Schoolchildren welcome Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali made a rare public appearance in a charity event in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky on Tuesday. The former three-time world heavyweight boxing champion was greeted by students and teachers at the John F Kennedy Montessori Elementary School
where he was the guest of honour in an initiative to encourage people to grow vegetables at schools.
More than 600 students trooped to the school's gym to catch a glimpse of Ali, who suffers from Parkinson's disease. The 68-year-old remained seated during the hour-long event and posed for photos with the children after. The event is part of the school's
efforts to produce "Muhammad Ali Centre Peace Gardens" throughout the world. The project aims to teach children the importance of nutrition and keeping a healthy lifestyle. Yum Brands Inc will provide $100,000 over the next four years to finance the creation
of vegetable gardens in schools.
Ali came along with his wife, Lonnie, who encouraged students to be proud of their heritage. In her speech during the event, she said that children should accept each other's heritage and respect their differences. Children whose families were from China,
India, Vietnam, Russia, Nepal, Mexico and Cuba were among those who attended the event.
Dubbed as "The Greatest," Ali was born and raised in Louisville. Then known as Cassius Clay, Ali won six Kentucky Golden Gloves and several national titles as an amateur to earn a spot with the US national team for the 1960 Rome Olympics. He won the light
heavyweight gold medal and turned professional in October of that year.
After piling up wins and defeating formidable foes such as the legendary Archie Moore, Ali was given a title shot in 1964. Despite being the underdog, Ali dominated Sonny Liston in their title bout and became the new world champion when the latter refused
to answer the bell in the seventh round.
Ali defended his title several times, including a first-round knock-out of Liston, before he was stripped of his belt and boxing licence for his refusal to be drafted into military service during the Vietnam War. Ali was eventually allowed to fight again,
posting wins over Jerry Quarry and Oscar Bonavena to earn a shot at Joe Frazier's world title.
In the bout dubbed as "The Fight of the Century," Frazier floored Ali with a leaping left hook in the 15th and final round en route to a unanimous-decision win. The loss was the first in Ali's professional career. After the loss, Ali went back to the drawing
board and began piling up wins again. Among his victims were Jimmy Ellis, Buster Mathis, George Chuvalo, Floyd Patterson and Quarry, whom he stopped again in their re-match.
Ali's winning streak was snapped by Ken Norton in 1973 but he avenged the loss in their re-match. He posted a unanimous-decision win over Frazier in their re-match in 1974 to earn a crack at George Foreman's title. Ali regained the world heavyweight crown
when he knocked out the heavily favoured Foreman in Zaire in 1974. The fight, known as the "Rumble in the Jungle," became famous for Ali's Rope-A-Dope technique in which he leaned on the ropes throughout the fight, tiring out his opponent before going for
the kill. Ali's victory over Foreman is considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
Ali defended his belt several times, including a 14th-round stoppage of Frazier in the "Thrilla in Manila." Ali lost his title to Leon Spinks in 1978 but regained it in their re-match just seven months after their first meeting. He fought two more times,
losing to Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick, before hanging up his gloves for good. Ali has a career record of 56 wins and five losses with 37 knock-outs.
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