On Tuesday, January 17 boxer Mohammed Ali (Cassius Marcellus Clay) was 70 years old.

Muhammad Ali was a popular figure not only because of the victories in the ring, but also because of their social position. He refused to serve in the army, and opposed the Vietnam War, for which he was excommunicated for a few years from a large box.

He spoke out against racism in the U.S. and in its wake came the organization of the “Black Muslims”, followers of the struggle against white domination. Thanks to all that he became not only the enemy of the American authorities, but also a friend of the USSR. In 1978 came the Soviet Union, where he visited Muslim holy sites in Uzbekistan, held a demonstration battle with three of our boxers and went to the meeting with Leonid Brezhnev.

In 1981, Ali shall appear the first signs of Parkinson’s disease, severe disease of the central nervous system. And for 20 years it is difficult to move, speak. Doctors attribute this to his athletic career and the many missed punches in the ring. Ali’s daughter Laila, too, went to his father’s footsteps and also became a professional boxer.