Life In Muhammad Ali’s Shadow

*Rahaman

*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

*Muhammad and Rahman Ali when they were known as Cassius and Rudolph Clay: Getty Images

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.