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MUHAMMAD ALI: You want
some breakfast?
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00:01:04,743 --> 00:01:08,043
GIRL: I want
some cornflakes.
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00:01:08,076 --> 00:01:10,409
ALI: Can I have some
of your cornflakes?
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00:01:10,443 --> 00:01:12,543
Oh, I don't want none.
I won't take none.
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00:01:12,576 --> 00:01:14,443
I won't take none.
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I won't eat none
if you don't want me to.
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Ooh! Look
at that pretty horsey.
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Where?
Is that a white horse?
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See? No. Stand up,
look over there.
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00:01:22,276 --> 00:01:23,576
Stand up.
You got to stand up.
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Over that building.
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See the big one?
There he is.
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What? What's wrong?
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00:01:33,909 --> 00:01:35,043
You ate
my cornflakes!
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00:01:35,076 --> 00:01:37,509
(crowd chanting, "ali!")
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00:01:42,343 --> 00:01:44,909
WOMAN: My earliest memories
that I can think of as a child
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00:01:44,943 --> 00:01:48,176
with my father are walking
through airports and being
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00:01:48,209 --> 00:01:50,809
in crowds and feeling
in my... the vibrations
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00:01:50,843 --> 00:01:54,809
of people's clapping
and shouts in my chest
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and just looking
at my dad, you know, like
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00:01:56,509 --> 00:01:58,976
"who is this person?"
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And it was all the time,
anywhere we went.
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00:02:01,976 --> 00:02:03,376
"You're the greatest.
We love you."
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00:02:03,409 --> 00:02:04,943
And the clapping
and, "Muhammad."
25
00:02:04,976 --> 00:02:07,209
Ali bomaye.
Ali bomaye.
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00:02:07,243 --> 00:02:08,709
Ali bomaye.
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00:02:08,743 --> 00:02:10,209
HANA: I loved feeling
all the energy
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00:02:10,243 --> 00:02:13,209
and the love that he felt.
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00:02:13,243 --> 00:02:17,643
MAN: We now think of Muhammad
Ali as this vulnerable guy
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00:02:17,676 --> 00:02:19,476
lighting the torch in Atlanta,
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00:02:19,509 --> 00:02:22,009
and everybody
on the globe loves him.
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00:02:22,043 --> 00:02:24,143
Black people like him,
white people.
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00:02:24,176 --> 00:02:28,043
He's a universal hero like...
But almost in a religious way,
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00:02:28,076 --> 00:02:30,243
like the Buddha,
but when he was
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00:02:30,276 --> 00:02:32,209
in the midst of his career
and not just
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00:02:32,243 --> 00:02:35,543
in the early bit,
he was incredibly divisive.
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00:02:35,576 --> 00:02:38,309
CASSIUS CLAY: Boo, yell,
scream, throw peanuts,
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00:02:38,343 --> 00:02:42,276
but whatever you do,
pay to get in.
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00:02:42,309 --> 00:02:44,376
REMNICK: People hated him
whether it was
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00:02:44,409 --> 00:02:47,043
along racial lines,
class lines, Vietnam lines,
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00:02:47,076 --> 00:02:49,043
political lines,
religious lines,
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00:02:49,076 --> 00:02:50,676
or they just couldn't stand him
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00:02:50,709 --> 00:02:52,152
and people of course
had the opposite,
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00:02:52,176 --> 00:02:55,809
and this was
"I loved him, loved him!"
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00:02:55,843 --> 00:02:58,909
But you had
an opinion about him.
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00:02:58,943 --> 00:03:00,543
(bell rings)
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00:03:00,576 --> 00:03:02,009
What's my name?
What's my name?
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00:03:02,043 --> 00:03:03,576
CLAY: I ain't scared
of no battle.
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00:03:03,609 --> 00:03:05,343
It's gonna take
a good man to whoop me.
50
00:03:05,376 --> 00:03:06,552
You can look at me.
I'm loaded with confidence.
51
00:03:06,576 --> 00:03:07,776
I can't be beat.
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00:03:07,809 --> 00:03:09,209
I had 180 amateur fights,
53
00:03:09,243 --> 00:03:10,243
22 professional fights,
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00:03:10,276 --> 00:03:11,876
and I'm pretty as a girl.
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Look how pretty I am.
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00:03:13,643 --> 00:03:15,509
(laughter)
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00:03:15,543 --> 00:03:17,876
My long, trim legs
and my beautiful arms
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00:03:17,909 --> 00:03:19,476
and my pretty nose
and mouth.
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00:03:19,509 --> 00:03:21,776
I know I'm pretty, man.
I know I'm pretty.
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00:03:21,809 --> 00:03:23,743
You don't have to
tell me I'm pretty.
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00:03:23,776 --> 00:03:25,243
I'm cocky. I'm proud.
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00:03:25,276 --> 00:03:27,309
Never talk about
who's gonna stop be.
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00:03:27,343 --> 00:03:28,809
There ain't nobody
gonna stop me.
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00:03:28,843 --> 00:03:30,609
I say what a want to say.
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00:03:30,643 --> 00:03:31,885
There ain't no more
big niggas talking like this.
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(laughter)
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00:03:33,476 --> 00:03:35,109
MAN: He was a pioneer,
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he was a revolutionary,
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00:03:36,943 --> 00:03:39,343
he was a groundbreaker,
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00:03:39,376 --> 00:03:43,243
a guy known simply
as the greatest.
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00:03:43,276 --> 00:03:45,543
I am the greatest.
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I've wrassled
with alligators.
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00:03:47,076 --> 00:03:48,976
I've tussled with a whale.
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00:03:49,009 --> 00:03:52,109
I done handcuffed lightning
and put thunder in jail.
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00:03:52,143 --> 00:03:53,543
Well, you know I'm bad.
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00:03:53,576 --> 00:03:56,209
Back off of me, man.
Back off of me, man.
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00:03:56,243 --> 00:03:59,576
ALI: I can drown a drink
of water and kill a dead tree.
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00:03:59,609 --> 00:04:01,609
This will be no contest.
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00:04:01,643 --> 00:04:03,709
Wait till you see Muhammad Ali.
80
00:04:03,743 --> 00:04:05,176
♫ Beyoncé's "Freedom" playing ♫
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00:04:05,209 --> 00:04:07,176
MAN: To have that chutzpah
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00:04:07,209 --> 00:04:08,909
and to be a black man
in America,
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00:04:08,943 --> 00:04:11,443
it was just... it was...
It was outlandish.
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00:04:11,476 --> 00:04:13,176
ALI: Muhammad means worthy
of all praises,
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00:04:13,209 --> 00:04:15,309
and Ali means most high.
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00:04:15,343 --> 00:04:18,176
I just don't think I should go
10,000 miles from here
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00:04:18,209 --> 00:04:20,709
and shoot some black people that
never called me nigger.
88
00:04:20,743 --> 00:04:22,276
I just can't shoot him.
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00:04:22,309 --> 00:04:23,485
I was always wondered
why miss America
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00:04:23,509 --> 00:04:24,509
was always white,
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00:04:24,543 --> 00:04:25,776
Santa Clause is white.
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00:04:25,809 --> 00:04:27,676
White swan soap,
king white soap,
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00:04:27,709 --> 00:04:29,376
white cloud
tissue paper,
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00:04:29,409 --> 00:04:31,109
and everything
bad was black.
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00:04:31,143 --> 00:04:32,943
Black cat was
the bad luck,
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00:04:32,976 --> 00:04:35,776
and if I threaten you,
I'm gonna blackmail you.
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00:04:35,809 --> 00:04:37,643
(audience laughing)
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00:04:37,676 --> 00:04:39,185
I said, "mama, why don't
they call it whitemail?
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00:04:39,209 --> 00:04:40,676
They lie, too."
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00:04:40,709 --> 00:04:42,243
LARRY HOLMES:
I loved being around him.
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00:04:42,276 --> 00:04:45,343
I loved
being around Muhammad Ali.
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00:04:45,376 --> 00:04:48,309
You gonna float like a
butterfly and sting like a bee.
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BOTH: Ahh!
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00:04:49,943 --> 00:04:51,843
Rumble, young man,
rumble.
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00:04:51,876 --> 00:04:53,309
Ahh!
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00:04:53,343 --> 00:04:54,783
ALI: The price of
freedom comes high.
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00:04:54,809 --> 00:04:57,209
I have paid,
but I am free.
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00:04:57,243 --> 00:04:58,809
Beyoncé: ♫ freedom, freedom ♫
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00:04:58,843 --> 00:05:00,043
♫ I can't move ♫
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00:05:00,076 --> 00:05:01,843
♫ freedom, cut me loose ♫
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00:05:01,876 --> 00:05:04,543
ANNOUNCER: The winner
and still
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00:05:04,576 --> 00:05:07,009
heavyweight champion
of the world...
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00:05:07,043 --> 00:05:10,976
ALI: I am the greatest
fighter of all time.
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00:05:11,009 --> 00:05:13,809
Of all time.
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Beyoncé: ♫ hey ♫
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♫ I'mma keep runnin' ♫
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{\an8}Improved Captions by Sailor420
!!! Hope you enjoy the Mini-Series !!!
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♫ 'cause a winner don't
quit on themselves ♫
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00:05:25,976 --> 00:05:28,509
NARRATOR: He called himself
"the greatest"
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00:05:28,543 --> 00:05:31,943
and then proved it
to the entire world.
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00:05:31,976 --> 00:05:35,709
He was a master at what is
called the "sweet science,"
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00:05:35,743 --> 00:05:40,343
the brutal and sometimes
beautiful art of boxing.
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00:05:40,376 --> 00:05:43,343
Heavyweight champion
at just 22 years old,
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00:05:43,376 --> 00:05:47,076
he wrote his own rules
in the ring and in his life,
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00:05:47,109 --> 00:05:50,843
infuriating his critics,
baffling his opponents,
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00:05:50,876 --> 00:05:54,676
and riveting millions of fans.
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00:05:54,709 --> 00:05:56,843
At the height
of the civil rights movement,
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00:05:56,876 --> 00:05:59,276
he joined a separatist
religious sect
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00:05:59,309 --> 00:06:01,343
whose leader would,
for a time,
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00:06:01,376 --> 00:06:05,976
dominate both his personal life
and his boxing career.
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00:06:06,009 --> 00:06:08,943
He spoke his mind and stood
on principle
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00:06:08,976 --> 00:06:12,543
even when it cost him
his livelihood.
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00:06:12,576 --> 00:06:17,376
He redefined black manhood,
yet belittled his greatest rival
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00:06:17,409 --> 00:06:20,109
using the racist language
of the Jim Crow south
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00:06:20,143 --> 00:06:23,476
in which he had been raised.
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00:06:23,509 --> 00:06:26,243
Banished for his beliefs,
he returned to boxing
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an underdog, reclaimed
his title twice,
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00:06:30,376 --> 00:06:33,376
and became the most famous man
on earth.
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00:06:34,809 --> 00:06:37,576
He craved adulation
his whole life,
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00:06:37,609 --> 00:06:39,809
seeking crowds
on street corners,
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00:06:39,843 --> 00:06:43,609
in hotel lobbies,
on airport tarmacs,
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00:06:43,643 --> 00:06:45,643
everywhere he went,
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00:06:45,676 --> 00:06:48,543
and reveled
in the uninhibited joy
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00:06:48,576 --> 00:06:52,243
he brought each adoring fan.
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00:06:52,276 --> 00:06:56,343
He earned a massive fortune,
spent it freely,
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00:06:56,376 --> 00:06:59,776
and gave generously
to family, friends,
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00:06:59,809 --> 00:07:03,709
even strangers... anyone in need.
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00:07:03,743 --> 00:07:06,176
"Service to others,"
he often said,
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00:07:06,209 --> 00:07:11,376
"is the rent you pay
for your room here on earth."
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00:07:11,409 --> 00:07:14,009
Even after his body began
to betray him
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00:07:14,043 --> 00:07:18,876
and his brain had absorbed
too many blows, he fought on,
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00:07:18,909 --> 00:07:21,509
unable to go without
the attention and drama
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00:07:21,543 --> 00:07:23,876
that accompanied each bout.
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00:07:25,209 --> 00:07:30,176
Later, slowed and silenced by
a cruel and crippling disease,
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00:07:30,209 --> 00:07:33,843
he found refuge in his faith,
becoming a symbol
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00:07:33,876 --> 00:07:38,143
of peace and hope
on every continent.
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00:07:38,176 --> 00:07:41,809
Muhammad Ali was, the novelist
Norman mailer wrote,
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00:07:41,843 --> 00:07:45,809
"the very spirit
of the 20th century."
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ALI: I've always wanted to
be one black one
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00:07:48,243 --> 00:07:51,009
who got big
on your white televisions,
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00:07:51,043 --> 00:07:53,509
on your white newspapers,
on your satellites,
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00:07:53,543 --> 00:07:56,376
million-dollar checks,
and still look you in your face
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00:07:56,409 --> 00:08:00,309
and tell you the truth and 100%
stay with and represent
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00:08:00,343 --> 00:08:02,976
my people and not leave
them and sell them out
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00:08:03,009 --> 00:08:04,476
because I'm rich
and stay with them.
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00:08:04,509 --> 00:08:06,143
That was my purpose.
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00:08:06,176 --> 00:08:07,876
I'm here, and I'm showing
the world that
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00:08:07,909 --> 00:08:11,143
you can be here and still free
and stay yourself
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00:08:11,176 --> 00:08:13,043
and get respect from the world.
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00:08:13,076 --> 00:08:19,243
(bell rings)
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00:08:19,276 --> 00:08:22,576
♫ The Dixieland Jug Blowers'
"Boodle-Am-Shake" playing ♫
172
00:08:22,609 --> 00:08:30,609
♫ ♫
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00:08:34,743 --> 00:08:38,609
NARRATOR: Muhammad Ali was born
Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.
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At Louisville city hospital
on January 17, 1942.
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00:08:44,343 --> 00:08:46,909
ODESSA CLAY: He weighed about
6 pounds, 1 ounce,
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00:08:46,943 --> 00:08:50,443
so I wouldn't call that
a very large baby.
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00:08:50,476 --> 00:08:53,909
He learned to talk
before he was one years old,
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00:08:53,943 --> 00:08:58,043
and he's always been
a great talker.
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00:08:58,076 --> 00:09:00,543
NARRATOR: His parents,
Odessa Grady Clay
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00:09:00,576 --> 00:09:04,843
and Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr.,
had married in 1941
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00:09:04,876 --> 00:09:08,776
and bought a tiny house
at 3302 Grand Avenue
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00:09:08,809 --> 00:09:12,176
in Louisville's west end,
a black neighborhood
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00:09:12,209 --> 00:09:16,109
that was home to working-
and middle-class families.
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00:09:16,143 --> 00:09:18,643
WOMAN: The west end
had everything.
185
00:09:18,676 --> 00:09:22,009
We had our banks,
we had our entrepreneurs,
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00:09:22,043 --> 00:09:23,609
we had our newspaper.
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00:09:23,643 --> 00:09:27,443
It was a community
in which we were safe.
188
00:09:27,476 --> 00:09:31,643
I don't have a recollection
of when I first met the Clays.
189
00:09:31,676 --> 00:09:35,276
It's almost as
if you always knew them.
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00:09:35,309 --> 00:09:38,476
Mrs. Clay, she loved everybody
in the neighborhood.
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00:09:38,509 --> 00:09:40,643
I mean, she was one
of the ones that
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00:09:40,676 --> 00:09:43,009
if anything happened
you always knew
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00:09:43,043 --> 00:09:45,443
that you could run over there.
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00:09:45,476 --> 00:09:48,543
NARRATOR: Odessa cooked
and cleaned for white families
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00:09:48,576 --> 00:09:50,976
and attended
mount Zion baptist church
196
00:09:51,009 --> 00:09:52,709
every Sunday.
197
00:09:52,743 --> 00:09:53,985
HANA: Momma bird,
my grandmother,
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00:09:54,009 --> 00:09:55,676
was very sweet, very quiet,
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00:09:55,709 --> 00:09:58,209
and very pleasant,
never spoke badly about anybody,
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00:09:58,243 --> 00:10:00,276
very positive,
spiritual woman.
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00:10:00,309 --> 00:10:01,943
So outgoing and loving.
202
00:10:01,976 --> 00:10:05,576
WOMAN: She was kind,
and she was just sincere,
203
00:10:05,609 --> 00:10:08,943
and my dad truly received
his gentleness
204
00:10:08,976 --> 00:10:12,909
and his kindness from his
mom, momma bird.
205
00:10:12,943 --> 00:10:14,976
NARRATOR: Young
Cassius never sat still.
206
00:10:15,009 --> 00:10:17,109
He pulled the pots and pans
from the cupboard
207
00:10:17,143 --> 00:10:19,509
to bang on them,
chased the family's pet chicken
208
00:10:19,543 --> 00:10:22,743
around the yard,
and stood up in his stroller
209
00:10:22,776 --> 00:10:24,676
to get a better view.
210
00:10:24,709 --> 00:10:27,343
RASHEDA: Even as a young boy,
he just had
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00:10:27,376 --> 00:10:29,976
this huge personality,
and he was always laughing
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00:10:30,009 --> 00:10:32,443
and smiling, always making
other people laugh.
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00:10:32,476 --> 00:10:34,319
And my grandmother, she was
like, "this... this boy
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00:10:34,343 --> 00:10:37,209
is gonna be something special."
215
00:10:37,243 --> 00:10:39,809
NARRATOR: 18 months
after Cassius was born,
216
00:10:39,843 --> 00:10:42,043
Odessa gave birth
to a second son, whom they named
217
00:10:42,076 --> 00:10:46,976
after the silent film
star Rudolph Valentino.
218
00:10:47,009 --> 00:10:50,143
Cassius and Rudy were
exceptionally close.
219
00:10:50,176 --> 00:10:53,009
When his brother misbehaved,
Cassius would insist
220
00:10:53,043 --> 00:10:56,276
that Rudy was his baby
and refuse to let
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00:10:56,309 --> 00:10:59,976
their father spank him.
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00:11:00,009 --> 00:11:03,043
Cassius Clay sr.,
an artist who earned a living
223
00:11:03,076 --> 00:11:05,709
as a sign-painter
and muralist, had been named
224
00:11:05,743 --> 00:11:10,209
for a fiery 19th century
white abolitionist.
225
00:11:10,243 --> 00:11:13,743
He loved to be noticed,
often quoted from the Bible,
226
00:11:13,776 --> 00:11:17,509
and railed
against racial injustice.
227
00:11:17,543 --> 00:11:20,643
"Cash," as he was called,
was "a miniature volcano
228
00:11:20,676 --> 00:11:24,709
of a man," one observer said,
boisterous and cocky.
229
00:11:24,743 --> 00:11:28,209
RASHEDA: Papa cash
was charismatic, he was funny,
230
00:11:28,243 --> 00:11:31,809
he had the biggest personality.
231
00:11:31,843 --> 00:11:35,009
He lit up a room
when he walked in.
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00:11:35,043 --> 00:11:37,509
Everyone just wanted to talk
to him,
233
00:11:37,543 --> 00:11:39,276
everyone wanted to know him.
234
00:11:39,309 --> 00:11:42,776
Our father could sing,
dance, paint, draw,
235
00:11:42,809 --> 00:11:44,276
memorize poetry.
236
00:11:44,309 --> 00:11:46,776
My brother got his talent
from our father.
237
00:11:46,809 --> 00:11:49,609
RASHEDA: My dad, he's certainly
a combination of momma bird
238
00:11:49,643 --> 00:11:51,376
and papa cash for sure,
239
00:11:51,409 --> 00:11:55,376
but his charisma definitely
came from papa cash.
240
00:11:55,409 --> 00:11:57,343
MAN: His father was a race man,
241
00:11:57,376 --> 00:12:00,043
and he believed that his career,
like so many others',
242
00:12:00,076 --> 00:12:02,009
was held back
by the color of his skin,
243
00:12:02,043 --> 00:12:05,009
and he believed that
he was a brilliant painter,
244
00:12:05,043 --> 00:12:07,076
an artist,
but he was relegated
245
00:12:07,109 --> 00:12:08,976
to painting signs
in front of stores
246
00:12:09,009 --> 00:12:12,309
and painting church murals
and scraping to make a living
247
00:12:12,343 --> 00:12:14,909
because he didn't have the same
kind of opportunity
248
00:12:14,943 --> 00:12:17,109
that a white painter
might have had.
249
00:12:17,143 --> 00:12:20,443
NARRATOR: Papa cash was also
an unrepentant womanizer,
250
00:12:20,476 --> 00:12:22,709
who could be violent when drunk.
251
00:12:22,743 --> 00:12:25,543
He was arrested regularly
for disorderly conduct
252
00:12:25,576 --> 00:12:27,243
and reckless driving.
253
00:12:27,276 --> 00:12:30,043
And he occasionally hit
his wife,
254
00:12:30,076 --> 00:12:33,209
and there were police involved
at times when she had to call
255
00:12:33,243 --> 00:12:35,376
to protect herself,
256
00:12:35,409 --> 00:12:37,476
and I think for
the boys growing up,
257
00:12:37,509 --> 00:12:40,643
for Cassius and for Rudy,
it was frightening environment
258
00:12:40,676 --> 00:12:42,843
at times to see their mother
being threatened,
259
00:12:42,876 --> 00:12:45,343
and as they got older,
they would step in
260
00:12:45,376 --> 00:12:47,276
and try to put a stop to it.
261
00:12:47,309 --> 00:12:49,809
NARRATOR: After one incident,
police arrived
262
00:12:49,843 --> 00:12:52,309
at the Clay home to find
young Cassius
263
00:12:52,343 --> 00:12:54,509
with a bloody gash on his leg.
264
00:12:54,543 --> 00:12:57,076
His father had cut him
with a knife when he'd tried
265
00:12:57,109 --> 00:12:59,009
to protect his mother
during an argument
266
00:12:59,043 --> 00:13:01,243
between his parents.
267
00:13:01,276 --> 00:13:04,309
The officers did nothing.
268
00:13:04,343 --> 00:13:06,576
Despite the violence,
Cassius and Rudy
269
00:13:06,609 --> 00:13:10,709
would speak of their home life
as peaceful and happy.
270
00:13:10,743 --> 00:13:17,209
♫ ♫
271
00:13:17,243 --> 00:13:19,219
HANA: My father, coming up,
in the segregated south,
272
00:13:19,243 --> 00:13:23,143
in Louisville, Kentucky,
had a difficult time.
273
00:13:23,176 --> 00:13:25,176
Momma bird taught him,
you know, people are cruel
274
00:13:25,209 --> 00:13:27,443
in this world,
but never, never, never,
275
00:13:27,476 --> 00:13:29,176
you know, become that.
276
00:13:29,209 --> 00:13:30,876
CHILDREN: I pledge
allegiance to the flag
277
00:13:30,909 --> 00:13:33,543
of the united
states of America.
278
00:13:33,576 --> 00:13:35,643
NARRATOR: The Louisville
of Cassius Clay's youth
279
00:13:35,676 --> 00:13:38,676
was strictly segregated,
and opportunities
280
00:13:38,709 --> 00:13:41,343
for African-Americans
were limited.
281
00:13:41,376 --> 00:13:44,476
He attended all-black schools,
could not eat
282
00:13:44,509 --> 00:13:47,509
at the lunch counters
of downtown stores,
283
00:13:47,543 --> 00:13:49,976
and watched from the other side
of the fence
284
00:13:50,009 --> 00:13:55,209
as white families enjoyed
a nearby amusement park.
285
00:13:55,243 --> 00:13:57,976
EIG: Young Cassius Clay
was aware very early
286
00:13:58,009 --> 00:13:59,743
of the differences
between black and white
287
00:13:59,776 --> 00:14:02,243
and how differently he and his
family were treated
288
00:14:02,276 --> 00:14:04,876
and would ask his father,
"why can't I be rich?"
289
00:14:04,909 --> 00:14:07,543
And his father would just point
to the color of his skin
290
00:14:07,576 --> 00:14:09,809
and say, "that's
why you can't be rich."
291
00:14:09,843 --> 00:14:14,243
♫ ♫
292
00:14:14,276 --> 00:14:17,376
NARRATOR: In 1955,
news of the brutal torture
293
00:14:17,409 --> 00:14:20,009
and murder of 14-year-old
Emmett till
294
00:14:20,043 --> 00:14:23,243
by white men in Mississippi
and graphic images
295
00:14:23,276 --> 00:14:26,009
in "jet" magazine
of his mutilated face
296
00:14:26,043 --> 00:14:28,176
haunted Cassius Clay,
297
00:14:28,209 --> 00:14:32,009
who was just 6 months
younger than till.
298
00:14:32,043 --> 00:14:34,119
HANA: That really affected like
a lot of other people
299
00:14:34,143 --> 00:14:35,876
in that time.
300
00:14:35,909 --> 00:14:38,043
He saw himself in Emmett till
and thought, "wow!
301
00:14:38,076 --> 00:14:39,743
"This outgoing kid
from the city,
302
00:14:39,776 --> 00:14:41,519
"and he came, and he whistled
at a pretty lady,
303
00:14:41,543 --> 00:14:42,885
"and now he's dead,
and you can't even
304
00:14:42,909 --> 00:14:44,709
recognize his face."
305
00:14:47,409 --> 00:14:49,109
MAN: It was astonishing
when we found out
306
00:14:49,143 --> 00:14:51,576
about Emmett till.
307
00:14:51,609 --> 00:14:54,543
His mother said,
"leave the casket open,"
308
00:14:54,576 --> 00:14:57,309
and you could see what,
how they brutalized him,
309
00:14:57,343 --> 00:15:01,043
and so everybody saw that.
310
00:15:01,076 --> 00:15:03,343
It was really kind of
scary for everybody
311
00:15:03,376 --> 00:15:06,043
in the community because
if they could do that to him,
312
00:15:06,076 --> 00:15:09,276
what could they do to us?
313
00:15:09,309 --> 00:15:12,876
That's when young black guys
started to change.
314
00:15:14,376 --> 00:15:18,909
♫ ♫
315
00:15:18,943 --> 00:15:20,843
NARRATOR: At the Virginia Avenue
colored school,
316
00:15:20,876 --> 00:15:24,143
Cassius Clay had a hard time
paying attention.
317
00:15:24,176 --> 00:15:25,843
EIG: He struggled
with his classes.
318
00:15:25,876 --> 00:15:27,909
He struggled to read,
he struggled with math.
319
00:15:27,943 --> 00:15:30,409
He was most certainly dyslexic.
320
00:15:30,443 --> 00:15:32,609
He found, like a lot
of people who have trouble
321
00:15:32,643 --> 00:15:34,909
in school, that he had to
compensate,
322
00:15:34,943 --> 00:15:38,143
and by being the class clown
was the way he did that.
323
00:15:38,176 --> 00:15:40,309
He would carry a purse
to school,
324
00:15:40,343 --> 00:15:42,809
he wore lipstick one day
to get laughs.
325
00:15:42,843 --> 00:15:45,309
He was willing to do things
that boys in the 1950s
326
00:15:45,343 --> 00:15:47,843
didn't often do.
327
00:15:47,876 --> 00:15:49,476
Even as a young man,
people just loved
328
00:15:49,509 --> 00:15:51,009
to be around him.
329
00:15:51,043 --> 00:15:54,476
He made them feel
good about themselves.
330
00:15:54,509 --> 00:15:57,176
NARRATOR: One day
in October of 1954,
331
00:15:57,209 --> 00:15:59,443
12-year-old Cassius rode
his bicycle
332
00:15:59,476 --> 00:16:01,209
into downtown Louisville,
333
00:16:01,243 --> 00:16:04,443
while Rudy sat
on the handlebars.
334
00:16:04,476 --> 00:16:06,943
It began to rain,
and the boys took cover
335
00:16:06,976 --> 00:16:10,076
in the Columbia auditorium,
where a home appliance show
336
00:16:10,109 --> 00:16:13,176
was underway.
337
00:16:13,209 --> 00:16:15,543
After the rain stopped,
they emerged to find that
338
00:16:15,576 --> 00:16:17,643
the bicycle was gone.
339
00:16:17,676 --> 00:16:20,809
He had a brand-new schwinn,
a beautiful red bicycle
340
00:16:20,843 --> 00:16:23,309
that he shared with his brother,
341
00:16:23,343 --> 00:16:24,919
and he went running around
looking for his bicycle
342
00:16:24,943 --> 00:16:26,709
and then ran back
into the community center
343
00:16:26,743 --> 00:16:28,343
asking for help.
344
00:16:28,376 --> 00:16:29,585
Someone told him there
was a police officer
345
00:16:29,609 --> 00:16:31,209
in the basement.
346
00:16:31,243 --> 00:16:35,576
♫ ♫
347
00:16:35,609 --> 00:16:37,643
MAN: He went down,
and the cop in the basement
348
00:16:37,676 --> 00:16:41,809
was this Joe Martin, who was
running a little boxing school.
349
00:16:41,843 --> 00:16:44,076
EIG: Cassius told the story
years later that
350
00:16:44,109 --> 00:16:45,676
for a minute he forgot
about his bike
351
00:16:45,709 --> 00:16:48,343
because the sight
of this boxing gym,
352
00:16:48,376 --> 00:16:50,376
the smell of the leather
and the sweat,
353
00:16:50,409 --> 00:16:52,676
and the excitement,
the action of boys
354
00:16:52,709 --> 00:16:53,852
in a ring hitting each other,
355
00:16:53,876 --> 00:16:55,709
black and white, together.
356
00:16:55,743 --> 00:16:58,843
And he, you know, reported
the crime, and "I'm gonna
357
00:16:58,876 --> 00:17:01,309
get the guy and I'm gonna,"
you know, "kill him."
358
00:17:01,343 --> 00:17:03,309
And Joe Martin said,
"well, uh, do you know
359
00:17:03,343 --> 00:17:05,609
how to fight?"
360
00:17:05,643 --> 00:17:06,809
"Fight?"
361
00:17:06,843 --> 00:17:08,909
And that was the beginning.
362
00:17:08,943 --> 00:17:10,685
NARRATOR: Though his father
was reluctant to let
363
00:17:10,709 --> 00:17:12,976
his son train
with a white police officer,
364
00:17:13,009 --> 00:17:16,643
the lessons were free,
and Cassius was eager to learn.
365
00:17:16,676 --> 00:17:20,309
At first, the young boxer
did not impress Martin.
366
00:17:20,343 --> 00:17:22,943
"He was just ordinary,"
the trainer recalled,
367
00:17:22,976 --> 00:17:24,885
"and I doubt whether any scout
would have thought
368
00:17:24,909 --> 00:17:26,809
much of him."
369
00:17:26,843 --> 00:17:28,952
EIG: Cassius didn't show any
special talent right away,
370
00:17:28,976 --> 00:17:30,743
but he showed enormous passion.
371
00:17:30,776 --> 00:17:34,076
He knew instantly that this
was what he wanted to do.
