Andre Agassi

. He has nine children: Maryum, Rasheeda, Jamillah, Hana, Laila, Khaliah, Miya, Muhammad Junior and Asaad. Their daughter, Jaz Elle, was born on October 3, 2003. His current wife Lonnie Williams (his fourth) is also from Louisville. Their son, Jaden Gil, was born 6 weeks prematurely on October 26. Muhammad Ali currently lives in Michigan. With only their mothers as witnesses, they were married at his home on October 22, 2001. In addition to displaying his boxing memorabilia, the center will focus on core themes of peace, social responsibility, respect, and personal growth.

By the time the divorce was final, Agassi was dating Steffi Graf. The $60 million Muhammad Ali Center is scheduled to open in downtown Louisville, Kentucky in the Fall of 2005. Agassi filed for divorce, which was granted on April 9, 1999. and all that.". The case was dismissed, but the headlines were indicative of the union. hard.. That February, they had filed suit against The National Enquirer claiming it printed "false and fabricated" statements: Brooke was undergoing counseling, binge-eating and taking pills; Agassi "lashed into" Brooke and he and Brooke's mother "tangled like wildcats" when she demanded a prenup. Get hit in the breast..

After a four-year courtship, Agassi married Brooke Shields in a lavish ceremony on April 19, 1997. the body's not made to be punched right here [patting his chest].
. His daughter Laila Ali also became a boxer in 1999 despite her father's earlier comments against female boxing in 1978: "Women are not made to be hit in the breast, and face like that..
. He had supposedly thrown the previous one, won in 1960, into the Ohio River after being refused entry to a restaurant, confirming his own suspicions that even with a gold medal, he would not be treated any different in the South.
. At the same Olympics, Ali was also presented with a replacement gold medal.

As of 2005, Agassi is the oldest active singles player on the ATP Tour. In 1996, he had the honor of lighting the Olympic flame in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to this, Agassi also earns over $25 Million a year through endorsements, the most by a tennis player and fourth in all sports (1st place is Tiger Woods at $70 Million/year). In 1985, he was called on to negotiate for the release of kidnapped Americans in Lebanon. Agassi has earned over $25 Million throughout his career, second only to Pete Sampras. Despite this, he remains a hero to millions around the world. In 1992, Andre was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award. Ali was diagnosed with Pugilistic Parkinson's syndrome in 1982, following which his motor functions began a slow decline.

Agassi has represented the USA in Davis Cup play many times, compiling a lifetime record of 30-6 in 22 tries. Ali punched to the head much more than most boxers—a high-risk strategy since, over the duration of a long fight, punches to the body can be much more effective in tiring an opponent out. He won the tennis singles event at Atlanta in 1996. Instead, he relied on his extraordinary reflexes and reach (83 inches) to keep him away from his opponents' blows. He also became the first male tennis player to win all four Grand Slams and an Olympic gold medal. He carried his hands at his sides rather than the orthodox boxing style of carrying the hands high to defend the face. (The previous players had won the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open on grass courts and Roland Garros on clay.) Agassi won the Australian Open on Rebound Ace, Roland Garros on clay, Wimbledon on grass, and the US Open on hard court. Ali had a highly unorthodox style for a heavyweight boxer.

Even more impressive, he is the first male tennis player to win Grand Slams on four different surfaces. Following this loss, Ali retired permanently in 1981 with a career record of 56 wins, 37 by knockout, against 5 losses. Agassi is one of only five male players to have won all the Grand Slam tournaments in a career, along with Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and Fred Perry. Although Ali performed marginally better against Berbick than he had against Holmes fourteen months earlier, he still lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Berbick, who at 27 was twelve years younger. He was the target of one of the fastest serves recorded, a 149-mph (240 km/h) blast from Andy Roddick—and returned it into play. Compared to the mega-fights Ali fought in widely known venues earlier in his career, the match took place in virtual obscurity in Nassau. Most agree that Agassi is the best serve returner in the history of professional tennis. On December 11, 1981, he fought rising contender and future world champion Trevor Berbick, in what was billed as "The Drama in the Bahamas." Because Ali was widely viewed as a damaged fighter, few American venues expressed much interest in hosting the bout, and few fans expressed much interest in attending or watching it.

His serve is slightly above-average at best among the top players on the men's tour (due to his lack of speed but good placement), but his return-of-serve is his claim to fame. Despite the apparent finality of his loss to Holmes and his increasingly suspect medical condition, Ali would fight one more time. However, he often makes contact with the ball inside the baseline, unlike most baseliners, who make 4-8 feet behind the baseline their home. However, Don King withheld this report and allowed the fight to go on. Agassi keeps in exceptional shape and can outlast most players over the course of a long match, even the best counterpunchers. He typically employs a baseline style of play, rarely serving-and-volleying. The exam revealed he actually had a hole in the membrane of his brain. After winning a match, he bows and blows a two-handed kiss to the spectators on each side of the court, a gesture most take as a rather humble acknowledgment of their support for him and for tennis. He admitted to tingling in his hands and slurring of his speech.

