Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. The son of Cassius Marcellus Sr, a sign and mural painter, and Odessa Grady, a housewife.
A practical joker, who thought it was funny to scare his parents by draping a blanket over his head and jumping out of the closet, he first showed the will for a fight when he was 12. After having his bike stolen, a 12-year-old Clay promised to 'whup whoever stole it.'
The policeman whom he reported the theft to took him under his wings and eventually directed him to a boxing trainer Fred Stoner.
In the next six years, Clay won six Kentucky Golden Gloves championships, two national Golden Gloves titles, and two AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) crowns.
He claimed the light-heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics when he was only 18.
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