Muhammad Ali

Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. popularly known as 'Muhammad Ali', was a boxer, who literally slaughtered any competitor he met in the boxing ring and was the worst nightmare for almost every one he had boxing match with, was born to Cassius Sr. and Odessa on January 17 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky.

From his childhood, Cassius had a dream of becoming a heavyweight champion. But had no idea that his boxing career will start in an unexpected way. In an incidence his bike was stolen at the Columbia Auditorium (in 1954). Twelve years old Cassius and his friends were at the Auditorium when he came to know that his bike was stolen, Cassius was so angry that he told the policeman (Mr. Martin, who was handling bike theft case) that he would never leave the person who stole his bike and would beat him. Understanding the situation, the policeman warned Cassius that he was too young to fight the thief and told him to prepare well and learn boxing before breaking down on the thief. The policeman even suggested one good boxing trainer's name 'Fred Stoner' to young Cassius, so that at least this boy wouldn't go on a search for the person who stole his bike.

Cassius was so serious about getting into boxing and had prepared himself so that he joined the training with Fred Stoner. He prepared himself so well that within few weeks; he was ready for his first professional boxing match and also showed his talent. Further, for about six years, Cassius registered consecutive wins in the Kentucky Golden Gloves Championships every year. He also won two 'Amateur Athletic Union Championship' titles and two 'National Golden Gloves Championship' boxing titles during this period. With all this and his determination, Cassius made it sure that he was one of the possible and high-flying contenders of the future world championship.

It is said that he had more than a hundred amateur boxing sessions when he was under training. His dedication was at such a high level that he never wished to go for any job other than training himself in boxing. His passion for boxing was surely enough to make him work hard and take him to a place, which was far different than hundreds of other young amateur boxers.

Cassius then set his target for the light-heavyweight category boxing matches. In 1960, he claimed a gold medal in light-heavyweight boxing match at the summer Olympics in Rome. He smashed his competitor (Zbigniew Pietrzykowski of Poland) with a 5-0 decision on his side.

After coming back from Rome, Cassius himself experienced inhuman racism when a white waitress refused to serve him at a restaurant, which was meant only for white people. As white people hated black, his victory in Olympics incited few white people and as a result Cassius faced the situation where he had no other choice than to fight with those people. After those incidences, fuming Cassius was so angry that he threw gold medal into the Ohio River. From then onwards, he decided to jump into professional boxing matches full-fledged. He improved on some key areas to get into real action and registered first couple of wins of his professional life within few months.

When Cassius was taking training for one of his forthcoming match, he met the Nation of Islam members Captain Sam and Malcolm X (at Miami mosque). Malcolm created a deep impression on Cassius's mind and attracted him towards the Islam. In 1964 when Cassius became the new World Heavyweight Champion after knocking down Sonny Liston, he announced that he had accepted the Islam and had changed his name to Clay X, where X was an unknown name. When he announced his decision, he received a countrywide response and was given a new name 'Muhammad Ali'.

Louisville Sponsoring Group, which was led by local rich white businessman, played a role of sponsor for Ali and trainer Angelo Dundee was appointed as his veteran trainer. Dundee played an important role in developing a new boxing style for Ali. Ali formulated and even adopted new boxing tactics, according to him, he was a 'Headhunter' and never took a chance with body shots; all he tried was to keep his body away from the reach of his competitor and tried to hit him as hard as possible. The second style that Ali adopted was 'Dancing in the ring', for that he had developed his own rhythm and used to shuffle everywhere inside the ring. He used his strong legs very effectively to move faster and that to in his own dancing style, his agility also helped him many times to give a good punch on the competitors face and collect some valuable points. Ali's new style was called as 'Ali Shuffle’ that included a perfect combination of his footwork and tactics to knockout the competitor.

The best part of Ali's boxing career was the time when he used to make certain announcements before entering the ring. Normally, at time of match and in some similar situations, the boxer never speaks even a single word, but Ali had his own ideas, he was the person who spoke the most while/before entering the ring, most of the times he claimed the time he would take to knockout his competitor. His most famous claim was 'Ali is the GREATEST' and to prove the same he would say that 'To prove I am great, he will fall within eight', this was not only a claim, but he did actually knocked out everyone he had claimed to prove it to be true.

At the time of Vietnam War in 1967, when Ali refused to get induced in the Armed Services stating that his religion did not allow him fight against anyone, he had stated that he had nothing to do with the war, and had no enmity with those who were fighting against his country. His statements and stance caused people of the whole country get angry over him and they demanded his license for boxing to be cancelled. Finally the decision was taken to strip down Ali's license from him. His last professional boxing match was against Ernie Terrel whom Ali had knocked down.

