*Ali's Little known brother
RAHAMAN Ali tossed around a handful
of titles for his autobiography but there was only one he felt truly
summed up his life: “That’s Muhammad Ali’s brother”.
It’s how he’s been introduced since the day his older sibling
became one of the greatest sportsmen in history and one of the most
recognisable people on the planet.
Rahaman has spent his whole
life in the shadows, always the undercard. But few people know he was
also a remarkable boxing talent. One of those people, Ron Brashear, the
co-author of his newly-released book, told
Ring Magazine Rahaman
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*Muhammad and Rahman Ali when they were known as Cassius and Rudolph Clay: Getty Images
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could have also achieved greatness.
“I
have no doubt had he not sacrificed to be sparring partner and
bodyguard for Muhammad, he could have been the heavyweight champion,”
Brashear said.
But he didn’t. He was destined to play second fiddle from the moment he entered this world.
Rahaman Ali was born Rudolph Arnett Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, on
July 18, 1943, almost exactly 18 months after his older brother,
Cassius. It was Cassius who was given the name of the boy’s father and
it was Cassius who ruled the roost when the boys played in their yard.
“Cassius
would always say that he had to be the cowboy and for me to be the
Indian,” writes Rahaman in his book, noting the start of a pattern which
would continue from that point on. “Even at this early age in our
lives, my brother and I were very competitive, and Cassius definitely
wanted to win in whatever game or competition we were playing.”
The
two joined a local boxing club in the early 1950s after Cassius
famously had his bicycle stolen. A local police officer, Joe Martin,
told Cassius he better learn how to fight if he was going to “whup” the
thief. It wasn’t long before his ambition grew much larger than just
dealing with a petty criminal.
“I was 10 when we started boxing,
he was 12 years old,” Rahaman told voicetribune.com in 2013. “He said
then ... ‘Rudy, I’m going to be world champion, heavyweight champion of
the world’.”
Rudolph had his own ideas of boxing stardom. While
Cassius was undoubtedly the superior talent and would cap his amateur
career with a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics, Rudolph also showed elite
ability. He didn’t “float” quite like his brother, but he also liked to
bounce around on his toes and work behind a strong jab. As you can see
in the video below, he did his best to grab a bit of the spotlight when
Cassius allowed it.
Rudolph won 77 of 83 amateur fights before winning his first
professional fight against Chip Johnson at the Convention Centre in
Miami Beach on February 25, 1964. There was another fight on at the same
venue later that night that got a little more attention — Ali’s victory
against Sonny Liston which saw him become heavyweight champion of the
world.
It was following this fight the brothers converted to Islam and changed their names to Rahaman and Muhammad.
Muhammad’s
career obviously became the priority and Rahaman only fought four times
in the next two years, winning all four. He also stopped fighting in
the late 1960s when Muhammad was exiled for refusing to be inducted into
the armed forces during the Vietnam War.
The brothers returned to
the ring with wins in Atlnata in late 1970 — Muhammad against Jerry
Quarry and Rahaman on the undercard against Hurricane Grant.
But
it was the following year at Madison Square Garden — the night Ali lost
the first of three battles with Joe Frazier — Rahaman’s career reached a
turning point. He took a big step up in class by fighting future
British heavyweight champion Danny McAlinden and lost a six-round points
decision.
Despite recovering to reel off seven consecutive wins during the rest
of a busy 1971, he called it quits in 1972 after being knocked out for
the first time at the hands of California state champion Jack
O’Halloran. His record was 14 wins, three losses and one draw.
By
that point Muhammad was charting a path back to the heavyweight
championship. He would eventually reclaim the belt against George
Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Africa in 1974. Rahaman was by
his side all the way.
“Rahaman sparred with Muhammad all the time
during those years and kept him going,” Muhammad’s former business
manager, Gene Kilroy, wrote in the foreword of Rahaman’s book. “I
remember in the training camp, Rahaman was the best sparring partner
that Muhammad Ali ever had. He wouldn’t take it easy on him. He would
keep coming. Muhammad Ali would say to him, “Fool, back off!” and
Rahaman would respond by saying, “No, I am going to get you ready, and
you are going to win this fight. I am not backing off because the guy
you are fighting isn’t backing off’.”
Kilroy wrote how Muhammad benefited from how strong Rahaman was.
“Rahaman
told me a story about his dad being under a car, fixing it, and the car
caved in on him,” he wrote. “Rahaman picked the car up from the rear,
and his father was able to get out from under the car. That was
miraculous that Rahaman could do that. Where did he get that strength
from?”
As Ali’s fame reached new heights, his bond with his brother never
weakened. His battle with Parkinson’s has made keeping in touch
difficult in recent years and Rahaman, now 71, is dealing with his own
health troubles, revealing he’s had “at least 15 ministrokes” that he’s
aware of.
But despite living in his brother’s shadow his whole life he says he wouldn’t change a thing.
“Am
I disappointed by this happening?,” he poses in his book. “Absolutely
not. Am I bitter by this happening? Absolutely not. To the contrary, I
always have and continue to be in awe and proud of the fact that I am
Muhammad Ali’s brother.”
In fact,
according to Woods he plans to have “That’s Muhammad Ali’s Brother” written on his tombstone when he dies.
Eagles Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, has given all the 15 invited foreign
based players for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Chad June 3
deadline to report to camp.
