Born Cassius Marcellus Clay in Louisville, Ky., on Jan. 17, 1942, Muhammad Ali eventually would become the most recognizable person on earth.

	When it comes to talking trash, Muhammad Ali was definitely "The Greatest."

Cassius Clay started fighting at the age of 12 and won two national Golden Gloves middleweight championships and an AAU national light-heavyweight title. Shortly after graduating from high school, he won the 1960 Olympic gold medal.

In 1964, at the age of 22, he captured the heavyweight championship from the much-feared and heavily favored Sonny Liston. The next morning, he stunned the world by confirming he had joined the Nation of Islam. A few weeks later, the sect's leader, Elijah Muhammad, gave Clay the Muslim name "Muhammad Ali."

Ali successfully defended his title seven more times until the spring of 1967, when he was stripped of the title for refusing to be inducted into the United States military.

He began fighting again in 1970, though the Supreme Court didn't reverse his conviction for draft evasion until 1971. By then, the heavyweight title belonged to Joe Frazier, and Ali challenged him for it at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971 in what was billed as "The Fight of the Century." Frazier retained his crown in a spectacular 15-round affair.

But Ali eventually regained his crown, defeating George Foreman in 1974's "Rumble in the Jungle," in Kinshasa, Zaire. He then scored a TKO over Joe Frazier in the classic "Thrilla in Manila" in October 1975.

Three years later, Ali lost his title when Leon Spinks, a 1976 Olympic gold medalist who had only seven fights as a pro, took a split decision. Ali regained the title from Spinks seven months later, winning a unanimous decision to become the first three-time heavyweight champion. Ali, with a 56-5 record, retired for good in 1981.

Unfortunately, all the punches he suffered had taken their toll. In 1984, he learned he had Parkinson's disease, a neurological syndrome characterized by tremors, rigidity of muscles and slowness of speech and movement. While the disease has left him a shadow of his former self, he still attempts to spread goodwill. Only now he does it with smiling eyes rather than his Louisville Lip.

At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Ali again stood alone in the spotlight. With the world watching, his hands trembling, he steadied them to light the flaming cauldron to signal the start of the Games. Tears were shed by many as the man whose beliefs had once divided a nation was now a unifying -- and beloved -- force.