Why did Cassius Clay change his name and be remembered as Muhammad Ali?

To younger sports fans, the name "Cassius Clay" may be unfamiliar, while Muhammad Ali is the greatest boxer in history. However, this is the same person - Clay is the birth name of the legendary boxer, but that does not mean he remains in the history of boxing as one of the greatest ever to step into the ring. And the story of his name change is more than curious.

On February 25, 1964, Cassius Clay shocked the world when he made a laughing stock of world heavyweight champion Charles "Sonny" Liston and won his first world belt in the royal division of professional boxing. What happens next, however, seems even more shocking.

Unlike other boxers, Clay did not celebrate his triumph with a lavish party. Instead, he's in his hotel room, eating ice cream for dinner in surprising company - Malcolm X (X). He is the leader of the Nation of Islam - an African-American political and religious movement gaining serious popularity in the United States. The movement is thought out by the majority, but more and more people are joining it to "break the shackles" of the previous world, in which dark-skinned people were subjected to brutal repression.

The day after his victory, Cassius Clay announced that he was officially becoming part of the movement. Quietly, however, he was part of the Nation of Islam as early as 1961, when his friendship with Malcolm X began. In March, he announced to the world that he was changing his faith because Christianity did not correspond to his views on the world and life. "I am not a Christian. I can't be like that when I see all the dark skinned people being oppressed. They are targeted with stones and torn by dogs. People tell me what a good example I will be if I am not Muslim. To be like Joe Louis or Sugar Ray... But I'm not American, I'm black."

However, this is not the only change for Clay. On March 7th, he announced that he was breaking ties with the past in an even more shocking way – changing his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali. “It's a loose name. It is a name that means Beloved by God. I want people to call me that. Cassius Clay is a slave's name, I did not choose him, and I break his chains today.'

This change for Muhammad Ali was the beginning of trouble for him both with the authorities and in boxing. Because of his religion, he refused to join the American troops in Vietnam, and for this action he was even convicted (eventually before the Supreme Court he was declared innocent). He was stripped of his titles and boxing license, which he later regained. During this time, the media in the United States continued to call him Cassius Clay, but he addressed himself by the name Muhammad Ali, and he was known by this name in the second part of his career. And through all these adversities, Ali becomes not just an amazing boxer, but also a symbol of the desire for equality on the part of people of different skin color.

However, the interesting story surrounding Ali's name does not end there. In the 21st century, it became clear that Ali never officially changed his name and it remained Cassius Clay. Even more shocking is the fact that the boxer's birth certificate listed the name CasWhis Clay - a mistake that has remained unchanged. Another interesting fact is how Cassius Clay remarried under the name Ali, and his wife, Kalila Ali, bears the name to this day. The same is true of Ali's children, who share the same surname, although there is no official record of Clay's name change.

Thus, the greatest boxer in history was born and died as Cassius Clay, but his heirs are Ali. And with this name, it remains sealed forever in the minds of everyone who has touched boxing in some form.