Perhaps most remarkably, he has emerged as a gracious and thoughtful athlete, something of an elder statesman. It was revealed after the fight that Ali had an examination at the Mayo Clinic and the results were shocking. Agassi rededicated himself to tennis: he shaved his balding head, began a rigorous conditioning program, and worked his way back to the ATP by playing Challenger Tournaments, a circuit for pros ranked 50th and lower. Holmes was Ali's sparring partner when Holmes was a budding fighter; thus, some viewed the result of the fight as a symbolic "passing of the torch." Holmes even admitted later that, although he dominated the fight, he held his punches back a bit out of sheer respect for his idol and former employer. "Image is everything" was the ads's tag line, and it became Agassi's as well, but by November 1997, his ranking had plunged to 141. The Holmes fight, promoted as "The Last Hurrah", was a fight many fans and experts view with disdain because of what many viewed as a "deteriorated version" of Ali. He boasted of a cheeseburger-heavy diet and endorsed the Canon Rebel camera. Looking to set another record, as the first boxer to win the Heavyweight title four times, he lost by technical knockout in round eleven, when Dundee would not let him come out for the round.

He grew his hair to rock-star length, sported an earring, and wore colorful shirts that pushed tennis' still-strict sartorial boundaries. That retirement was short-lived, however, and on October 2, 1980, he challenged Larry Holmes for the WBC's version of the world Heavyweight title. As a youngster, Agassi embraced a rebel image. Then on June 27, 1979, he announced his retirement and vacated the title. Few athletes have so completely overhauled their public persona. He defeated Spinks in a rematch, becoming the heavyweight champion for the record third time. He surpassed $2 million in career prize money in December 1988 after just 43 tournaments -- the quickest player in history to do so. He would retain his title until a 1978 loss to 1976 Olympic champion Leon Spinks, who was fighting in only his eighth professional fight.

When he was 14, Andre was shipped off to teaching guru Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy in Florida, and turned pro when he was 16. Once again, the champion won a widely debated decision. Andre's sister, Rita, finally rebelled and moved in with, and later married, Pancho Gonzalez (their son, Skylar, played on Bishop-Gorman High School's tennis team). In September, Ali faced Ken Norton in their third fight held at Yankee Stadium. Mike had Andre practice with Ilie Nastase and Jimmy Connors. Even Ali's loyal trainer Angelo Dundee said this was his worst performance in the ring. Growing up, Andre and his siblings had to hit 3,000 balls every day, seven days a week. Many who scored the fight at ringside thought Young deserved the decision.

He hung tennis balls over Andre's crib, and gave him a full-sized racket at age 2. Ali was awarded a unanimous decision, but it was widely booed by the crowd. Mike Agassi was a tennis fanatic, to put it nicely, determined to turn at least one of his four children into a world-class player. Ali was heavy and out of shape, refusing to take the young challenger seriously. His father, Emmanuel "Mike" Agassi, was a boxer for Iran in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics before emigrating to the U.S. On April 30, 1976 Ali faced Jimmy Young in Landover, Maryland and many regard this as his worst fight. Agassi, an ethnic Armenian & Assyrian, was born and raised in Las Vegas, and lives there when not on tour. 1976 saw him knock out two largely unknown opponents, Belgian stonecutter Jean-Pierre Coopman and English boxer Richard Dunn.

He is a former World No. 1 in the ATP rankings. Many felt Ali should have retired after this fight, however he continued to box. As of 2005, he has won over $29 million in prize money. Ring Magazine called this bout 1975's Fight of the Year, the fifth year an Ali fight had earned that distinction. He has fifty nine career singles titles including eight Grand Slam titles. Along with the "Rumble", his fights with Frazier are widely considered among the greatest in boxing history. Andre Kirk Agassi (born April 29, 1970, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA) is an American professional tennis player (1986-). After 14 grueling rounds, Frazier's trainer Eddie Futch refused to allow Frazier to continue, and Ali left the winner by TKO.

