At the behest of conscience: how Ali refused to serve in the army and was stripped of the title of world boxing champion

"Why should I shoot them?"

In 1967, Muhammad Ali was in his prime and was already considered one of the greatest boxers in history. By this time, he managed to win 29 fights in a row and held the world titles for WBA, WBC and The Ring. However, at the end of April, his athletic career was threatened by a refusal to serve in the US Army. The athlete refused to take the oath and was deprived not only of titles, but also of the opportunity to enter the ring.

Until 1966, the topic of military service circumvented Ali. The reason for this was the failed IQ test, according to the results of which the athlete's IQ was only 78. Initially, the public did not believe in the published figures, but subsequently they were confirmed in the course of a second study. Thus, Muhammad did not pass the test and was declared unfit for service in the United States Armed Forces. However, after updating the selection criteria, the status of the boxer was changed to “fit”.

From that moment, Ali was under constant pressure. Journalists regularly asked him questions about the Vietnam War, and the athlete could not ignore them. Muhammad in the usual eloquent manner, he claimed to be a pacifist and sees no reason to fight with other people, since they are all brothers.

“Conscience does not allow me to shoot at my brother, or people with a different skin color, or at poor, hungry people in the mud for the sake of big and strong America. And to kill them for what? They never called me “nigga”, they didn’t lynch me, they didn’t set dogs on me, they didn’t take my nationality, they didn’t rape and kill my mother and father ... Why kill them? How can I shoot these poor people? Better send me to jail, ”Ali said then.

Refusal to take the oath

At that time, Ali continued to actively perform and defend his champion titles. In the period from 1966 to 1967 he entered the ring seven times, but at first he preferred to fight outside the borders of his native country. First, he got the better of George Chuvalo in Canada, then spent two matches in the UK, in which he defeated Henry Cooper and Brian London. Then he performed in Germany, where he dealt with Karl Mildenberger, and only at the end of autumn 1966 he returned to the United States.

From November to March, he added three more fights to his collection, in the last of which he knocked out Zora Folly in the seventh round. As it turned out, this battle was the last for Muhammad in this decade.

Gradually, Ali increasingly began to ask about military service, and on April 28 he arrived at the US Armed Forces call center in Houston to take the oath. But at that moment when Muhammad was asked to fail, he refused to do so. At first they thought that the athlete stayed in the line because he was named Cassius Clay (Ali's name before the adoption of Islam. - RT ). But he did not respond to his new name.

As Ali later recalled in his autobiography, he was taken to a separate room and explained that in case of refusal to take the oath he would face up to five years in prison and a substantial fine. After that, the athlete returned to duty, but after the next announcement of his name, he did not react again. The boxer was threatened with detention, but he managed to escape punishment. In an explanatory note, he indicated that he was a Muslim preacher, as a result of which he refused to serve in the army. On the same day, Mohammed was released home.

“By virtue of my worldview as a Muslim preacher and my personal beliefs, I decided to refuse to serve in the army ... I believe that by agreeing to serve, I will not be able to stay true to my beliefs,” Ali said.

But if the athlete managed to maintain freedom for a while, his career was in jeopardy. After Ali refused to join the US Army, the New York State Athletic Commission stripped him of his boxing license, and the World Boxing Association (WBA) lost his championship title. In addition, he continued to face a real sentence for avoiding military service.

Defeat in court and support for Fraser

On June 20, 1967, a trial was held in Houston in the Ali case. The decision was announced on the same day and was of an indictable nature. He was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $ 10 thousand. Subsequently, he appealed, but it was rejected, and hearings on his case continued in the US Supreme Court.

As a result, the trial of Ali lasted several years, he could not speak in a professional ring, and consequently, receive fees. Certainly, his situation cannot be called disastrous, because by that moment he had already managed to make good money, but the funds were running out quickly. Not even a great help was the game in the Broadway musical and the release of his own greatest autobiography, The Greatest. In a difficult moment, he came to the rescue of someone who would later become his main opponent.

“When Ali lost his license and was suspended for three years, Fraser supported him. Joe was sympathetic and understood that he was doing this in the name of religion, ”said Fraser team member Dave Woolf.

Fraser helped his colleague not only mentally, but also financially. As another man from his team, Butch Lewis, once said that he witnessed how Joe transferred money to Muhammad.

“For some reason, Joe and I went to New York. Muhammad then lived in Sheraton, across the road. We got into a limousine and took it. Then everything was something like this. I am sitting in a limousine: Fraser on the one hand, Ali on the other. They called each other champions. I take the money and, of course, I do not try to give it to Ali, but I pretend that it is a loan, and put it in his breast pocket. Fraser says: “Just tell me how I can help you until you get the license back. All this will remain between us - in this limousine, ”said Lewis.

Change court ruling and new fights

Despite the lack of a license, in 1970, Ali still made a return to the professional ring. It took place in Atlanta three years after the battle with Folly, and the fact that there was no athletic commission in Georgia helped the boxer. The license was given to him by the authorities of Atlanta, and the young Jerry Quarry became the rival of Muhammad. The duel lasted only three rounds. In the last of them, the rival of the Greatest bleeding opened, as a result of which the referee decided to stop the fight.

After a month and a half, Ali again entered the ring, moreover, at Madison Square Garden. The US Federal Court ruled that the State Athletic Commission (NSAC) did not have the right to revoke the boxer's license for the duration of the appeal, again allowing him to compete in New York City.

The athlete took this opportunity and won the vacant world title according to the North American Boxing Federation. In the 15th round, he knocked out the Argentinean Oscar Bonaven and challenged Fraser. At this point, Muhammad was already conducting an active campaign against Joe, regularly insulting and humiliating the current owner of the belt.

And already on June 28, 1971, the US Supreme Court decided to cancel the guilty verdict against Ali.