The man, the myth, the legend ... the name.
It's
common knowledge that Cassius Clay chose to change his name to Muhammad
Ali in the 1960s following his conversion to Islam -- but not so many
are aware of his original rebranding plans.
"The
legend is known that when a young Kentucky-born Cassius Clay joined the
Nation of Islam his name was immediately changed to the now iconic
Muhammad Ali," Miller says. "But few know that his first name change was
to Cassius X.
"It was February
26, 1964 -- the morning after he knocked out Sonny Liston. But nearly
two weeks later, on March 6, he announced that religious and political
leader Elijah Muhammad (who led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his
death in 1975) had given him the new name of Muhammad Ali."
Miller
says the name may have originally been intended for Malcolm X, who
split with Nation of Islam soon after Ali joined and was assassinated
the following year.
It's well documented that on April 28,
1967, Ali refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army and was immediately
stripped of his heavyweight title.
Ali, a Muslim, cited religious reasons for his decision to forgo military service.
Early
on Ali was closely involved with the often militant pro-African
American goals of Nation of Islam, but later in life switched to a more
mystical Muslim sect.
"Ali announced that he is a Sufi around 2005, saying that of all of the sects of Islam, he feels the closest connection to Sufism," says Miller, whose book "Approaching Ali" was released in late 2015.
"Sufism
is arguably the most peaceful sect of any major or minor religion.
Sufis believe that to purposely harm any person is to harm all of
humanity, to harm each of us and to damage the world.
"It is the perfect fit for Ali, who had been living in the ways that Sufis do for decades before he'd heard of the religion.
"Few
people have heard about the profound ways Ali's faith has evolved over
the years. He has been a world soul for many decades; he has grown from
separatist to universalist."
The scene is Atlanta, October 26, 1970.
Ali's
first comeback fight followed his enforced exile of three years and
seven months -- after refusing to be inducted into the armed forces --
against No. 1 heavyweight contender Jerry Quarry.
Then
28, he would go on to make a successful return to the ring, winning by
TKO in the third round -- but the fight nearly didn't happen.
"Ali
had only six weeks to prepare for this contest," Miller says. "In
training, his boyhood friend and former heavyweight champion Jimmy Ellis
badly fractured one of Ali's ribs.
"Even
with this injury, Ali did not reschedule the fight, being entirely
uncertain that if he did, he would ever get the chance to fight again."
"The art of the gesture is quite
important to him," Miller says of Ali, who was diagnosed with
Parkinson's in 1984 at the age of 42. "He communicates with his hands
and fingers, his facial features, his eyes.
"He
surprises visitors by making a sound with his thumb and index finger
that's not unlike a cricket in your ear. He blows on the top of heads,
tickles the inside of palms when he shakes hands, teasing almost
everyone who visits him.
"Though
he can walk, Ali is often seen sitting in a wheelchair or positioned in
an easy chair. He is no longer the world's most vocal and irrepressibly
animated person."
Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, his hands can't hit what his eyes can't see."
Famous for his pre-fight proto rap rhymes, Ali had some other dazzling tricks.
"Until
recently, throughout his years with Parkinson's disease, Ali surprised
visitors by performing prestidigitations (sleight of hand tricks),"
Miller says.
"He made a red silk
scarf disappear from his hand, he bit coins in half and made them whole
again, and he often performed an old parlor trick -- by putting his feet
together and rising up on the toes of one foot while keeping his other
foot flexed, he could appear to float above the ground."
One of the most enduring memories of Ali's magic, Miller says, took place on the first day they met in June 1975.
"I'd
just finished sparring a round with him, nearly got knocked out by only
one punch, and Ali helped me out of the ring," Miller recalls.
"Escorting
me to a seat among the small crowd, where I sat, looking freshly
electrocuted, he leaned over and whispered, 'You're fast. And you sure
can hit, to be so little.' He might as well have said he was adopting
me.
"Then,
while his longtime sparring partner Eddie 'Bossman' Jones was being
introduced, Ali climbed back into the ring, where he boxed a relaxed,
beautiful and dazzling round, bouncing dozens of jabs, straight right
leads, easy hooks and effortless uppercuts off of Jones' face and
headgear.
"After the bell rang at
the end of the round, and a corner man had removed his gloves, Ali
stepped back to the center of his ring. 'The man without imagination has
no wings,' he shouted, pointing down at the audience with his left
fist. 'He cannot fly.'
"Still
holding his left fist at eye level, the one he'd used to tattoo the
'Bossman' for the past three minutes, he rolled it over, bent his arm at
the elbow, and slowly pulled it in close to his chest.
"Opening
his hand, a bird I now know to have been a Carolina wren flew with a
fluttering of wings from Ali's palm and up to the ceiling.
"The crowd oohed and aahed. I can't imagine anyone who was there will ever forget the experience."
Ali's nickname was "The Greatest."
credit CNN
