Muhammad Ali, a well-known, former professional boxer who is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight champions in the world, died at age 74 on June 3rd.
Ali was born on January, 17 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. he is of the Irish, English, and Italian as well as African American descent. His interest into boxing was generated by boxing coach Joe E. Martin since the age of 12. He began training at this age and had already won the world heavyweight championship at the age of 22 on the year 1964. He converted to Sunni Islam and concerted his name on the year 1975.
Ali loved by everyone, became an iconic figure in and out of the boxing ring. He refused to be conscripted to the U.S. military as he was against the Vietnam War and was found to be guilty on charges of draft evasion and thus his boxing title was stripped. After stopping to fight for four years, the charge was overturned on 1971. On 1974 and 1978 too he won the world heavyweight championship, thus becoming the only three time champion in the category. He was named to be The Greatest and was involved in several boxing matches including the Liston fight with Joe Frazier and another with George Foreman. Interested in being in the spotlight, he took control of press conferences and interviews and embraced his racial pride. He is not only known for the skills he portrayed in the field of acting but also for the religious freedom he exemplified outside the field.
As for his personal life, Muhammad has been married a total of four times. From these unions, he has seven daughters and two sons. Sonji Roi was his first wife who was a cocktail waitress. After a month of dating, they got married on 14th August, 1964. Her disinterest in the Muslims customs of dressing up led them to be separated. After their divorce on 10th January, 1966, Ali married Belinda Boyd on August 17, 1967. She changed her name to Khalilah Ali and with whom he fathered four children.
Below you can read about his only two sons.
Muhammad Ali Jr.
Muhammad Ali Jr. is the son of Ali and second wife, Khalilah Ali. He is the youngest of the marriage’s four children. Ali Jr. has three older sisters, Maryum, Jamillah, Rasheda.
His famous father then started dating actress and model Veronica Porsche and after his divorce from Ali Jr.’s mother on 1977, he married Veronica. From this marriage, Ali Jr. has two sisters, Hana and Laila.
His dad went on to marry Yolanda Williams, his friend since 1964 on November 19, 1986. From his father’s fourth and final marriage, Ali Jr.’ has a brother, Assad Amin.
From his father’s extra marital relationships he has two other sisters, Miya and Khaliah, totaling nine children.
Muhammad Ali Jr. was born in 1972. He told the NY Post two years ago, he never showed an interest in boxing because his father warned him it was too dangerous. He also said he saw his father all the time as a kid but as he grew older he saw him less and less.
Between his father’s boxing career and his mother’s acting, Muhammad Ali Jr. had to be raise by his grandparents, in the interview he also revealed he was living in poverty.
According to his Facebook page, he is listed as a landscaper at Ali landscaping and home improvement. Ali Jr. is currently based in Chicago, Illinois and is married to wife, Shaakira, according to The New York Post, the couple has two children: Amirah Vbilal and Shakirah Martinez.
Asaad Amin Ali
Asaad Amin Ali is the youngest of Mohammad Ali’s nine children. He is not the boxing champ’s biological son, Asaad Amin Ali came to the life of Mohammad Ali 1986 when Asaad Amin Ali was only five months old and was adopted by Muhammad and his last wife, Yolanda “Lonnie” Williams.
The couple adopted Asaad as a baby when Lonnie’s sister was asked by a friend to watch the child until Asaad could be placed through adoption. However, after seeing Asaad during a visit, Muhammad and Lonnie decided to adopt him.
By that time, Ali was already beginning to suffer from Parkinson’s which means Asaad never got to see his father in action.
However, the champ made sure his son, knew of his great successes. The former heavyweight champion posed on the canvas as his son Assad Amin Ali stood over him invoking memories of Ali’s victory over Sonny Liston in the gym at his farm on Kephart Road near Berrien Springs, when Asaad was in his teens.
Though Asaad Amin Ali didn’t go in his father’s boxing direction, he has a career in sports. In 2009, he was drafted by the Anaheim Angels in the 40th round. As a catcher, he led Niles (Mich.) High School to the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West Division championship, according to MLB.com. He batted .367 with four doubles, two home runs, and 18 RBIs in 25 games when he was 18. He also played football in high school. He attended University of Louisville –where he majored in Communication and played baseball from 2009 to 2012.
According to his Facebook page, Asaad Amin Ali is currently an Assistant Baseball Coach/Recruiting Coordinator at Ellsworth Community College. He also is a Chicago White Sox area scout.
According to his coaching profile, one of his Chicago White Sox recruits was signed in the 29th round of the 2014 MLB Draft.
You can find Asaad Amin on Instagram here.
We send our condolences to all of the Ali family.