Australian Open 2005 4th Round: defeated Joachim Johansson 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 despite being aced 51 times, a world record. This fight surpassed their earlier bouts and became one of the most well-known heavyweight fights ever. Open 2002 Final: lost to Pete Sampras, 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, in what turned out to be Sampras' last competitive match. In 1975, Ali defeated Joe Frazier once more in the Thrilla In Manila in the Philippines. U.S. As a result of this fight, he was awarded the 1974 Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year and Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award. Open 2001 Quarter-final: lost to Pete Sampras, 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, despite not losing a service game. Foreman kept advancing, but his blows were much less effective, and near the end of the eighth, Ali's right hand finally sent the exhausted Foreman to the floor.

U.S. By the end of the sixth round, Foreman had punched himself out, and Ali was able to attack a little more. Australian Open 2000 Semi-final: defeated Pete Sampras, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-1, en route to his second Australian Open championship. The fight was held in Zaire and promoted by Don King as "The Rumble in the Jungle." In the October 30, 1974 bout that would cement his reputation as "The Greatest", Ali boxed his best tactical fight. Leading with his "wrong" hand and playing "rope-a-dope" by leaning far back on the ropes (that had supposedly been loosened by Dundee), Ali absorbed everything Foreman could throw at him, whilst only occasionally throwing counter-punches. Open final 1999: defeated Todd Martin 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2, in another come-from-behind thriller. Foreman was the heavy favorite. U.S. The incumbent, George Foreman, was a large, hard-hitting, undefeated young fighter who had previously demolished Frazier, KO'ing him in the second round of their championship fight.

French Open final 1999: defeated Andrei Medvedev 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, in a spectacular come-from-behind victory to complete his career Grand Slam. He began to study the Qur'an and converted to Sunni Islam, rejecting the teachings of the Nation of Islam. Wimbledon semi-final 1998: lost to Patrick Rafter, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, in a tense five-set match. Ali's religious views also changed with time. Wimbledon final 1992: defeated Goran Ivanisevic, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 for his first Grand Slam win and only Wimbledon championship. Ali split two bouts with Ken Norton before beating Frazier on points in their 1974 rematch to earn another title shot. French Open final 1990: lost to Andrés Gómez, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, in his first Grand Slam final. The fight lived up to the hype, and Frazier punctuated his victory by flooring Ali with a hard left hook in the final round.

This fight, known simply as "The Fight," was perhaps one of the most famous and eagerly anticipated bouts of all time, since it featured two skilled, undefeated fighters, both of whom had reasonable claims to the heavyweight crown. In 1970, granted a license to box once more following his Supreme Court victory wherein he was granted his right to refuse military service, he began a comeback. But he suffered a setback when he lost his 1971 title fight, a bruising 15-round encounter with Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden. Ali seemed at times to even provoke such reactions, with viewpoints that wavered from support for civil rights to outright support of racial separatism. Appearing at rallies with Nation of Islam leaders Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X and declaring his allegiance to them at a time when mainstream America viewed them with suspicion—if not actual hostility—made Ali a target of outrage and suspicion as well.

Ali's actions in refusing military service and aligning himself with the Nation of Islam made him a lightning rod of controversy, turning the outspoken but popular former champion into one of that era's most recognizable and controversial figures. The sentence was overturned on appeal three years later. It was in this same year he refused to serve in the American army during the Vietnam War as a conscientious objector, famously saying that he "got nothing against no Viet Cong" and "No Vietnamese ever called me a nigger." He was stripped of his championship belt and his license to box and sentenced to five years in prison. He knocked out the challenger in Round 7.

He showed what a breathtaking fighter he was by throwing every punch sharply and on target. He kept taunting the challenger throughout the fight and many called his treatment cruel and brutal. Ali's fight with the 35 year old Folley is regarded by many as his finest performance in the ring. Even though the fight went to a decision, Ali delivered a horrible beating and won every round. Terrell had refused to acknowledge Ali's name and the champ vowed to punish him for this perceived insolence.

In February and March of 1967, Ali faced Ernie Terrell in the Astrodome and Zora Folley at Madison Square Garden. Many felt he would give the champion a tough battle, however Ali easily knocked him out in the third round. Williams had one of the highest knockout percentages in history and has often been ranked as one of the finest fighters who never won a title. In November 1966, Ali returned to the United States to face Cleveland "Big Cat" Williams in the Houston Astrodome.

In one of his tougher fights, Ali finally won by knockout in Round 12. He traveled to Germany next to face southpaw Karl Mildenberger (who was the first German to fight for the title since Max Schmeling). Ali won both fights by knockout. Ali then traveled to England to face "British Bulldog" Brian London and Henry Cooper (who had knocked him down in their initial 1963 match).

No other champion has had that many defenses in only a year. In March 1966, he won a unanimous decision over tough Canadian champion George Chuvalo (who was never knocked down in his career). In a period of a year he defended his title seven times. 1966 and early 1967 were a busy time for the champion. In between the two matches, he also became famous for other reasons: he joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali, although only a few journalists (most notably Howard Cosell) accepted it.