Ali's boxing license, his passport, his titles, medals etc. were stripped off from him for about two and a half year period. During this period, he was facing court trial and had lost it. The government and also all the people in the country banned his any activity. He was not allowed to do anything he wanted to as a protest of his stance.

After the period of two and a half years, Ali wanted to make a comeback in the boxing world, for that he staged two fights, first was against Jerry Quarry (which Ali won easily by knocking down Jerry in only three rounds) and the second was against undefeated champion 'Joe Frazier' which was held at Square Garden on March, 1971 and had lost in it. After this fight, Ali had lost his leg, his leg stopped functioning well and he could never again use his technique of dancing on his own rhythm in the ring. Ali, on the other hand, won a case in Supreme Court and he was granted access back to his boxing license, passport, medals etc.

In 1974, Ali regained his title of world heavyweight champion once again by knocking down Joe Frazier in twelve round fight. He won in the 'Rumble in the Jungle' on 30 October 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire when he knocked out that time fearsome champion George Foreman in eight rounds. When Ali took on Foreman, he knew that he would not be able to use his dancing technique, so he used new method that allowed him to rest against the ropes and when Foreman came up on him, he used to swing off the ropes. The time when Foreman got tired, Ali attacked him and won the match by knocking him down.

One of the worst match ever took place in Ali's life was the match he played against Frazier in 1975 ('Thrilla in Manila' in Philippines). Ali and Frazier fought there tooth and nail, both of them were red with the blood on their body but in the end, Ali won the match when Frazier couldn't stand for the fifteenth round.

Muhammad Ali had written his name in golden ink in the history of boxing. He was the boxer who had a sensational track record of 53 wins out of 55 fights he had (35 out of which were knocked out by Ali). This type of career record is enough for anyone to become over confident over his talent. The same thing happened with Ali, in 1976 Olympic, he lost a match in a controversial decision with Leon Spinks, however, after few months the title was named back to Ali.

After ruling the boxing ring for about 27 long years, Ali announced his retirement on 27 June 1979. Even though, his heart never let him take retirement from the profession he loved to be in, more than anything else. The boxing gloves and the ring tempted him to push the retirement plans a little further; he took on a challenge from Larry Holmes who was a heavyweight champion. Ali lost the fight against Larry after getting more than 125 punches in last three rounds of their 11 round fight. After losing the fight with Larry, Ali still had no plans of retirement and in 1981, he again entered the ring this time against Trevor Berbick, but once again he lost the fight. Finally, this time in December 1981, Ali took retirement from boxing forever and never turned back to boxing ring.

In 1984 Ali was diagnosed with 'Parkinson's Disease', he suffered from muscle tremors and always found it difficult to speak.

According to the Muhammad Ali Center website, "Since he retired from boxing, Ali has devoted himself to humanitarian endeavors around the globe. He is a devout Sunni Muslim, and travels the world over, lending his name and presence to hunger and poverty relief, supporting education efforts of all kinds, promoting adoption and encouraging people to respect and better understand one another. It is estimated that he has helped to provide more than 22 million meals to feed the hungry. Ali travels, on average, more than 200 days per year."

1. Ali, has done what no other boxer has ever done, he has created history in his own style.

2. Ali's final statistics are 56 – 5 out of which he recorded 37 knockouts and 19 times he was successful in defending his titles. Personal life

Muhammad Ali has been married four times and has seven daughters and two sons.

Ali has two other daughters, Miya and Khaliah, from extramarital relationships.

heavyweight ['hevIweIt] тяжеловес

to slaughter ['slLtq] полностью уничтожить, разбить

theft [Teft] воровство, грабеж, кража

consecutive [kqn'sekjutIv] последовательный

contender [kqn'tendq] претендент, кандидат

amateur ['xmqtq(:)] любительский

target ['tRgIt] цель

to smash [smxS] разбить, уничтожить

to incite [In'saIt] подстрекать, провоцировать

fuming [fjHmIN] рассерженный, разозленный

forthcoming [fLT'kAmIN] предстоящий, грядущий

countrywide ["kAntrI'waId] охвативший всю страну

headhunter ['hed'hAntq] охотник за головами

rhythm ['rID(q)m] ритм

agility [q'GIlItI] живость, ловкость, проворство

announcement [q'naunsmqnt] объявление, сообщение

enmity ['enmItI] враждебность, неприязнь

to strip (down) [strIp] лишать

court trial [kLt'traI(q)l] судебный процесс

to ban [bxn] налагать запрет; запрещать

undefeated ["AndI'fJtId] непобеждённый

challenge ['tSxlInG] вызов

By Sonal Panse

The Celts were a non-Mediterranean people with a formidable reputation for fighting, courageous in battle, yet sensitive in their art. For a long time they were the dominant force in Europe and later on challenged and on many occasions even dented the might of the Roman Empire.