372
00:17:34,109 --> 00:17:35,752
Boxing was perfect for him
because there's just
373
00:17:35,776 --> 00:17:38,709
two guys in the ring,
and your eyes are always
374
00:17:38,743 --> 00:17:40,452
going to be drawn naturally to
the one who's doing
375
00:17:40,476 --> 00:17:42,976
the most moving, who's doing
the most punching,
376
00:17:43,009 --> 00:17:45,276
who's moving the fastest,
and that was him,
377
00:17:45,309 --> 00:17:48,609
and he knew that he could get
the most attention that way.
378
00:17:48,643 --> 00:17:51,976
NARRATOR: Just 6 weeks after
he walked into Joe Martin's gym,
379
00:17:52,009 --> 00:17:55,443
Cassius Clay had his first
amateur fight.
380
00:17:55,476 --> 00:17:57,943
I at that time was putting
on a local television show
381
00:17:57,976 --> 00:18:00,543
here in Louisville,
and I had amateur bouts
382
00:18:00,576 --> 00:18:03,676
every Saturday afternoon,
and the first bout I put him in,
383
00:18:03,709 --> 00:18:06,176
he weighed 87 pounds.
384
00:18:06,209 --> 00:18:08,743
NARRATOR: After defeating
14-year-old Ronnie O'Keefe
385
00:18:08,776 --> 00:18:11,476
in a split decision,
Clay immediately announced
386
00:18:11,509 --> 00:18:14,309
to everyone that one day
he would be called
387
00:18:14,343 --> 00:18:17,043
"the greatest of all time."
388
00:18:17,076 --> 00:18:18,743
MAN: He was always been
a little braggart,
389
00:18:18,776 --> 00:18:20,052
"I'm the greatest" and all that,
before he even got
390
00:18:20,076 --> 00:18:21,876
to be the greatest.
391
00:18:21,909 --> 00:18:25,009
We'd say, "oh, shut up.
You're just running your mouth."
392
00:18:25,043 --> 00:18:27,276
But as he got better and better,
393
00:18:27,309 --> 00:18:29,543
we had more respect for him.
394
00:18:29,576 --> 00:18:31,976
EIG: He believes in himself
before there's any reason to,
395
00:18:32,009 --> 00:18:33,185
before anyone else is
telling him that he
396
00:18:33,209 --> 00:18:35,176
might even have talent.
397
00:18:35,209 --> 00:18:38,043
It's so preposterous.
398
00:18:38,076 --> 00:18:40,043
NARRATOR: Cassius threw
himself into training,
399
00:18:40,076 --> 00:18:42,976
determined to add muscle
to his slender frame.
400
00:18:43,009 --> 00:18:46,543
He stopped drinking soda pop
and substituted garlic water,
401
00:18:46,576 --> 00:18:49,143
which he believed would keep
his blood pressure down.
402
00:18:49,176 --> 00:18:50,676
(bell rings)
403
00:18:50,709 --> 00:18:52,443
ANNOUNCER: Cassius Clay
of Louisville
404
00:18:52,476 --> 00:18:54,043
in the trunks
with the white stripes,
405
00:18:54,076 --> 00:18:57,243
meets Jefferson Davis
of Mobile, Alabama.
406
00:18:57,276 --> 00:19:00,476
NARRATOR: Clay realized early
that he was unusually quick
407
00:19:00,509 --> 00:19:03,809
and agile, able to avoid
punches by leaning back
408
00:19:03,843 --> 00:19:06,243
rather than ducking
or slipping side to side
409
00:19:06,276 --> 00:19:09,043
as boxers were
instructed to do.
410
00:19:09,076 --> 00:19:10,609
(bell rings)
411
00:19:10,643 --> 00:19:11,652
ANNOUNCER: It's Cassius
Clay the winner
412
00:19:11,676 --> 00:19:13,109
over Jefferson Davis.
413
00:19:16,509 --> 00:19:19,143
NARRATOR: Some nights, Clay
went from Martin's gym
414
00:19:19,176 --> 00:19:22,476
to the grace community center
across town, where he continued
415
00:19:22,509 --> 00:19:25,743
his boxing education
under Fred Stoner,
416
00:19:25,776 --> 00:19:29,376
a veteran trainer who had guided
many local amateurs to success
417
00:19:29,409 --> 00:19:31,876
at the golden gloves.
418
00:19:31,909 --> 00:19:34,943
Away from the gym,
he sought boxing wisdom
419
00:19:34,976 --> 00:19:37,609
wherever he could find it.
420
00:19:37,643 --> 00:19:41,409
When the well-known trainer
Angelo dundee came to town,
421
00:19:41,443 --> 00:19:44,176
Cassius peppered
him with questions.
422
00:19:44,209 --> 00:19:46,843
Dundee was impressed
by the teenager's determination
423
00:19:46,876 --> 00:19:49,009
and ambition.
424
00:19:49,043 --> 00:19:50,785
DUNDEE: He wanted to find out
how fighters train,
425
00:19:50,809 --> 00:19:53,743
the business about, uh,
diet, and everything else.
426
00:19:53,776 --> 00:19:56,709
And he was very, very
curious at that time.
427
00:19:56,743 --> 00:19:58,943
NARRATOR: Before each fight,
Cassius Clay would go
428
00:19:58,976 --> 00:20:01,443
door to door across
Louisville, introducing
429
00:20:01,476 --> 00:20:04,709
himself to white
and black residents alike.
430
00:20:04,743 --> 00:20:06,976
MAN: His strategy was
to sell tickets,
431
00:20:07,009 --> 00:20:09,709
and any way I could
entertain and sell tickets,
432
00:20:09,743 --> 00:20:11,776
this is what
I'm going to do,
433
00:20:11,809 --> 00:20:13,209
and that's what he did.
434
00:20:13,243 --> 00:20:15,743
He did a real good
job at that.
435
00:20:15,776 --> 00:20:17,943
NARRATOR: Clay was often
absent from high school,
436
00:20:17,976 --> 00:20:20,476
competing
in amateur tournaments.
437
00:20:20,509 --> 00:20:23,643
When he did attend class,
he sketched boxing gloves
438
00:20:23,676 --> 00:20:26,043
and letter jackets stitched
439
00:20:26,076 --> 00:20:28,543
with "national golden gloves
champion" in his notebook
440
00:20:28,576 --> 00:20:31,809
and offered to sign autographs
for his classmates.
441
00:20:35,276 --> 00:20:37,609
Bet my classmates that I
would beat them to school.
442
00:20:37,643 --> 00:20:40,176
They would ride the bus.
443
00:20:40,209 --> 00:20:42,176
BENDER: He would run up
Chestnut street
444
00:20:42,209 --> 00:20:46,909
with the local transit bus
just to get himself conditioned
445
00:20:46,943 --> 00:20:48,676
and then run
from Chestnut street
446
00:20:48,709 --> 00:20:52,843
to all the way over
to Broadway and come back,
447
00:20:52,876 --> 00:20:54,943
and he would sometimes stop
to look to see
448
00:20:54,976 --> 00:20:56,585
if there were ladies in there
or whatever,
449
00:20:56,609 --> 00:21:00,076
something like that,
and keep on running.
450
00:21:00,109 --> 00:21:02,309
ALI: The bus might get
a block or two lead on me.
451
00:21:02,343 --> 00:21:04,343
I would always catch up to
it when it stopped
452
00:21:04,376 --> 00:21:06,509
for passengers or stopped
for a red light
453
00:21:06,543 --> 00:21:08,143
or something.
454
00:21:08,176 --> 00:21:09,685
BENDER: It was funny.
It was really funny,
455
00:21:09,709 --> 00:21:12,676
and he'd wave,
wave, "I'm going on."
456
00:21:12,709 --> 00:21:13,819
They'd say,
"he's a strange person.
457
00:21:13,843 --> 00:21:16,876
Why's he running with us?"
458
00:21:16,909 --> 00:21:19,209
NARRATOR: In February of 1958,
459
00:21:19,243 --> 00:21:21,376
a month after his 16th birthday,
460
00:21:21,409 --> 00:21:23,176
Clay traveled with Joe Martin
461
00:21:23,209 --> 00:21:25,443
and a group of Louisville
hopefuls to Chicago
462
00:21:25,476 --> 00:21:28,276
for the golden gloves
tournament of champions.
463
00:21:28,309 --> 00:21:31,743
It was his first
national competition.
464
00:21:31,776 --> 00:21:35,743
He lost in the quarter finals.
465
00:21:35,776 --> 00:21:38,643
One year later,
taller and heavier,
466
00:21:38,676 --> 00:21:40,643
he made it to the tournament
finals,
467
00:21:40,676 --> 00:21:44,676
where he defeated 29-year-old
Australian-born Tony Madigan,
468
00:21:44,709 --> 00:21:48,743
a two-time olympian,
who was favored to win.
469
00:21:48,776 --> 00:21:50,843
NARRATOR: The decision
was unanimous.
470
00:21:50,876 --> 00:21:52,909
"I couldn't stick
him," Madigan said.
471
00:21:52,943 --> 00:21:55,276
"He would always just
pull out of range...
472
00:21:55,309 --> 00:21:57,409
Sort of vanish into thin air."
473
00:21:59,576 --> 00:22:02,343
Cassius Clay was now
a golden gloves
474
00:22:02,376 --> 00:22:05,843
light heavyweight champion.
475
00:22:05,876 --> 00:22:08,109
A win at the national
olympic trials
476
00:22:08,143 --> 00:22:11,343
in San Francisco would earn him
a spot on the team headed
477
00:22:11,376 --> 00:22:14,709
for the 1960 Rome Olympics,
478
00:22:14,743 --> 00:22:16,876
but there was a problem.
479
00:22:16,909 --> 00:22:19,209
He was afraid of flying,
480
00:22:19,243 --> 00:22:22,509
so afraid that he considered
turning professional
481
00:22:22,543 --> 00:22:25,943
rather than compete for a chance
to go to Italy.
482
00:22:25,976 --> 00:22:28,509
He hated flying. He was scared
to death of airplanes.
483
00:22:28,543 --> 00:22:30,343
He actually flew to
the olympic trials
484
00:22:30,376 --> 00:22:32,543
with a parachute that he
bought at an Army-Navy store
485
00:22:32,576 --> 00:22:34,343
that he wore on the plane.
486
00:22:34,376 --> 00:22:42,176
♫ ♫
487
00:22:42,209 --> 00:22:44,576
NARRATOR: At the cow palace
in San Francisco,
488
00:22:44,609 --> 00:22:47,676
Clay defeated his first
two opponents convincingly
489
00:22:47,709 --> 00:22:50,509
and advanced to the finals,
where he faced
490
00:22:50,543 --> 00:22:55,043
Allen Hudson, an army veteran
and more experienced fighter.
491
00:22:55,076 --> 00:22:56,976
ANNOUNCER:
In the 178-pound class,
492
00:22:57,009 --> 00:22:59,676
another Louisville boy
Cassius Clay in the dark trunks
493
00:22:59,709 --> 00:23:04,509
is pitted against the all-army
champion Allen Hudson.
494
00:23:04,543 --> 00:23:06,743
NARRATOR: In the third round,
Hudson sent Clay
495
00:23:06,776 --> 00:23:09,676
to the canvas.
496
00:23:09,709 --> 00:23:11,476
ANNOUNCER: Cassius is
up almost immediately,
497
00:23:11,509 --> 00:23:14,609
and after a check by the ref,
he's back in action.
498
00:23:14,643 --> 00:23:16,843
Clay's chance to go to work.
499
00:23:16,876 --> 00:23:18,776
He wades into Hudson
and sends him reeling
500
00:23:18,809 --> 00:23:20,976
into the corner.
501
00:23:21,009 --> 00:23:25,576
(crowd cheering)
502
00:23:25,609 --> 00:23:28,876
Hudson is really groggy
and just about out on his feet.
503
00:23:31,843 --> 00:23:36,376
NARRATOR: The referee awarded
Clay a technical knockout.
504
00:23:36,409 --> 00:23:37,909
He had earned a spot
505
00:23:37,943 --> 00:23:41,743
on the United States
olympic team.
506
00:23:41,776 --> 00:23:44,309
After the trials,
Clay pawned a watch he'd won
507
00:23:44,343 --> 00:23:47,243
in the tournament
and bought a train ticket home
508
00:23:47,276 --> 00:23:50,309
so he wouldn't have to fly.
509
00:23:50,343 --> 00:23:52,276
His graduation from
central high school
510
00:23:52,309 --> 00:23:54,609
was now just weeks away.
511
00:23:54,643 --> 00:23:58,376
He'd missed so many days
and had such poor grades
512
00:23:58,409 --> 00:24:02,809
that many of his teachers felt
Clay did not deserve a diploma.
513
00:24:02,843 --> 00:24:05,209
His principal disagreed.
514
00:24:05,243 --> 00:24:07,543
"The only thing Cassius
is going to have to read
515
00:24:07,576 --> 00:24:10,376
is his IRS form," he said,
"and I'm willing
516
00:24:10,409 --> 00:24:12,209
to help him do it."
517
00:24:14,676 --> 00:24:16,976
On his way
to the Olympics in Rome,
518
00:24:17,009 --> 00:24:20,076
Cassius Clay first stopped
in New York, where he hoped to
519
00:24:20,109 --> 00:24:22,909
meet his idol,
former middleweight champion
520
00:24:22,943 --> 00:24:26,309
sugar Ray Robinson, whom
many believed the greatest
521
00:24:26,343 --> 00:24:29,376
pound-for-pound fighter
in boxing history,
522
00:24:29,409 --> 00:24:31,676
known as much
for his flashy style
523
00:24:31,709 --> 00:24:35,176
as for his prowess in the ring.
524
00:24:35,209 --> 00:24:38,443
While Clay waited outside
Robinson's Harlem restaurant,
525
00:24:38,476 --> 00:24:40,976
hoping for a moment
with his hero,
526
00:24:41,009 --> 00:24:43,109
he noticed a small crowd
gathered
527
00:24:43,143 --> 00:24:45,109
around a well-dressed orator,
528
00:24:45,143 --> 00:24:46,709
who was calling upon
black people
529
00:24:46,743 --> 00:24:50,176
to shop only
at black-owned businesses.
530
00:24:50,209 --> 00:24:54,476
The man belonged to a group
called the nation of islam.
531
00:24:54,509 --> 00:24:57,276
"How can he talk like that?"
Clay wondered.
532
00:24:57,309 --> 00:25:00,243
"Ain't he gonna get in trouble?"
533
00:25:00,276 --> 00:25:04,276
When sugar ray finally pulled up
in a purple Lincoln continental,
534
00:25:04,309 --> 00:25:08,276
he had little time for his young
admirer, hurriedly signing
535
00:25:08,309 --> 00:25:11,543
a photograph for Clay
and wishing him luck.
536
00:25:11,576 --> 00:25:14,109
At first, Clay was awestruck.
537
00:25:14,143 --> 00:25:17,209
"That sugar ray,
he's something," he raved.
538
00:25:17,243 --> 00:25:19,909
"Someday I'm going to own
two Cadillacs
539
00:25:19,943 --> 00:25:23,409
and a Ford for just getting
around in,"
540
00:25:23,443 --> 00:25:26,909
but later, he remembered,
he felt snubbed.
541
00:25:26,943 --> 00:25:29,243
"If I ever get great
and famous and people want
542
00:25:29,276 --> 00:25:31,876
my autograph enough to wait
all day," he said,
543
00:25:31,909 --> 00:25:34,776
"I'm sure gonna treat
them different."
544
00:25:34,809 --> 00:25:37,409
Then, he nervously flew to Rome.
545
00:25:37,443 --> 00:25:44,676
♫ ♫
546
00:25:44,709 --> 00:25:46,943
EIG: The 1960 Olympics were
big and exciting
547
00:25:46,976 --> 00:25:48,976
in a lot of ways.
548
00:25:50,376 --> 00:25:52,809
The American team was
led by Rafer Johnson.
549
00:25:54,776 --> 00:25:57,509
It was a very exciting time
to be an olympian.
550
00:25:58,776 --> 00:26:01,676
For Cassius, who'd really
never traveled very far,
551
00:26:01,709 --> 00:26:04,109
this was really
an eye-opener to see the world
552
00:26:04,143 --> 00:26:07,243
and to see people who
spoke different languages,
553
00:26:07,276 --> 00:26:08,676
and he instantly became
554
00:26:08,709 --> 00:26:10,276
the mayor
of the olympic village.
555
00:26:10,309 --> 00:26:12,943
He was not famous yet
in any way,
556
00:26:12,976 --> 00:26:15,776
but his magnetism
just was amazing,
557
00:26:15,809 --> 00:26:19,309
and you see instantly reporters
and other athletes saying,
558
00:26:19,343 --> 00:26:21,876
"who is this guy?
We need to talk to him,"
559
00:26:21,909 --> 00:26:25,143
and just clusters forming
around him wherever he went.
560
00:26:25,176 --> 00:26:27,676
NARRATOR: Clay reveled
in all the attention.
561
00:26:27,709 --> 00:26:29,609
He met Bing Crosby,
562
00:26:29,643 --> 00:26:32,876
flirted with the sprinter
Wilma Rudolph,
563
00:26:32,909 --> 00:26:35,043
and posed for photographs
564
00:26:35,076 --> 00:26:38,043
with the current heavyweight
champion Floyd Patterson.
565
00:26:38,076 --> 00:26:41,609
"Be seeing you in
about two more years," he said.
566
00:26:41,643 --> 00:26:44,643
"This kid is irresistible,"
wrote one reporter.
567
00:26:44,676 --> 00:26:48,743
"He even made friends
with the Russians."
568
00:26:48,776 --> 00:26:50,676
The olympic athlete
with the noblest Roman name
569
00:26:50,709 --> 00:26:53,343
of them all
is Cassius Marcellus Clay.
570
00:26:53,376 --> 00:26:56,109
Actually, Cassius is no
Roman at all, however.
571
00:26:56,143 --> 00:26:58,576
He's actually an 18-year-old
light heavyweight,
572
00:26:58,609 --> 00:27:00,743
who makes his home on
grand street
573
00:27:00,776 --> 00:27:02,719
in Louisville, Kentucky,
and he may very well become
574
00:27:02,743 --> 00:27:05,243
an olympic champion.
575
00:27:05,276 --> 00:27:06,676
REPORTER: Cassius Clay...
576
00:27:06,709 --> 00:27:08,476
He's America's
light heavyweight.
577
00:27:08,509 --> 00:27:10,576
No one outside of the states
has ever heard of him.
578
00:27:10,609 --> 00:27:13,876
Clay beats a Belgian,
a Russian, and an Australian,
579
00:27:13,909 --> 00:27:17,076
and now he's in the final.
580
00:27:17,109 --> 00:27:19,176
NARRATOR: His opponent for
the gold medal would be
581
00:27:19,209 --> 00:27:22,843
Zigzy Pietrzykowski from Poland,
who'd won olympic bronze
582
00:27:22,876 --> 00:27:25,443
4 years earlier.
583
00:27:25,476 --> 00:27:27,176
REPORTER: The pole is 25.
584
00:27:27,209 --> 00:27:28,709
He's been unbeaten champion
585
00:27:28,743 --> 00:27:30,709
of Europe for 5 years.
586
00:27:30,743 --> 00:27:31,909
NARRATOR: For two rounds,
587
00:27:31,943 --> 00:27:34,609
the men measured each other.
588
00:27:34,643 --> 00:27:36,676
ANNOUNCER: Clay, a rather
deceptive, casual way
589
00:27:36,709 --> 00:27:39,576
of throwing punches,
and he punches very hard.
590
00:27:46,076 --> 00:27:48,843
NARRATOR: In the third
and final round,
591
00:27:48,876 --> 00:27:52,643
Clay took command.
592
00:27:52,676 --> 00:27:54,409
ANNOUNCER: Oh.
593
00:27:54,443 --> 00:27:57,543
Good shot by Clay then.
594
00:27:57,576 --> 00:28:00,876
Looks like pietrzykowski's
bleeding from the mouth a bit.
595
00:28:04,476 --> 00:28:06,709
Pietrzykowski
now definitely bleeding out
596
00:28:06,743 --> 00:28:10,443
the nose and mouth
rather heavily.
597
00:28:13,443 --> 00:28:15,209
There's the end of the fight.
598
00:28:18,943 --> 00:28:21,443
NARRATOR: Cassius Clay
had won the ultimate prize
599
00:28:21,476 --> 00:28:23,109
in amateur boxing.
600
00:28:23,143 --> 00:28:27,976
(organ playing
"the star-spangled banner")
601
00:28:28,009 --> 00:28:36,009
♫ ♫
602
00:28:38,543 --> 00:28:41,576
He flew back to New York,
where a Louisville millionaire
603
00:28:41,609 --> 00:28:45,443
paid for the boxer's suite
at the Waldorf towers hotel
604
00:28:45,476 --> 00:28:47,576
and gave him a roll of bills,
605
00:28:47,609 --> 00:28:49,909
which he used
to dine on steaks and buy
606
00:28:49,943 --> 00:28:54,609
expensive watches
for his brother and parents.
607
00:28:54,643 --> 00:28:57,143
Later, decked
out in his gold medal
608
00:28:57,176 --> 00:29:00,676
and olympic blazer,
Clay visited Times Square,
609
00:29:00,709 --> 00:29:03,543
where he paid to have a novelty
newspaper printed up
610
00:29:03,576 --> 00:29:07,476
with the headline "Cassius
signs for Patterson fight,"
611
00:29:07,509 --> 00:29:09,976
tried his first slice
of cheesecake,
612
00:29:10,009 --> 00:29:13,009
and at birdland,
a popular jazz club, asked
613
00:29:13,043 --> 00:29:17,876
the bartender for a coke
with a single drop of whiskey.
614
00:29:17,909 --> 00:29:20,843
Everywhere he went,
well-wishers praised him
615
00:29:20,876 --> 00:29:22,976
for his success in Rome.
616
00:29:24,409 --> 00:29:26,576
(cheering)
617
00:29:26,609 --> 00:29:29,243
At Louisville's airport,
hundreds of fans were there
618
00:29:29,276 --> 00:29:31,376
to greet him.
619
00:29:35,176 --> 00:29:36,519
REPORTER: Cassius, you've
heard it a good many times
620
00:29:36,543 --> 00:29:38,043
today already here
at the airport,
621
00:29:38,076 --> 00:29:39,716
but congratulations.
Thank you, thank you.
622
00:29:39,743 --> 00:29:42,309
Let's take a look at that
real gold medal there.
623
00:29:42,343 --> 00:29:44,743
NARRATOR:
Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.
624
00:29:44,776 --> 00:29:48,643
Was just 18,
but he'd fought more than 100
625
00:29:48,676 --> 00:29:54,943
amateur bouts and was ready
to turn professional.
626
00:29:54,976 --> 00:29:56,152
ANNOUNCER: Dempsey herds
him along the ropes,
627
00:29:56,176 --> 00:29:57,809
beating away with both hands.
628
00:29:57,843 --> 00:29:59,443
Watch, watch.
629
00:29:59,476 --> 00:30:02,676
There's that big left,
and Willard's down.
630
00:30:02,709 --> 00:30:04,385
NARRATOR: Professional boxing
had long been
631
00:30:04,409 --> 00:30:08,043
among the most popular sports
in America.
632
00:30:08,076 --> 00:30:10,976
MAN: The appeal
of boxing is basic.
633
00:30:11,009 --> 00:30:14,509
I mean, it's man against man,
634
00:30:14,543 --> 00:30:18,376
it's brutal,
it's blood sport.
635
00:30:18,409 --> 00:30:20,509
It will always be here,
636
00:30:20,543 --> 00:30:24,176
and it will always
have people watching.
637
00:30:24,209 --> 00:30:25,985
REMNICK: Everybody knew
who the heavyweight champion
638
00:30:26,009 --> 00:30:28,743
of the world was
in the way that you know who
639
00:30:28,776 --> 00:30:30,909
the president
of the United States is,
640
00:30:30,943 --> 00:30:33,676
and you knew
his personality,
641
00:30:33,709 --> 00:30:35,409
what he represented,
642
00:30:35,443 --> 00:30:37,909
what he projected
into the world.
643
00:30:37,943 --> 00:30:40,043
NARRATOR: John l. Sullivan,
644
00:30:40,076 --> 00:30:41,743
Jim jeffries,
645
00:30:41,776 --> 00:30:43,643
Jack Johnson,
646
00:30:43,676 --> 00:30:45,843
Jack Dempsey.
647
00:30:45,876 --> 00:30:47,676
ANNOUNCER:
One of the greatest...
648
00:30:47,709 --> 00:30:49,509
NARRATOR: Joe Louis had lifted
the spirits
649
00:30:49,543 --> 00:30:50,876
of African-Americans
everywhere...
650
00:30:50,909 --> 00:30:52,376
ANNOUNCER: And schmeling
is down!
651
00:30:52,409 --> 00:30:54,176
When he seized
the heavyweight title
652
00:30:54,209 --> 00:30:56,809
in the midst of
the great depression
653
00:30:56,843 --> 00:31:01,176
and held it for a dozen years,
654
00:31:01,209 --> 00:31:05,109
but by the 1950s, gangsters
ran the sport,
655
00:31:05,143 --> 00:31:07,576
tarnishing its reputation.
656
00:31:07,609 --> 00:31:09,419
EIG: Boxing was kind
of an anarchy in many ways.
657
00:31:09,443 --> 00:31:11,609
You had the official
licensing organizations
658
00:31:11,643 --> 00:31:13,276
that ran the sport,
but there was
659
00:31:13,309 --> 00:31:14,909
no real governance to it at all,
660
00:31:14,943 --> 00:31:17,776
and it was often controlled
by mafia figures,
661
00:31:17,809 --> 00:31:19,743
people who would fix fights,
662
00:31:19,776 --> 00:31:21,643
people who would extract
huge sums of money
663
00:31:21,676 --> 00:31:24,109
from their fighters and leave
them not just wrecked
664
00:31:24,143 --> 00:31:26,976
physically but broke.
665
00:31:27,009 --> 00:31:28,809
That was something that
was almost inevitable
666
00:31:28,843 --> 00:31:30,652
for boxers that they were
going to get involved
667
00:31:30,676 --> 00:31:32,543
in this underworld
and that to make it
668
00:31:32,576 --> 00:31:34,609
in the sport you almost
had to associate
669
00:31:34,643 --> 00:31:38,043
with those characters.
670
00:31:38,076 --> 00:31:40,243
NARRATOR: Boxing insiders
saw that Clay could be
671
00:31:40,276 --> 00:31:43,476
a big money maker
in the heavyweight division.
672
00:31:43,509 --> 00:31:45,609
Cus D'Amato,
Floyd Patterson's
673
00:31:45,643 --> 00:31:48,309
savvy corner man,
offered to train him.
674
00:31:48,343 --> 00:31:52,276
So did former heavyweight
champion rocky marciano.
675
00:31:52,309 --> 00:31:54,343
"If you desire to have
an excellent manager,"
676
00:31:54,376 --> 00:31:57,076
the veteran fighter
Archie Moore cabled,
677
00:31:57,109 --> 00:32:00,309
"call me tonight."
678
00:32:00,343 --> 00:32:03,109
Then William faversham,
an executive
679
00:32:03,143 --> 00:32:05,776
at a Louisville distillery,
formed a syndicate
680
00:32:05,809 --> 00:32:07,976
of 11 prominent
white businessmen
681
00:32:08,009 --> 00:32:09,609
with deep Kentucky roots.
682
00:32:09,643 --> 00:32:12,576
I'm Bill Faversham.
I'm W. Lyons Brown.
683
00:32:12,609 --> 00:32:14,509
J.D. Stetson Coleman.
684
00:32:14,543 --> 00:32:16,676
NARRATOR: They agreed to pool
their money to launch
685
00:32:16,709 --> 00:32:20,643
Clay's career and shield
him from the mob.
686
00:32:20,676 --> 00:32:22,843
EIG: Cassius Clay was offered
the greatest contract
687
00:32:22,876 --> 00:32:24,509
in the history of boxing.
688
00:32:24,543 --> 00:32:25,976
It was a complete anomaly.
689
00:32:26,009 --> 00:32:27,809
There was nothing
like it ever before,
690
00:32:27,843 --> 00:32:30,443
and in fact, the lawyer who
wrote the contract said
691
00:32:30,476 --> 00:32:32,209
he had to go outside
the industry.
692
00:32:32,243 --> 00:32:34,643
He went to Hollywood
and looked for contracts that
693
00:32:34,676 --> 00:32:37,109
were given to child actors
to see how they could
694
00:32:37,143 --> 00:32:39,343
best be protected.
695
00:32:39,376 --> 00:32:42,043
FAVERSHAM: We offered him
a $10,000 bonus
696
00:32:42,076 --> 00:32:43,943
for signing a contract.
697
00:32:43,976 --> 00:32:46,176
This contract, ran for
two years,
698
00:32:46,209 --> 00:32:47,943
where we paid him a salary
699
00:32:47,976 --> 00:32:50,176
because after all, we didn't
know what he could earn.
700
00:32:50,209 --> 00:32:51,809
Boxers didn't get salaries.
701
00:32:51,843 --> 00:32:53,643
A monthly salary for boxing?
702
00:32:53,676 --> 00:32:57,509
We wanted to guarantee him some
form of security.
703
00:32:57,543 --> 00:33:01,809
At the same time,
he also got 50% of his purses.
704
00:33:01,843 --> 00:33:02,919
We're gonna pay all
his expenses,
705
00:33:02,943 --> 00:33:04,043
we're gonna pay his meals,
706
00:33:04,076 --> 00:33:05,409
we're gonna pay his rent,
707
00:33:05,443 --> 00:33:06,585
we're gonna pay
for his training.
708
00:33:06,609 --> 00:33:07,652
We're going to set it up so that
709
00:33:07,676 --> 00:33:09,176
there are tax deductions.
710
00:33:09,209 --> 00:33:10,319
There had never been
anything like it
711
00:33:10,343 --> 00:33:11,809
in boxing.
712
00:33:11,843 --> 00:33:13,152
NARRATOR: They hoped to
see a return
713
00:33:13,176 --> 00:33:14,709
on their investment,
714
00:33:14,743 --> 00:33:16,509
but as one member remarked,
715
00:33:16,543 --> 00:33:19,143
they were in it "to do something
nice for a deserving,
716
00:33:19,176 --> 00:33:22,476
"well-behaved Louisville boy,
and to save him
717
00:33:22,509 --> 00:33:26,776
from the jaws
of the hoodlum jackals."
718
00:33:26,809 --> 00:33:29,709
Clay used his bonus
to buy the Cadillac
719
00:33:29,743 --> 00:33:33,243
he had coveted since
he was a boy,
720
00:33:33,276 --> 00:33:36,409
though he hadn't bothered to get
a driver's license.
721
00:33:38,709 --> 00:33:43,276
On October 29, 1960, Clay
made his professional debut
722
00:33:43,309 --> 00:33:46,443
at Louisville's freedom hall.
723
00:33:46,476 --> 00:33:48,743
They found a guy in
the hills of West Virginia.
724
00:33:48,776 --> 00:33:50,443
His name is tunney hunsaker,
725
00:33:50,476 --> 00:33:53,009
and tunney hunsaker
was a sheriff
726
00:33:53,043 --> 00:33:55,076
and a straight-arrow guy.
