Theft of his bike spurred future world champion Muhammad Ali to learn how to box
The following is an excerpt from “Muhammad Ali: Athlete of the Century”, in which reporter Bruce Schreiner revisits the fighter’s boyhood neighbourhood.
Long before his dazzling footwork and punching prowess made him a three-time world heavyweight boxing champion known as Muhammad Ali, a young Cassius Clay honed his skills by sparring with neighbourhood friends and running alongside the bus on the way to school.
The man who became the world’s most recognisable athlete was a baby sitter, a jokester and a dreamer in the predominantly black West End neighbourhood of Louisville where he grew up and forged lasting friendships while beginning his ascent toward greatness.
Those who knew him before he developed his famous ringside persona – the brash predictions followed by rapid-fire punches that backed up his taunts – remember a happy-go-lucky kid with a ready smile who had a serious side, aspiring to show his mettle as a fighter.
Ali’s boyhood neighbour, Lawrence Montgomery Sr., 78, was one of the first to feel the sting of the young boxer’s jabs. At the teenage boy’s request, Montgomery held up his hands and Ali popped them with punch after punch.
Montgomery saw early glimpses of the boxing legend’s bravado that earned him the “Louisville Lip” nickname.
“He told me then that he was going to be the heavyweight champion of the world, and I didn’t believe him,” Montgomery told The Associated Press. “I told him, ‘Man, you better get that out of your mind.’ But he succeeded. He followed through.”
