Muhammad Ali: The Greatest

Muhammad Ali: The Greatest — page 5
Even as a young teenager Cassius Clay showed promise as a boxer His training regimen included sparring with friends and running alongside the school bus abolitionist of the nineteenth century Slavery was illegal in the 1940s but its echoes remained The South was segregated with blacks and whites legally separated along color lines Cassius grew up in a time and place where racism was rampant and many whites viewed blacks as second-class citizens Cassius’s father worked as a painter The family never had much money Cassius couldn’t afford the bus fare to school So he’d run instead He made it a race trying to beat the bus to school Cassius’s future began to take shape at the age of twelve when his bicycle a treasured gift from his father was stolen Cassius was furious He told police officer Joe Martin that he intended to fight the thief Martin who was also a boxing coach answered Well you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people Martin began training Cassius who thrived at the gym I was the first one in the gym and the last to leave he later said I trained six days a week 10