727
00:33:55,109 --> 00:33:57,143
He had the world war I
campaign hat that
728
00:33:57,176 --> 00:33:59,743
state troopers wore
in many states,
729
00:33:59,776 --> 00:34:03,243
and he said he would fight him.
730
00:34:03,276 --> 00:34:07,543
It was an inexperienced fighter
against a bad fighter.
731
00:34:07,576 --> 00:34:10,109
NARRATOR: Clay pummeled
hunsaker for 6 rounds
732
00:34:10,143 --> 00:34:12,109
and earned
a unanimous decision,
733
00:34:12,143 --> 00:34:15,243
but many in attendance felt that
he should have knocked out
734
00:34:15,276 --> 00:34:17,743
the slow-moving policeman.
735
00:34:17,776 --> 00:34:20,909
His sponsors knew he would
need a first-class trainer
736
00:34:20,943 --> 00:34:22,943
if he was ever going to contend
737
00:34:22,976 --> 00:34:25,576
for the heavyweight
championship.
738
00:34:25,609 --> 00:34:28,476
♫ ♫
739
00:34:28,509 --> 00:34:31,076
They decided to hire
Archie Moore, who taught
740
00:34:31,109 --> 00:34:35,609
young fighters at his camp
in the hills east of San Diego.
741
00:34:35,643 --> 00:34:39,743
Moore preached
discipline and patience.
742
00:34:39,776 --> 00:34:44,476
Moore also demanded that
they cook, clean, chop wood,
743
00:34:44,509 --> 00:34:48,109
and help maintain
the grounds.
744
00:34:48,143 --> 00:34:51,643
It was known as the salt mine.
745
00:34:51,676 --> 00:34:54,809
MAN: Cassius Clay said,
"I'm here to be a fighter,
746
00:34:54,843 --> 00:34:56,643
"not to be the janitor.
747
00:34:56,676 --> 00:34:58,509
They're paying
you good money."
748
00:34:58,543 --> 00:35:00,676
So, Archie Moore said,
"well, you're pretty cocky,
749
00:35:00,709 --> 00:35:02,643
"you got to know humility.
750
00:35:02,676 --> 00:35:05,709
If you don't have humility,
you're not gonna be anything."
751
00:35:05,743 --> 00:35:08,276
NARRATOR: Clay bristled
at Moore's demands,
752
00:35:08,309 --> 00:35:12,543
and he was afraid Moore
intended to change his style.
753
00:35:12,576 --> 00:35:16,009
After only a few weeks,
he was sent home.
754
00:35:17,876 --> 00:35:20,843
William faversham of
the Louisville sponsoring group
755
00:35:20,876 --> 00:35:23,143
then called Angelo dundee,
756
00:35:23,176 --> 00:35:25,809
the Miami beach-based trainer
Clay had met
757
00:35:25,843 --> 00:35:29,009
in Louisville back in 1957.
758
00:35:29,043 --> 00:35:32,376
Dundee was known for his
calm demeanor during fights
759
00:35:32,409 --> 00:35:35,476
and his gift for patching
up bloodied boxers.
760
00:35:35,509 --> 00:35:39,343
He was well-liked
and at 39 had already trained
761
00:35:39,376 --> 00:35:41,843
6 world champions.
762
00:35:41,876 --> 00:35:45,409
Clay, he had been told,
showed real potential
763
00:35:45,443 --> 00:35:49,909
but was overconfident
and would be difficult to teach.
764
00:35:49,943 --> 00:35:53,076
Dundee remembered
the enthusiastic teenager
765
00:35:53,109 --> 00:35:55,743
and agreed to take Clay on.
766
00:35:55,776 --> 00:35:57,876
He told faversham to
send his fighter down
767
00:35:57,909 --> 00:36:00,076
after Christmas.
768
00:36:00,109 --> 00:36:03,076
"Angelo," faversham said,
"Cassius wants a fight
769
00:36:03,109 --> 00:36:05,109
before Christmas."
770
00:36:05,143 --> 00:36:10,109
♫ ♫
771
00:36:10,143 --> 00:36:12,709
On December 19, 1960,
772
00:36:12,743 --> 00:36:15,176
after a two-day journey
by train,
773
00:36:15,209 --> 00:36:17,209
Cassius Clay arrived in Miami,
774
00:36:17,243 --> 00:36:20,409
where his new trainer
greeted him at the station.
775
00:36:22,809 --> 00:36:26,409
Dundee drove Clay to overtown,
a segregated neighborhood
776
00:36:26,443 --> 00:36:29,276
where black visitors
who were refused service
777
00:36:29,309 --> 00:36:33,276
at Miami's "whites only" hotels
could rent a room.
778
00:36:36,409 --> 00:36:39,143
At the Mary Elizabeth hotel,
a hub for pimps
779
00:36:39,176 --> 00:36:42,109
and drug dealers,
Clay was to share a dingy room
780
00:36:42,143 --> 00:36:44,443
with one double bed
and no air conditioning
781
00:36:44,476 --> 00:36:46,776
with a Jamaican heavyweight.
782
00:36:49,409 --> 00:36:51,976
The next morning, Clay
reported to dundee's
783
00:36:52,009 --> 00:36:55,209
5th street gym in Miami beach.
784
00:36:55,243 --> 00:36:57,709
♫ The Parkays' "Get It" playing ♫
785
00:37:01,376 --> 00:37:03,043
BAND MEMBER: Not yet!
786
00:37:03,076 --> 00:37:05,143
MAN: 5th street gym
was just a walkup,
787
00:37:05,176 --> 00:37:10,576
old public boxing gym that Clay
first went to when he was 18.
788
00:37:10,609 --> 00:37:15,609
Crickety stairs, rum-addled
drunks laying on the steps
789
00:37:15,643 --> 00:37:18,576
that you had to walk over
to get upstairs.
790
00:37:18,609 --> 00:37:20,776
NARRATOR: The gym was home
to black, white,
791
00:37:20,809 --> 00:37:24,509
and Cuban boxers, all toiling
under the watchful eyes
792
00:37:24,543 --> 00:37:28,243
of a ragtag crew
of regulars one writer dubbed
793
00:37:28,276 --> 00:37:30,676
the "pugilistic college
of cardinals,"
794
00:37:30,709 --> 00:37:35,943
who stood ringside and appraised
dundee's trainees.
795
00:37:35,976 --> 00:37:38,476
None was impressed with Clay.
796
00:37:38,509 --> 00:37:40,976
"He keeps his hands too low,"
they agreed.
797
00:37:41,009 --> 00:37:43,276
"He's off balance
when he punches,
798
00:37:43,309 --> 00:37:45,943
he's a headhunter."
799
00:37:45,976 --> 00:37:49,876
The Cubans called him
"Niño Con Boca Grande"...
800
00:37:49,909 --> 00:37:52,876
The kid with the big mouth.
801
00:37:52,909 --> 00:37:56,509
Angelo dundee also saw
a flawed fighter
802
00:37:56,543 --> 00:37:59,343
but one with exceptional
hand and foot speed
803
00:37:59,376 --> 00:38:03,176
and a tireless work ethic,
and he was sure
804
00:38:03,209 --> 00:38:06,976
he could help smooth Clay's
rough edges.
805
00:38:07,009 --> 00:38:10,043
DUNDEE: You can't directly
tell him, "do this."
806
00:38:10,076 --> 00:38:12,009
This is a cardinal sin.
807
00:38:12,043 --> 00:38:13,743
Say this workout today.
808
00:38:13,776 --> 00:38:16,243
I'll go over and tell him,
"gee, that wasn't too bad
809
00:38:16,276 --> 00:38:17,809
"for the first day.
810
00:38:17,843 --> 00:38:19,219
"Your jab wasn't as sharp
as I'd like it,
811
00:38:19,243 --> 00:38:20,976
but a real good jab."
812
00:38:21,009 --> 00:38:22,385
Well, thusly, the next day
he'll be using his jab
813
00:38:22,409 --> 00:38:24,476
more effectively,
814
00:38:24,509 --> 00:38:26,085
but if I tell him "your jab
is terrible,"
815
00:38:26,109 --> 00:38:28,476
then I'd be hitting
the wrong kind of a note.
816
00:38:28,509 --> 00:38:32,643
You got to work
on him psychologically.
817
00:38:32,676 --> 00:38:34,419
KINDRED: Other trainers might
have insisted that
818
00:38:34,443 --> 00:38:37,443
"you fight my way,"
but Angelo was smart enough,
819
00:38:37,476 --> 00:38:38,943
genius enough really,
820
00:38:38,976 --> 00:38:41,576
to just let him be and guide him
821
00:38:41,609 --> 00:38:44,209
rather than teach him.
822
00:38:44,243 --> 00:38:47,009
NARRATOR: Each day, Clay
Rose before dawn,
823
00:38:47,043 --> 00:38:50,543
laced on a pair of army boots,
and did his roadwork.
824
00:38:50,576 --> 00:38:55,409
♫ ♫
825
00:38:55,443 --> 00:38:58,209
He ran the streets
and causeways of overtown,
826
00:38:58,243 --> 00:39:02,776
at times backwards,
shadowboxing as he went.
827
00:39:02,809 --> 00:39:07,243
Then he jogged the 4 1/2 miles
from north Miami to 5th street,
828
00:39:07,276 --> 00:39:10,309
where, while climbing the stairs
to the second floor,
829
00:39:10,343 --> 00:39:14,076
he sometimes announced
his arrival by hollering,
830
00:39:14,109 --> 00:39:16,976
"Angelo, line up all your bums.
831
00:39:17,009 --> 00:39:20,043
I'm gonna knock them all out."
832
00:39:20,076 --> 00:39:22,609
In the gym, he'd hit
the speed bag,
833
00:39:22,643 --> 00:39:25,543
then the heavy bag,
do his calisthenics
834
00:39:25,576 --> 00:39:27,209
before a full-length mirror,
835
00:39:27,243 --> 00:39:29,476
and spar with other
young fighters,
836
00:39:29,509 --> 00:39:32,743
increasing his stamina
while dundee carefully coaxed
837
00:39:32,776 --> 00:39:37,943
him into refining his best
punch, the jab.
838
00:39:37,976 --> 00:39:40,409
MAN: The early Cassius took
from Ray Robinson.
839
00:39:40,443 --> 00:39:43,009
Ray Robinson was a dancer.
840
00:39:43,043 --> 00:39:47,143
Cassius, like expanded
the, uh, notion of dancing.
841
00:39:47,176 --> 00:39:51,909
Typically a boxer is taught
to stay in the pocket
842
00:39:51,943 --> 00:39:54,809
and parry a punch.
843
00:39:54,843 --> 00:39:56,609
This guy would do something
844
00:39:56,643 --> 00:39:58,243
that it's like sacrilege
in boxing.
845
00:39:58,276 --> 00:40:01,343
You don't lean back, man,
but he leaned back.
846
00:40:01,376 --> 00:40:03,643
DUNDEE: I mean, Cassius Clay
has his own style.
847
00:40:03,676 --> 00:40:05,409
There's no other
fighter like him.
848
00:40:05,443 --> 00:40:07,519
Now see, that almost did it.
See? He's out. He's out.
849
00:40:07,543 --> 00:40:09,443
Oh, god, oh, god.
850
00:40:09,476 --> 00:40:12,609
Look at it. Take him out.
851
00:40:12,643 --> 00:40:14,419
This is the style that
can win the heavyweight
852
00:40:14,443 --> 00:40:16,476
championship of the world.
853
00:40:16,509 --> 00:40:18,743
NARRATOR: In his first two
months in Miami,
854
00:40:18,776 --> 00:40:21,309
Clay fought 4 times.
855
00:40:21,343 --> 00:40:24,809
On December 27 in his
second professional fight,
856
00:40:24,843 --> 00:40:27,909
he defeated herb siler
by technical knockout
857
00:40:27,943 --> 00:40:30,209
in 4 rounds.
858
00:40:30,243 --> 00:40:35,043
In January 1961, Clay celebrated
his 19th birthday
859
00:40:35,076 --> 00:40:38,876
by dispatching
Tony esperti in the third.
860
00:40:38,909 --> 00:40:42,243
3 weeks later, Clay
needed just one round
861
00:40:42,276 --> 00:40:45,743
to knock out Jim Robinson.
862
00:40:45,776 --> 00:40:49,476
In February, Clay sparred
with former heavyweight champion
863
00:40:49,509 --> 00:40:52,476
Ingemar Johansson,
who was in Miami to promote
864
00:40:52,509 --> 00:40:56,409
his upcoming title fight
with Floyd Patterson.
865
00:40:56,443 --> 00:40:58,509
Clay skipped around
Johansson while peppering
866
00:40:58,543 --> 00:41:01,243
the Swede with sharp jabs.
867
00:41:01,276 --> 00:41:04,876
Johansson failed to land
a single punch,
868
00:41:04,909 --> 00:41:07,176
and his manager cut
the session short
869
00:41:07,209 --> 00:41:10,343
after just two rounds.
870
00:41:10,376 --> 00:41:12,309
"I'm the one who should
be fighting Patterson,
871
00:41:12,343 --> 00:41:15,076
not you, sucker," Clay taunted.
872
00:41:18,176 --> 00:41:21,843
On April 19
in front of more than 5,000 fans
873
00:41:21,876 --> 00:41:24,809
at Louisville's freedom hall,
Clay recovered
874
00:41:24,843 --> 00:41:27,709
from a vicious
first-round punch to his jaw
875
00:41:27,743 --> 00:41:30,309
to break Lamar Clark's
nose and knock him out
876
00:41:30,343 --> 00:41:33,343
in the second round
just as he'd predicted
877
00:41:33,376 --> 00:41:36,809
he would before the fight.
878
00:41:36,843 --> 00:41:38,943
"He has the fastest hands
of any heavyweight
879
00:41:38,976 --> 00:41:42,009
I've seen any place,"
Clark's manager marveled,
880
00:41:42,043 --> 00:41:44,009
predicting that Clay was
"not many fights
881
00:41:44,043 --> 00:41:46,176
from a championship."
882
00:41:46,209 --> 00:41:52,009
♫ ♫
883
00:41:52,043 --> 00:41:54,043
In June,
Clay reluctantly flew
884
00:41:54,076 --> 00:41:56,676
to Las Vegas for his next match.
885
00:41:56,709 --> 00:41:59,409
"I'm not afraid of the fight,"
he told a reporter,
886
00:41:59,443 --> 00:42:01,976
"I'm afraid of the flight."
887
00:42:02,009 --> 00:42:05,043
His opponent was Duke Sabedong,
888
00:42:05,076 --> 00:42:10,209
a towering Hawaiian notorious
for his dirty tactics.
889
00:42:10,243 --> 00:42:14,376
Clay won a unanimous decision.
890
00:42:14,409 --> 00:42:17,743
Before the fight, Clay had
appeared on a local radio
891
00:42:17,776 --> 00:42:20,009
show with George Wagner,
892
00:42:20,043 --> 00:42:21,676
a well-known
professional wrestler
893
00:42:21,709 --> 00:42:25,409
who called himself
gorgeous George.
894
00:42:25,443 --> 00:42:27,909
REMNICK: He would come in
with a jeweled cape,
895
00:42:27,943 --> 00:42:31,509
and he would have one person
putting the pomade in his hair,
896
00:42:31,543 --> 00:42:33,543
and people would boo
and boo and boo,
897
00:42:33,576 --> 00:42:36,243
and some people would cheer
and cheer and cheer.
898
00:42:36,276 --> 00:42:39,043
And Clay sees this,
and he thinks, "oh, my god.
899
00:42:39,076 --> 00:42:42,009
Look at the attention he gets."
900
00:42:42,043 --> 00:42:44,243
ALI: I saw him talking once
about "how pretty I am.
901
00:42:44,276 --> 00:42:45,876
I cannot be beat."
902
00:42:45,909 --> 00:42:47,743
He said, "look at my
beautiful silver hair.
903
00:42:47,776 --> 00:42:49,443
"No man in the world
can beat me.
904
00:42:49,476 --> 00:42:52,043
"I'm the greatest wrassler
that ever lived.
905
00:42:52,076 --> 00:42:53,252
"When I go into that
ring I'm gonna
906
00:42:53,276 --> 00:42:54,543
"annihilate the bum.
907
00:42:54,576 --> 00:42:56,109
I'm beautiful."
908
00:42:56,143 --> 00:42:57,943
And that night when
gorgeous George went
909
00:42:57,976 --> 00:42:59,919
to the wrassling ring,
all the ladies were booing,
910
00:42:59,943 --> 00:43:02,009
and the people were so mad,
and the place was full.
911
00:43:02,043 --> 00:43:05,043
Everybody paid
a high price to come in,
912
00:43:05,076 --> 00:43:08,709
and at that moment I said,
"this is a good idea."
913
00:43:08,743 --> 00:43:11,276
REMNICK: Clay... he's a sponge.
914
00:43:11,309 --> 00:43:15,876
His genius is to know how
to deploy it to his ends.
915
00:43:15,909 --> 00:43:17,743
NARRATOR: Back in Miami,
he appeared
916
00:43:17,776 --> 00:43:20,776
on local television and radio,
granting interviews
917
00:43:20,809 --> 00:43:24,743
to any writer who asked, telling
one, "I'm the best friend
918
00:43:24,776 --> 00:43:26,843
a reporter ever had."
919
00:43:26,876 --> 00:43:30,176
And he was beginning
to attract national attention.
920
00:43:30,209 --> 00:43:38,209
♫ ♫
921
00:43:38,276 --> 00:43:41,509
KINDRED: He was 19 years old
in Miami beach when he heard
922
00:43:41,543 --> 00:43:44,009
that flip schulke,
a photographer
923
00:43:44,043 --> 00:43:47,976
for "life" magazine, wanted to
shoot pictures of him training.
924
00:43:48,009 --> 00:43:50,543
So he invited him
to come watch him.
925
00:43:50,576 --> 00:43:53,609
He took the ordinary pictures
like running on the beach,
926
00:43:53,643 --> 00:43:55,976
all that stuff.
927
00:43:56,009 --> 00:43:59,309
Clay said, "do you want to
see me train underwater?"
928
00:43:59,343 --> 00:44:07,343
♫ ♫
929
00:44:08,876 --> 00:44:12,076
Later, schulke realized
when they're done that
930
00:44:12,109 --> 00:44:14,009
he'd been had.
931
00:44:14,043 --> 00:44:16,176
Cassius Clay had
never trained underwater.
932
00:44:16,209 --> 00:44:18,443
Nobody trains underwater,
933
00:44:18,476 --> 00:44:20,376
but Clay understood
the promotion business
934
00:44:20,409 --> 00:44:22,709
to know that
if you're in "life" magazine,
935
00:44:22,743 --> 00:44:24,809
a lot of people are
going to see it.
936
00:44:24,843 --> 00:44:26,843
So he invented this on
the spot,
937
00:44:26,876 --> 00:44:29,476
and schulke was amazed,
thought that it was a sign
938
00:44:29,509 --> 00:44:31,509
of just pure genius,
939
00:44:31,543 --> 00:44:34,076
and it was.
940
00:44:34,109 --> 00:44:36,909
NARRATOR: Before fights, he
applied 3 coats of polish
941
00:44:36,943 --> 00:44:40,076
to his white shoes,
covered his arms and torso
942
00:44:40,109 --> 00:44:43,843
in a thin layer of vaseline
to emphasize his muscles,
943
00:44:43,876 --> 00:44:46,643
and wore a white satin
robe and white trunks
944
00:44:46,676 --> 00:44:48,676
into the ring.
945
00:44:48,709 --> 00:44:51,576
"The women says,
'land, ain't he nice and neat',"
946
00:44:51,609 --> 00:44:53,209
explained Clay.
947
00:44:53,243 --> 00:44:56,009
"If the women come,
the men got to follow.
948
00:44:56,043 --> 00:44:58,243
Ain't that so?"
949
00:44:58,276 --> 00:45:01,476
Not everyone
appreciated his cockiness.
950
00:45:01,509 --> 00:45:02,752
REPORTER: Let me see
you close your mouth
951
00:45:02,776 --> 00:45:04,143
and just keep
it closed.
952
00:45:04,176 --> 00:45:05,809
Well, you know
that's impossible.
953
00:45:05,843 --> 00:45:06,943
No, no,
now keep it closed.
954
00:45:06,976 --> 00:45:08,076
You know
that's impossible.
955
00:45:08,109 --> 00:45:09,243
I'm the greatest.
956
00:45:09,276 --> 00:45:10,776
I'm knocking out
all bums,
957
00:45:10,809 --> 00:45:13,643
and if you get too smart,
I'll knock you out.
958
00:45:13,676 --> 00:45:16,009
NARRATOR: In October,
Clay predicted the round
959
00:45:16,043 --> 00:45:18,476
in which he would defeat
his next opponent,
960
00:45:18,509 --> 00:45:21,443
the argentinian Alex miteff.
961
00:45:21,476 --> 00:45:25,809
"Miteff," he said,
"must fall in 6."
962
00:45:25,843 --> 00:45:27,076
ANNOUNCER: Clay has really
963
00:45:27,109 --> 00:45:28,476
opened fast.
964
00:45:31,109 --> 00:45:34,143
BENTT: What made Cassius
special was his mastery
965
00:45:34,176 --> 00:45:36,776
of the craft
at, like, that young age.
966
00:45:36,809 --> 00:45:38,976
This guy was able to have
his opponent, like,
967
00:45:39,009 --> 00:45:42,543
5, 6 inches in front
of him, throw, like, you know,
968
00:45:42,576 --> 00:45:45,243
a bunch of shots,
clean shots, effective shots,
969
00:45:45,276 --> 00:45:49,276
and pirouette around the guy.
970
00:45:49,309 --> 00:45:52,943
No one is able to do
that as fluidly,
971
00:45:52,976 --> 00:45:57,009
as seamlessly as him.
972
00:45:57,043 --> 00:45:59,143
How he did it?
I have no idea.
973
00:45:59,176 --> 00:46:03,809
ANNOUNCER: At 188 pounds,
Clay is lightning fast.
974
00:46:03,843 --> 00:46:06,876
MAN: His speed,
both his hand speed
975
00:46:06,909 --> 00:46:11,043
and his foot speed was
just incredible.
976
00:46:11,076 --> 00:46:14,009
(crowd cheering)
977
00:46:14,043 --> 00:46:16,243
If you throw a punch
too far out,
978
00:46:16,276 --> 00:46:18,909
which most novice fighters do,
979
00:46:18,943 --> 00:46:20,476
you're too far away
from your opponent,
980
00:46:20,509 --> 00:46:23,209
you're not
going to hit your opponent,
981
00:46:23,243 --> 00:46:25,976
or if you get too close,
you don't have the leverage
982
00:46:26,009 --> 00:46:27,543
on your opponent,
983
00:46:27,576 --> 00:46:29,776
and if you're too close,
you're easier to tie up.
984
00:46:29,809 --> 00:46:31,943
So it takes a great talent.
985
00:46:31,976 --> 00:46:34,876
You have to be
at the exact distance
986
00:46:34,909 --> 00:46:37,143
almost to the inch
away to land
987
00:46:37,176 --> 00:46:39,943
the most effective punch.
988
00:46:39,976 --> 00:46:42,109
ANNOUNCER: Miteff paid for that.
989
00:46:42,143 --> 00:46:44,109
ROBERTS: And Cassius
could do this.
990
00:46:44,143 --> 00:46:45,709
He did it innately.
991
00:46:45,743 --> 00:46:48,676
ANNOUNCER: Miteff's left eye
closing rapidly,
992
00:46:48,709 --> 00:46:51,709
a trickle of blood below it.
993
00:46:51,743 --> 00:46:54,276
And miteff down!
994
00:46:54,309 --> 00:47:02,309
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
995
00:47:03,243 --> 00:47:04,709
He doesn't know where he is.
996
00:47:04,743 --> 00:47:07,276
They're going to stop it,
and they should.
997
00:47:07,309 --> 00:47:10,043
NARRATOR: Clay stopped miteff
in the sixth round
998
00:47:10,076 --> 00:47:11,909
just as he said he would.
999
00:47:11,943 --> 00:47:17,543
ANNOUNCER: And the winner
by a tko, Cassius Clay!
1000
00:47:17,576 --> 00:47:21,076
(cheering and booing)
1001
00:47:21,109 --> 00:47:22,485
REPORTER: Where do you
rate yourself today
1002
00:47:22,509 --> 00:47:24,543
in the heavyweight
ranks?
1003
00:47:24,576 --> 00:47:26,476
Well, Jim, most people
say I'm crazy
1004
00:47:26,509 --> 00:47:28,609
or punch drunk for
saying these things,
1005
00:47:28,643 --> 00:47:32,776
but I would rate myself
about number two now.
1006
00:47:32,809 --> 00:47:34,709
NARRATOR: He claimed to be
"embarrassed to get
1007
00:47:34,743 --> 00:47:37,543
into the ring" with the unranked
Willie Besmanoff,
1008
00:47:37,576 --> 00:47:40,776
whom he promised to knock
out in round 7.
1009
00:47:40,809 --> 00:47:43,709
When the German boxer began
to wobble in the fifth,
1010
00:47:43,743 --> 00:47:47,543
Clay slowed his attack,
toying with him for two rounds
1011
00:47:47,576 --> 00:47:51,509
before making good
again on his prediction.
1012
00:47:51,543 --> 00:47:55,076
BOYD: Cassius Clay...
He understood verbal warfare.
1013
00:47:55,109 --> 00:47:58,209
So not only am I going to
beat you physically,
1014
00:47:58,243 --> 00:48:01,676
I'm going to tell you how
bad I'm going to beat you,
1015
00:48:01,709 --> 00:48:05,776
and if you're better than me,
you'll shut me up.
1016
00:48:05,809 --> 00:48:07,543
You'll make me stop talking.
1017
00:48:07,576 --> 00:48:09,519
If not, you're going to
have to listen to me talk.
1018
00:48:09,543 --> 00:48:12,543
I'm going to add
to the humiliation.
1019
00:48:12,576 --> 00:48:15,509
It's an added layer,
and if you can't get
1020
00:48:15,543 --> 00:48:17,876
beyond the psychological
warfare,
1021
00:48:17,909 --> 00:48:19,776
it's unlikely that you're
going to win
1022
00:48:19,809 --> 00:48:22,276
the physical warfare.
1023
00:48:22,309 --> 00:48:24,143
NARRATOR:
Clay's professional record
1024
00:48:24,176 --> 00:48:26,943
was now 10-0,
his future bright,
1025
00:48:26,976 --> 00:48:29,309
and his confidence soaring.
1026
00:48:29,343 --> 00:48:32,843
"I got the height, the reach,
the weight," he declared.
1027
00:48:32,876 --> 00:48:35,843
"To beat me, you got to be
greater than great."
1028
00:48:35,876 --> 00:48:37,476
RAY CHARLES: ♫ you know
the night time ♫
1029
00:48:37,509 --> 00:48:39,509
RAELETTES:
♫ night and day ♫
1030
00:48:39,543 --> 00:48:43,109
NARRATOR: In late 1961,
Cassius Clay was dividing
1031
00:48:43,143 --> 00:48:45,909
his time between Louisville
and Miami,
1032
00:48:45,943 --> 00:48:48,076
where he continued
to pursue boxing
1033
00:48:48,109 --> 00:48:50,476
with a single-minded zeal.
1034
00:48:50,509 --> 00:48:53,909
Still just 19
but now mainly on his own,
1035
00:48:53,943 --> 00:48:56,776
Clay had become a familiar face
in overtown, running a tab
1036
00:48:56,809 --> 00:48:59,643
at the famous chef restaurant
1037
00:48:59,676 --> 00:49:01,776
and composing rhymes
for the other clients
1038
00:49:01,809 --> 00:49:05,676
at Sonny Armbrimster's
barber shop.
1039
00:49:05,709 --> 00:49:08,376
When local hustlers invited
him to the sir John
1040
00:49:08,409 --> 00:49:11,743
or Harlem square, where
Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald,
1041
00:49:11,776 --> 00:49:14,709
and b.B. King performed,
Clay joined them
1042
00:49:14,743 --> 00:49:18,243
for the music but drank
only orange juice
1043
00:49:18,276 --> 00:49:22,109
and never stayed long.
1044
00:49:22,143 --> 00:49:25,076
When he ventured
beyond overtown to white Miami,
1045
00:49:25,109 --> 00:49:27,443
where African-Americans
were regularly harassed
1046
00:49:27,476 --> 00:49:31,543
by the local police,
Clay kept his cool.
1047
00:49:31,576 --> 00:49:35,076
At a department store,
a white photographer looked on
1048
00:49:35,109 --> 00:49:39,043
as Clay was scolded
by a clerk for handling a shirt.
1049
00:49:39,076 --> 00:49:42,509
The photographer was indignant,
but Clay said,
1050
00:49:42,543 --> 00:49:44,643
"I don't want to make
a big mess here.
1051
00:49:44,676 --> 00:49:46,376
It's not a big deal."
1052
00:49:46,409 --> 00:49:51,143
DEMONSTRATORS: ♫ freedom ♫
1053
00:49:51,176 --> 00:49:53,076
♫ freedom ♫
1054
00:49:53,109 --> 00:49:55,343
MARTIN LUTHER KING: Now it is
true that men have always
1055
00:49:55,376 --> 00:49:58,209
cried out for freedom,
1056
00:49:58,243 --> 00:50:03,576
but in the past,
these cries for freedom were
1057
00:50:03,609 --> 00:50:08,609
in many instances
solo voices crying for freedom,
1058
00:50:08,643 --> 00:50:11,676
but the difference today
is that this solo voice
1059
00:50:11,709 --> 00:50:14,676
has been transformed
into a mighty chorus,
1060
00:50:14,709 --> 00:50:17,943
singing with amazing Harmony,
1061
00:50:17,976 --> 00:50:20,376
"we want to be free."
1062
00:50:20,409 --> 00:50:22,176
It is true that we...
1063
00:50:22,209 --> 00:50:23,852
NARRATOR: Civil rights groups
had been challenging
1064
00:50:23,876 --> 00:50:27,109
segregation with non-violent
action on buses
1065
00:50:27,143 --> 00:50:31,543
and at lunch counters
across the south,
1066
00:50:31,576 --> 00:50:34,343
but when asked about
racial injustice,
1067
00:50:34,376 --> 00:50:37,643
Clay said he wished to protect
the white Louisville syndicate
1068
00:50:37,676 --> 00:50:39,709
that managed his career.
1069
00:50:39,743 --> 00:50:42,176
"I don't join any groups
or nothing because it might
1070
00:50:42,209 --> 00:50:45,909
embarrass my sponsors,"
he told one reporter.
1071
00:50:45,943 --> 00:50:48,709
He knew speaking out
on matters of race would
1072
00:50:48,743 --> 00:50:52,209
only harm his chances of
one day getting a title fight.
1073
00:50:52,243 --> 00:50:54,709
KING: And that is another thing
that you are saying
1074
00:50:54,743 --> 00:50:56,876
to Louisville, Kentucky,
and that you are saying
1075
00:50:56,909 --> 00:51:01,476
to the nation in this movement,
that the negro is eternally
1076
00:51:01,509 --> 00:51:04,176
through with segregation.
