8 Ways Muhammad Ali Changed the World (2025)

2. … and he turned the “rope-a-dope” into a secret weapon

A master of wordplay, Ali coined the term “rope-a-dope” to describe his sneaky and highly effective tactic, which he mastered to its fullest effect during the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), opposite George Foreman. Ali would rest his body on the ropes, allowing Foreman to get in a barrage of blows, and use the ropes’ elasticity to absorb most of the energy from the strikes. His opponent would eventually tire himself out, throwing punch after punch after punch, leaving Ali to go in for the knockout. Even though Ali was seven years older than Foreman and considered an underdog, he won by knockout in the eighth round. The upset victory has been called one of the great sports moments of the 20th century, and the rope-a-dope technique has gone on to be used successfully by other boxers, such as Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

3. He made the American public think about race in a new way

On the night of Feb. 25, 1964, Malcolm X watched ringside as Cassius Clay trounced Sonny Liston to be named the world heavyweight champion for the first of three times. The next day, at a news conference, Clay announced that he would be changing his name to Cassius X — an homage to his mentor and friend and a rejection of the white name that had been passed down to him. Weeks later, he officially made the switch to Muhammad Ali. “Cassius Clay is a slave name,” he said. “I didn't choose it, and I don't want it. I am Muhammad Ali, a free name. It means ‘beloved of God,’ and I insist people use it when people speak to me."

4. He was one of the first professional athletes to put politics before sports

Decades before NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a stand for racial justice by kneeling during the national anthem, Ali also saw his career suffer for his beliefs. On April 28, 1967, he refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army, citing his Muslim faith and his unwillingness to fight underprivileged people on the other side of the world. “It is in the light of my consciousness as a Muslim minister and my own personal convictions that I take my stand in rejecting the call to be inducted,” he said at the time. “I find I cannot be true to my beliefs in my religion by accepting such a call.” Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title, and in June of that year, he was convicted of draft evasion, which came with a $10,000 fine, a five-year prison sentence and a three-year ban from the sport of boxing. The appeals process kept him out of jail, but he didn't return to the ring until Oct. 26, 1970. The Supreme Court later overturned the conviction in 1971.

5. He was a genius at using the media

Brash, charming, braggadocious and funny, Ali was a media darling from the start of his career. He made an art out of trash talk, spinning unflattering nicknames for his opponents and inventing digestible narratives that raised his bouts to the level of tall tales and myths. “He's too ugly to be world champion,” he said, before his 1964 title challenge against Liston. “The world champ should be pretty like me!” He dubbed himself “the king of the world,” “the prettiest thing that ever lived” and “the greatest” and journalists breathlessly covered every news conference, controversy, fight and political move. One of the most photographed athletes in history, Ali appeared on the cover ofSports Illustrated40 times, bested only by Michael Jordan, 58.