Why did Muhammad Ali changed his name from Cassius?
When Muhammad Ali was born, his parents named him after the Egyptian warlord and early Pharaoh, King of Ancient Egypt, named, who they were following. However, when Ali was four years old, his father, Cassius Clay, left his family for another woman. This left his mother to raise six children as single parent. So to prevent his siblings from being mistreated by their father, she changed the clan name from Clay to Ali.
Why did Muhammad Ali change his name to Cassius Clay?
Growing up, Cassius Clay often found himself in trouble with his parents. Cassius’ father, John Clay, was an abusive alcoholic who beat his son for the slightest infraction. Fortunately, Cassius had an uncle who was a minister and often had to speak on his behalf at court. This uncle spoke highly of Cassius’ boxing skills and encouraged him to train and compete in an effort to gain some independence from his abusive father.
Why did Muhammad Ali change his name back to Cassius X
After Ali lost the heavyweight title to Joe Frazier in the Thrilla in Manila, the United States Congress officially stripped him of his title and made it impossible for him to box in the United States. Ali chose to return to his birth name after being drawn back to the religion of his father. He was baptized as a Baptist at the age of 22. Ali felt his commitment to Islam would protect him from the wrath of the white America.
Why did Muhammad Ali change his name back to Cassius Clay?
Clay was asked to change his name after he won the heavyweight championship in 1964. While his boxing career was very successful, he did not want to be remembered for his boxing wins alone. Ali spoke of the discrimination he faced for his Muslim beliefs and wanted to still be recognized as Cassius Clay, the name of his high school.
Why did Muhammad Ali change his name to Cassius X?
In 1964, Ali registered with the State of Michigan as Cassius Clay. At that time, the State of Michigan did not allow people to use the same name for all three of their official records: birth, marriage, and death. So Ali legally changed his name to Cassius Clay in order to match the name on his birth certificate. However, five years later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states had to allow people to use the same name for all three official records. So