1077
00:51:06,176 --> 00:51:10,076
NARRATOR: Still, the memory
of Emmett till haunted him,
1078
00:51:10,109 --> 00:51:13,809
and his father's ever-present
anger at racial oppression
1079
00:51:13,843 --> 00:51:17,509
continued to stir
his own conscience.
1080
00:51:17,543 --> 00:51:21,309
LOUIS X: Why are we
called negro?
1081
00:51:21,343 --> 00:51:26,309
Why are we deaf,
dumb, and blind?
1082
00:51:26,343 --> 00:51:29,409
NARRATOR: Years earlier,
Clay had purchased a record
1083
00:51:29,443 --> 00:51:34,243
called "a white man's
heaven is a black man's hell,"
1084
00:51:34,276 --> 00:51:36,976
written and performed
by Louis X,
1085
00:51:37,009 --> 00:51:38,909
a minister
for the nation of islam,
1086
00:51:38,943 --> 00:51:42,276
which Clay listened to
over and over.
1087
00:51:42,309 --> 00:51:45,376
LOUIS X: A white man's heaven
is a black man's hell.
1088
00:51:45,409 --> 00:51:48,443
NARRATOR: One day in Miami,
Clay spotted a black man
1089
00:51:48,476 --> 00:51:51,376
in a suit selling copies
of the newspaper
1090
00:51:51,409 --> 00:51:53,409
"Muhammad speaks."
1091
00:51:53,443 --> 00:51:56,609
MAN: I was selling the papers
one day on the streets,
1092
00:51:56,643 --> 00:51:58,776
and he saw me.
1093
00:51:58,809 --> 00:52:01,443
He said, "hey, brother!
1094
00:52:01,476 --> 00:52:03,943
"Why are we called negroes?
1095
00:52:03,976 --> 00:52:06,609
"Why are we blind,
deaf, and dumb?
1096
00:52:06,643 --> 00:52:08,076
"Why everybody
making progress,
1097
00:52:08,109 --> 00:52:10,976
and we lagging so far behind?"
1098
00:52:11,009 --> 00:52:12,319
I hollered...
I looked back at him,
1099
00:52:12,343 --> 00:52:13,743
I said "hey, man!
1100
00:52:13,776 --> 00:52:15,643
You hip to the teachings,
ain't yeah?"
1101
00:52:15,676 --> 00:52:18,309
He said,
"yeah. I'm Cassius Clay.
1102
00:52:18,343 --> 00:52:20,176
"I'm gonna be the next
heavyweight champion
1103
00:52:20,209 --> 00:52:21,843
of the world."
1104
00:52:21,876 --> 00:52:24,009
NARRATOR: A one-time pool
shark from Atlanta,
1105
00:52:24,043 --> 00:52:26,843
Abdul rahman...
Known as captain Sam...
1106
00:52:26,876 --> 00:52:29,643
Had abandoned a life of hustling
when he heard the teachings
1107
00:52:29,676 --> 00:52:34,676
of the nation of islam's leader
Elijah Muhammad.
1108
00:52:34,709 --> 00:52:37,143
ELIJAH MUHAMMAD:
The so-called American negro
1109
00:52:37,176 --> 00:52:45,176
has to be completely reeducated
that he now can move out
1110
00:52:46,176 --> 00:52:50,176
in the world and feel that
he is the equal
1111
00:52:50,209 --> 00:52:56,776
of other civilized beings
and does not feel ashamed
1112
00:52:56,809 --> 00:52:59,043
to be called a black man.
1113
00:52:59,076 --> 00:53:03,543
♫ ♫
1114
00:53:03,576 --> 00:53:05,843
NARRATOR: Captain Sam
encouraged Clay to attend
1115
00:53:05,876 --> 00:53:08,576
meetings at temple no. 29,
1116
00:53:08,609 --> 00:53:13,376
a vacant storefront that had
been turned into a mosque.
1117
00:53:13,409 --> 00:53:16,443
"The first time I felt
truly spiritual in my life
1118
00:53:16,476 --> 00:53:19,209
was when I walked into
the Muslim temple in Miami,"
1119
00:53:19,243 --> 00:53:21,643
Clay later recalled.
1120
00:53:21,676 --> 00:53:24,243
"A man named brother John
was speaking,
1121
00:53:24,276 --> 00:53:28,209
and I could reach out and touch
what he was saying."
1122
00:53:28,243 --> 00:53:31,376
God was black,
preached the minister.
1123
00:53:31,409 --> 00:53:33,409
There was no chance of
reconciliation
1124
00:53:33,443 --> 00:53:35,776
with white people,
who had deliberately stolen
1125
00:53:35,809 --> 00:53:38,376
the black man's identity.
1126
00:53:38,409 --> 00:53:42,343
Only by embracing Allah
would black people overcome
1127
00:53:42,376 --> 00:53:44,276
white cruelty.
1128
00:53:44,309 --> 00:53:47,009
MAN: Elijah Muhammad presented
islam as this alternative
1129
00:53:47,043 --> 00:53:49,776
to christianity,
"the black man's religion,"
1130
00:53:49,809 --> 00:53:52,209
and that was a selling point
that Elijah Muhammad used,
1131
00:53:52,243 --> 00:53:55,243
and it was pretty effective.
1132
00:53:55,276 --> 00:53:58,043
WOMAN: He's stepping
into an alternate reality,
1133
00:53:58,076 --> 00:54:01,643
where up is down and down is up
and black is sacred
1134
00:54:01,676 --> 00:54:03,643
and black is valuable.
1135
00:54:03,676 --> 00:54:06,609
You know, your mind is blown.
1136
00:54:06,643 --> 00:54:08,676
Something like that
definitely has enormous
1137
00:54:08,709 --> 00:54:10,809
transformative power.
1138
00:54:10,843 --> 00:54:12,476
MUWAKKIL: Especially
for the lower-income
1139
00:54:12,509 --> 00:54:14,776
and lesser-educated
African-Americans
1140
00:54:14,809 --> 00:54:19,376
who he was targeting
at that time.
1141
00:54:19,409 --> 00:54:23,109
NARRATOR: Elijah Muhammad
was born Elijah Poole,
1142
00:54:23,143 --> 00:54:28,176
the son of a baptist preacher,
in rural Georgia in 1897.
1143
00:54:28,209 --> 00:54:31,209
When Poole was 14,
a white mob lynched
1144
00:54:31,243 --> 00:54:33,876
his friend Albert Hamilton,
who was accused
1145
00:54:33,909 --> 00:54:36,609
of assaulting a white woman.
1146
00:54:36,643 --> 00:54:39,343
The angry crowd had dragged
Hamilton from a jail cell,
1147
00:54:39,376 --> 00:54:41,843
hung him from a tree,
and shot him
1148
00:54:41,876 --> 00:54:44,409
more than 300 times.
1149
00:54:44,443 --> 00:54:47,309
Poole resolved that he would,
he said, "find a way
1150
00:54:47,343 --> 00:54:50,409
to avenge him and my people."
1151
00:54:52,876 --> 00:54:56,409
In 1923, Poole moved to Detroit,
1152
00:54:56,443 --> 00:54:59,576
where he fell under the sway of
a self-styled Messiah
1153
00:54:59,609 --> 00:55:02,409
named w.D. Fard.
1154
00:55:02,443 --> 00:55:05,643
A charismatic orator,
fard had invented
1155
00:55:05,676 --> 00:55:08,509
an elaborate history
and theology for black people
1156
00:55:08,543 --> 00:55:11,676
rooted in the belief that
they were the earth's
1157
00:55:11,709 --> 00:55:15,709
original inhabitants, ruling
for trillions of years
1158
00:55:15,743 --> 00:55:19,743
under the banner of islam
until they were undermined
1159
00:55:19,776 --> 00:55:23,076
by a race of "white devils,"
who would one day face
1160
00:55:23,109 --> 00:55:27,443
a brutal end at the hand
of Allah.
1161
00:55:27,476 --> 00:55:30,443
He preached black separatism,
self-determination,
1162
00:55:30,476 --> 00:55:33,609
and clean living
and sometimes assigned
1163
00:55:33,643 --> 00:55:36,209
converts new surnames
to replace
1164
00:55:36,243 --> 00:55:39,176
their "slave names."
1165
00:55:39,209 --> 00:55:44,543
Fard called his group
the lost-found nation of islam.
1166
00:55:44,576 --> 00:55:50,076
Poole, his latest convert,
became Elijah Muhammad.
1167
00:55:50,109 --> 00:55:52,409
MUWAKKIL: There was a tradition
of those kinds of groups.
1168
00:55:52,443 --> 00:55:54,876
There was
the Moorish Science Temple
1169
00:55:54,909 --> 00:55:56,509
of Noble drew Ali.
1170
00:55:56,543 --> 00:55:58,743
There was the black
Hebrew organization
1171
00:55:58,776 --> 00:56:00,609
of this guy
by the name black zarab.
1172
00:56:00,643 --> 00:56:02,643
There was Marcus Garvey's
1173
00:56:02,676 --> 00:56:04,776
united negro
improvement association,
1174
00:56:04,809 --> 00:56:07,909
and the nation of islam
was just one of them.
1175
00:56:07,943 --> 00:56:11,809
They call black christianity
the white man's religion,
1176
00:56:11,843 --> 00:56:15,776
and christianity was deeply
rooted in black America,
1177
00:56:15,809 --> 00:56:18,243
and anyone who looked
at themselves as an enemy
1178
00:56:18,276 --> 00:56:20,476
to that tradition was seen
as someone
1179
00:56:20,509 --> 00:56:23,009
who was almost demonic,
1180
00:56:23,043 --> 00:56:26,609
and it was that kind
of fear about them.
1181
00:56:26,643 --> 00:56:30,309
NARRATOR: When fard
mysteriously vanished in 1934,
1182
00:56:30,343 --> 00:56:32,476
Elijah Muhammad took control,
1183
00:56:32,509 --> 00:56:34,943
called himself
the "Messenger of Allah,"
1184
00:56:34,976 --> 00:56:38,009
and relocated to Chicago.
1185
00:56:38,043 --> 00:56:40,843
He went to prison rather
than register for the draft
1186
00:56:40,876 --> 00:56:43,943
during the second world war,
continued to preach
1187
00:56:43,976 --> 00:56:45,909
separation of the races,
1188
00:56:45,943 --> 00:56:48,643
and spoke of the "mother plane,"
1189
00:56:48,676 --> 00:56:51,043
a wheel-shaped spacecraft
he claimed
1190
00:56:51,076 --> 00:56:53,143
was hovering miles
above the earth,
1191
00:56:53,176 --> 00:56:56,109
waiting to
annihilate the "white devils"
1192
00:56:56,143 --> 00:56:59,076
on judgment day.
1193
00:56:59,109 --> 00:57:01,509
Though Elijah Muhammad
borrowed abundantly
1194
00:57:01,543 --> 00:57:04,876
from Muslim teachings,
his message of separatism
1195
00:57:04,909 --> 00:57:07,776
and claim to be a prophet
diverged sharply
1196
00:57:07,809 --> 00:57:10,343
from traditional islam,
a religion founded
1197
00:57:10,376 --> 00:57:13,976
in the eighth century that,
by 1950,
1198
00:57:14,009 --> 00:57:17,609
had more than 400 million
followers around the world.
1199
00:57:19,543 --> 00:57:22,143
The nation of islam was
an American hybrid.
1200
00:57:22,176 --> 00:57:27,743
It used certain tenets of islam,
but other tenets
1201
00:57:27,776 --> 00:57:32,176
were made up
by them or improvised.
1202
00:57:32,209 --> 00:57:34,676
They tried to americanize it
to the point
1203
00:57:34,709 --> 00:57:37,476
where it was not authentic.
1204
00:57:37,509 --> 00:57:41,809
Elijah was not
the prophet Muhammad.
1205
00:57:41,843 --> 00:57:44,909
MAN: Elijah Muhammad...
His model was do for self.
1206
00:57:44,943 --> 00:57:47,343
Black people need to do
for themselves,
1207
00:57:47,376 --> 00:57:48,909
they need to build
for themselves,
1208
00:57:48,943 --> 00:57:50,609
they need to start their
own businesses.
1209
00:57:50,643 --> 00:57:52,943
You need to control
your own communities.
1210
00:57:52,976 --> 00:57:55,209
Let's quit begging white people
for jobs.
1211
00:57:55,243 --> 00:57:58,009
Let's make jobs for ourselves.
1212
00:57:58,043 --> 00:58:00,376
We had to be self-independent
1213
00:58:00,409 --> 00:58:04,343
instead of being in some
welfare line or employment,
1214
00:58:04,376 --> 00:58:05,909
looking for a job.
1215
00:58:05,943 --> 00:58:07,776
We was trying to make jobs
for ourselves,
1216
00:58:07,809 --> 00:58:09,876
trying to keep
the money in our neighborhood
1217
00:58:09,909 --> 00:58:13,943
in the neighborhood
to enrich the neighborhood.
1218
00:58:13,976 --> 00:58:17,109
NARRATOR: Elijah Muhammad
purchased a farm in Michigan
1219
00:58:17,143 --> 00:58:19,109
and opened a clothing
store, bakery,
1220
00:58:19,143 --> 00:58:24,143
and restaurant in Chicago
serving mostly black customers.
1221
00:58:24,176 --> 00:58:25,743
We hate ourselves.
1222
00:58:25,776 --> 00:58:27,376
That's right.
That's right!
1223
00:58:27,409 --> 00:58:29,576
Because of the teachings
1224
00:58:29,609 --> 00:58:32,443
and the training
of our slave masters.
1225
00:58:32,476 --> 00:58:33,909
Yes, sir!
1226
00:58:33,943 --> 00:58:35,443
You need to move away
1227
00:58:35,476 --> 00:58:37,209
from these white people.
1228
00:58:37,243 --> 00:58:38,619
You don't want to integrate
with these white people,
1229
00:58:38,643 --> 00:58:40,243
you want to move
away from them.
1230
00:58:40,276 --> 00:58:43,209
Your slave master
and all his children
1231
00:58:43,243 --> 00:58:47,143
are none other
than the devil.
1232
00:58:47,176 --> 00:58:49,976
AUSTON: He was generally
regarded by members
1233
00:58:50,009 --> 00:58:52,143
of that movement
as the messenger
1234
00:58:52,176 --> 00:58:53,743
of Allah or god.
1235
00:58:53,776 --> 00:58:55,943
He was highly revered,
and they answer
1236
00:58:55,976 --> 00:58:58,009
to his dictates.
1237
00:58:58,043 --> 00:59:00,843
This an affirmation
of black humanity
1238
00:59:00,876 --> 00:59:05,109
and black dignity as individuals
and as a collective.
1239
00:59:05,143 --> 00:59:08,009
Here's hope in the form
of a tangible program
1240
00:59:08,043 --> 00:59:10,809
that you can follow that
will get you there.
1241
00:59:10,843 --> 00:59:12,576
ELIJAH MUHAMMAD: I say,
get out of that
1242
00:59:12,609 --> 00:59:13,843
slavery teaching.
1243
00:59:13,876 --> 00:59:15,643
That's the white man's
teaching
1244
00:59:15,676 --> 00:59:17,476
to keep you blind, deaf,
and dumb
1245
00:59:17,509 --> 00:59:21,076
to the knowledge of self.
1246
00:59:21,109 --> 00:59:23,143
MAN: The nation of islam had
a presence
1247
00:59:23,176 --> 00:59:26,376
in American prisons
and you can encounter a guy
1248
00:59:26,409 --> 00:59:30,176
who was not very educated,
didn't do very well in school,
1249
00:59:30,209 --> 00:59:32,109
maybe even dropped out,
went to prison,
1250
00:59:32,143 --> 00:59:34,209
and joined the nation of islam.
1251
00:59:34,243 --> 00:59:36,109
Comes out of prison,
and now you have to have
1252
00:59:36,143 --> 00:59:39,043
a dictionary to have
a conversation with him.
1253
00:59:39,076 --> 00:59:43,543
Mastery of standard English
now is no longer indexed
1254
00:59:43,576 --> 00:59:46,976
to any kind of uncle tomism,
but now is equated
1255
00:59:47,009 --> 00:59:51,309
with what it means to be
a dignified black man.
1256
00:59:51,343 --> 00:59:53,776
RAHMAN: This man saved thousands
and thousands of people
1257
00:59:53,809 --> 00:59:57,843
from the gutter and took
many out of the gutter.
1258
00:59:57,876 --> 01:00:01,176
Many drug addicts
cleaned up under his teachings,
1259
01:00:01,209 --> 01:00:03,143
so you can't do nothing
but marvel over a man
1260
01:00:03,176 --> 01:00:04,843
can do that.
1261
01:00:04,876 --> 01:00:06,643
NARRATOR: The nation
appealed at first mostly
1262
01:00:06,676 --> 01:00:11,176
to poor African-Americans,
but by the late 1950s,
1263
01:00:11,209 --> 01:00:14,609
Elijah Muhammad's message of
black empowerment began reaching
1264
01:00:14,643 --> 01:00:16,909
some members of the black
middle class
1265
01:00:16,943 --> 01:00:21,443
frustrated with the slow pace
of change.
1266
01:00:21,476 --> 01:00:27,176
The nation of islam was
such a fringe group that
1267
01:00:27,209 --> 01:00:29,943
very few certainly
white Americans
1268
01:00:29,976 --> 01:00:31,843
had ever heard of it.
1269
01:00:31,876 --> 01:00:33,385
MIKE WALLACE:
Even the clothes they wear...
1270
01:00:33,409 --> 01:00:36,343
ROBERTS: But 1959,
Mike Wallace did
1271
01:00:36,376 --> 01:00:37,976
a big documentary on it
1272
01:00:38,009 --> 01:00:39,709
"the hate that hate produced."
1273
01:00:39,743 --> 01:00:43,009
These homegrown
negro American muslims
1274
01:00:43,043 --> 01:00:46,143
are the most powerful
of the black supremacist groups.
1275
01:00:46,176 --> 01:00:48,776
They have their own
parochial schools,
1276
01:00:48,809 --> 01:00:52,209
where Muslim children are taught
to hate the white man.
1277
01:00:52,243 --> 01:00:55,509
AUSTON: This documentary was
designed to be provocative
1278
01:00:55,543 --> 01:00:57,743
and frightening actually
1279
01:00:57,776 --> 01:01:00,476
to your average white viewer.
1280
01:01:00,509 --> 01:01:02,209
MINISTER: I charge
the white man with being
1281
01:01:02,243 --> 01:01:04,676
the greatest troublemaker
on earth.
1282
01:01:04,709 --> 01:01:06,185
WALLACE: The white man has
been put on trial
1283
01:01:06,209 --> 01:01:07,676
for his sins
against the black man.
1284
01:01:07,709 --> 01:01:09,743
He has been found guilty.
1285
01:01:09,776 --> 01:01:11,509
The sentence is death.
1286
01:01:11,543 --> 01:01:15,643
MINISTER: Guilty as charged.
1287
01:01:15,676 --> 01:01:19,343
AUSTON: "Oh, my god. This is
what these angry black people
1288
01:01:19,376 --> 01:01:21,576
are planning to do."
1289
01:01:21,609 --> 01:01:25,709
This is a moment of real panic
for a lot of white people
1290
01:01:25,743 --> 01:01:27,676
when this documentary airs,
1291
01:01:27,709 --> 01:01:31,943
and I think it was...
It was meant to be that.
1292
01:01:31,976 --> 01:01:34,943
NARRATOR: In Miami,
Cassius Clay quietly continued
1293
01:01:34,976 --> 01:01:38,876
to attend meetings
at temple no. 29.
1294
01:01:38,909 --> 01:01:42,943
REMNICK: He becomes attracted
to its message of pride,
1295
01:01:42,976 --> 01:01:45,776
of not depending
on the beneficence and favors
1296
01:01:45,809 --> 01:01:48,843
of whites and white politics,
1297
01:01:48,876 --> 01:01:52,609
and it's married to a sense
of religion and a rhetoric
1298
01:01:52,643 --> 01:01:55,276
of no more slave name,
a new name,
1299
01:01:55,309 --> 01:01:57,343
and he gets caught up,
1300
01:01:57,376 --> 01:01:59,243
and the message, which was
so ironic because
1301
01:01:59,276 --> 01:02:02,876
he's surrounded
by white people a lot,
1302
01:02:02,909 --> 01:02:06,643
of separatism.
1303
01:02:06,676 --> 01:02:08,809
EARLY: You basically see
yourself as having removed
1304
01:02:08,843 --> 01:02:10,643
yourself from the outside world.
1305
01:02:10,676 --> 01:02:12,543
Even though you're interacting
with it,
1306
01:02:12,576 --> 01:02:15,409
you have basically
removed yourself from it.
1307
01:02:15,443 --> 01:02:19,643
That's appealing,
but it's also dangerous.
1308
01:02:19,676 --> 01:02:22,276
The reason why it was so
appealing is because cults
1309
01:02:22,309 --> 01:02:24,143
give you this vision
of utopia,
1310
01:02:24,176 --> 01:02:26,576
this vision of having
this community of people
1311
01:02:26,609 --> 01:02:28,309
that you would be around,
1312
01:02:28,343 --> 01:02:30,443
this vision that we were
all marching forward
1313
01:02:30,476 --> 01:02:33,343
for this goal
of liberating black people,
1314
01:02:33,376 --> 01:02:37,776
and you had this god Allah,
and you saw how black women
1315
01:02:37,809 --> 01:02:39,943
were being respected
and how black men
1316
01:02:39,976 --> 01:02:42,343
were looked up to.
1317
01:02:42,376 --> 01:02:44,943
It seemed like a dream.
1318
01:02:44,976 --> 01:02:46,676
That's what cults do to people.
1319
01:02:46,709 --> 01:02:50,409
They offer you a kind of dream.
1320
01:02:50,443 --> 01:02:51,652
I predicted to win
the championship
1321
01:02:51,676 --> 01:02:53,109
at the age of 21.
1322
01:02:53,143 --> 01:02:55,576
I'm out to break
Floyd Patterson's record,
1323
01:02:55,609 --> 01:02:58,243
and by this day, my 20th
birthday today,
1324
01:02:58,276 --> 01:03:01,943
January the 17th, that
leaves me exactly one year
1325
01:03:01,976 --> 01:03:04,476
to reach my goal.
1326
01:03:04,509 --> 01:03:08,509
NARRATOR: In early February
of 1962, Angelo dundee got
1327
01:03:08,543 --> 01:03:11,776
a phone call from a promoter
at Madison square garden,
1328
01:03:11,809 --> 01:03:15,043
who offered Clay
a fight against Sonny banks,
1329
01:03:15,076 --> 01:03:18,643
a hard-punching journeyman
from Detroit.
1330
01:03:18,676 --> 01:03:20,009
It would be his first fight
1331
01:03:20,043 --> 01:03:23,809
at boxing's most
celebrated venue.
1332
01:03:23,843 --> 01:03:26,309
Clay boasted
to sportswriters that banks
1333
01:03:26,343 --> 01:03:30,643
would fall in the fourth round.
1334
01:03:30,676 --> 01:03:33,076
JOHNNY ADDIE:
From Louisville, Kentucky,
1335
01:03:33,109 --> 01:03:40,509
wearing white trunks,
weighing 194.5 pounds,
1336
01:03:40,543 --> 01:03:44,309
the former olympic champion
and undefeated
1337
01:03:44,343 --> 01:03:49,843
as a professional
Cassius Clay, Clay.
1338
01:03:49,876 --> 01:03:53,309
His opponent,
from Detroit, Michigan,
1339
01:03:53,343 --> 01:03:57,043
Sonny banks, banks.
1340
01:03:57,076 --> 01:03:58,709
DON DUNPHY: Round one!
1341
01:03:58,743 --> 01:04:00,443
10 rounds scheduled.
1342
01:04:00,476 --> 01:04:02,043
If banks does anything,
1343
01:04:02,076 --> 01:04:03,309
it's figured to be early.
1344
01:04:03,343 --> 01:04:04,509
He's a power puncher
1345
01:04:04,543 --> 01:04:06,276
early in a fight.
1346
01:04:06,309 --> 01:04:07,876
Clay is the most loquacious
1347
01:04:07,909 --> 01:04:09,543
heavyweight since Jack sharkey.
1348
01:04:09,576 --> 01:04:16,109
♫ ♫
1349
01:04:16,143 --> 01:04:19,076
There goes Clay on the floor!
1350
01:04:19,109 --> 01:04:21,843
NARRATOR: When Clay was knocked
down in the first, dundee was
1351
01:04:21,876 --> 01:04:24,109
afraid his boxer's career
was over
1352
01:04:24,143 --> 01:04:26,676
before it had really started.
1353
01:04:26,709 --> 01:04:30,043
"Cassius went down eyes
closed," dundee remembered,
1354
01:04:30,076 --> 01:04:31,743
"but when his butt
hit the floor,
1355
01:04:31,776 --> 01:04:34,543
they opened and lit up."
1356
01:04:34,576 --> 01:04:36,419
BENTT: You have to get knocked
down at some point.
1357
01:04:36,443 --> 01:04:37,985
If the fighter who got
knocks down panics,
1358
01:04:38,009 --> 01:04:39,109
guess what.
1359
01:04:39,143 --> 01:04:40,943
I gotcha.
1360
01:04:40,976 --> 01:04:43,076
Because, if I knock you down,
that means I can
1361
01:04:43,109 --> 01:04:46,143
knock you out.
1362
01:04:46,176 --> 01:04:48,076
Cassius never panicked.
1363
01:04:48,109 --> 01:04:49,909
He knew how to respond to it.
1364
01:04:49,943 --> 01:04:53,443
He knew how to stay poised
and stay in control.
1365
01:04:53,476 --> 01:04:56,943
DUNPHY: First time that
Cassius Clay was ever down.
1366
01:04:56,976 --> 01:04:59,743
NARRATOR: In the second round,
he took command,
1367
01:04:59,776 --> 01:05:03,009
bewildering banks
with blow after blow.
1368
01:05:03,043 --> 01:05:05,043
BENTT: He stayed loyal
to his jab
1369
01:05:05,076 --> 01:05:07,576
and then went to work on him.
1370
01:05:07,609 --> 01:05:09,376
DUNPHY: Round 4.
1371
01:05:12,309 --> 01:05:17,243
Now Clay seems to be
coming on a little bit.
1372
01:05:17,276 --> 01:05:18,643
REFEREE: Hold it, hold it,
hold it.
1373
01:05:18,676 --> 01:05:20,143
NARRATOR: In the fourth round,
1374
01:05:20,176 --> 01:05:22,076
the referee had seen enough
1375
01:05:22,109 --> 01:05:25,076
and called the match
in favor of Clay...
1376
01:05:25,109 --> 01:05:28,276
ADDIE: Winner
by tko Cassius Clay.
1377
01:05:28,309 --> 01:05:31,509
NARRATOR:
Just as he had predicted.
1378
01:05:31,543 --> 01:05:34,309
"Watching him get up
off the floor against banks
1379
01:05:34,343 --> 01:05:37,643
and then recover
to win," dundee remembered,
1380
01:05:37,676 --> 01:05:40,276
"that's the night I fell
in love with the kid."
1381
01:05:43,043 --> 01:05:46,676
Between fights he continued
to talk, offering a quip,
1382
01:05:46,709 --> 01:05:50,509
poem, or prediction to
every reporter he could
1383
01:05:50,543 --> 01:05:53,843
and doubling down on his
guarantee that he would soon
1384
01:05:53,876 --> 01:05:57,809
become the youngest
heavyweight champion ever.
1385
01:05:57,843 --> 01:06:01,109
My last 3 fights, I predicted
a 4-round knockout.
1386
01:06:01,143 --> 01:06:03,509
I knocked out Sonny banks
in 4 rounds,
1387
01:06:03,543 --> 01:06:05,209
I knocked out
Don Warner in 4 rounds,
1388
01:06:05,243 --> 01:06:09,809
and I just annihilated
George Logan in 4 rounds.
1389
01:06:09,843 --> 01:06:12,076
NARRATOR: White sportswriters
started calling him
1390
01:06:12,109 --> 01:06:15,176
"mighty mouth,"
"Cassius the gaseous,"
1391
01:06:15,209 --> 01:06:16,976
the "Louisville lip."
1392
01:06:17,009 --> 01:06:19,809
Nothing would please people
more, one reporter said,
1393
01:06:19,843 --> 01:06:23,043
than to see Cassius
"gag on a glove."
1394
01:06:23,076 --> 01:06:25,409
MAN: He was rude,
rude to his opponents.
1395
01:06:25,443 --> 01:06:27,576
Before a fight he would
insult them,
1396
01:06:27,609 --> 01:06:29,143
he would mock them,
he would predict
1397
01:06:29,176 --> 01:06:31,009
bad things for them.
1398
01:06:31,043 --> 01:06:33,409
He didn't know much
about losing in the early days.
1399
01:06:33,443 --> 01:06:35,509
It wasn't proper behavior.
1400
01:06:35,543 --> 01:06:37,576
NARRATOR: To them, he was
nothing like the revered
1401
01:06:37,609 --> 01:06:41,943
former champion of the 1930s
and 1940s Joe Louis,
1402
01:06:41,976 --> 01:06:45,076
whose managers had demanded
he refrain from celebrating
1403
01:06:45,109 --> 01:06:48,276
after defeating white opponents.
1404
01:06:48,309 --> 01:06:52,043
REMNICK: And these guys,
these elders, were offended
1405
01:06:52,076 --> 01:06:54,743
by this "gaseous Cassius."
1406
01:06:54,776 --> 01:06:57,276
They just thought that
he was impertinent,
1407
01:06:57,309 --> 01:07:00,909
that he offended their sense
of athletic aesthetics.
1408
01:07:00,943 --> 01:07:02,509
"What's all this
prancing around?
1409
01:07:02,543 --> 01:07:04,276
Stand and fight!"
1410
01:07:04,309 --> 01:07:06,909
LIPSYTE: The sportswriters
were mostly older men,
1411
01:07:06,943 --> 01:07:08,609
white men.
1412
01:07:08,643 --> 01:07:10,252
Now there were a few
of us younger guys around,
1413
01:07:10,276 --> 01:07:11,643
and we loved him.
1414
01:07:11,676 --> 01:07:12,976
It was wonderful.
1415
01:07:13,009 --> 01:07:16,209
I was around Cassius' age.
1416
01:07:16,243 --> 01:07:17,976
It was very exciting.
1417
01:07:18,009 --> 01:07:20,409
CLAY: Most people think
because I can predict
1418
01:07:20,443 --> 01:07:22,643
a fight like this
and make it come true,
1419
01:07:22,676 --> 01:07:25,743
they think that I am
becoming overconfident.
1420
01:07:25,776 --> 01:07:27,943
I'm gunning for Floyd Patterson
and Sonny liston,
1421
01:07:27,976 --> 01:07:31,376
and if they get in my way,
I will annihilate them, also.
