Ali

In 1964, a brash new pro boxer, fresh from his olympic gold medal victory, explodes on to the scene: Cassius Clay. Bold and outspoken, he cuts an entirely new image for African American's in sport with his proud public self confidence and his unapologetic belief that he is the greatest boxer of all time.

Will Smith offered some insight on Muhammad Ali – having spent time with the boxing champion during the shooting of Ali, directed by Michael Mann – when he spoke to the journalists of the Hollywood Foreign Press on the set in Miami in 2001, then in Los Angeles a few weeks before the film’s release. “Three or four days out of the month, Ali will come and hang out on the set, and he seems to be very happy up to this point.

Muhammad Ali, a giant of boxing and a 20th century icon, has died of pulmonary complications from Parkinson’s disease in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the age of 74. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, Ali is considered the most important professional boxer in the heavyweight category, having been named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated.