Why I chose him
I consider Muhammad Ali as my personal hero who was first known as Cassius Clay. He won his first gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960. He stunned the boxing community in 1964 with his defeat of heavyweight champion Sonny Liston. During the Vietnam war he was ordered to go and fight but he refused induction on religious grounds, he was branded a draft-dodger and was stripped of his heavyweight title. Regardless of this, he never gave into the American Government and stuck to his principles. World Boxing Association suspended his boxing licence and banned him from sports for three years.
Ali returned to the ring after three years and beat Jerry Quarry in 1970. He lost to Joe Frazier five months later, who had replaced him as heavyweight champion when his title had been stripped. Ali regained the championship for the first time when he defeated George Foreman, who had beaten Frazier for the title in 1974.
Muhammad Ali was very old although he had made amazing comebacks against Frazier and Norton, who he fought several more times before Foreman, even Ali`s own trainer asked Foreman to take it easy on Ali because he was an old man. But Muhammad Ali proved the world wrong yet again by knocking out George Foreman in 8 rounds and regained his championship title.
I admired his personality because he used his position to speak out against inequality and always helped people who were less fortunate than himself. He had lots of personal qualities and values. He spoke for civil rights against discrimination of black people on numerous occasions and he held many fundraisers for under privileged children on the streets of America and Africa. He was always confident in his abilities and was always optimistic. He had great ambition and he had the courage to stand up and fight for what he believed in. I also admired him as a sportsman because he had always been the only boxer to dance around the ring for a whole 15 rounds during a fight. There’s no doubt that he had great boxing skills and a good entertainer too.
"If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it."
-Muhammad Ali.
Muhammad Ali has surely influenced my life for the better because he has taught me to never give up on my dreams. Muhammad Ali is a perfect example of that if you work hard enough and never give up you can achieve just about anything, just as he did. The world might never have known Muhammad Ali if his bike hadn`t been stolen when he was 12. He set out an aim to be the greatest ever and worked extremely hard but never gave up, even when he was deemed too old to fight again, he beat George Foreman, against all odds, in Zaire.
In conclusion, Muhammad Ali is my hero because he has proved the world wrong again by defeating other boxers against all odds. I will remember Muhammad Ali as someone who stood up for his beliefs always and was indeed the greatest.