1422
01:07:31,409 --> 01:07:34,576
So there's this... this sort
of mainstream sensibility
1423
01:07:34,609 --> 01:07:38,143
about how a man should
conduct himself in public,
1424
01:07:38,176 --> 01:07:42,109
which is based purely on this
sort of white male logic.
1425
01:07:42,143 --> 01:07:44,243
Cassius Clay's one of
the first people to come along
1426
01:07:44,276 --> 01:07:45,819
in public and say,
"I'm not going to follow
1427
01:07:45,843 --> 01:07:47,276
"those rules.
1428
01:07:47,309 --> 01:07:50,643
I'm going to say
and do what I choose."
1429
01:07:50,676 --> 01:07:53,643
It's about independence.
1430
01:07:53,676 --> 01:07:58,309
In early June 1962,
Abdul rahman invited Cassius
1431
01:07:58,343 --> 01:08:01,143
and his brother Rudy
to a nation of islam rally
1432
01:08:01,176 --> 01:08:03,509
in Detroit later that month.
1433
01:08:03,543 --> 01:08:06,043
Though publicly associating
with the sect could harm
1434
01:08:06,076 --> 01:08:09,143
Clay's chances of getting
a title fight,
1435
01:08:09,176 --> 01:08:11,076
the brothers said yes.
1436
01:08:11,109 --> 01:08:16,376
RAHMAN: Clay was in Louisville,
his car was in Miami,
1437
01:08:16,409 --> 01:08:20,676
so I drove his car from Miami
to Louisville to pick him up,
1438
01:08:20,709 --> 01:08:23,343
and we drove from there
on into Detroit
1439
01:08:23,376 --> 01:08:26,509
to hear the lecture of
the honorable Elijah Muhammad.
1440
01:08:26,543 --> 01:08:28,976
NARRATOR: Before the rally,
the 3 visited the luncheonette
1441
01:08:29,009 --> 01:08:31,476
next door to mosque no. 1,
1442
01:08:31,509 --> 01:08:33,376
where they met
a well-known minister
1443
01:08:33,409 --> 01:08:36,209
from New York who was in town
to deliver opening remarks
1444
01:08:36,243 --> 01:08:37,843
at the rally.
1445
01:08:37,876 --> 01:08:40,043
His name was Malcolm X.
1446
01:08:40,076 --> 01:08:42,543
Clay approached him,
enthusiastically offered
1447
01:08:42,576 --> 01:08:45,809
his hand,
and introduced himself.
1448
01:08:45,843 --> 01:08:47,809
EIG: When Malcolm met
Cassius Clay,
1449
01:08:47,843 --> 01:08:50,343
he'd never heard of him,
was not much of a boxing fan.
1450
01:08:50,376 --> 01:08:52,709
The nation of islam
discouraged its members
1451
01:08:52,743 --> 01:08:55,243
from participating
in sport and entertainment.
1452
01:08:55,276 --> 01:08:57,209
They didn't think it
was serious enough.
1453
01:08:57,243 --> 01:08:58,743
It was seen as a distraction.
1454
01:08:58,776 --> 01:09:02,043
So he didn't
recognize Cassius Clay.
1455
01:09:02,076 --> 01:09:04,109
NARRATOR: After a brief chat,
Malcolm returned
1456
01:09:04,143 --> 01:09:06,309
to preparing for his address,
1457
01:09:06,343 --> 01:09:09,043
but the young fighter
had left an impression.
1458
01:09:09,076 --> 01:09:12,409
Clay had a "contagious quality,"
Malcolm later recalled.
1459
01:09:12,443 --> 01:09:15,643
He was "clean cut
and down to earth."
1460
01:09:15,676 --> 01:09:17,552
EIG: They quickly developed
a friendship and a bond,
1461
01:09:17,576 --> 01:09:20,576
and Malcolm became
a very important teacher
1462
01:09:20,609 --> 01:09:23,276
for Cassius, uh, teaching
him about the nation of islam
1463
01:09:23,309 --> 01:09:25,376
and about what
the religion meant.
1464
01:09:25,409 --> 01:09:28,109
They became good friends.
1465
01:09:28,143 --> 01:09:30,843
NARRATOR: Born in 1925
to parents who followed
1466
01:09:30,876 --> 01:09:33,909
the black separatist
leader Marcus Garvey,
1467
01:09:33,943 --> 01:09:36,743
Malcolm little was introduced
to the nation of islam
1468
01:09:36,776 --> 01:09:39,443
in the late 1940s
while serving time
1469
01:09:39,476 --> 01:09:43,743
in a Massachusetts prison
for burglary.
1470
01:09:43,776 --> 01:09:46,743
Deeply affected
by Elijah Muhammad's teachings,
1471
01:09:46,776 --> 01:09:49,543
little wrote to the leader
almost daily
1472
01:09:49,576 --> 01:09:53,276
and took the name Malcolm X.
1473
01:09:53,309 --> 01:09:55,809
Later after his release
from prison,
1474
01:09:55,843 --> 01:09:58,243
Muhammad would make him
principal minister
1475
01:09:58,276 --> 01:10:01,276
at temple no. 7 in Harlem.
1476
01:10:01,309 --> 01:10:02,709
Who are you?
1477
01:10:02,743 --> 01:10:04,243
You don't know.
1478
01:10:04,276 --> 01:10:06,909
Don't tell me negro.
That's nothing.
1479
01:10:06,943 --> 01:10:08,385
What were you before
the white man named
1480
01:10:08,409 --> 01:10:09,943
you a negro?
1481
01:10:09,976 --> 01:10:11,543
And where were you?
1482
01:10:11,576 --> 01:10:13,409
And what did you have?
1483
01:10:13,443 --> 01:10:15,043
What was yours?
1484
01:10:15,076 --> 01:10:17,376
What language did you
speak then?
1485
01:10:17,409 --> 01:10:18,943
What was your name?
1486
01:10:18,976 --> 01:10:21,609
It couldn't have been Smith
or Jones
1487
01:10:21,643 --> 01:10:23,009
or bunch or Powell.
1488
01:10:23,043 --> 01:10:24,709
That wasn't your name.
1489
01:10:24,743 --> 01:10:26,019
They don't have those kind
of names where you and I
1490
01:10:26,043 --> 01:10:28,009
came from.
1491
01:10:28,043 --> 01:10:32,043
MUWAKKIL: When Malcolm came
along, his charisma was married
1492
01:10:32,076 --> 01:10:34,909
to Elijah Muhammad's
puritanical message,
1493
01:10:34,943 --> 01:10:36,909
and it took off.
1494
01:10:36,943 --> 01:10:39,076
I was mesmerized by the guy.
1495
01:10:39,109 --> 01:10:41,009
America is
still a country
1496
01:10:41,043 --> 01:10:44,209
whose governmental system
is based upon freedom,
1497
01:10:44,243 --> 01:10:47,576
justice, and equality
for white people only.
1498
01:10:47,609 --> 01:10:50,776
MUWAKKIL: And I couldn't imagine
anyone besting him
1499
01:10:50,809 --> 01:10:52,909
in an intellectual argument.
1500
01:10:52,943 --> 01:10:54,252
MALCOLM X: You haven't done
the right thing...
1501
01:10:54,276 --> 01:10:55,476
MUWAKKIL: He was that sharp.
1502
01:10:55,509 --> 01:10:57,143
MALCOLM X:
By my people,
1503
01:10:57,176 --> 01:10:59,043
and because you
haven't done the right thing
1504
01:10:59,076 --> 01:11:03,443
by my people, now I got to do
the right thing by you.
1505
01:11:03,476 --> 01:11:06,143
Your kingdom has got to go.
1506
01:11:06,176 --> 01:11:08,443
MUWAKKIL: Often when people
had intellectual attainment,
1507
01:11:08,476 --> 01:11:10,376
they disdained,
the street life,
1508
01:11:10,409 --> 01:11:13,276
and they had this
aura of superiority.
1509
01:11:13,309 --> 01:11:15,643
Malcolm, he didn't
have that at all.
1510
01:11:15,676 --> 01:11:17,609
He seemed to embrace
the street life in a way
1511
01:11:17,643 --> 01:11:19,009
that few others had,
1512
01:11:19,043 --> 01:11:22,509
and that was
a very unique thing.
1513
01:11:22,543 --> 01:11:24,476
NARRATOR: Many Americans,
now familiar
1514
01:11:24,509 --> 01:11:27,676
with the non-violent actions
of the civil rights movement
1515
01:11:27,709 --> 01:11:30,809
led primarily by southern
ministers, were shocked
1516
01:11:30,843 --> 01:11:33,609
and frightened by what
Malcolm X had to say.
1517
01:11:33,643 --> 01:11:36,443
MALCOLM X: No man can
speak for negroes who tells
1518
01:11:36,476 --> 01:11:39,109
negroes love their enemy.
1519
01:11:39,143 --> 01:11:42,643
No man can speak
for negroes who tells negroes
1520
01:11:42,676 --> 01:11:44,643
turn the other cheek.
1521
01:11:44,676 --> 01:11:47,443
There is no negro
in his right mind today
1522
01:11:47,476 --> 01:11:51,243
who is going to turn
the other cheek.
1523
01:11:51,276 --> 01:11:53,176
NARRATOR: As Malcolm's
influence grew,
1524
01:11:53,209 --> 01:11:56,709
his activities drew increasing
interest from the FBI,
1525
01:11:56,743 --> 01:11:59,943
which began tracking
his every move,
1526
01:11:59,976 --> 01:12:04,676
surveillance that would continue
until the end of his life.
1527
01:12:04,709 --> 01:12:06,285
ELIJAH MUHAMMAD:
Stop trying to be in unity
1528
01:12:06,309 --> 01:12:08,343
with the people that
don't want you.
1529
01:12:08,376 --> 01:12:11,343
They hate you and call
you these black
1530
01:12:11,376 --> 01:12:12,776
so and so and so.
1531
01:12:12,809 --> 01:12:14,943
Get out of that
people's faith.
1532
01:12:14,976 --> 01:12:17,243
NARRATOR: At the rally
in Detroit that Cassius, Rudy,
1533
01:12:17,276 --> 01:12:19,776
and Abdul rahman
had driven to,
1534
01:12:19,809 --> 01:12:23,543
the brothers hung
on Elijah Muhammad's every word.
1535
01:12:23,576 --> 01:12:25,543
ELIJAH MUHAMMAD:
He is through with you and I.
1536
01:12:25,576 --> 01:12:26,909
He has freed you and I.
1537
01:12:26,943 --> 01:12:28,809
Let's act like free men.
1538
01:12:28,843 --> 01:12:31,809
Do for our free selves.
1539
01:12:31,843 --> 01:12:35,476
ROBERTS: If Cassius comes out
and says, "yes, I'm a member
1540
01:12:35,509 --> 01:12:38,809
of the nation of islam,"
his career is over.
1541
01:12:38,843 --> 01:12:41,909
You know, I mean boxing is
in the doldrums anyway.
1542
01:12:41,943 --> 01:12:46,009
Just what we need now,
a top contender affirming
1543
01:12:46,043 --> 01:12:48,409
his belief
in the nation of islam.
1544
01:12:48,443 --> 01:12:50,809
He's not going to attract
any big fights.
1545
01:12:50,843 --> 01:12:52,543
White America is not
going to give
1546
01:12:52,576 --> 01:12:55,443
the heavyweight championship
to a black Muslim.
1547
01:12:55,476 --> 01:12:59,176
Clay had to play it very coy.
1548
01:12:59,209 --> 01:13:01,609
NARRATOR: In July,
Cassius Clay predicted he'd
1549
01:13:01,643 --> 01:13:05,509
knock out an Argentine contender
named Alejandro Lavorante
1550
01:13:05,543 --> 01:13:08,743
in the fifth round
and then once again
1551
01:13:08,776 --> 01:13:10,943
made good on that prediction.
1552
01:13:10,976 --> 01:13:13,609
He was now 15-0.
1553
01:13:13,643 --> 01:13:16,276
After the match,
Clay spotted Archie Moore
1554
01:13:16,309 --> 01:13:17,676
at ringside.
1555
01:13:17,709 --> 01:13:18,819
"You're next, old man"
he shouted
1556
01:13:18,843 --> 01:13:21,643
to his one-time trainer.
1557
01:13:21,676 --> 01:13:24,476
Moore claimed to be 45,
though many believe
1558
01:13:24,509 --> 01:13:26,476
he was closer to 50,
1559
01:13:26,509 --> 01:13:28,776
but he needed the money
and quickly agreed
1560
01:13:28,809 --> 01:13:30,876
to the fight.
1561
01:13:30,909 --> 01:13:33,909
Archie Moore was like
the professor of fighters.
1562
01:13:33,943 --> 01:13:36,243
Archie Moore was incredibly
brilliant,
1563
01:13:36,276 --> 01:13:39,643
but Archie Moore had the vanity
of thinking
1564
01:13:39,676 --> 01:13:41,576
that he could figure out
the young guy
1565
01:13:41,609 --> 01:13:44,076
and through positioning himself
right and moving right
1566
01:13:44,109 --> 01:13:48,143
he could outsmart
this young guy.
1567
01:13:48,176 --> 01:13:52,143
Let's just say the prerogatives
of youth overcame him.
1568
01:13:52,176 --> 01:13:55,876
NARRATOR: Clay won by technical
knockout in the fourth round.
1569
01:13:57,709 --> 01:14:01,743
By the end of 1962,
Cassius Clay was ranked number 4
1570
01:14:01,776 --> 01:14:05,009
among heavyweight contenders,
and he had begun
1571
01:14:05,043 --> 01:14:08,809
to look like a shrewd bet
by his Louisville sponsors,
1572
01:14:08,843 --> 01:14:11,676
who were on pace to recoup
their initial investment
1573
01:14:11,709 --> 01:14:13,876
in the coming year.
1574
01:14:13,909 --> 01:14:16,376
Mr. Cassius Clay,
ladies and gentlemen.
1575
01:14:16,409 --> 01:14:20,043
(applause)
1576
01:14:20,076 --> 01:14:21,509
Jerry, i'm
the greatest fighter
1577
01:14:21,543 --> 01:14:22,885
that's ever stepped
foot in the ring.
1578
01:14:22,909 --> 01:14:24,352
I'm so great, I tell
a clown what round
1579
01:14:24,376 --> 01:14:26,209
he's going down.
1580
01:14:26,243 --> 01:14:27,269
REPORTER: You seem to be making
1581
01:14:27,293 --> 01:14:28,152
predictions about fights.
1582
01:14:28,176 --> 01:14:29,652
CLAY: That's part
of the Clay psychology
1583
01:14:29,676 --> 01:14:32,143
and also part of
the Clay greatness.
1584
01:14:32,176 --> 01:14:33,643
And the
Clay greatness.
1585
01:14:33,676 --> 01:14:34,952
Well, now you claim to be
you're going to be
1586
01:14:34,976 --> 01:14:36,609
the next champion
of the world.
1587
01:14:36,643 --> 01:14:38,143
Next champion
of the world.
1588
01:14:38,176 --> 01:14:39,676
I'll hold the title
for about 10 years
1589
01:14:39,709 --> 01:14:41,976
and then give it to my
younger brother Rudolph.
1590
01:14:42,009 --> 01:14:43,476
NARRATOR: Though critics
grumbled
1591
01:14:43,509 --> 01:14:45,009
that he still talked too much
1592
01:14:45,043 --> 01:14:47,609
and hadn't yet faced
a worthy opponent,
1593
01:14:47,643 --> 01:14:51,143
Cassius Clay had
the boxing world's attention.
1594
01:14:51,176 --> 01:14:53,176
"I don't care if this kid
can't fight a lick,"
1595
01:14:53,209 --> 01:14:56,209
said the former heavyweight
champion Jack Dempsey.
1596
01:14:56,243 --> 01:14:57,876
"I'm for him.
1597
01:14:57,909 --> 01:14:59,709
Things are live again."
1598
01:15:04,643 --> 01:15:09,409
FRED MCDOWELL: ♫ it was soon
one morning ♫
1599
01:15:09,443 --> 01:15:13,309
♫ death come creepin' ♫
1600
01:15:13,343 --> 01:15:17,143
♫ soon when ♫
1601
01:15:17,176 --> 01:15:20,143
♫ death come creepin'
in my room ♫
1602
01:15:20,176 --> 01:15:26,409
MOSLEY: Poor men box because
it's the only choice they have,
1603
01:15:26,443 --> 01:15:31,409
which is the reason that
boxing itself is poetry.
1604
01:15:31,443 --> 01:15:33,085
"Why you want to get
in the ring and get hurt?"
1605
01:15:33,109 --> 01:15:35,509
Said, "man, I can
go down to the bar and get hurt.
1606
01:15:35,543 --> 01:15:37,185
"You know, I can go down
there to the juke joint
1607
01:15:37,209 --> 01:15:39,209
and listen to
Robert Johnson and get hurt."
1608
01:15:39,243 --> 01:15:40,785
He said, "at least when
I get in the ring,
1609
01:15:40,809 --> 01:15:42,943
"they pay me,
1610
01:15:42,976 --> 01:15:46,609
and they got to wear
gloves when they hit me."
1611
01:15:46,643 --> 01:15:48,509
MCDOWELL: ♫ o my lord ♫
1612
01:15:48,543 --> 01:15:52,509
MOSLEY: You fight because you
fight every day anyway.
1613
01:15:52,543 --> 01:15:54,509
A black man,
but not just black men,
1614
01:15:54,543 --> 01:15:59,276
any poor... a Mexican or irishman
or Jew... if they're fighting,
1615
01:15:59,309 --> 01:16:03,609
they're fighting
for their lives,
1616
01:16:03,643 --> 01:16:05,683
and the only reason they're
fighting for their lives
1617
01:16:05,709 --> 01:16:09,543
in the ring is because it's
a little bit safer
1618
01:16:09,576 --> 01:16:15,309
than fighting for your life
on the streets of America.
1619
01:16:15,343 --> 01:16:18,543
NARRATOR: In September 1962,
heavyweight champion
1620
01:16:18,576 --> 01:16:20,843
Floyd Patterson
was scheduled to fight
1621
01:16:20,876 --> 01:16:25,609
challenger Sonny liston
at Chicago's Comiskey park.
1622
01:16:25,643 --> 01:16:28,109
Patterson was
the sentimental favorite,
1623
01:16:28,143 --> 01:16:30,443
but the odds were against him.
1624
01:16:30,476 --> 01:16:33,109
TALESE: Floyd Patterson was
a remarkable fighter
1625
01:16:33,143 --> 01:16:34,776
because he was
a heavyweight champion
1626
01:16:34,809 --> 01:16:36,576
without being a heavyweight.
1627
01:16:36,609 --> 01:16:38,443
Patterson had a humility
about him
1628
01:16:38,476 --> 01:16:41,809
and a certain righteousness
about him that he appealed
1629
01:16:41,843 --> 01:16:43,443
to the white middle class,
1630
01:16:43,476 --> 01:16:47,809
the white sportswriter,
the white element.
1631
01:16:47,843 --> 01:16:50,776
PATTERSON: I met the president
of the United States.
1632
01:16:50,809 --> 01:16:53,643
He knew
of my fight with liston,
1633
01:16:53,676 --> 01:16:57,943
and he had said to me, uh,
you know, "Floyd,
1634
01:16:57,976 --> 01:16:59,852
"you want to try to keep
the title because you represent
1635
01:16:59,876 --> 01:17:03,243
something good."
1636
01:17:03,276 --> 01:17:05,509
IZENBERG: Floyd's manager
was Cus D'Amato,
1637
01:17:05,543 --> 01:17:10,343
and he discovered
very early that Floyd really had
1638
01:17:10,376 --> 01:17:16,043
the quick hands of a cobra
and the chin of a poet.
1639
01:17:16,076 --> 01:17:18,443
He didn't want him to
fight Sonny liston.
1640
01:17:18,476 --> 01:17:20,385
Definitely did not want
him to fight Sonny liston.
1641
01:17:20,409 --> 01:17:23,776
Floyd was baited into
the fight because he decided
1642
01:17:23,809 --> 01:17:26,209
he was deputized to get rid
of all bullies
1643
01:17:26,243 --> 01:17:28,376
and whatever else.
1644
01:17:28,409 --> 01:17:30,509
Cassius, in about
a month from now,
1645
01:17:30,543 --> 01:17:32,143
Sonny liston is going to
be trying to get
1646
01:17:32,176 --> 01:17:34,643
the championship
from Floyd Patterson.
1647
01:17:34,676 --> 01:17:36,176
How do you see
this fight?
1648
01:17:36,209 --> 01:17:37,576
Trying to get?
1649
01:17:37,609 --> 01:17:39,476
Sonny liston
will get it.
1650
01:17:39,509 --> 01:17:41,252
I see Sonny liston
knocking Floyd Patterson out
1651
01:17:41,276 --> 01:17:43,743
within the first
5 rounds.
1652
01:17:43,776 --> 01:17:47,343
In my estimation,
Sonny liston is
1653
01:17:47,376 --> 01:17:51,043
a great American hero.
1654
01:17:51,076 --> 01:17:54,309
He had taken all
the worst from everybody.
1655
01:17:54,343 --> 01:17:57,409
He's a man who doesn't know
when he was born,
1656
01:17:57,443 --> 01:18:00,743
doesn't, have any relationship
whatsoever with his father,
1657
01:18:00,776 --> 01:18:03,909
had a mother who kept on
running away from him.
1658
01:18:03,943 --> 01:18:07,009
He was a man
of extraordinary power
1659
01:18:07,043 --> 01:18:11,309
and an extraordinary focus,
who took all the barbs
1660
01:18:11,343 --> 01:18:15,809
and arrows that
everybody had to throw
1661
01:18:15,843 --> 01:18:18,476
and still made it.
1662
01:18:18,509 --> 01:18:21,143
Boxing is that guy,
like liston, who just basically
1663
01:18:21,176 --> 01:18:23,743
climbs right up
out of the mud.
1664
01:18:23,776 --> 01:18:26,843
They say, "where are you from?"
He said, "I'm from back there."
1665
01:18:26,876 --> 01:18:28,209
You know.
1666
01:18:30,943 --> 01:18:33,309
NARRATOR: The son
of an Arkansas sharecropper
1667
01:18:33,343 --> 01:18:37,643
who whipped him almost daily,
Charles "Sonny" liston was
1668
01:18:37,676 --> 01:18:41,976
first introduced to boxing
in 1950 by a prison chaplain
1669
01:18:42,009 --> 01:18:44,509
at Missouri state
penitentiary, where he was
1670
01:18:44,543 --> 01:18:47,643
serving time
for armed robbery.
1671
01:18:47,676 --> 01:18:51,743
Within 4 weeks, no inmates,
including trained boxers,
1672
01:18:51,776 --> 01:18:55,009
would get in
the ring with him.
1673
01:18:55,043 --> 01:18:58,743
He was paroled
in October of 1952.
1674
01:18:58,776 --> 01:19:02,809
A local mob boss got liston
a job at an ordnance plant
1675
01:19:02,843 --> 01:19:05,843
and entered him
in amateur tournaments.
1676
01:19:05,876 --> 01:19:09,043
4 months later, after
capturing the international
1677
01:19:09,076 --> 01:19:11,509
golden gloves
heavyweight title,
1678
01:19:11,543 --> 01:19:13,976
liston turned professional.
1679
01:19:14,009 --> 01:19:17,109
Over the next 5 years,
he worked in construction
1680
01:19:17,143 --> 01:19:19,776
and as a chauffeur
and sometime enforcer
1681
01:19:19,809 --> 01:19:22,476
for the union bosses.
1682
01:19:22,509 --> 01:19:25,709
He was harassed constantly
by St. Louis police,
1683
01:19:25,743 --> 01:19:27,843
who picked him up
for "questioning"
1684
01:19:27,876 --> 01:19:31,109
more than 100 times.
1685
01:19:31,143 --> 01:19:34,176
In the ring, Sonny liston
was nearly unbeatable,
1686
01:19:34,209 --> 01:19:37,009
using what one reporter
called "a pile driver"
1687
01:19:37,043 --> 01:19:44,109
of a left hand to win 17 of his
first 18 professional fights.
1688
01:19:44,143 --> 01:19:47,609
As liston climbed the ranks,
Frank carbo,
1689
01:19:47,643 --> 01:19:51,209
a mob hitman who became
a powerful boxing promoter,
1690
01:19:51,243 --> 01:19:55,443
took an interest and approached
the small-time mobster
1691
01:19:55,476 --> 01:19:57,776
who thought he owned liston.
1692
01:19:57,809 --> 01:20:00,943
IZENBERG: Frankie carbo,
who's running boxing said,
1693
01:20:00,976 --> 01:20:02,709
"here's 75,000.
1694
01:20:02,743 --> 01:20:04,376
"You never saw liston.
1695
01:20:04,409 --> 01:20:05,876
"You're never gonna
see him again.
1696
01:20:05,909 --> 01:20:08,509
Forget it.
He's my fighter."
1697
01:20:08,543 --> 01:20:10,485
He was in the hands of the mob,
and the mob treated him
1698
01:20:10,509 --> 01:20:12,543
pretty well.
1699
01:20:12,576 --> 01:20:15,143
Sonny was illiterate,
but by no means
1700
01:20:15,176 --> 01:20:17,876
was Sonny ignorant.
1701
01:20:17,909 --> 01:20:20,643
MOSLEY: I think people hated
liston because he was a brute.
1702
01:20:20,676 --> 01:20:23,009
They hated him because
he was deadly
1703
01:20:23,043 --> 01:20:24,676
and he was dangerous.
1704
01:20:24,709 --> 01:20:27,076
They hated him because
of the corrupt country
1705
01:20:27,109 --> 01:20:28,676
they created.
1706
01:20:28,709 --> 01:20:30,376
That corruption co-opted him.
1707
01:20:30,409 --> 01:20:32,143
They hated him because he
was illiterate,
1708
01:20:32,176 --> 01:20:34,643
but they didn't teach him how
to read and write.
1709
01:20:34,676 --> 01:20:38,409
He's hated by white people
and black people,
1710
01:20:38,443 --> 01:20:39,843
and he just never stopped.
1711
01:20:39,876 --> 01:20:41,576
He just kept right on going,
1712
01:20:41,609 --> 01:20:44,376
and if you're like a black
man or a woman in America
1713
01:20:44,409 --> 01:20:46,476
and you see somebody like
Sonny liston, you say,
1714
01:20:46,509 --> 01:20:51,143
"that's what they do to us."
1715
01:20:51,176 --> 01:20:53,509
NARRATOR: By the time liston
challenged Floyd Patterson
1716
01:20:53,543 --> 01:20:56,309
for the heavyweight title
in 1962,
1717
01:20:56,343 --> 01:21:00,909
he had 33 wins
and just 1 loss.
1718
01:21:00,943 --> 01:21:02,809
"Patterson was
the moral favorite,"
1719
01:21:02,843 --> 01:21:05,376
the writer
James Baldwin observed.
1720
01:21:05,409 --> 01:21:09,043
"People felt liston's
victory would be a disaster."
1721
01:21:09,076 --> 01:21:12,476
ADDIE:
Weighing 214 pounds,
1722
01:21:12,509 --> 01:21:17,676
from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
Sonny liston.
1723
01:21:17,709 --> 01:21:19,276
(booing)
1724
01:21:19,309 --> 01:21:21,509
NARRATOR: Sonny liston
understood.
1725
01:21:21,543 --> 01:21:23,876
"It's like a cowboy
movie," he said.
1726
01:21:23,909 --> 01:21:25,943
"There's got to be good guys,
1727
01:21:25,976 --> 01:21:30,409
and there's got to be bad guys."
1728
01:21:30,443 --> 01:21:32,109
(bell rings)
1729
01:21:32,143 --> 01:21:33,919
CHRIS SCHENKEL:
Sonny liston moves out to face
1730
01:21:33,943 --> 01:21:38,409
the big chance of his 28 years
of a turbulent life.
1731
01:21:38,443 --> 01:21:40,419
The liston hook to the head
is the first good punch
1732
01:21:40,443 --> 01:21:42,509
of the fight.
1733
01:21:46,309 --> 01:21:48,276
A left to grazing right
and a solid left
1734
01:21:48,309 --> 01:21:51,709
to the cheekbone dropped
the champion.
1735
01:21:51,743 --> 01:21:54,943
NARRATOR: It took liston
just 2 minutes and 6 seconds
1736
01:21:54,976 --> 01:21:59,676
to become heavyweight champion
of the world.
1737
01:21:59,709 --> 01:22:01,585
IZENBERG: It was clear to me
that nobody would ever beat
1738
01:22:01,609 --> 01:22:03,343
Sonny liston and that he
would be 107
1739
01:22:03,376 --> 01:22:06,243
and he would retire
as the undefeated champion.
1740
01:22:09,543 --> 01:22:12,943
ROBERTS: Boxing was in
the winter of its discontent.
1741
01:22:12,976 --> 01:22:15,943
Rumors that
everything's fixed.
1742
01:22:15,976 --> 01:22:19,109
DUNPHY: Paret against
the ropes, almost helpless.
1743
01:22:19,143 --> 01:22:21,643
A minute to go.
1744
01:22:21,676 --> 01:22:23,876
And they're gonna stop it.
1745
01:22:23,909 --> 01:22:26,143
They're gonna stop it
as paret sags...
1746
01:22:26,176 --> 01:22:28,119
ROBERTS: And another major
problem that had was just
1747
01:22:28,143 --> 01:22:30,809
the sheer violence of the sport.
1748
01:22:30,843 --> 01:22:32,476
DUNPHY: We're more concerned
1749
01:22:32,509 --> 01:22:34,843
about the condition
of Benny "Kid" Paret.
1750
01:22:34,876 --> 01:22:37,009
ROBERTS: You had fights
on television
1751
01:22:37,043 --> 01:22:38,809
that startled Americans.
1752
01:22:38,843 --> 01:22:41,543
You know,
"do we want to watch this?
1753
01:22:41,576 --> 01:22:45,343
We've got to ban this sport."
1754
01:22:45,376 --> 01:22:49,143
NARRATOR: On February 4, 1963,
Cassius Clay traveled
1755
01:22:49,176 --> 01:22:52,043
to Albany, New York,
to appear as a witness
1756
01:22:52,076 --> 01:22:54,643
before a legislative committee
considering a bill
1757
01:22:54,676 --> 01:22:57,943
that would abolish boxing
in the state of New York
1758
01:22:57,976 --> 01:23:01,676
because of its brutality
and ever-present corruption.
1759
01:23:01,709 --> 01:23:03,443
COMMITTEE MEMBER:
Don't you think that
1760
01:23:03,476 --> 01:23:05,085
these predictions that you're
making and the fact
1761
01:23:05,109 --> 01:23:07,543
that the last few fights
have happened to end
1762
01:23:07,576 --> 01:23:10,543
in the exact round that you
state have created
1763
01:23:10,576 --> 01:23:13,376
a bad image to the general
public of boxing?
1764
01:23:13,409 --> 01:23:17,276
Well, no, it haven't.
A few people...
1765
01:23:17,309 --> 01:23:18,743
Well, in other words, they say,
1766
01:23:18,776 --> 01:23:20,576
"it take a crook to
know a crook."
1767
01:23:20,609 --> 01:23:23,076
Now, you prove...
