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Thirty years ago on the morning of October 30th 1974, Muhammad Ali 44-2 (32) was just hours away from entering the ring to challenge undisputed heavyweight champion George Foreman 40-0 (37). The fight with Foreman represented more than just a chance for him to become the second former heavyweight champ to regain the title. A victory over Foreman meant validation and redemption for Ali.
By October 1974, seven years had passed since Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title for refusing Induction into the U.S. Army on April 28th 1967. After the then Cassius Clay defeated Sonny Liston in February of 1964 to capture the heavyweight title, he announced that he was a member of the Nation of Islam, and was adopting the name Cassius X. Two weeks later he was given the name Muhammad Ali by Elijah Muhammad the leader of the Nation of Islam. From that point on, Ali was a marked man by the so called establishment, and viewed as someone dangerous and capable of in sighting a race war between Whites and Blacks.
After a 43 month forced exile from boxing, Ali returned to the ring. In the four years in between his comeback fight with Jerry Quarry in October 1970, up to his title fight with George Foreman in October 1974, Ali fought for the title once, and went 12-2 in 14 fights. [details]
By October 1974, seven years had passed since Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title for refusing Induction into the U.S. Army on April 28th 1967. After the then Cassius Clay defeated Sonny Liston in February of 1964 to capture the heavyweight title, he announced that he was a member of the Nation of Islam, and was adopting the name Cassius X. Two weeks later he was given the name Muhammad Ali by Elijah Muhammad the leader of the Nation of Islam. From that point on, Ali was a marked man by the so called establishment, and viewed as someone dangerous and capable of in sighting a race war between Whites and Blacks.
After a 43 month forced exile from boxing, Ali returned to the ring. In the four years in between his comeback fight with Jerry Quarry in October 1970, up to his title fight with George Foreman in October 1974, Ali fought for the title once, and went 12-2 in 14 fights. [details]