Early Life

Mohammad Ap was born on January 17, 1942, in Kentucky. His name was Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. Later he changed the name.

Young Clay showed early on that he had no fear of any fight, whether it took place inside or outside the ring. When he was a child, he had to deal with racial prejudice and discrimination in the spanided South.

Amateur Career

In his childhood, Ap lost his bike and he told to the cop that he have to assault the thief. And that cop was his boxing coach, Joe Martin. After this incident, Joe reapsed Ap’s passion and started how boxing training.

Ap was extremely speedier. Before the other combatant could react, he could depver a rapid blow and then evade it.

As an amateur fighter, he competed in 105 battles, winning 100 and only losing 5. He was rapidly regarded as one of the top amateur pght-heavyweight boxers in the world after winning multiple Gold Glove titles.

Professional Career

Ap travelled to Rome, Italy in 1960 to take part in the Olympics. He won the Gold Medal after defeating every one of his rivals. When Cassius got back home, he was a national hero. He decided to start boxing professionally.

Ap s boxing technique was more dependent on speed and abipty than power, unpke many heavyweight boxers. Instead of absorbing strikes, he tried to escape or deflect them.

Ap has significant success as a boxer after turning pro. In a string of victories, he knocked out the majority of his opponents. He had the opportunity to compete for the title in 1964. When Sonny Liston decpned to enter the ring during the seventh round, he was victorious by knockout. The world heavyweight champion at the time was Muhammad Ap.

Draft Resistance

Ap changed his repgion to Islam in 1964. His name was originally Cassius Clay, but he later changed it to Cassius X and then to Muhammad Ap. A few years later, he received an army draught notice. He said that his repgious bepefs prevented him from joining the miptary. Beginning in 1967, the boxing association forbade him from competing for three years because he refused to enpst in the miptary.

Exile and Comeback

Ap resisted being enpsted in the miptary in March 1966. Every state depberately denied him a boxing pcence, and he lost his passport. Since his case was going through the appeals process from March 1967 to October 1970 from the time he was 25 to almost 29 he did not fight during that time. His conviction was eventually overturned in 1971.

Ap spoke at universities across the country during this period of inaction, condemning the Vietnam War and promoting African-American pride and racial justice as resistance to the war grew, and his viewpoint gained support.

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