1768
01:23:23,109 --> 01:23:26,209
(laughter)
1769
01:23:26,243 --> 01:23:30,243
ROBERTS: Cassius Clay comes like
a breath of spring air.
1770
01:23:30,276 --> 01:23:34,043
Yes, he's outrageous.
Yes, he's conceited.
1771
01:23:34,076 --> 01:23:37,643
Yes, he boasts constantly,
but he's exciting,
1772
01:23:37,676 --> 01:23:41,143
and he's good-looking,
and he's young.
1773
01:23:41,176 --> 01:23:42,585
COMMITTEE MEMBER:
By the way, Cassius,
1774
01:23:42,609 --> 01:23:44,343
I think that point was
well taken,
1775
01:23:44,376 --> 01:23:46,843
and I think that my colleagues
in the legislature
1776
01:23:46,876 --> 01:23:49,076
got a little fun out of it,
but go ahead.
1777
01:23:49,109 --> 01:23:51,009
CLAY: I have had 11 fights,
11 of them
1778
01:23:51,043 --> 01:23:53,076
I predicted just
what would happen.
1779
01:23:53,109 --> 01:23:55,409
Now would you say all
of these people are crooks,
1780
01:23:55,443 --> 01:23:57,309
all of
the promoters are crooks?
1781
01:23:57,343 --> 01:23:59,043
COMMITTEE MEMBER:
I asked you the question.
1782
01:23:59,076 --> 01:24:00,743
Well, that's just
up to you to figure.
1783
01:24:00,776 --> 01:24:02,876
I tell the people
that I'm the greatest,
1784
01:24:02,909 --> 01:24:05,576
so if I say he's gonna fall
in 5 and he falls in 5,
1785
01:24:05,609 --> 01:24:08,576
well, that just makes me
that much greater.
1786
01:24:08,609 --> 01:24:10,743
NARRATOR: Clay also
promised the legislators
1787
01:24:10,776 --> 01:24:12,876
that he would sell out
Madison square garden
1788
01:24:12,909 --> 01:24:15,976
for his upcoming fight with
the number-3 ranked contender
1789
01:24:16,009 --> 01:24:19,443
Doug Jones, a feat no event held
at the arena
1790
01:24:19,476 --> 01:24:23,243
had achieved in years.
1791
01:24:23,276 --> 01:24:26,176
On the train back
from Albany to New York City,
1792
01:24:26,209 --> 01:24:29,776
a reporter warned Clay that
a months-long printers strike
1793
01:24:29,809 --> 01:24:31,909
that had shuttered most
of the city's
1794
01:24:31,943 --> 01:24:34,676
major daily newspapers could
make it difficult
1795
01:24:34,709 --> 01:24:37,243
to publicize the fight.
1796
01:24:37,276 --> 01:24:39,409
Clay was undeterred.
1797
01:24:39,443 --> 01:24:42,643
He began a relentless
promotional campaign.
1798
01:24:42,676 --> 01:24:44,085
REPORTER: Are you still
plugging the line that you are
1799
01:24:44,109 --> 01:24:45,676
the greatest
heavyweight alive?
1800
01:24:45,709 --> 01:24:47,609
I'm the greatest
heavyweight on two feet today.
1801
01:24:47,643 --> 01:24:50,309
I'm the onliest man who
calls the exact round
1802
01:24:50,343 --> 01:24:52,109
in which my opponent
will fall months
1803
01:24:52,143 --> 01:24:54,176
before the fight.
1804
01:24:54,209 --> 01:24:56,076
NARRATOR: He traded
jokes with Johnny Carson
1805
01:24:56,109 --> 01:24:59,309
on "the tonight show,"
read poetry at the bitter end,
1806
01:24:59,343 --> 01:25:01,543
a coffeehouse
in greenwich village,
1807
01:25:01,576 --> 01:25:04,709
and held court in his room
at the Plymouth hotel,
1808
01:25:04,743 --> 01:25:08,209
boasting that Doug Jones posed
little threat
1809
01:25:08,243 --> 01:25:10,909
and wouldn't keep him
from the "Tomato-Red Cadillac
1810
01:25:10,943 --> 01:25:14,076
Eldorado convertible
with white leather upholstery"
1811
01:25:14,109 --> 01:25:16,576
that the Louisville sponsoring
group had promised him
1812
01:25:16,609 --> 01:25:19,643
in victory.
1813
01:25:19,676 --> 01:25:21,152
Floyd Patterson
won the world heavyweight
1814
01:25:21,176 --> 01:25:23,443
championship one month
before he was 22
1815
01:25:23,476 --> 01:25:25,643
I just had a birthday
January the 17th.
1816
01:25:25,676 --> 01:25:28,209
After I annihilate
Doug Jones,
1817
01:25:28,243 --> 01:25:30,676
liston will be my meat.
1818
01:25:30,709 --> 01:25:32,976
MAN: ♫ o say can you see ♫
1819
01:25:33,009 --> 01:25:35,376
NARRATOR: Madison square garden
had sold its last seat
1820
01:25:35,409 --> 01:25:37,609
5 days before.
1821
01:25:37,643 --> 01:25:41,976
It was the arena's
first-ever advance sellout.
1822
01:25:42,009 --> 01:25:43,443
SCHENKEL: It's standing
room only
1823
01:25:43,476 --> 01:25:45,176
at Madison square garden
in New York City,
1824
01:25:45,209 --> 01:25:47,309
where once again,
the famous landmark has become
1825
01:25:47,343 --> 01:25:49,209
the mecca of boxing.
1826
01:25:49,243 --> 01:25:51,352
There is one young man who
has made this all possible.
1827
01:25:51,376 --> 01:25:54,443
He is a 21-year-old heavyweight
from Louisville, Kentucky,
1828
01:25:54,476 --> 01:25:57,209
named Cassius Marcellus Clay.
1829
01:25:57,243 --> 01:25:58,543
(bell rings)
1830
01:25:58,576 --> 01:25:59,809
Cassius Clay...
1831
01:25:59,843 --> 01:26:01,009
Watch his speedy left hand.
1832
01:26:01,043 --> 01:26:02,443
He's got a beauty.
1833
01:26:02,476 --> 01:26:04,243
BENTT: Styles make fights.
1834
01:26:04,276 --> 01:26:05,743
SCHENKEL: You just saw one
1835
01:26:05,776 --> 01:26:07,019
of Clay's habits,
pulling away from punches
1836
01:26:07,043 --> 01:26:09,076
instead of trying to slip them.
1837
01:26:09,109 --> 01:26:10,843
BENTT: Doug Jones knew how to
take advantage
1838
01:26:10,876 --> 01:26:13,909
of Clay's leaning back
and hands dropped.
1839
01:26:13,943 --> 01:26:15,909
SCHENKEL: 2, 2 1/2,
and there it is.
1840
01:26:15,943 --> 01:26:18,676
A good, solid punch.
1841
01:26:18,709 --> 01:26:22,009
BENTT: Doug Jones punched
while Cassius was punching.
1842
01:26:22,043 --> 01:26:23,752
If you punch while he's
punching, he's not able to
1843
01:26:23,776 --> 01:26:26,776
adjust to, like, you know,
what's coming at him.
1844
01:26:26,809 --> 01:26:30,476
SCHENKEL: Clay was
definitely shaken up by a shot
1845
01:26:30,509 --> 01:26:32,243
that cut him
as he was backing away
1846
01:26:32,276 --> 01:26:34,443
from a punch instead
of trying to slip it.
1847
01:26:34,476 --> 01:26:37,709
BENTT: When a fighter like
Cassius gets hit with shots
1848
01:26:37,743 --> 01:26:39,609
that gets his
attention, guess what.
1849
01:26:39,643 --> 01:26:42,743
He starts fighting with
his back foot out the door,
1850
01:26:42,776 --> 01:26:45,943
without the confidence
that he usually has.
1851
01:26:45,976 --> 01:26:50,409
As he's going back,
just got nailed by a right hand.
1852
01:26:50,443 --> 01:26:53,376
NARRATOR: Jones peppered Clay
with punches,
1853
01:26:53,409 --> 01:26:55,943
while weathering Clay's
own assault.
1854
01:26:55,976 --> 01:26:58,476
SCHENKEL: 15 seconds to go.
1855
01:26:58,509 --> 01:27:02,476
Fans are probably booing
about the prediction.
1856
01:27:02,509 --> 01:27:04,843
NARRATOR: When the bell rang
ending the fourth round
1857
01:27:04,876 --> 01:27:08,276
with Jones still on his feet,
the crowd jeered Clay
1858
01:27:08,309 --> 01:27:11,143
for failing to fulfill
his prediction.
1859
01:27:11,176 --> 01:27:15,809
SCHENKEL: Cassius Clay punched
away to no effect.
1860
01:27:15,843 --> 01:27:19,009
It's round 5
at the garden in New York.
1861
01:27:19,043 --> 01:27:20,976
BENTT: If Cassius Clay was
in control,
1862
01:27:21,009 --> 01:27:23,343
he's dancing around the ring.
1863
01:27:23,376 --> 01:27:27,309
If you watch Clay,
when he stops dancing,
1864
01:27:27,343 --> 01:27:28,643
he's uncomfortable,
1865
01:27:28,676 --> 01:27:32,309
and that's when
he's vulnerable.
1866
01:27:32,343 --> 01:27:38,009
SCHENKEL: We have one
minute left in round 5.
1867
01:27:38,043 --> 01:27:40,776
BENTT: Stylistically,
Doug Jones solved Clay.
1868
01:27:40,809 --> 01:27:42,376
(bell rings)
1869
01:27:46,443 --> 01:27:49,809
NARRATOR: Before the seventh
round, Angelo dundee warned Clay
1870
01:27:49,843 --> 01:27:52,176
that he could "kiss
the Cadillac good-bye"
1871
01:27:52,209 --> 01:27:54,843
if he didn't get going.
1872
01:27:54,876 --> 01:27:59,643
Over the last 3 rounds,
Clay out-punched Jones
1873
01:27:59,676 --> 01:28:01,676
but could not knock him out.
1874
01:28:01,709 --> 01:28:03,676
SCHENKEL: 5 seconds.
1875
01:28:03,709 --> 01:28:05,876
(bell rings)
1876
01:28:05,909 --> 01:28:09,976
NARRATOR: The judges would
have to decide.
1877
01:28:10,009 --> 01:28:13,309
BENTT: I don't think that Clay
was projecting body language
1878
01:28:13,343 --> 01:28:15,409
that he won the fight.
1879
01:28:15,443 --> 01:28:17,343
He looked dejected.
1880
01:28:17,376 --> 01:28:18,909
Doug Jones dominates Clay.
1881
01:28:18,943 --> 01:28:21,009
He out-punched him,
he out-hustled him,
1882
01:28:21,043 --> 01:28:22,676
he controlled him.
1883
01:28:22,709 --> 01:28:24,352
Just because you do that,
it doesn't mean you're
1884
01:28:24,376 --> 01:28:26,076
going to get the decision
1885
01:28:26,109 --> 01:28:28,476
because it's business.
1886
01:28:28,509 --> 01:28:30,843
ADDIE: Winner
by unanimous decision
1887
01:28:30,876 --> 01:28:33,043
Cassius Clay.
1888
01:28:33,076 --> 01:28:34,385
SCHENKEL: There you have it,
ladies and gentlemen.
1889
01:28:34,409 --> 01:28:36,109
NARRATOR:
The crowd yelled, "fix!"
1890
01:28:36,143 --> 01:28:40,243
And hurled cigars
and paper cups into the ring.
1891
01:28:40,276 --> 01:28:43,776
Some claimed that Clay's
faults... he had no balance,
1892
01:28:43,809 --> 01:28:47,343
kept his hands too low,
his punches lacked force...
1893
01:28:47,376 --> 01:28:49,776
Had never been more apparent.
1894
01:28:49,809 --> 01:28:52,709
"He has the stuff
but needs a lot of seasoning,"
1895
01:28:52,743 --> 01:28:56,076
former heavyweight
champion gene tunney said.
1896
01:28:56,109 --> 01:28:58,076
Others were simply
disappointed that
1897
01:28:58,109 --> 01:29:01,909
the young upstart hadn't been
put in his place.
1898
01:29:01,943 --> 01:29:03,576
SCHENKEL: Cassius Clay
is mimicking some
1899
01:29:03,609 --> 01:29:06,109
of the people who are
booing the decision.
1900
01:29:06,143 --> 01:29:07,443
CLAY: I love it.
1901
01:29:07,476 --> 01:29:08,909
REPORTER: You
love to be booed?
1902
01:29:08,943 --> 01:29:11,176
Boo, yell, scream,
throw peanuts,
1903
01:29:11,209 --> 01:29:14,776
but whatever you do,
pay to get in.
1904
01:29:14,809 --> 01:29:19,576
Sonny liston had been watching
on closed-circuit in Miami.
1905
01:29:19,609 --> 01:29:23,976
"I'll get locked up for murder
if I fight him," he said.
1906
01:29:24,009 --> 01:29:27,109
Don't you have any respect
for him at all as a fighter?
1907
01:29:27,143 --> 01:29:28,843
As a fighter?
1908
01:29:28,876 --> 01:29:30,243
I think he
should be locked up
1909
01:29:30,276 --> 01:29:33,376
for impersonating
a fighter.
1910
01:29:33,409 --> 01:29:36,776
NARRATOR: Sore and exhausted,
Clay was eager to relax
1911
01:29:36,809 --> 01:29:39,909
and fetch the Tomato-Red
convertible that awaited him
1912
01:29:39,943 --> 01:29:43,076
at Louisville's
standard Cadillac company.
1913
01:29:43,109 --> 01:29:45,909
MARVIN GAYE: ♫ you are ♫
1914
01:29:45,943 --> 01:29:48,443
MAN: I'm telling you.
Pretty, pretty.
1915
01:29:48,476 --> 01:29:50,743
A movie star.
1916
01:29:50,776 --> 01:29:52,976
NARRATOR: Though he had
struggled against Jones,
1917
01:29:53,009 --> 01:29:55,143
Clay had much to celebrate.
1918
01:29:55,176 --> 01:29:57,443
He was now 18-0 and still
1919
01:29:57,476 --> 01:30:00,576
the number two contender
behind the ex-champion
1920
01:30:00,609 --> 01:30:03,043
Floyd Patterson.
1921
01:30:03,076 --> 01:30:05,943
The media attention he had
tirelessly courted...
1922
01:30:05,976 --> 01:30:10,143
Good or bad... now came
in torrents.
1923
01:30:10,176 --> 01:30:12,119
CLAY: I'm the onliest poet
in the fight game today,
1924
01:30:12,143 --> 01:30:13,476
the onliest prophet.
1925
01:30:13,509 --> 01:30:15,209
Don't be surprised
of nothing I do.
1926
01:30:15,243 --> 01:30:17,243
I'll soon be in the movies.
1927
01:30:17,276 --> 01:30:19,643
I cut records,
I sing, I can fight,
1928
01:30:19,676 --> 01:30:21,076
I can do anything.
1929
01:30:21,109 --> 01:30:22,943
That's why I say
I am the greatest.
1930
01:30:22,976 --> 01:30:26,209
That's the name of
the album, "I am the greatest!"
1931
01:30:26,243 --> 01:30:28,909
This is
the legend of Cassius Clay,
1932
01:30:28,943 --> 01:30:32,409
the most beautiful fighter
in the world today.
1933
01:30:32,443 --> 01:30:35,343
NARRATOR: "I'm the greatest.
I'm the double greatest.
1934
01:30:35,376 --> 01:30:38,009
I will be a clean
and sparkling champion,"
1935
01:30:38,043 --> 01:30:40,143
he bragged to time magazine,
which featured him
1936
01:30:40,176 --> 01:30:41,843
on its cover.
1937
01:30:41,876 --> 01:30:44,109
CLAY: He talks a great
deal and brags indeedy
1938
01:30:44,143 --> 01:30:47,776
of a muscular punch
that's incredibly speedy.
1939
01:30:47,809 --> 01:30:50,643
Alex poinsett
of "ebony" magazine saw
1940
01:30:50,676 --> 01:30:54,743
in Clay's bravado
more than playful boasting.
1941
01:30:54,776 --> 01:30:57,476
"Cassius Marcellus Clay
is a blast furnace
1942
01:30:57,509 --> 01:31:00,643
of race pride,"
he wrote, "a pride scorched
1943
01:31:00,676 --> 01:31:04,476
with memories
of a million little burns."
1944
01:31:04,509 --> 01:31:07,009
CLAY: For I am the man
this poem is about,
1945
01:31:07,043 --> 01:31:10,076
the next champ of the world,
there isn't a doubt.
1946
01:31:10,109 --> 01:31:12,843
This I predict,
and I know the score.
1947
01:31:12,876 --> 01:31:16,243
I'll be champ
of the world in '64.
1948
01:31:16,276 --> 01:31:18,976
JESSE JACKSON: It was very
different to use that platform
1949
01:31:19,009 --> 01:31:21,076
really for self-affirmation
1950
01:31:21,109 --> 01:31:22,809
and promote himself
as a fighter
1951
01:31:22,843 --> 01:31:26,743
and in his own way
lift up black people.
1952
01:31:26,776 --> 01:31:29,476
"I am somebody,
I am the greatest."
1953
01:31:29,509 --> 01:31:31,143
And most of all, I'm pretty.
1954
01:31:31,176 --> 01:31:33,743
Most fighters are ugly.
1955
01:31:33,776 --> 01:31:36,543
EARLY: What made Clay appealing
to my generation
1956
01:31:36,576 --> 01:31:38,976
was that he was young,
he was humorous,
1957
01:31:39,009 --> 01:31:41,876
and that's something that was
very unusual
1958
01:31:41,909 --> 01:31:43,619
for a black public figure,
particularly humorous
1959
01:31:43,643 --> 01:31:45,209
in the way that he was.
1960
01:31:45,243 --> 01:31:47,609
He wasn't some kind of
stepin fetchit clown
1961
01:31:47,643 --> 01:31:49,543
or something like that.
1962
01:31:49,576 --> 01:31:54,443
Clay represented something
for the generation I grew up in
1963
01:31:54,476 --> 01:31:57,176
that was different
from my uncle's generation.
1964
01:31:57,209 --> 01:31:58,809
They were World War II,
1965
01:31:58,843 --> 01:32:00,576
they were
the greatest generation,
1966
01:32:00,609 --> 01:32:03,509
their heroes were
Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens,
1967
01:32:03,543 --> 01:32:05,343
and people like that,
1968
01:32:05,376 --> 01:32:08,009
and Clay came along,
and he was something different.
1969
01:32:08,043 --> 01:32:09,676
He was from my generation.
1970
01:32:09,709 --> 01:32:11,076
Well let me finish,
let me talk!
1971
01:32:11,109 --> 01:32:12,352
This boy's modest.
I'm the greatest.
1972
01:32:12,376 --> 01:32:13,876
He's not a talker.
1973
01:32:13,909 --> 01:32:15,085
I'm going to fight
Sonny liston right after
1974
01:32:15,109 --> 01:32:16,843
I annihilate Henry Cooper,
1975
01:32:16,876 --> 01:32:18,876
and as soon as I annihilate
Henry Cooper, I want
1976
01:32:18,909 --> 01:32:22,676
that big, ugly bear right in,
uh... right here on Miami beach.
1977
01:32:22,709 --> 01:32:25,009
NARRATOR: With liston and
Patterson slated for a rematch
1978
01:32:25,043 --> 01:32:28,209
that summer, Clay signed
to fight England's
1979
01:32:28,243 --> 01:32:30,409
Henry Cooper.
1980
01:32:30,443 --> 01:32:32,185
IZENBERG: Well, there's a guy
in England named Henry Cooper.
1981
01:32:32,209 --> 01:32:34,576
Today, he's named
sir Henry Cooper,
1982
01:32:34,609 --> 01:32:37,576
and what he went through
with his high cheek bones
1983
01:32:37,609 --> 01:32:40,209
and bleeding,
he should be a sir.
1984
01:32:40,243 --> 01:32:42,709
Tremendous left hook
that nobody appreciated
1985
01:32:42,743 --> 01:32:44,543
except the British.
1986
01:32:44,576 --> 01:32:46,876
CLAY: Well, Henry Cooper's
not going to 5 rounds with me.
1987
01:32:46,909 --> 01:32:48,543
He's not going
5 rounds with you?
1988
01:32:48,576 --> 01:32:50,143
If he goes over 5,
I won't return
1989
01:32:50,176 --> 01:32:51,709
to my country for
90 days. For 90 days.
1990
01:32:51,743 --> 01:32:54,043
And if he beats me,
I'll retire.
1991
01:32:54,076 --> 01:32:55,809
NARRATOR: Arriving
in London, Clay had
1992
01:32:55,843 --> 01:32:58,376
the outfitters to the Duke
of Edinburgh tailor him
1993
01:32:58,409 --> 01:33:02,043
a red brocade cocktail jacket
with a dragon motif
1994
01:33:02,076 --> 01:33:05,343
and bowler hat
and hired a Rolls-Royce
1995
01:33:05,376 --> 01:33:06,976
to take him to promotions.
1996
01:33:07,009 --> 01:33:09,343
SINGER:
♫ yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♫
1997
01:33:09,376 --> 01:33:12,543
NARRATOR: He called Cooper
a tramp and a cripple,
1998
01:33:12,576 --> 01:33:15,043
bragged that he hadn't
even bothered to train
1999
01:33:15,076 --> 01:33:18,676
and would still win
in 5 rounds.
2000
01:33:18,709 --> 01:33:21,176
The British were not amused.
2001
01:33:21,209 --> 01:33:24,176
(fanfare)
2002
01:33:26,143 --> 01:33:27,785
HARRY CARPENTER: And I imagine
there are a lot of people
2003
01:33:27,809 --> 01:33:29,285
sitting around the ringside here
in the open air
2004
01:33:29,309 --> 01:33:31,176
at Wembley tonight
who may well think
2005
01:33:31,209 --> 01:33:34,509
that by coming into the ring
with that ridiculous crown
2006
01:33:34,543 --> 01:33:36,209
on his head Mr. Clay
is doing his best
2007
01:33:36,243 --> 01:33:38,043
to cheapen
the professional fight game,
2008
01:33:38,076 --> 01:33:40,743
and I must say I'm inclined to
share those views myself.
2009
01:33:43,043 --> 01:33:46,409
JOHNNY BEST: Ladies
and gentlemen,
2010
01:33:46,443 --> 01:33:48,776
the main event.
2011
01:33:48,809 --> 01:33:52,476
Presenting, from bellingham,
2012
01:33:52,509 --> 01:33:54,176
the heavyweight champion
2013
01:33:54,209 --> 01:33:55,309
of Great Britain
2014
01:33:55,343 --> 01:33:57,409
and the British empire,
2015
01:33:57,443 --> 01:33:59,409
Henry Cooper!
2016
01:33:59,443 --> 01:34:03,509
(cheering and applause)
2017
01:34:03,543 --> 01:34:09,643
From Louisville, Kentucky,
Cassius Marcellus Clay.
2018
01:34:09,676 --> 01:34:11,976
(booing)
2019
01:34:16,043 --> 01:34:17,976
NARRATOR: The crowd roared
when Cooper bloodied
2020
01:34:18,009 --> 01:34:19,976
Clay's nose in the first.
2021
01:34:21,943 --> 01:34:24,476
In the second, Clay opened
a small cut above
2022
01:34:24,509 --> 01:34:28,309
Cooper's left eye, which
by round 3 had broken open,
2023
01:34:28,343 --> 01:34:32,143
sending blood flowing
over Cooper's face.
2024
01:34:32,176 --> 01:34:33,709
(bell rings)
2025
01:34:33,743 --> 01:34:35,676
CARPENTER: Now Clay
is just jabbing casually
2026
01:34:35,709 --> 01:34:37,243
with his left hand.
2027
01:34:37,276 --> 01:34:39,209
NARRATOR: But instead of
finishing him off,
2028
01:34:39,243 --> 01:34:42,743
Clay seemed to be deliberately
prolonging the fight.
2029
01:34:45,743 --> 01:34:49,343
(cheering and applause)
2030
01:34:49,376 --> 01:34:51,509
CARPENTER: The bell has sounded,
2031
01:34:51,543 --> 01:34:55,176
and he's up
at about 3... Clay.
2032
01:34:55,209 --> 01:34:57,076
That was the end
of the fourth round,
2033
01:34:57,109 --> 01:35:00,409
and he hit him about two seconds
before the end of the round.
2034
01:35:00,443 --> 01:35:03,309
NARRATOR: Hoping to revive Clay,
his corner men broke vials
2035
01:35:03,343 --> 01:35:05,976
of smelling salts
under his nose
2036
01:35:06,009 --> 01:35:08,476
and dropped ice cubes
into his trunks.
2037
01:35:08,509 --> 01:35:10,085
CARPENTER: They're working
furiously on him
2038
01:35:10,109 --> 01:35:12,676
in the corner,
Angelo dundee his trainer.
2039
01:35:12,709 --> 01:35:15,809
NARRATOR: It worked.
2040
01:35:15,843 --> 01:35:18,443
When the bell signaled
the start of round 5,
2041
01:35:18,476 --> 01:35:20,676
Clay came out aggressively.
2042
01:35:20,709 --> 01:35:22,309
CARPENTER: And now
round 5 is the round
2043
01:35:22,343 --> 01:35:25,443
in which Clay said
he would beat Cooper.
2044
01:35:25,476 --> 01:35:28,809
And now Cooper's left eye is
really in a shocking state.
2045
01:35:28,843 --> 01:35:30,509
It really is now.
2046
01:35:30,543 --> 01:35:32,443
And I think Tommy Little
will have to stop this
2047
01:35:32,476 --> 01:35:34,909
because Cooper's eye is really
2048
01:35:34,943 --> 01:35:37,276
in an absolutely
appalling state.
2049
01:35:37,309 --> 01:35:39,185
And now he's stepping in,
and I think this is it!
2050
01:35:39,209 --> 01:35:41,943
The towel has come in
from Cooper's corner,
2051
01:35:41,976 --> 01:35:45,143
and Tommy Little's
looking at it,
2052
01:35:45,176 --> 01:35:46,385
and he's had to stop the fight.
2053
01:35:46,409 --> 01:35:47,876
NARRATOR: Clay had prevailed,
2054
01:35:47,909 --> 01:35:50,543
and he did it
in the fifth round.
2055
01:35:50,576 --> 01:35:52,709
CARPENTER: Clay is getting
bombarded with programs
2056
01:35:52,743 --> 01:35:54,476
from angry ringsiders.
2057
01:35:54,509 --> 01:35:55,476
CLAY: I'm always booed,
everywhere I go I'm booed.
2058
01:35:55,509 --> 01:35:56,643
I like to be booed.
2059
01:35:56,676 --> 01:35:58,109
That's why I fight hard.
2060
01:35:58,143 --> 01:35:59,285
REPORTER: And you came
in the ring
2061
01:35:59,309 --> 01:36:00,609
with a crown
on your head.
2062
01:36:00,643 --> 01:36:01,709
Is that uh...
2063
01:36:01,743 --> 01:36:03,443
Because I am the king.
2064
01:36:03,476 --> 01:36:04,952
I understand you have
a Queen of England,
2065
01:36:04,976 --> 01:36:06,176
but you don't have a king.
2066
01:36:06,209 --> 01:36:08,476
But what's
Sonny liston, Cassius?
2067
01:36:08,509 --> 01:36:10,509
Sonny liston,
that big, ugly bear?
2068
01:36:10,543 --> 01:36:12,876
Uh, he will fall
in 8 rounds.
2069
01:36:12,909 --> 01:36:16,943
Liston will fall in 8
to prove that I am great.
2070
01:36:16,976 --> 01:36:18,809
Waiting for Clay
in his dressing room
2071
01:36:18,843 --> 01:36:21,876
was Sonny liston's manager
Jack Nilon.
2072
01:36:21,909 --> 01:36:24,643
"We want you bad," he told
Clay and promised him
2073
01:36:24,676 --> 01:36:28,543
a fight after liston's
rematch with Patterson.
2074
01:36:28,576 --> 01:36:33,943
♫ ♫
2075
01:36:33,976 --> 01:36:35,319
REPORTER: Sonny, well,
you're looking forward,
2076
01:36:35,343 --> 01:36:37,609
I know to your fight
against Patterson.
2077
01:36:37,643 --> 01:36:39,843
Do you expect that fight
to go much differently
2078
01:36:39,876 --> 01:36:41,643
than it did
last time around?
2079
01:36:41,676 --> 01:36:44,309
I don't think so.
2080
01:36:44,343 --> 01:36:46,109
What happens
after Patterson?
2081
01:36:46,143 --> 01:36:47,876
Cassius in the line?
2082
01:36:47,909 --> 01:36:50,576
Yeah,
he's right up front.
2083
01:36:50,609 --> 01:36:53,009
What about Cassius?
2084
01:36:53,043 --> 01:36:56,643
Well, I imagine that
if he would come to me,
2085
01:36:56,676 --> 01:36:58,209
I'd kill him,
and if he runs,
2086
01:36:58,243 --> 01:36:59,843
I'm gonna catch him
and kill him.
2087
01:36:59,876 --> 01:37:01,776
B.B. KING:
♫ well, my bad luck ♫
2088
01:37:01,809 --> 01:37:04,109
REPORTER: In Las Vegas,
an eclipse of the sun is due,
2089
01:37:04,143 --> 01:37:08,376
but almost no one anticipates
an eclipse of Sonny.
2090
01:37:08,409 --> 01:37:10,209
Liston is 5-1 on.
2091
01:37:10,243 --> 01:37:13,709
KING: ♫ bad luck is falling ♫
2092
01:37:13,743 --> 01:37:15,643
♫ falling down ♫
2093
01:37:15,676 --> 01:37:18,576
NARRATOR: Liston knocked
Patterson down 3 times
2094
01:37:18,609 --> 01:37:22,143
in a fight that lasted
2 minutes and 10 seconds,
2095
01:37:22,176 --> 01:37:28,276
just 4 seconds longer
than their first bout.
2096
01:37:28,309 --> 01:37:31,409
Cassius Clay, in town for
the fight, had not missed
2097
01:37:31,443 --> 01:37:34,376
his chance to needle the champ.
2098
01:37:34,409 --> 01:37:36,243
IZENBERG: Sonny liston was
a serious gambler.
2099
01:37:36,276 --> 01:37:39,209
Clay is following him
through the casino.
2100
01:37:39,243 --> 01:37:41,409
NARRATOR: "Look at the big, ugly
bear," said Clay.
2101
01:37:41,443 --> 01:37:43,443
"He can't even
shoot craps."
2102
01:37:43,476 --> 01:37:47,909
Furious, liston threatened
to rip Clay's tongue out.
2103
01:37:47,943 --> 01:37:50,576
At that moment, liston
disliked him intensely,
2104
01:37:50,609 --> 01:37:53,243
and Clay knew that
he could get to liston.
