, changed her facebook picture to a photo of ali and her and posted a message thanking fans for their thoughts and prayers. the thoughts poured out over night as friends and fans alike mourned the loz of a

then 22-year-old cassius clay teased his awe-struck neighbor. >>> he said he was going to marry you? >>> yes he said to that a lot of girls. >>> >> reporter: he had just been diagnosed with parkinsons when they met. did you feel robbed? >>> no, no. i can look at his face and tell what he wants and thinking, i

. >> reporter: it was back in 1964 that a young fighter and olympic gold medalist named cassius clay was training at gleason's gym in the bronx, right before his fight with sonny liston. since then, that gym has moved to this spot in brooklyn. soon as you walk through the doors, trainers and boxers and visitors alike will tell you the champ's presence can be felt here. ali's memorabilia and pictures cover the wall. there are photos of the champ with his trainer angelo dundee before his fight with another boxer. gleason's boxing gym is also where 134 world champions have trained since its doors opened in 1937. no surprise why the champ decided to work out at gleason's during his career. the gym's owner was a friend of ali's, who says young boxers still want to learn the champ's winning moves. >> he's not only a boxing hero and a boxing champion, he's an american icon. he changed the style. the kids are coming to the gym, they want to train like muhammad ali. they want to have his style. >> reporter: i spoke with the owner today and he tells me there are several tributes in the works f

and tonight those in louisville kentucky, where he was born cassius clay 70 years ago. and people paying respect at a museum built in his honor, the champion. we have extensive coverage of his death and extraordinary life. we begin with lester -- with morgan radford. >> reporter: he was called the greatest of all time but for them he was just dad. >> all family members are having a tough time. >> as a family mourns their father, a world celebrates a legend. paying tribute to generations too young to pay tribute to the right cross and some who see it when they close their eyes. >> he was my child hood hero end >> he was my child hood hero end was amazing. >> when you say boxing, you say ali, it is that simple. >> reporter: in social media, an outpouring of memories. you will always be the greatest for more than what you did in the ring, tweeting tiger woods. and president saying he shook up the world and the world is better for it and a former commander-in-chief who will soon driver his eulogy. but perhaps nowhere is the absence more personal than in the town that made h

and tonight those in louisville kentucky, where he was born cassius clay years ago. and people paying respect at a museum built ho honor the champion. we have extensive coverage of his death and extraordinary life. we begin with lester holt. >> reporter: he won the 1960 olympic gold in rome but that alone would not have made marcelous cassius clay, getting turned away as soon as he returned home, a medal he tossed in the river, got his started on the journey of self-discovery and led to his name change. in the early years the world discovered a startling athletic talent wrapped in a truly out-sized personality, an american original. >> i am the greatest. >> i'm so great. >> reporter: sometimes it was bragging of a kind not heard before in the uber male world of prize fighting. and others poet refrains that became a trademark with cornerman houdini brown. >> you're going to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. >> reporter: or in the run-up to his attempt to take the heavy weight title from sonny liston, a prediction in rhyme. >> if you like to lose your money,

>> reporter: he was born cassius clay in louisville, kentucky in 1942. by 18 he was the star of the u.s. olympic team. >> i'm handsome, i'm fast, i'm pretty, and can't possibly be beat. >> reporter: light on his feet, and unlike anything the boxing world had ever seen, he took home a gold medal, but the victory was bittersweet. returning home to a segregated south where he was still treated like a second class citizen, ali said he threw his medal into the ohio river in disgust. >> i went downtown, i sat down. i said a cup of coffee and a hot dog. the lady said we don't serve negros. i was so mad. i said i don't eat them either. >> reporter: four years later he stole the heavyweight title in one of the biggest upsets in history. >> upset sonny liston and i just turned 22 years old. i must be the greatest! >> reporter: ali loved the spotlight but privately he was going through his own transformation. at the height of the civil rights movement and under the guidance of malcolm x, ali joined the nation of islam and rejected what he called his slave name. >>

born cassius marcellus clay jr. muhammad ali first put on a pair of boxing gloves at age 12. six years later, burst on to the scene as a brash but incredibly talented champion at the 1960 olympics. his star and voice rising as he turned pro, ali stepped up against sonny listen for the heavyweight title four years later. >> you look at me, i'm confident. i'm ready to go. [ applause ] >> reporter: when listen could not answer the bell for round seven, cassius clay had arrived. >> come here, come here! >> i'm the greatest fighter that ever lived. >> reporter: almost as quickly asly arrived, cassius -- as he arrived, cassius clay was gone. after joining the nation of islam in 1964, clay changed his name to muhammad ali. he criticized u.s. involvement in the vietnam war and refused induction in the army as a muslim and as a conscientious objector. the year was 1967. ali was sentenced to five years in prison which he never served and was stripped of his heavyweight championship and suspended from boxing for three years. t

