Cassius Clay: The New Hot Shot in the Ring
In this November 1963 issue, an article titled "A Rueful Dream Come True” tells the events that led up to Cassius Clay’s (later changed his name to Muhammad Ali) first championship contention fight against Sonny Liston. Clay’s professional boxing career began in 1960 after a gold-medal win in the Olympics in Rome that same year. He took the boxing world by storm, not only for his numerous wins, but for the way he carried himself. He was arrogant and over-confident, but could always predict the defeat of his opponents. [1] Before he matched up against Liston, he had won “19 so-so fights,” none of which put him in the spotlight as Liston’s next opponent. [2] However, Clay was persistent, and demanded a chance to fight Liston. Author Huston Horn describes the aggression with which “Clay slapped down the pen in a Denver motel” after signing an agreement to fight Liston. [3] This aggression is used to characterize Clay’s persona in and out of the ring.
In this particular piece, the boxer’s personality establishes his masculinity and also identifies him as a brave, capable contender of the heavyweight championship of the world. The photo on the first page of the article shows Clay “Proclaiming his greatness”; unafraid and unashamed, he was known for boasting. His mouth is open, face pointed directly at his opponent (Liston) featured across on the next page. If one could paint a mental picture of the pre-fight conference, one would probably imagine this very image: two successful boxers “talking the talk” before the fight. Even though Liston is featured crying tears of laughter at his young opponent, Clay does not appear to be unnerved.
This zealous confidence appealed to the predominantly male boxing audience because it was an example of display of manhood. Clay was the epitome of masculinity: aggressive, physically strong, handsome and bold. His fans saw in Cassius Clay everything they hoped to be.
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1. "Muhammad Ali". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 02 Nov. 2016
<https://www.britannica.com/biography/Muhammad-Ali-boxer>.
2. 3. Huston Horn, "A Rueful Dream Come True," Sports Illustrated, November 18, 1963, 26.