2105
01:37:58,143 --> 01:38:02,109
(people screaming)
2106
01:38:02,143 --> 01:38:03,909
MALCOLM X: Martin Luther King
teaches negroes
2107
01:38:03,943 --> 01:38:05,985
to love all white people
no matter what they do to you,
2108
01:38:06,009 --> 01:38:08,009
and the same whites who he
teaches negroes to love
2109
01:38:08,043 --> 01:38:10,843
sic dogs on him,
sic dogs on their children,
2110
01:38:10,876 --> 01:38:13,943
dogs on their women,
and dogs on their babies.
2111
01:38:13,976 --> 01:38:16,076
So I think it's
very hypocritical on the part
2112
01:38:16,109 --> 01:38:18,676
of whites who accuse
Mr. Muhammad of a hate teacher
2113
01:38:18,709 --> 01:38:20,943
because he says separation,
and then sic dogs
2114
01:38:20,976 --> 01:38:23,643
on Martin Luther King,
who is teaching integration.
2115
01:38:23,676 --> 01:38:25,909
It means that no matter
what the negro does,
2116
01:38:25,943 --> 01:38:27,909
he is not going to get along
with whites,
2117
01:38:27,943 --> 01:38:30,243
so I think that Mr. Muhammad's
whole philosophy is more
2118
01:38:30,276 --> 01:38:34,243
intelligent than Mr. King's.
2119
01:38:34,276 --> 01:38:36,676
NARRATOR: Since returning
from fighting Henry Cooper
2120
01:38:36,709 --> 01:38:39,143
in London, Clay had been
slipping off to New York
2121
01:38:39,176 --> 01:38:42,243
whenever he could,
visiting temple no. 7
2122
01:38:42,276 --> 01:38:45,743
and spending time
with Malcolm X.
2123
01:38:45,776 --> 01:38:47,743
Clay faced more
and more questions
2124
01:38:47,776 --> 01:38:50,776
from sportswriters determined
to find out if he'd officially
2125
01:38:50,809 --> 01:38:54,343
joined the nation of islam.
2126
01:38:54,376 --> 01:38:57,476
That summer in Chicago,
a reporter had tailed Clay's
2127
01:38:57,509 --> 01:39:00,709
Cadillac out of the alley
behind a Muslim school
2128
01:39:00,743 --> 01:39:02,743
on the south side.
2129
01:39:02,776 --> 01:39:05,176
"Are you a black
Muslim?" He yelled.
2130
01:39:05,209 --> 01:39:07,609
"No," said Cassius at first.
2131
01:39:07,643 --> 01:39:11,676
Then, after a pause,
he added, "I don't know.
2132
01:39:11,709 --> 01:39:14,743
I'm for the black muslims."
2133
01:39:14,776 --> 01:39:18,009
Clay's sponsors grew worried,
and he began to
2134
01:39:18,043 --> 01:39:20,076
question his relationship
with them,
2135
01:39:20,109 --> 01:39:23,009
suggesting that he be paid more.
2136
01:39:23,043 --> 01:39:26,909
"I am my own master,"
he said, echoing Malcolm X.
2137
01:39:26,943 --> 01:39:31,343
"There is nobody telling
me what to do."
2138
01:39:31,376 --> 01:39:34,209
Concerned that Clay was
too inexperienced to beat
2139
01:39:34,243 --> 01:39:37,443
the overpowering Sonny liston,
the Louisville group
2140
01:39:37,476 --> 01:39:40,343
nevertheless forged ahead
to secure the fight
2141
01:39:40,376 --> 01:39:44,843
they feared might be his last.
2142
01:39:44,876 --> 01:39:47,209
I will be fighting
Sonny liston as soon
2143
01:39:47,243 --> 01:39:49,276
as they get my money right.
2144
01:39:49,309 --> 01:39:52,043
Not only until then,
and, uh... because this will be
2145
01:39:52,076 --> 01:39:53,843
the biggest gate in all history,
2146
01:39:53,876 --> 01:39:56,676
and I expect to be half rich
after the fight.
2147
01:39:56,709 --> 01:39:58,976
NARRATOR: Liston's managers,
eager to take advantage
2148
01:39:59,009 --> 01:40:02,909
of Clay's celebrity, agreed
to a deal that would gross Clay
2149
01:40:02,943 --> 01:40:06,543
nearly $1 million,
the largest payday ever
2150
01:40:06,576 --> 01:40:08,643
for a heavyweight challenger.
2151
01:40:08,676 --> 01:40:10,652
LITTLE RICHARD: ♫ gonna tell
aunt Mary 'bout uncle John ♫
2152
01:40:10,676 --> 01:40:14,209
NARRATOR: In early November,
Clay left Chicago in an old bus
2153
01:40:14,243 --> 01:40:16,209
he'd bought and headed
for Denver,
2154
01:40:16,243 --> 01:40:18,909
where Clay and liston planned to
hold a press conference
2155
01:40:18,943 --> 01:40:21,976
to announce their fight.
2156
01:40:22,009 --> 01:40:25,176
At 1:00 in the morning,
Cassius Clay steered his bus
2157
01:40:25,209 --> 01:40:29,876
into liston's neighborhood
and leaned on the horn.
2158
01:40:29,909 --> 01:40:31,809
CLAY: I woke him up,
and he came out
2159
01:40:31,843 --> 01:40:33,752
in the middle of the night
in his underclothes, his robe,
2160
01:40:33,776 --> 01:40:35,243
and he had a big stick.
2161
01:40:35,276 --> 01:40:37,243
And I said
"you big, ugly bear, you.
2162
01:40:37,276 --> 01:40:39,809
I'm gonna see you tomorrow
for the signing,
2163
01:40:39,843 --> 01:40:42,043
"and I'm gonna
knock you out in 8,
2164
01:40:42,076 --> 01:40:45,409
and if you want to go to heaven,
I'll get you in 7."
2165
01:40:45,443 --> 01:40:48,076
And he got mad and we
argued for about an hour,
2166
01:40:48,109 --> 01:40:50,309
and then the policemen came
with dogs.
2167
01:40:50,343 --> 01:40:51,709
(dogs barking)
2168
01:40:51,743 --> 01:40:53,409
The scene that
we had that night,
2169
01:40:53,443 --> 01:40:55,085
it would have made you think
Martin Luther King
2170
01:40:55,109 --> 01:40:58,376
was demonstrating.
2171
01:40:58,409 --> 01:41:03,509
♫ ♫
2172
01:41:03,543 --> 01:41:05,809
NARRATOR: Later that day,
Clay and liston went
2173
01:41:05,843 --> 01:41:07,743
before the press.
2174
01:41:07,776 --> 01:41:10,909
"I'm ready to go
to war," Clay said.
2175
01:41:10,943 --> 01:41:13,443
Let's get it on!
Want to go now?
2176
01:41:13,476 --> 01:41:14,676
(laughter)
2177
01:41:14,709 --> 01:41:16,309
I'll whoop you now.
2178
01:41:16,343 --> 01:41:18,076
It's going to take
a good man to whoop me.
2179
01:41:18,109 --> 01:41:19,619
You can look at me.
I'm loaded with confidence.
2180
01:41:19,643 --> 01:41:21,309
I can't be beat.
2181
01:41:21,343 --> 01:41:23,309
I had 180 amateur fights,
22 professional fights,
2182
01:41:23,343 --> 01:41:25,676
and I'm pretty as a girl.
2183
01:41:25,709 --> 01:41:28,776
(laughter)
2184
01:41:28,809 --> 01:41:30,443
NARRATOR: The fight
was scheduled
2185
01:41:30,476 --> 01:41:34,409
for February after his
22nd birthday.
2186
01:41:34,443 --> 01:41:37,843
Though he now could no longer be
the youngest champ ever,
2187
01:41:37,876 --> 01:41:41,776
he would finally get his shot
at the title.
2188
01:41:41,809 --> 01:41:43,152
CLAY: Here is
the eighth round exactly
2189
01:41:43,176 --> 01:41:44,743
as it will happen.
2190
01:41:44,776 --> 01:41:46,076
Clay comes out to meet liston,
2191
01:41:46,109 --> 01:41:47,943
and liston starts to retreat.
2192
01:41:47,976 --> 01:41:49,509
If liston goes back
an inch farther,
2193
01:41:49,543 --> 01:41:51,676
he'll end up in a ringside seat.
2194
01:41:51,709 --> 01:41:54,309
Clay swings with a left.
Clay swings with a right.
2195
01:41:54,343 --> 01:41:56,143
Look at young Cassius
carry the fight.
2196
01:41:56,176 --> 01:41:57,509
Now Clay lands with a right.
2197
01:41:57,543 --> 01:41:59,343
What a beautiful swing,
2198
01:41:59,376 --> 01:42:01,943
and the punch raises
the bear clear out of the ring.
2199
01:42:01,976 --> 01:42:03,276
(laughter)
2200
01:42:03,309 --> 01:42:04,809
Liston is still rising,
2201
01:42:04,843 --> 01:42:06,276
and the ref wears a frown,
2202
01:42:06,309 --> 01:42:08,043
for he can't start counting,
2203
01:42:08,076 --> 01:42:10,276
till Sonny comes down.
2204
01:42:10,309 --> 01:42:12,709
Who would have thought when
they came to the fight
2205
01:42:12,743 --> 01:42:14,276
that they'd witness
the launching
2206
01:42:14,309 --> 01:42:16,043
of a human satellite?
2207
01:42:16,076 --> 01:42:17,543
(laughter)
2208
01:42:17,576 --> 01:42:21,676
I am the greatest!
2209
01:42:21,709 --> 01:42:25,809
NARRATOR: Almost nobody
gave Clay a chance.
2210
01:42:25,843 --> 01:42:28,309
TROUPE: We all thought he was
talking so much
2211
01:42:28,343 --> 01:42:30,609
that he was scared to death.
2212
01:42:30,643 --> 01:42:32,843
That's why everybody
said, "shut up, Clay.
2213
01:42:32,876 --> 01:42:34,476
"You're just scared.
2214
01:42:34,509 --> 01:42:37,643
You're just scared
to fight this man."
2215
01:42:37,676 --> 01:42:40,376
Sonny liston was so formidable.
2216
01:42:40,409 --> 01:42:42,476
He just destroyed people.
2217
01:42:42,509 --> 01:42:45,409
It was like
a bicycle against a tank.
2218
01:42:47,309 --> 01:42:50,009
If anybody tells you that
they thought Clay
2219
01:42:50,043 --> 01:42:52,309
was gonna beat liston,
they lying.
2220
01:42:52,343 --> 01:42:54,043
They are lying.
2221
01:42:54,076 --> 01:42:56,976
Who'd this guy ever
fight? Who, Clay?
2222
01:42:57,009 --> 01:42:58,309
Yeah.
He boxed London.
2223
01:42:58,343 --> 01:42:59,609
London. Boxed who?
2224
01:42:59,643 --> 01:43:01,109
Peter Cooper...
I mean Henry Cooper.
2225
01:43:01,143 --> 01:43:03,043
You could lick
Peter Cooper.
2226
01:43:03,076 --> 01:43:04,385
He'll freeze up when
he gets in the ring.
2227
01:43:04,409 --> 01:43:05,643
I'll guarantee that.
2228
01:43:05,676 --> 01:43:06,952
REPORTER:
What makes you so sure?
2229
01:43:06,976 --> 01:43:09,309
Liston is
too powerful.
2230
01:43:09,343 --> 01:43:11,443
He'll knock him out
in the second round.
2231
01:43:11,476 --> 01:43:13,109
Oh, yeah, I always
pray for him.
2232
01:43:13,143 --> 01:43:16,043
I prayed for him during
the... what do you call it...
2233
01:43:16,076 --> 01:43:17,809
The fight over
in England, Cooper,
2234
01:43:17,843 --> 01:43:19,243
Henry Cooper fight.
2235
01:43:19,276 --> 01:43:22,076
When he knocked him
down, I was praying.
2236
01:43:22,109 --> 01:43:23,943
NARRATOR: If Cassius Clay
was concerned,
2237
01:43:23,976 --> 01:43:25,743
he didn't let on.
2238
01:43:25,776 --> 01:43:28,776
Sonny liston may have
more power, Clay conceded,
2239
01:43:28,809 --> 01:43:31,709
but he believed that
the great ones... like Joe Louis
2240
01:43:31,743 --> 01:43:35,309
and sugar Ray Robinson...
Relied on footwork, rhythm,
2241
01:43:35,343 --> 01:43:38,409
and timing, not strength alone.
2242
01:43:38,443 --> 01:43:41,609
THE BEATLES: ♫ it's been
a hard day's night ♫
2243
01:43:41,643 --> 01:43:45,476
♫ and I've been working
like a dog ♫
2244
01:43:45,509 --> 01:43:46,743
REPORTER: Ladies
and gentlemen,
2245
01:43:46,776 --> 01:43:49,143
this is
Cassius Marcellus Clay.
2246
01:43:49,176 --> 01:43:50,809
He's young,
he's handsome.
2247
01:43:50,843 --> 01:43:52,543
They know it.
2248
01:43:52,576 --> 01:43:55,243
MAN: Dance for the crowd.
Dance, boy.
2249
01:43:55,276 --> 01:43:56,809
Ahh! The world
is watching you.
2250
01:43:56,843 --> 01:43:58,143
Ahh!
2251
01:43:58,176 --> 01:43:59,609
CLAY: I'm the champ.
2252
01:43:59,643 --> 01:44:01,476
I'm the biggest thing
in history.
2253
01:44:01,509 --> 01:44:02,976
I'm the king!
2254
01:44:03,009 --> 01:44:04,609
MAN: Queen...
The Queen of England...
2255
01:44:04,643 --> 01:44:05,943
The Beatles
want my autograph.
2256
01:44:05,976 --> 01:44:07,276
Yes, they do.
I'm, the king.
2257
01:44:07,309 --> 01:44:09,276
King of the ring! Ahh!
2258
01:44:09,309 --> 01:44:11,843
NARRATOR: As the fight
approached, Clay and dundee
2259
01:44:11,876 --> 01:44:15,176
watched films of liston's
recent fights, searching
2260
01:44:15,209 --> 01:44:18,409
for ways to elude
his piston-like jab,
2261
01:44:18,443 --> 01:44:21,276
and films of sugar Ray Robinson,
who had worn down
2262
01:44:21,309 --> 01:44:26,143
more powerful opponents
with his nonstop motion.
2263
01:44:26,176 --> 01:44:29,076
Clay also held
brutal sparring sessions,
2264
01:44:29,109 --> 01:44:30,976
preparing
as though the fight would go
2265
01:44:31,009 --> 01:44:33,643
all 15 rounds.
2266
01:44:33,676 --> 01:44:36,809
He was certain he could
outlast liston,
2267
01:44:36,843 --> 01:44:40,609
whose fights had rarely lasted
more than a few rounds.
2268
01:44:40,643 --> 01:44:42,119
CLAY: I'm too fast.
Champion from the crib.
2269
01:44:42,143 --> 01:44:43,909
I'm the king.
King of the ring.
2270
01:44:43,943 --> 01:44:45,452
Born the champ. Born
a champ from the crib.
2271
01:44:45,476 --> 01:44:46,943
BOTH: Ahh!
2272
01:44:46,976 --> 01:44:48,452
Drew "bundini" brown,
a one-time member
2273
01:44:48,476 --> 01:44:51,343
of sugar Ray Robinson's
entourage,
2274
01:44:51,376 --> 01:44:53,443
was now at Clay's side.
2275
01:44:53,476 --> 01:44:55,076
CLAY: You know how great I am.
2276
01:44:55,109 --> 01:44:56,352
I don't have to tell
you about my strategy.
2277
01:44:56,376 --> 01:44:57,909
I'll let my trainer
tell you.
2278
01:44:57,943 --> 01:44:59,252
Bundini, come here.
Bundini, tell him.
2279
01:44:59,276 --> 01:45:00,576
What are we gonna do?
2280
01:45:00,609 --> 01:45:02,076
You're gonna float
like a butterfly
2281
01:45:02,109 --> 01:45:03,243
and sting like a bee.
2282
01:45:03,276 --> 01:45:04,476
Ahh!
2283
01:45:04,509 --> 01:45:06,176
Rumble young man,
rumble.
2284
01:45:06,209 --> 01:45:08,009
Ahh!
2285
01:45:08,043 --> 01:45:10,609
NARRATOR: When liston
arrived at the Miami airport,
2286
01:45:10,643 --> 01:45:12,676
Clay was there to greet him.
2287
01:45:12,709 --> 01:45:14,409
CLAY: Well, just to show him
how bold I am,
2288
01:45:14,443 --> 01:45:16,609
I'm ready to go to war
if necessary.
2289
01:45:16,643 --> 01:45:18,376
I'm not jiving.
2290
01:45:18,409 --> 01:45:19,885
You think that's
a good idea, Cassius?
2291
01:45:19,909 --> 01:45:21,343
It don't make
me no difference.
2292
01:45:21,376 --> 01:45:22,676
I mean, I'm ready now.
2293
01:45:22,709 --> 01:45:24,019
I'm tired of waiting
for this fight.
2294
01:45:24,043 --> 01:45:25,376
I'm nervous.
He's got my job.
2295
01:45:25,409 --> 01:45:27,543
I'm the champ.
2296
01:45:27,576 --> 01:45:29,509
REPORTER: An unheard-of
thing happened
2297
01:45:29,543 --> 01:45:31,343
at the main street gym
in Miami.
2298
01:45:31,376 --> 01:45:34,676
Challenger Cassius invaded
while liston was training.
2299
01:45:34,709 --> 01:45:36,276
CLAY: If you'd like to lose
your money,
2300
01:45:36,309 --> 01:45:38,009
then be a fool
and bet on Sonny,
2301
01:45:38,043 --> 01:45:39,285
but if you want to have
a good day,
2302
01:45:39,309 --> 01:45:41,409
then put it on Clay.
2303
01:45:41,443 --> 01:45:43,009
RAHMAN: I asked him.
2304
01:45:43,043 --> 01:45:44,419
I said, "Ali, are you
scared of liston?"
2305
01:45:44,443 --> 01:45:46,409
"Naw, man.
I'mma chop him down."
2306
01:45:46,443 --> 01:45:48,376
He had that kind of attitude.
2307
01:45:48,409 --> 01:45:50,843
He said, "liston's
going in the eighth."
2308
01:45:50,876 --> 01:45:52,509
"What you talking about?
2309
01:45:52,543 --> 01:45:54,543
The heavyweight champion,
going in the eighth?"
2310
01:45:54,576 --> 01:45:56,176
Jabbing
and left hooking,
2311
01:45:56,209 --> 01:45:59,543
jabbing and left hooking.
2312
01:45:59,576 --> 01:46:01,343
Yeah, I'm a pretty fighter...
2313
01:46:01,376 --> 01:46:05,143
RAHAMAN: When you know who
you are, it removes fear,
2314
01:46:05,176 --> 01:46:07,409
and when you believe
that you're serving god,
2315
01:46:07,443 --> 01:46:09,776
the true and the living god,
once you believe that,
2316
01:46:09,809 --> 01:46:11,443
you don't fear nothing.
2317
01:46:11,476 --> 01:46:15,776
See, and that's
the way he became.
2318
01:46:15,809 --> 01:46:18,309
NARRATOR: When he wasn't
training for Sonny liston,
2319
01:46:18,343 --> 01:46:21,409
Clay spent whatever time
he could with Malcolm X,
2320
01:46:21,443 --> 01:46:24,409
who had brought his family
to Miami at Clay's expense
2321
01:46:24,443 --> 01:46:27,043
for a rare vacation.
2322
01:46:27,076 --> 01:46:30,476
Meanwhile, Elijah Muhammad
saw no reason to identify
2323
01:46:30,509 --> 01:46:32,943
his movement with Cassius Clay.
2324
01:46:32,976 --> 01:46:35,609
Boxing was a "very wicked
sport," he said,
2325
01:46:35,643 --> 01:46:39,376
and Clay was a loudmouth,
sure to lose.
2326
01:46:39,409 --> 01:46:42,476
He ordered his newspaper
"Muhammad speaks"
2327
01:46:42,509 --> 01:46:45,476
not to cover the coming fight.
2328
01:46:45,509 --> 01:46:48,143
Malcolm X had a different view.
2329
01:46:48,176 --> 01:46:50,943
The contest would pit islam
against christianity,
2330
01:46:50,976 --> 01:46:56,876
he said, and Clay... and islam...
Would emerge victorious,
2331
01:46:56,909 --> 01:46:59,809
but Malcolm's desire to
see Clay succeed
2332
01:46:59,843 --> 01:47:02,709
had another dimension.
2333
01:47:02,743 --> 01:47:05,809
Back in late November,
after Malcolm had said
2334
01:47:05,843 --> 01:47:09,109
that the assassination
of President John F. Kennedy
2335
01:47:09,143 --> 01:47:12,643
had been a case of "chickens
coming home to roost,"
2336
01:47:12,676 --> 01:47:14,643
Elijah Muhammad had censured
2337
01:47:14,676 --> 01:47:16,743
his controversial minister,
2338
01:47:16,776 --> 01:47:18,843
ordering Malcolm to refrain
from speaking
2339
01:47:18,876 --> 01:47:20,809
publicly or preaching
2340
01:47:20,843 --> 01:47:23,476
at mosque no. 7 for 90 days.
2341
01:47:23,509 --> 01:47:25,352
MALCOLM X: I've been in
silence for the past 90 days
2342
01:47:25,376 --> 01:47:27,009
because of some
statements I made
2343
01:47:27,043 --> 01:47:29,543
concerning the president
of the United States,
2344
01:47:29,576 --> 01:47:31,209
which were distorted.
2345
01:47:31,243 --> 01:47:32,385
REPORTER: They
were distorted? Yes.
2346
01:47:32,409 --> 01:47:34,143
What did you say,
Malcolm?
2347
01:47:34,176 --> 01:47:35,652
Well, I said the same
thing that everybody says,
2348
01:47:35,676 --> 01:47:37,843
that his assassination
was the result
2349
01:47:37,876 --> 01:47:39,543
of the climate of hate.
2350
01:47:39,576 --> 01:47:41,976
Only I said, "the chickens
came home to roost,"
2351
01:47:42,009 --> 01:47:44,376
which means
the same thing.
2352
01:47:44,409 --> 01:47:47,143
NARRATOR: The rebuke
had shaken Malcolm X.
2353
01:47:47,176 --> 01:47:50,743
He had apologized instantly
and begun trying to get back
2354
01:47:50,776 --> 01:47:53,709
into Elijah Muhammad's
good graces.
2355
01:47:53,743 --> 01:47:55,876
If he could deliver
the heavyweight champion
2356
01:47:55,909 --> 01:47:59,509
of the world into the fold,
perhaps Elijah Muhammad
2357
01:47:59,543 --> 01:48:02,043
would forgive him,
2358
01:48:02,076 --> 01:48:05,909
but even before the suspension,
long-standing differences
2359
01:48:05,943 --> 01:48:09,476
between the leader of the nation
of islam and Malcolm X
2360
01:48:09,509 --> 01:48:14,576
had already begun to threaten
his position in the sect.
2361
01:48:14,609 --> 01:48:18,576
MUWAKKIL: Malcolm,
he had political aspirations.
2362
01:48:18,609 --> 01:48:20,409
He thought that the nation
of islam should be
2363
01:48:20,443 --> 01:48:24,276
more active
in the political arena.
2364
01:48:24,309 --> 01:48:26,243
Elijah Muhammad
didn't feel that way,
2365
01:48:26,276 --> 01:48:29,176
and that caused friction.
2366
01:48:29,209 --> 01:48:31,709
NARRATOR: Malcolm had also
become disillusioned
2367
01:48:31,743 --> 01:48:34,709
with what he viewed as morally
indefensible behavior
2368
01:48:34,743 --> 01:48:38,743
by Elijah Muhammad, including
financial corruption
2369
01:48:38,776 --> 01:48:43,176
and impregnating at least
7 of his secretaries.
2370
01:48:43,209 --> 01:48:45,176
Elijah Muhammad's lieutenants,
2371
01:48:45,209 --> 01:48:48,709
wary of Malcolm's rising
public stature and determined
2372
01:48:48,743 --> 01:48:52,776
to guard their leader's exalted
status among his disciples,
2373
01:48:52,809 --> 01:48:55,909
were plotting Malcolm's
permanent expulsion
2374
01:48:55,943 --> 01:48:59,209
from the nation of islam.
2375
01:48:59,243 --> 01:49:01,843
A month before
his bout with liston,
2376
01:49:01,876 --> 01:49:04,309
Clay had addressed
1,200 muslims gathered
2377
01:49:04,343 --> 01:49:06,909
at a ballroom in Harlem.
2378
01:49:06,943 --> 01:49:10,609
"I am a race man," he said
to loud applause,
2379
01:49:10,643 --> 01:49:15,009
"and every time I go to a Muslim
meeting, I get inspired."
2380
01:49:16,743 --> 01:49:19,609
Cassius Clay Sr. Complained
that the muslims had been
2381
01:49:19,643 --> 01:49:22,209
brainwashing his son,
2382
01:49:22,243 --> 01:49:25,643
and when the fighter was
seen in Miami with Malcolm X,
2383
01:49:25,676 --> 01:49:28,876
it seemed to confirm
the rumors that Cassius Clay
2384
01:49:28,909 --> 01:49:31,576
had joined
the nation of islam.
2385
01:49:33,809 --> 01:49:38,376
On February 22, 1964,
3 days before the fight,
2386
01:49:38,409 --> 01:49:41,876
with ticket sales
well below expectations,
2387
01:49:41,909 --> 01:49:44,843
the promoter Bill MacDonald,
who'd put up his own money
2388
01:49:44,876 --> 01:49:47,509
to stage the bout, visited Clay
2389
01:49:47,543 --> 01:49:50,943
and warned him that
the fight would be called off
2390
01:49:50,976 --> 01:49:53,543
if he didn't disavow
any association
2391
01:49:53,576 --> 01:49:56,109
with the nation of islam.
2392
01:49:56,143 --> 01:49:58,276
Clay refused.
2393
01:49:58,309 --> 01:49:59,876
"My religion's more
important to me
2394
01:49:59,909 --> 01:50:03,309
than the fight," he told
MacDonald.
2395
01:50:03,343 --> 01:50:05,676
ROBERTS: Finally somebody goes
to Malcolm and says,
2396
01:50:05,709 --> 01:50:08,776
"look, your presence here is
jeopardizing this fight.
2397
01:50:08,809 --> 01:50:10,676
"It's going to be called off.
2398
01:50:10,709 --> 01:50:12,476
Will you leave?"
2399
01:50:12,509 --> 01:50:15,476
And Malcolm says,
"I'll leave, I'll leave for now,
2400
01:50:15,509 --> 01:50:16,943
but I'm coming back
for the fight."
2401
01:50:16,976 --> 01:50:18,776
And they say, "fine."
2402
01:50:18,809 --> 01:50:21,843
So now Malcolm leaves,
he goes back up to New York,
2403
01:50:21,876 --> 01:50:23,509
the fight's on.
2404
01:50:23,543 --> 01:50:25,909
I'm a champ!
2405
01:50:25,943 --> 01:50:27,676
I'm the real champ!
2406
01:50:27,709 --> 01:50:29,685
NARRATOR: On the morning
of the fight, Cassius Clay
2407
01:50:29,709 --> 01:50:32,509
arrived at the Miami
convention center wearing
2408
01:50:32,543 --> 01:50:36,676
a blue denim jacket with
the words "bear huntin'"
2409
01:50:36,709 --> 01:50:38,476
embroidered on the back.
2410
01:50:38,509 --> 01:50:39,909
Where is he at?
2411
01:50:39,943 --> 01:50:41,743
I'm the king of the ring!
2412
01:50:41,776 --> 01:50:43,643
I'm the biggest thing
in history!
2413
01:50:43,676 --> 01:50:45,676
NARRATOR: He was flanked
by his brother Rudy,
2414
01:50:45,709 --> 01:50:49,009
sugar Ray Robinson,
Angelo dundee,
2415
01:50:49,043 --> 01:50:51,843
William faversham
of his Louisville sponsors,
2416
01:50:51,876 --> 01:50:54,809
and bundini brown.
2417
01:50:54,843 --> 01:50:57,309
You tell Joe Louis
and Sonny liston that i'm
2418
01:50:57,343 --> 01:51:00,076
here with sugar ray!
2419
01:51:00,109 --> 01:51:01,709
Joe Louis is flatfooted,
2420
01:51:01,743 --> 01:51:03,743
and Sonny liston is flatfooted!
2421
01:51:03,776 --> 01:51:05,676
Sugar ray and I are
two pretty dancers!
2422
01:51:05,709 --> 01:51:08,909
We can't be beat!
2423
01:51:08,943 --> 01:51:12,176
NARRATOR: An hour later, Clay
emerged from his dressing room
2424
01:51:12,209 --> 01:51:13,843
and headed for the weigh-in.
2425
01:51:13,876 --> 01:51:17,343
♫ ♫
2426
01:51:17,376 --> 01:51:20,409
I predict that tonight
somebody will die
2427
01:51:20,443 --> 01:51:22,943
at ringside from shock.
2428
01:51:22,976 --> 01:51:24,119
IZENBERG: I never saw anything
like it in my life
2429
01:51:24,143 --> 01:51:25,709
at a weigh-in.
2430
01:51:25,743 --> 01:51:27,252
I mean, I saw guys
stare each other down.
2431
01:51:27,276 --> 01:51:30,109
This is totally different.
He's nuts.
2432
01:51:30,143 --> 01:51:34,176
If he's putting on an act,
he should be on Broadway.
2433
01:51:34,209 --> 01:51:36,343
Except he was
putting on an act.
2434
01:51:36,376 --> 01:51:37,943
Now liston comes out.
2435
01:51:37,976 --> 01:51:40,843
Liston looks at him
and says, "shut up."
2436
01:51:40,876 --> 01:51:43,076
ANNOUNCER: Seemingly
unperturbed by Clay's howling,
2437
01:51:43,109 --> 01:51:45,176
liston pointed out
the round he expected
2438
01:51:45,209 --> 01:51:48,043
the fight to end.
2439
01:51:48,076 --> 01:51:51,543
(laughter)
2440
01:51:51,576 --> 01:51:53,209
REPORTER:
Let's see this.
2441
01:51:53,243 --> 01:51:54,676
You ain't got a chance.
2442
01:51:54,709 --> 01:51:56,276
Let us see,
let us see!
2443
01:51:56,309 --> 01:51:58,443
Ain't no way you can take me,
and you know it!
2444
01:51:58,476 --> 01:51:59,943
MAN: The fine is $2,500
2445
01:51:59,976 --> 01:52:02,343
for his conduct
on the platform.
2446
01:52:02,376 --> 01:52:05,509
And adding to the scene
the friggin' commission doctor
2447
01:52:05,543 --> 01:52:07,943
says, "I just took
his blood pressure.
2448
01:52:07,976 --> 01:52:09,852
"It's twice what it should
be for a healthy man,
2449
01:52:09,876 --> 01:52:11,443
"normal man.
2450
01:52:11,476 --> 01:52:14,309
His heart looks like
it's gonna explode."