for years sportswriters and others continued to call him cassius clay but he made everyone to come around in the end and became known in the end as muhammad ali. >> he had to overcome that but then again came the draft and david, i want to talk to you about that when he stood against the draft convicted of draft evasion you wrote this in an era defined by war we should re recognize a day in history that won't be celebrated in the white house. the u.s. government tormented him for a reason, he was unabash unabashidally dangerous. again with so many and advocacy out there he really benefitted from. >> he was dangerous because he was correct that the war in vietnam was a horrific waste of human life on both sides and he was willing to say that at a time when very few were unwilling to say it. the number one song was ballad of the green berets and the cover of life magazine was vietnam the war that's worth winning. the u.s. congress took two votes, one was to renew the commitment to the draft, the other was to make it a crime to burn the flag. this is very big pushback from the yoouunited sta

. >> reporter: he was born cassius clay in louisville, kentucky in 1942. he is learned to fight as a boy after his bicycle was stolen and soon climbed the ranks of amateur boxing. by 18 he was the star of the u.s. olympic team. light on his feet and unlike anything the boxing world had seen, he took home a gold medal. the victory was bittersweet, returning home to a segregated south where he was still treated as a second class citizen. he said he threw his medal into the ohio river in disgust. four years later he was up against his first title fight. defying 7 to 1 odds, he stole the title in one of the biggest upsets in history. >> i upset him and i must be the greatest. >> reporter: he loved the spotlight but privately he was going through his own transformation. he dared to align his end at both ends of the civil rights moment. a shared faith with malcolm x. >> i would like for you to call me by my name now, muhammad ali. >> reporter: he joined the nation of islam and rejected what he called his slave name. >> he was revolutionary in terms of race by st

and before that he was a newborn babies, cassius marcelous clay jr. born to cassius and odessa clay. imagine that boy looking around the room at the louisville general hospital, not knowing the life that awaited him, the life he would make, the world he would shake up and the people who would inspire. and like you, i am absolutely one of those people. muhammad ali belongs to the world but he only has one hometown. the louisville lip spoke to everyone, but we heard him in a way no one else could, as our brother, our uncle and our inspiration. and i am so grateful that i had the chance to to know him and see how he leveraged his fame to share his message of love, peace and compassion. what the champ would want us to do right now is to spread that same message, follow his example and live by the same six core principles that he lived by: confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, respect and spirituality. i'd like to close with muhammad's words, which carried just as much grace and power as his fists ever did. this comes from his book "the soul of a butt

but a lot of us who came up in that era remember him saying cassius clay was my slave name and insisting on his new name and the almost universally white news and sports media took a long time to climb on board that bandwagon and fall in with the program. and if you were a kid my age, the first time you ever heard the expression conscientious objector was when ali said he wouldn't go to vietnam. i just want to hear his voice for a moment on that incident particularly. >> there haven't been very many negroes in this country who have protested the draft in the sense that they have gone in and fought. do you think that you are setting some kind of an example that perhaps some of them may even -- >> i'm not out to set no example for nobody to follow. i'm a muslim. i'm with 600 more million who believe the same as me. i'm just sticking to my religious beliefs and the holy koran, which was there before, long before i was thought about coming into this world. i'm just following my religious beliefs. i'm not advising them or telling them nothing to do. i'm just following my religious beliefs to

and he changed his name from cassius clay to muhammad ali calling clay my slave name. the press called him in the beginning the louisville lip. he called himself the greatest. his fighting style was unlike any other. jim merry of the los angeles times once said ali didn't have fights, he gave recitals and ali famously pioneered the rope a dope, a move in which he would lie against the ropes to conserve energy while his opponent punched himself out. his bat well joe frassier in the fight of the century and his surprise upset of george foreman the thrilla in manila are some of the most memorable moments in sports history. in 1981 at age 39 after winning three heavyweight titles and cementing his boxing legacy ali retired from boxing. in his later years he traveled the world delivering speeches on spirit allity and peace. he also undertook semidiplomattic missions to africa and iraq. he was named one of time magazine's 100 most important people of the 20th century and was awarded medals by two u.s. presidents. while he is deeply admired in the sports world, ali also impac