The referee stopped the fight in Round 12 after Patterson had taken a horrible beating. That November, Clay met and defeated former champion Floyd Patterson. He would reconfirm his abilities when he knocked out Liston in the first round of their rematch in Lewiston, Maine on May 25, 1965, albeit controversially, as few observers saw the "phantom punch" that floored Liston. Clay was duly crowned the heavyweight champion of the world.

Clay leapt out of his corner, proclaiming himself "King of the World" and demanding the writers eat their words. That came before the seventh, when Liston retired on his stool, later claiming his shoulder had become dislocated. Partially sighted, Clay was able to keep out of range, and by the fifth and into the sixth, he was looking for a finish. It is unknown whether this was something used to close Liston's cuts or applied to Liston's gloves for a nefarious purpose.

Liston regained some ground in the fourth, as Clay was blinded by a foreign substance. By the third, Clay was clearly on top and had opened a large cut under Liston's eye. As early as the third round, Liston began to visibly tire, and Clay took full advantage, landing several heavy punches. In the opening rounds, Clay's speed, greater even than his idols, Sugar Ray Robinson and Archie Moore, kept him away from Liston's powerful head and body shots, as he used his height and reach advantage to effectively counterpunch with the jab.

Misreading Clay's exuberance as nervousness, Liston was over-confident and unprepared for any result but a quick stoppage. Clay, however, had a plan. The date was fixed for February 25, 1964; during the weigh-in, the boisterous Ali declared that he would "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." [1] (http://www.jamescampion.com/ncnali.html). Almost no one gave the young boxer a chance of beating Liston.

Liston was greatly feared, and some have said that he was the Mike Tyson of his era. Cassius became the number one contender for Sonny Liston's title. Among Clay's more impressive victories were against Sonny Banks (who knocked him down earlier in the bout), Alejandro Lavorante, and Archie Moore (a boxing legend who had won over 200 previous fights). He defeated such boxers as Tony Esperti, Jim Robinson, Donnie Fleeman, Duke Sabedong, Alonzo Johnson, George Logan, Willi Besmanoff, and Lamar Clark (who had won his previous 40 bouts by knockout).

From 1960 to 1963, the young fighter amassed a record of 19-0 with 15 knockouts. He won a six-round decision over Tunney Hunsaker, who was the police chief of Fayetteville, West Virginia. In Louisville on October 29, 1960 Cassius Clay won his first professional fight. He boisterously sang his own praises, with sayings like "I am the greatest" and "I'm young, I'm pretty, I'm fast, and no one can beat me.".

He made a name for himself as the "Louisville Slugger" by composing poems predicting in which round he would knock out his opponent. He then turned professional under the tutelage of boxing legend Angelo Dundee and quickly became famous for his unorthodox style, his spectacular results, and his tireless self-promotion (the latter inspired in part by professional wrestler Gorgeous George and singer Little Richard). At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, he won a gold medal as a light heavyweight boxer. Presciently, his principal announced during a staff meeting about the issue that Clay would someday be "this school's claim to fame." Clay later joked about his lackluster academic record saying, "I said I was the Greatest, not the smartest.".

A low achiever academically, Clay won six Kentucky Gold Gloves while at high school and was allowed to graduate despite his poor grades. Martin suggested that Clay learn to fight; under his guidance, Clay rapidly advanced through the youth ranks. At age 12, he had his bicycle stolen, and reported the fact to a local policeman (and boxing trainer), Joe Martin. Clay, was born in Louisville, Kentucky.

Clay, named after his father and Kentucky abolitionist Cassius M. He is also considered by many to be one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century. He was one of the world's greatest heavyweight boxers, as well as one of the world's most famous individuals, renowned the world over for his boxing and political activism. Muhammad Ali-Haj (born January 17, 1942 as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.) is an American boxer.

I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali, an animated television series. When We Were Kings (filmed 1974, released 1996, documentary about the "Rumble in the Jungle" by filmmaker Leon Gast.). Ali (2001, directed by Michael Mann, starring Will Smith). The Greatest (1977, starring Ali as himself).

King Of The World, by David Remnick — An account of Ali's rise to greatness, focusing on the two fights with Sonny Liston. ISBN 0071395881. Sting Like a Bee, by Jose Torres (with significant contributions from Bert Randolph Sugar and Norman Mailer). Ali also refereed the main event at Wrestlemania I in 1985.

The match was declared a draw. wrestler match against Antonio Inoki in June 1976 in Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Ali had a boxer vs.