A star was born on this day 50 years ago

Chennai : The gloves Muhammad Ali wore to claim his first world heavyweight championship title on February 25, 1964, have fetched a little more than $800,000 in auction. But the win against Sonny Liston in Miami paved the way for a priceless career. It’s impossible to quantify Ali’s achievements on an auctioneer’s table, for they transcended the confines of sports.

Ali would fight tougher bouts, notably against Joe Frazier in the 70s. But beating the fearsome Liston would always remain the high-water mark for Ali because it helped him realise his long-held ambition of becoming a world champion. At 22, he was the youngest to do so. The defeat of Liston compelled the boxing world to take the upstart from Louisville seriously. Ali wasn’t merely a motormouth any longer. He had arrived with a bang, never to fade away from the conscience of the sporting world even in the evening of his life.

Ali wasn’t even Ali when he took on Liston. He was Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr during the bout on February 25, 50 years ago. The difference in class and experience was as clear as daylight for all boxing experts. Liston, 31, had lost only one fight in the previous 10 years. He had destroyed former world champion Floyd Patterson within the first round twice. The reigning king, whose fists had a circumference of 15 inches, was an intimidating figure. He had grenade in his hands and murder in his eyes. After all, Liston had learned boxing within the four walls of prison while serving time for an armed robbery.

"If he stands and fight, I’ll kill him. If he runs, I will catch him and kill him," Liston threatened Clay before the meeting. Clay also indulged in mind games. He called Liston an "ugly bear" whom he would "whup so bad." Speed alone was in Clay’s side and his opponent had everything else.

Clay behaved like a madman during the weigh-in on the morning of the fight. He was speaking non-stop and acting like a petulant child. His blood pressure was abnormally high. Doctors doubted whether the tyro was fit to fight. Rumours spread that Clay was planning to run away from the bout. The challenger, however, carried on as if nothing had happened. During the weigh-in, he would utter the immortal lines, which are a cliché now: "Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee."

Clay’s corner man, Bundini Brown, was the author of the couplet. When the highly-anticipated fight started, Clay surprised many with his staying power and punching style. He indeed floated like a butterfly to avoid Liston’s sledgehammer punches.

The senior pro was surely tiring. And Clay opened a gash below Liston’s left eye. But everything didn’t go his way. In the fourth and fifth rounds, Clay had problems with his sight. A lotion Liston had applied on his body had got into Clay’s eyes. It later emerged that the challenger wanted to quit. But his trainer Angelo Dundee cleaned up Clay’s eyes and asked him not to give up.

Clay unsettled Liston with jabs before pounding him with rights and hooks in the sixth round. The champion had suffered enough punishment and he threw in the towel by not leaving his corner for the next round. Mayhem followed as there was confusion about Liston’s failure to come on.

"Clay knew the result as he kept shouting that he was the greatest. "I’m the king of the world," he screamed to anyone who would listen.The next day Clay told a press conference that he had become a member of the Nation of Islam, a militant black movement opposed to white supremacy. He didn’t forget to take a dig at the predominantly white reporters who detested the brashness and political views of the new world champion by saying that "I don’t have to be what you want me to be."

Clay banished his slave roots four weeks later by assuming a new name:Muhammad Ali. Heavyweight boxing would never be the same again.