问及死后希望如何为人们铭记自己时，阿里说了一下这番话：“我希望人们记住，我从未出卖支持我的人民。倘若这要求有点高，那记住我是个好拳手就行了。如果你压根不提我有多么可爱，我对此也不会介意。”

Ali turned professional immediately after the Rome Olympics and rose through the heavyweight ranks, delighting crowds with his showboating, shuffling feet and lightning reflexes.

阿里在罗马奥运会后转战职业拳坛，在重量级比赛所向披靡。阿里爱炫耀的个性，游刃有余的步伐和闪电般的反应深深折服了观众。

British champion Henry Cooper came close to stopping Clay, as he was still known, when they met in a non-title bout in London in 1963.

1963年，英国冠军亨利·库珀曾险些将阿里斩落马下，当时两人在伦敦举行的一场普通比赛中进行交锋。

Cooper floored the American with a left hook, but Clay picked himself up off the canvas and won the fight in the next round when a severe cut around Cooper’s left eye forced the Englishman to retire.

库珀曾以一记左勾拳击倒对手，而阿里顽强地站了站了起来，下一轮，库珀眼角遭到重创，不得不选择退赛，阿里成为了赢家。

In February the following year, Clay stunned the boxing world by winning his first world heavyweight title at the age of 22.

1964年2月，刚刚22岁的阿里赢得了世界重量级拳王称号，举世震惊。

He predicted he would beat Liston, who had never lost, but few believed he could do it.

利斯顿此前保持着全胜战绩，阿里预测自己将打破利斯顿的不败金身，当时几乎无人相信他能做到这一点。

Yet, after six stunning rounds, Liston quit on his stool, unable to cope with his brash, young opponent.

然而6轮过后，面对气势正盛的年轻阿里，利斯顿毫无招架之力，瘫坐在凳子上，选择了退赛。

At the time of his first fight with Liston, Clay was already involved with the Nation of Islam, a religious movement whose stated goals were to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African Americans in the United States.

在与利斯顿首次交战时，阿里已经加入了“伊斯兰民族”运动。这项宗教运动的宗旨在于提升非裔美国人的精神，思想，社会和经济条件。