When the Roman Empire began its expansion through Mid and Western Europe it was met with very fierce resistance from the local tribes, collectively called the Celts. The Celts, a non-Mediterranean people, had dominated this area for over a thousand years prior to the Romans. Perhaps originally from the lands later known as Germanic, they had, between 500 B.C. and 100 B.C., spread outwards in migratory waves that took them eventually from Ireland and Spain to Turkey in their quest for newer lands and better opportunities. Creating a new life thus for themselves of course involved dislodging the original inhabitants, who naturally weren't exactly welcoming, and so habitual warfare became a way of life with the Celts, establishing their reputation permanently as a quarrelsome, war-mongering lot. Their invasions however were periodic irritations rather than large concentrated attacks. For the Celts, although a people with a common ancestry, language, and religion, were deeply divided into many different tribes, each loyal to their own Chieftain and having their own social structure and customs, including coinage. More often than not these tribes were at war with one another as well, and they actually seemed to relish it too.

According to the accounts left by Greek and Roman writers of the period - to whom we owe our knowledge of the ancient Celts as they themselves left no written records - wars were always elaborate affairs, with finely embellished weapons, armors and chariots brought into use; although many of the warriors were also known to eschew everything and rush headlong and stark-naked into battle. Their courage was legendary and most of them were very tall and sturdy, with wild, bleached-blond hair and enormous mustaches. They usually heightened their daunting appearances with blue woad dye and horned bronze helmets, and then further unnerved the enemy before battle by issuing weird, spine-chilling screams while clanging up a fearsome cadence with their swords against their shields. Working themselves into a terrible fury in this way and certainly disheartening the enemy also, they charged into battle and fought with incredible savagery.

Their preferred mode of fighting was using guerilla tactics rather than straight head-on. They made swift, lightning raids in small groups of foot soldiers, cavalry and chariots, attacking adeptly with bows and arrows, swords, spears, javelins, and slingshots, harassing the enemy from an unexpected side and then withdrawing before the enemy could fully retaliate while another group attacked from another side. These unusual methods of fighting quite annoyed the disciplined, orderly Romans, who, often put to loss, dubbed them as cowardly. They certainly were quite disconcerted too by the Celtic penchant for chopping off enemy heads and hanging them from their belts or around the necks of their horses to be later on proudly displayed as mounted trophies atop door-posts or embalmed with cedar oil in special boxes. The head-taking was not only supposed to endow the Celtic warrior with the additional powers of his fallen foe, but the greater the number of displayed heads the greater his social standing. The Celts were a rough crowd, and had some pretty primitive and bloody-thirsty customs. Another one of these apparently involved ritualistic animal and human sacrifices, carried out in woods and near watering places by the infamous Druids. There is, of course, some controversy regarding this since the Roman view-point which we have is not exactly an unbiased one. They were not likely to be glorifying their enemy and it suited their purposes to show the Celts as barbaric and immoral as compared to their own civilized ways.

The Druids were the Celtic Priests and particularly abhorred by the Romans. Not just for their grisly religious practices, but also for the enormous influence they wielded within their Tribe, usually greater than even that of the Tribal Chieftain and always to Roman detriment. The Druids were not just priests, but political advisers, healers, teachers and mediators. As the Celts leaned more towards Oral tradition rather than a written language (they sometimes used Greek alphabets or some special marks, but the written language as such didn't really develop until the Christian times), the passing on of information and history and customs was done by word of mouth, usually sung in poetic format and fine Celtic timbre, and this was the responsibility of the Druids as well as the Bards and Poets. Celtic history, often inseparable from mythology, abounded with accounts of fairies, dragons and so on, and these tales were diligently saved through troubled times. The Druids were also responsible for keeping the Celtic Calender, which, according to Caesar and Pliny, was counted by nights not days as the Celtic belief was that the earth came into being in darkness and it was later that the light came. Similarly they believed that winter (beginning November 1) preceded summer (beginning May 1), and their various festivals, commemorating the large pantheon of Gods, were celebrated in accordance.

