Q 01/05

Under what name was Muhammad Ali born on January 17, 1942?

A) Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.

B) Walker Smith Jr.

C) Joseph Louis Barrow

D) Arnold Raymond Cream

Answer · why

A) Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.

His father was named after a 19th-century Kentucky abolitionist politician of the same name.

Q 02/05

In which city was Muhammad Ali born and raised?

A) Atlanta, Georgia

B) Memphis, Tennessee

C) Louisville, Kentucky

D) Detroit, Michigan

Answer · why

C) Louisville, Kentucky

The city's main airport was renamed Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in 2019.

Q 03/05

What childhood incident led the 12-year-old Ali to a boxing gym run by police officer Joe Martin?

A) His bicycle was stolen

B) He was beaten up at school

C) He won a fairground fight

D) His father sent him to lose weight

Answer · why

A) His bicycle was stolen

Fuming over the theft, he told Martin he wanted to whip the thief; Martin suggested he learn to fight first.

Q 04/05

At the 1960 Rome Olympics, the 18-year-old Clay won gold in which division?

A) Heavyweight

B) Light heavyweight

C) Middleweight

D) Welterweight

Answer · why

B) Light heavyweight

He turned professional later the same year, with an amateur record of 100 wins and 8 losses.

Q 05/05

What did Ali claim in his 1975 autobiography he did with his Olympic gold after a whites-only restaurant snub?

A) Mailed it back to the IOC

B) Threw it into the Ohio River

C) Melted it down

D) Buried it in his garden

Answer · why

B) Threw it into the Ohio River

Friends including Bundini Brown later disputed the tale; a biographer says he simply lost the medal a year after winning it.