2451
01:52:14,343 --> 01:52:16,085
NARRATOR: The doctor who
took the reading worried
2452
01:52:16,109 --> 01:52:17,843
that Clay was gripped
by what he called
2453
01:52:17,876 --> 01:52:21,276
"mortal fear" and wondered if
it was even safe
2454
01:52:21,309 --> 01:52:23,776
for him to fight,
2455
01:52:23,809 --> 01:52:26,109
but an hour later
when Clay's own doctor tested
2456
01:52:26,143 --> 01:52:31,276
him again, everything
had returned to normal.
2457
01:52:31,309 --> 01:52:35,209
Clay went home and took a nap.
2458
01:52:35,243 --> 01:52:37,709
IZENBERG: My radio's on,
and the news comes on.
2459
01:52:37,743 --> 01:52:40,543
There's a bulletin.
Cassius Clay was spotted
2460
01:52:40,576 --> 01:52:43,076
at Miami international airport
buying a ticket
2461
01:52:43,109 --> 01:52:45,043
for a foreign country.
2462
01:52:45,076 --> 01:52:49,143
The rumor through
the press row was that
2463
01:52:49,176 --> 01:52:52,776
he was at the airport,
that he had run away,
2464
01:52:52,809 --> 01:52:55,109
that he was not in the building,
2465
01:52:55,143 --> 01:52:57,709
and other reporters,
they were filing this
2466
01:52:57,743 --> 01:53:01,476
and spreading this,
and I kind of wandered around,
2467
01:53:01,509 --> 01:53:05,109
and I saw him watching
his kid brother Rudy
2468
01:53:05,143 --> 01:53:06,643
have his first fight.
2469
01:53:06,676 --> 01:53:08,209
Keep moving
and jab!
2470
01:53:10,209 --> 01:53:11,976
Take your time.
MAN: Good going, Rudy.
2471
01:53:12,009 --> 01:53:13,509
Watch him! Hook him!
2472
01:53:13,543 --> 01:53:15,476
IZENBERG: He's standing
in the aisle,
2473
01:53:15,509 --> 01:53:17,976
and he's giving in... he's gonna
fight for the world title.
2474
01:53:18,009 --> 01:53:19,776
He's giving instructions
to his brother
2475
01:53:19,809 --> 01:53:21,276
in a 4-round fight.
2476
01:53:21,309 --> 01:53:24,976
This guy seems
to have fooled all of us.
2477
01:53:25,009 --> 01:53:28,609
He's tired. Tie
him up! Tie him up!
2478
01:53:32,043 --> 01:53:33,709
NARRATOR: But back
in his dressing room,
2479
01:53:33,743 --> 01:53:35,576
things grew tense.
2480
01:53:35,609 --> 01:53:38,143
Clay fidgeted nervously.
2481
01:53:38,176 --> 01:53:40,676
His doctor ferdie pacheco
noticed he was
2482
01:53:40,709 --> 01:53:44,143
uncharacteristically
anxious.
2483
01:53:44,176 --> 01:53:46,909
ROBERTS: Now he gets worried,
he's paranoid.
2484
01:53:46,943 --> 01:53:50,809
His brothers
in the nation had said,
2485
01:53:50,843 --> 01:53:52,543
"be aware of the white devil.
2486
01:53:52,576 --> 01:53:53,852
"They're going to do
something to make you lose.
2487
01:53:53,876 --> 01:53:55,743
"The money is bet
on Sonny liston.
2488
01:53:55,776 --> 01:53:57,876
"The mob's involved
with this sport.
2489
01:53:57,909 --> 01:54:00,209
Be aware."
2490
01:54:00,243 --> 01:54:03,076
Then he sees a water bottle,
and he thinks,
2491
01:54:03,109 --> 01:54:04,709
"there could be
something in that water."
2492
01:54:04,743 --> 01:54:06,243
So he dumps the water out.
2493
01:54:06,276 --> 01:54:07,876
Then he fills it up again.
2494
01:54:07,909 --> 01:54:10,076
Then he tapes the top
of the water bottle,
2495
01:54:10,109 --> 01:54:11,285
and he gives it to his brother,
and he says,
2496
01:54:11,309 --> 01:54:13,609
"you watch over this."
2497
01:54:13,643 --> 01:54:16,643
NARRATOR: Later, Malcolm X
joined Cassius and Rudy
2498
01:54:16,676 --> 01:54:22,643
as they faced east, bowed,
and prayed to Allah.
2499
01:54:22,676 --> 01:54:27,909
♫ ♫
2500
01:54:27,943 --> 01:54:29,552
MAN ONE: Liston in
the fourth round because
2501
01:54:29,576 --> 01:54:32,609
I really think liston is going
to show that man
2502
01:54:32,643 --> 01:54:36,576
his mouthpiece ain't valuable.
2503
01:54:36,609 --> 01:54:38,185
MAN TWO: Fights are always
won with fists
2504
01:54:38,209 --> 01:54:39,843
and not with mouth talk.
2505
01:54:39,876 --> 01:54:41,876
I pick liston to win
by the fifth round.
2506
01:54:41,909 --> 01:54:43,443
Third round.
Fifth round.
2507
01:54:43,476 --> 01:54:46,009
I expect
in about two rounds.
2508
01:54:48,776 --> 01:54:52,709
NARRATOR: At 10 p.M.,
the fighters entered the arena.
2509
01:54:52,743 --> 01:54:55,576
Clay was an 8-to-1 underdog.
2510
01:54:55,609 --> 01:54:58,776
(crowd cheering)
2511
01:55:01,976 --> 01:55:05,276
FRANK FREEMAN: This bout,
15 rounds,
2512
01:55:05,309 --> 01:55:10,276
for the heavyweight
championship of the world.
2513
01:55:10,309 --> 01:55:12,909
LIPSYTE: When the two men met
in the ring
2514
01:55:12,943 --> 01:55:15,776
just before the fight began for
the ring instructions,
2515
01:55:15,809 --> 01:55:21,276
I was struck by how much bigger
Cassius Clay was
2516
01:55:21,309 --> 01:55:22,809
than Sonny liston.
2517
01:55:22,843 --> 01:55:25,343
He was taller, he was broad.
2518
01:55:25,376 --> 01:55:27,909
Was not quite as thick,
2519
01:55:27,943 --> 01:55:31,509
but this is not David
and Goliath by any means.
2520
01:55:31,543 --> 01:55:32,885
REFEREE: Break, stop punching,
and step back.
2521
01:55:32,909 --> 01:55:34,009
Good luck.
2522
01:55:34,043 --> 01:55:35,376
Shake hands.
2523
01:55:35,409 --> 01:55:37,276
(bell rings)
2524
01:55:40,576 --> 01:55:42,176
ANNOUNCER: Cassius Clay
2525
01:55:42,209 --> 01:55:43,509
on the move as we see,
2526
01:55:43,543 --> 01:55:46,009
looking to get Sonny to lunge.
2527
01:55:46,043 --> 01:55:49,709
Carrying his left
hand dangerously low.
2528
01:55:49,743 --> 01:55:52,609
IZENBERG: Liston had a jab
that could knock you out.
2529
01:55:52,643 --> 01:55:55,809
Jab, jab, and when that right
hand came in, it was over.
2530
01:55:55,843 --> 01:55:59,709
I think he had
expected to do that.
2531
01:55:59,743 --> 01:56:02,843
It becomes the bull
and the matador.
2532
01:56:02,876 --> 01:56:04,709
Clay is boom, boom,
2533
01:56:04,743 --> 01:56:07,843
and liston is shocked.
2534
01:56:07,876 --> 01:56:12,209
ANNOUNCER: We're halfway
through round one.
2535
01:56:12,243 --> 01:56:17,776
BENTT: Cassius has
the mask of confidence.
2536
01:56:17,809 --> 01:56:22,076
"I may be retreating
but you're chasing me,
2537
01:56:22,109 --> 01:56:24,709
and I'm setting traps
for you."
2538
01:56:24,743 --> 01:56:26,285
ANNOUNCER: The right hand,
the best punch
2539
01:56:26,309 --> 01:56:28,443
of the fight so far.
2540
01:56:28,476 --> 01:56:30,943
BENTT: "You follow me around
everywhere you go,
2541
01:56:30,976 --> 01:56:34,076
I'll slap you again."
2542
01:56:34,109 --> 01:56:35,909
Sonny had never seen
that before.
2543
01:56:35,943 --> 01:56:37,843
He wasn't prepared for it.
2544
01:56:37,876 --> 01:56:39,643
ANNOUNCER: We're down to
the closing second
2545
01:56:39,676 --> 01:56:42,209
of this first round,
and the long left lead
2546
01:56:42,243 --> 01:56:45,509
is making the difference
so far by Mr. Clay.
2547
01:56:45,543 --> 01:56:47,743
BENTT: He's throwing his shots
with his hands down.
2548
01:56:47,776 --> 01:56:49,319
You don't throw those kind
of shots unless you
2549
01:56:49,343 --> 01:56:52,009
trust your talent.
2550
01:56:52,043 --> 01:56:53,743
(bell rings)
2551
01:56:53,776 --> 01:56:55,709
ANNOUNCER: The referee did
not stop that round
2552
01:56:55,743 --> 01:56:57,243
when that bell sounded.
2553
01:56:57,276 --> 01:56:59,009
Perhaps the referee
didn't hear it.
2554
01:56:59,043 --> 01:57:01,276
Into the corner is Cassius Clay,
who is still doing
2555
01:57:01,309 --> 01:57:03,109
the talking.
2556
01:57:03,143 --> 01:57:05,043
Champion Joe Louis.
2557
01:57:05,076 --> 01:57:06,619
LOUIS: Well, Steve, I think
this was the greatest round
2558
01:57:06,643 --> 01:57:08,576
of any a fight we've
seen in a long time.
2559
01:57:08,609 --> 01:57:10,943
I hope that Clay don't get
too much confidence,
2560
01:57:10,976 --> 01:57:13,709
or he gonna get
knocked out.
2561
01:57:17,176 --> 01:57:19,643
ANNOUNCER: This youngster
has his own style,
2562
01:57:19,676 --> 01:57:21,943
and it's confusing for
the champion to fathom
2563
01:57:21,976 --> 01:57:23,643
this early in the fight.
2564
01:57:23,676 --> 01:57:26,243
(bell rings)
2565
01:57:26,276 --> 01:57:28,543
BENTT: When Clay came out
in the third,
2566
01:57:28,576 --> 01:57:30,809
he's shooting jabs that were
like razorblades.
2567
01:57:30,843 --> 01:57:32,809
ANNOUNCER: Wobbled!
Sonny wobbled!
2568
01:57:32,843 --> 01:57:36,076
Cassius has him hurt!
2569
01:57:36,109 --> 01:57:39,243
BENTT: Sonny's essentially
tamed by this point.
2570
01:57:39,276 --> 01:57:42,176
ANNOUNCER: He verbally
challenges the champion.
2571
01:57:42,209 --> 01:57:46,176
IZENBERG: Nobody believed this
guy could do this to liston,
2572
01:57:46,209 --> 01:57:51,009
and he dominates the round.
2573
01:57:51,043 --> 01:57:53,443
LIPSYTE: There was no question
Clay took control
2574
01:57:53,476 --> 01:57:56,076
of the fight very quickly.
2575
01:57:56,109 --> 01:58:00,743
He hit liston at will,
opened a cut under his eye.
2576
01:58:00,776 --> 01:58:04,009
NARRATOR: It was the first
time in 34 professional fights
2577
01:58:04,043 --> 01:58:06,509
that Sonny liston had been cut.
2578
01:58:06,543 --> 01:58:08,709
(bell rings)
2579
01:58:08,743 --> 01:58:10,909
ANNOUNCER: The champion is
strong, durable,
2580
01:58:10,943 --> 01:58:12,676
takes the good shot.
2581
01:58:12,709 --> 01:58:16,143
However, he is being
outmaneuvered at most points
2582
01:58:16,176 --> 01:58:19,043
because this fellow
has that awkwardly fast style
2583
01:58:19,076 --> 01:58:21,409
of going side to side,
moving the upper part
2584
01:58:21,443 --> 01:58:24,676
of his body.
2585
01:58:24,709 --> 01:58:27,476
Half a minute more
in round number 4.
2586
01:58:27,509 --> 01:58:29,676
ROBERTS: During
the fourth round,
2587
01:58:29,709 --> 01:58:32,709
something gets in Clay's eyes.
2588
01:58:32,743 --> 01:58:36,576
And we can start
to see him blinking.
2589
01:58:36,609 --> 01:58:40,109
At one point that liston
rubs his gloves in a clinch
2590
01:58:40,143 --> 01:58:42,709
across Clay's eyes.
2591
01:58:42,743 --> 01:58:44,343
My guess is that's
where something got
2592
01:58:44,376 --> 01:58:47,209
in Clay's eyes.
2593
01:58:47,243 --> 01:58:50,176
At the end of the fourth round,
Clay goes back to his corner,
2594
01:58:50,209 --> 01:58:52,543
and by now he's in pain.
2595
01:58:52,576 --> 01:58:54,176
He can't see,
2596
01:58:54,209 --> 01:58:57,443
and he says to Angelo,
"cut them off.
2597
01:58:57,476 --> 01:59:01,876
Cut the gloves off.
I'm done. I can't fight."
2598
01:59:01,909 --> 01:59:06,276
REMNICK:
The crowd is going bat...
2599
01:59:06,309 --> 01:59:10,376
The other corner
senses blood,
2600
01:59:10,409 --> 01:59:15,409
and dundee does the best he can
to wipe his eyes clean,
2601
01:59:15,443 --> 01:59:20,343
and he basically pushes him
back into the fight.
2602
01:59:20,376 --> 01:59:22,285
ANNOUNCER: They're yelling
from Cassius Clay's corner
2603
01:59:22,309 --> 01:59:24,943
something got
in his right eye.
2604
01:59:24,976 --> 01:59:27,376
However, he's blinking badly.
2605
01:59:27,409 --> 01:59:29,609
REMNICK: And it is quite
possible that this was
2606
01:59:29,643 --> 01:59:32,109
a deliberate act on by liston
and the liston corner
2607
01:59:32,143 --> 01:59:35,076
to put what's called liniment
on the gloves, which eventually
2608
01:59:35,109 --> 01:59:37,376
are gonna get
in the other guy's eyes.
2609
01:59:37,409 --> 01:59:40,309
IZENBERG: And the chorus
from Clay's corner was
2610
01:59:40,343 --> 01:59:43,043
stay the hell away,
stay the hell away.
2611
01:59:43,076 --> 01:59:45,209
Stay
the hell away.
2612
01:59:45,243 --> 01:59:47,152
RAHAMAN: When that happened,
when I last saw him blind
2613
01:59:47,176 --> 01:59:50,943
like that, I said,
"they done got to us."
2614
01:59:50,976 --> 01:59:52,876
ANNOUNCER: Sonny's gonna try
to pull it off.
2615
01:59:52,909 --> 01:59:55,009
RAHAMAN: "They done got to us."
2616
01:59:58,776 --> 02:00:01,776
ANNOUNCER: Cassius still having
some problems
2617
02:00:01,809 --> 02:00:03,543
with his... with his eyes.
2618
02:00:03,576 --> 02:00:05,276
He's blinking,
and he's bouncing
2619
02:00:05,309 --> 02:00:06,876
away continually.
2620
02:00:06,909 --> 02:00:09,076
(bell rings)
2621
02:00:09,109 --> 02:00:13,276
NARRATOR: Clay somehow
survived the fifth round.
2622
02:00:13,309 --> 02:00:15,909
In round 6,
his eyes clear,
2623
02:00:15,943 --> 02:00:18,476
Clay stood flatfooted
and launched jabs
2624
02:00:18,509 --> 02:00:21,776
at liston's head, swelling
the champ's cheeks,
2625
02:00:21,809 --> 02:00:23,576
and drawing
more blood from the cut
2626
02:00:23,609 --> 02:00:26,776
beneath his left eye.
2627
02:00:26,809 --> 02:00:31,643
ANNOUNCER: Easy target. Easy.
2628
02:00:31,676 --> 02:00:35,809
BENTT: If a fighter escapes
getting that done to him,
2629
02:00:35,843 --> 02:00:39,943
the amount of venom that
the fighter's gonna impress
2630
02:00:39,976 --> 02:00:43,076
to his opponent is increased,
like, profoundly, man.
2631
02:00:43,109 --> 02:00:45,276
I'm trying to hurt
you worse because
2632
02:00:45,309 --> 02:00:47,676
you tried to cheat me.
2633
02:00:49,976 --> 02:00:52,043
ANNOUNCER: Sonny can't seem
to slip or knock down
2634
02:00:52,076 --> 02:00:54,243
that jab effectively.
2635
02:00:54,276 --> 02:00:57,343
Cassius throws it
from all angles.
2636
02:00:57,376 --> 02:00:59,743
The crowd's now cheering
the challenger.
2637
02:00:59,776 --> 02:01:01,843
Let's get over to our
champion Joe Louis.
2638
02:01:01,876 --> 02:01:03,843
Joe, what do you think
is going on
2639
02:01:03,876 --> 02:01:05,776
in Sonny's mind
at this point?
2640
02:01:05,809 --> 02:01:07,652
LOUIS: Well, I think Sonny
now's beginning to worry now.
2641
02:01:07,676 --> 02:01:10,176
At least his corner is beginning
to worry now because...
2642
02:01:10,209 --> 02:01:12,243
NARRATOR: As Clay awaited
the bell signaling
2643
02:01:12,276 --> 02:01:15,809
the start of round 7,
he turned to the reporters
2644
02:01:15,843 --> 02:01:17,909
seated beside the ring.
2645
02:01:17,943 --> 02:01:21,909
"I'm gonna upset the world!"
He yelled at them.
2646
02:01:21,943 --> 02:01:24,609
In liston's corner,
trainers massaged
2647
02:01:24,643 --> 02:01:28,409
the champ's muscles and rubbed
vaseline on his brow.
2648
02:01:28,443 --> 02:01:30,152
LOUIS: Oh, I think
the corner men are beginning to
2649
02:01:30,176 --> 02:01:31,743
worry a little bit now.
2650
02:01:31,776 --> 02:01:33,743
Liston now I think he don't
see too well out
2651
02:01:33,776 --> 02:01:36,143
of both his eyes now
they may well puck out.
2652
02:01:36,176 --> 02:01:38,776
NARRATOR: After one trainer put
in his mouthpiece,
2653
02:01:38,809 --> 02:01:41,443
liston spit it out.
2654
02:01:41,476 --> 02:01:42,909
(bell rings)
2655
02:01:42,943 --> 02:01:44,476
ANNOUNCER: They might be
stopping it.
2656
02:01:44,509 --> 02:01:46,376
That might be all,
ladies and gentlemen.
2657
02:01:46,409 --> 02:01:48,876
NARRATOR: He was finished.
2658
02:01:48,909 --> 02:01:51,609
Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.
2659
02:01:51,643 --> 02:01:55,009
Was now the heavyweight
champion of the world.
2660
02:01:55,043 --> 02:01:58,043
(crowd cheering)
2661
02:01:59,743 --> 02:02:02,209
CLAY: I must be the greatest!
2662
02:02:02,243 --> 02:02:06,676
I am the king of the world!
I'm a bad man!
2663
02:02:06,709 --> 02:02:09,376
He had liniment on his hands,
he had liniment in his gloves.
2664
02:02:09,409 --> 02:02:12,709
My whole face was burning.
2665
02:02:12,743 --> 02:02:14,276
I am the greatest!
2666
02:02:14,309 --> 02:02:15,909
All I got to say is
I beat liston like
2667
02:02:15,943 --> 02:02:17,409
he was an amateur.
2668
02:02:17,443 --> 02:02:19,243
I held my hands low,
I leaned back,
2669
02:02:19,276 --> 02:02:21,009
I'm still pretty.
2670
02:02:21,043 --> 02:02:22,885
He was the one all cut up.
I shook up the world.
2671
02:02:22,909 --> 02:02:25,509
Now what are you all going
to say about that now, huh?
2672
02:02:25,543 --> 02:02:27,676
NARRATOR: After the fight,
Sonny liston was taken
2673
02:02:27,709 --> 02:02:29,409
to the hospital.
2674
02:02:29,443 --> 02:02:31,276
"That wasn't the guy I
was supposed to fight,"
2675
02:02:31,309 --> 02:02:32,576
he muttered.
2676
02:02:32,609 --> 02:02:35,043
"That guy could hit."
2677
02:02:35,076 --> 02:02:36,709
Back to the microphone,
Cassius,
2678
02:02:36,743 --> 02:02:38,409
to answer
some questions.
2679
02:02:38,443 --> 02:02:39,552
All you reporters...
All of you reporters
2680
02:02:39,576 --> 02:02:40,943
made it hard on liston.
2681
02:02:40,976 --> 02:02:41,943
Never write about me
like that.
2682
02:02:41,976 --> 02:02:43,743
Never make me 6-1.
2683
02:02:43,776 --> 02:02:45,276
It just make me angry.
2684
02:02:45,309 --> 02:02:47,509
Never make me no underdog
and never talk
2685
02:02:47,543 --> 02:02:49,143
about who's gonna stop me.
2686
02:02:49,176 --> 02:02:51,076
Ain't nobody gonna stop me!
2687
02:02:51,109 --> 02:02:53,376
Not a heavyweight in the world
fast enough to stop me!
2688
02:02:53,409 --> 02:02:57,209
Oh, I'm so pretty.
I shook up the world.
2689
02:02:57,243 --> 02:02:59,243
Now I'm through talking.
2690
02:02:59,276 --> 02:03:00,909
I'm through talking.
2691
02:03:00,943 --> 02:03:03,943
Now you write...
You write the results.
2692
02:03:03,976 --> 02:03:05,809
MAN 1: I like Clay's style.
2693
02:03:05,843 --> 02:03:09,743
I like that old 1-2-3,
3-4-5.
2694
02:03:09,776 --> 02:03:15,076
Let's get together
get some old... wide.
2695
02:03:15,109 --> 02:03:16,876
He's the greatest
of them all!
2696
02:03:16,909 --> 02:03:18,709
He's the greatest!
2697
02:03:18,743 --> 02:03:20,909
Fly like a butterfly,
sting like a bee.
2698
02:03:20,943 --> 02:03:22,976
Cassius Clay!
2699
02:03:23,009 --> 02:03:24,709
3, 2, 1!
2700
02:03:24,743 --> 02:03:25,985
CLAY: World heavyweight
champion Cassius Clay
2701
02:03:26,009 --> 02:03:27,543
in person.
2702
02:03:27,576 --> 02:03:29,376
I'm the greatest
thing in the world.
2703
02:03:29,409 --> 02:03:30,809
You the greatest,
baby.
2704
02:03:30,843 --> 02:03:33,576
CLAY: I'm a bad man.
I'm a bad man.
2705
02:03:33,609 --> 02:03:34,809
You the greatest!
2706
02:03:34,843 --> 02:03:36,076
I didn't stop him.
2707
02:03:36,109 --> 02:03:37,376
I sent him to the hospital.
2708
02:03:37,409 --> 02:03:41,709
I got to be bad!
I got to be bad!
2709
02:03:41,743 --> 02:03:44,709
Oh! It feels so good to be able
to holler
2710
02:03:44,743 --> 02:03:48,076
when you know you're bad.
2711
02:03:48,109 --> 02:03:50,309
NARRATOR: Unprepared
for Clay's victory,
2712
02:03:50,343 --> 02:03:53,176
the Louisville sponsoring group
rushed to arrange
2713
02:03:53,209 --> 02:03:56,276
a celebration in Miami beach,
2714
02:03:56,309 --> 02:03:59,609
but Cassius Clay
had other plans.
2715
02:03:59,643 --> 02:04:02,043
After midnight, he headed
to the café
2716
02:04:02,076 --> 02:04:07,743
of the all-black Hampton house,
where he ate vanilla ice cream.
2717
02:04:07,776 --> 02:04:12,843
Later, Clay, Malcolm X,
football star Jim brown,
2718
02:04:12,876 --> 02:04:16,909
and singer Sam Cooke
talked long into the night
2719
02:04:16,943 --> 02:04:20,809
about the 22-year-old
boxer's future.
2720
02:04:20,843 --> 02:04:24,576
From now on, everything
would be different.
2721
02:04:24,609 --> 02:04:27,409
He had scaled boxing's
highest peak,
2722
02:04:27,443 --> 02:04:31,809
would no longer need to campaign
for a shot at the title
2723
02:04:31,843 --> 02:04:34,443
or conceal his Muslim faith.
2724
02:04:35,876 --> 02:04:40,809
♫ ♫
2725
02:04:40,843 --> 02:04:43,509
EIG: Next morning,
he's more subdued.
2726
02:04:43,543 --> 02:04:46,243
He's the heavyweight
champion of the world.
2727
02:04:46,276 --> 02:04:49,009
New responsibilities
have been accorded him.
2728
02:04:49,043 --> 02:04:50,883
Because I'm the world
heavyweight champion now,
2729
02:04:50,909 --> 02:04:53,643
I don't have to holler
and brag as loud as I used to.
2730
02:04:53,676 --> 02:04:55,609
I'm where I want to be now.
2731
02:04:55,643 --> 02:04:58,009
So all I have to do is
listen to the people
2732
02:04:58,043 --> 02:04:59,343
tell me about how great I am.
2733
02:04:59,376 --> 02:05:01,209
I'm through talking.
2734
02:05:01,243 --> 02:05:03,119
EIG: He also makes a really
important declaration.
2735
02:05:03,143 --> 02:05:06,709
CLAY: I don't have to be
what you want me to be.
2736
02:05:06,743 --> 02:05:08,419
I'm free to be what I want
to be and think what I
2737
02:05:08,443 --> 02:05:10,009
want to think.
2738
02:05:10,043 --> 02:05:11,376
EIG: Boom.
2739
02:05:11,409 --> 02:05:13,376
Muhammad Ali is born.
2740
02:05:13,409 --> 02:05:16,443
♫ Beyoncé's "Freedom" playing ♫
2741
02:05:16,476 --> 02:05:19,009
♫ Freedom, freedom
I can't move ♫
2742
02:05:19,043 --> 02:05:22,076
♫ freedom, cut me loose,
hey, hey ♫
2743
02:05:22,109 --> 02:05:24,543
♫ freedom, freedom,
where are you? ♫
2744
02:05:24,576 --> 02:05:26,943
♫ 'Cause I need freedom, too ♫
2745
02:05:26,976 --> 02:05:29,543
♫ I'll break chains
all by myself ♫
2746
02:05:29,576 --> 02:05:32,843
♫ won't let my freedom
rot in hell ♫
2747
02:05:32,876 --> 02:05:35,509
♫ hey,
I'mma keep-a running ♫
2748
02:05:35,543 --> 02:05:38,876
♫ 'cause a winner don't quit
on themselves ♫
2749
02:05:38,909 --> 02:05:41,743
♫ I'mma Wade, I'mma wave
through the waters ♫
2750
02:05:41,776 --> 02:05:44,409
♫ till the tide don't move ♫
2751
02:05:44,443 --> 02:05:47,276
♫ I'mma riot, I'mma riot
through your borders ♫
2752
02:05:47,309 --> 02:05:50,243
♫ call me bulletproof ♫
2753
02:05:50,276 --> 02:05:53,043
♫ lord, forgive me,
I've been runnin' ♫
2754
02:05:53,076 --> 02:05:55,776
♫ runnin' blind in truth ♫
2755
02:05:55,809 --> 02:05:58,609
♫ I'mma Wade, I'mma wave
through your shallow love ♫
2756
02:05:58,643 --> 02:06:01,476
♫ tell the deep I'm new ♫
2757
02:06:01,509 --> 02:06:09,509
♫ ♫
2758
02:06:15,476 --> 02:06:23,476
♫ ♫
2759
02:06:30,409 --> 02:06:31,409
♫ ♫
2760
02:06:31,543 --> 02:06:33,409
ANNOUNCER: Next time
on "Muhammad Ali"...
2761
02:06:33,443 --> 02:06:34,809
JACKSON: He's 22 years old,
2762
02:06:34,843 --> 02:06:37,476
and he's standing up
to the whole establishment.
2763
02:06:37,509 --> 02:06:39,376
ANNOUNCER: The champ
changes his name...
2764
02:06:39,409 --> 02:06:41,976
EARLY: He was vilified,
and it was thought
2765
02:06:42,009 --> 02:06:43,643
that he was UN-American.
2766
02:06:43,676 --> 02:06:45,309
ANNOUNCER: Defends the title...
2767
02:06:45,343 --> 02:06:46,785
BENTT: That kind of like,
you know, artistry
2768
02:06:46,809 --> 02:06:48,243
will never been seen again.
2769
02:06:48,276 --> 02:06:50,309
ANNOUNCER: And prepares
for his greatest fight yet.
2770
02:06:50,343 --> 02:06:52,019
ALI: You want me to go
somewhere and fight,
2771
02:06:52,043 --> 02:06:54,076
but you won't even stand up
for me here at home.
2772
02:06:54,109 --> 02:06:56,943
I was positive he'd go
to jail if he had to.
2773
02:06:56,976 --> 02:06:59,509
ANNOUNCER: That's next time
on "Muhammad Ali."
2774
02:07:29,776 --> 02:07:31,343
MAN: ♫ ow, ow, ow ♫
2775
02:07:31,376 --> 02:07:39,376
♫ ♫
2776
02:07:46,309 --> 02:07:51,676
♫ ♫
2777
02:07:51,709 --> 02:07:52,909
WOMAN: ♫ oh, ah ♫
2778
02:07:52,943 --> 02:07:54,343
CROWD: Hey!
2779
02:07:54,376 --> 02:07:55,476
♫ Oh, ah ♫
2780
02:07:55,509 --> 02:07:56,743
Hey!
2781
02:07:56,776 --> 02:07:57,909
♫ Oh, ah ♫
2782
02:07:57,943 --> 02:07:59,609
Hey!
2783
02:07:59,643 --> 02:08:00,943
♫ Oh, ah ♫
2784
02:08:00,976 --> 02:08:02,243
Hey!
2785
02:08:02,276 --> 02:08:03,643
♫ Oh, ah ♫
2786
02:08:03,676 --> 02:08:04,943
Hey!
2787
02:08:04,976 --> 02:08:06,176
♫ Oh, ah ♫
2788
02:08:06,209 --> 02:08:07,643
Hey!
2789
02:08:07,676 --> 02:08:08,909
♫ Oh, ah ♫
2790
02:08:08,943 --> 02:08:10,343
Hey!
2791
02:08:10,376 --> 02:08:11,509
♫ Oh, ah ♫
2792
02:08:11,543 --> 02:08:13,309
Hey!
2793
02:08:13,343 --> 02:08:14,785
BUNDINI: You gonna float
like a butterfly
2794
02:08:14,809 --> 02:08:16,143
and sting like a bee.
2795
02:08:16,176 --> 02:08:17,476
BUNDINI AND ALI: Ahh!
2796
02:08:17,509 --> 02:08:19,409
Rumble, young man,
rumble.
2797
02:08:19,443 --> 02:08:20,976
Ahh!
2798
02:08:23,109 --> 02:08:24,143
♫ ♫
238631
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