The Celtic Clan was the life-blood of the Celts and to be excommunicated from it was the ultimate disgrace. Headed by the Chieftain, it was categorized into the Druids, the Warriors, and the Commoners. Families usually lived together and, as Polygamy prevailed, these were quite complex and large. The polygamy practice didn't however adversely affect the social standing of the Celtic women, which was far better as compared to the other contemporary European societies. In many ways they had equal rights as the men, could own and inherit property, and could marry according to their own choice. In some cases they were also able to assume charge of their tribe and didn't do too badly either, as is seen in the example of the Icenic Queen Boudicca. The children were jointly reared, often fostered out with near relatives, and this deepened the family ties further. It was considered the duty of the family, from both paternal and maternal sides, to take up on behalf of a wronged or insulted member and so personal feuds often enough transcended into tribal feuds.

The Celts normally lived in small hamlets comprising of several Roundhouses and encircled by protective stone or wooden palisades. The Roundhouses were made of arched timbers with either wattle and daub or stone walls and thatched roofs of straw or heather. Very often, since the Celts were perpetually at war, hill forts for stronger defense purposes were built. Strategically located and protected additionally by tall palisades and deep ditches, these ranged from small family-sized affairs to somewhat bigger ones for a larger number of people. As there were no water sources inside these hide-outs, it is assumed that they were utilized only as short term shelters during enemy attacks. In these situations, the Celts would also take their sheep and cattle with them. These herds were very precious and the person having the largest number was the wealthiest. The Tribal lands however seemed to have been communally owned. When the Celts were not at war, they were farmers, herders, iron workers, and artists. They were the first people to bring iron working to the British Isles, where iron was found in plentiful quantities. With this knowledge, particularly with their iron plough, farming became easier and more lands could be brought under cultivation. The artistic side of the Celts was displayed not just in their poetry and music, but also in their metal-work, pottery, textiles, tattoos and later on, most famously, in their Illuminated Manuscripts. This art was characterized by a pleasing combination of fanciful, curvilinear motifs and intricate, geometrical designs. The Celts also had towns or 'Oppida' as they were called and these don't seem to have been permanent settlements either, but gathering places for annual festivals and trading.

All of Celtic Tribes in Europe were eventually either defeated and annihilated by the Romans or, with force or diplomacy, made their feudatories. The reason for the final Roman victory lay both in their shrewd politics and well-disciplined army as well as the traditional feuds and inherent disunity amongst the Celts.

Some of the main Celtic Tribes in Europe were – the Aedui (France), the Helvetii (Switzerland), the Boii (Italy), the Eravisci (Hungary), the Volcae (Anatolia), the Brigante (Northern England), the Parisii (Paris), the Nervii (Belgium), the Venetii (Armorica), the Arverni (Auvergne), the Scordisci (Beograde), the Durotriges (Dorset), the Iceni (Norfolk and Suffolk), and the Trinovantes (Eastern England, north of the Thames).

Celts [kelts] кельты (общее название близких по языку племён, населявших Британию)

formidable ['fLmIdqbl] грозный; пугающий

fierce [fIqs] жестокий; агрессивный

prior ['praIq] прежний; предшествующий

quest [kwest] поиски

warfare ['wLfFq] война; борьба, столкновение

invasion [In'veIZ(q)n] нашествие; набег

ancestry ['xnsIstrI] предки

chieftain ['tSJftqn] вождь

to relish ['relIS] получать удовольствие, наслаждаться

elaborate [I'lxb(q)rIt] детально разработанный; продуманный

chariot ['tSxrIqt] колесница

to eschew [Is'tSH] остерегаться, сторониться

sturdy ['stWdI] крепкий, сильный; выносливый

woad [wqud] вайда ( Isatis )

helmet ['helmIt] защитный головной убор (шлем)

spine-chilling ['spaIntSIlIN] ужасающий

savagery ['sxvIG(q)rI] дикие звери

guerilla [gq'rIlq] партизанская война

javelin ['GxvlIn] метательное копье, дротик

slingshot ['slINSOt] рогатка

foe [fqu] враг, противник

controversy ['kOntrqvWsI] дебаты, спор, разногласия

barbaric [bR'bxrIk] грубый, варварский

to abhor [qb'hL] питать отвращение; ненавидеть

grisly ['grIzlI] суеверный страх

to commemorate [kq'memereIt] почтить память; отмечать, праздновать

polygamy [pO'lIgqmI] многобрачие

to inherit [In'herIt] наследовать

paternal [pq'tWnl] отцовский

feud [fjHd] взаимная вражда

hamlet ['hxmlIt] деревушка, село

timber ['tImbq] древесина

daub [dLb] штукатурка из строительного раствора с соломой

heather ['heDq] вереск

plough [plau] плуг

curvilinear ["kWvI'lInIq] криволинейный

to annihilate [q'naIqleIt] истреблять, уничтожать

feudatory ['fjHdqt(q)rI] феодальный вассал

disunity ['dIs'jHnItI] отсутствие единства; разлад

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