The Fight That Shook Up the World! Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay, Jr.
LIFE Magazine, March 6, 1964
From the Muhammad Ali Center's original collection, 2005.
The Announcement
Although the previous months of Muhammad Ali's career were full of excitement--entertaining the press, reciting poems about Sonny Liston, and creating spectacles for the purpose of self-promotion--his demeanor in the days after the fight was starkly different.
The new Heavyweight Champion of the World took to the podium at a press conference to answer questions about his upset victory with a solemn expression and few words. This, naturally, confused reporters, as this was not the Ali they had come to know. The champion seemed to stir at one reporter's question, however: "Are you a card-carrying member of the Black Muslims?"
Ali stared incredulously at the reporter and answered with his own question, "Card carrying; what does that mean? I believe in Allah and in peace. I don't try to move into white neighborhoods. I don't want to marry a white woman. I was baptized when I was twelve, but I didn't know what I was doing. I'm not a Christian anymore. I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want."
Cassius Clay, Jr. was now Cassius X. Then, on March 6, 1964, Cassius X would become Muhammad Ali.
