Born Cassius Clay in Louisville on January 17, 1942, he rose to notoriety after winning a gold medal as a light-heavyweight at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games. Shortly after defeating Sonny Liston for his first heavyweight title at 22, Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali following his conversion to Islam. He went on to recaputure the world heavweight title in 1974 and '78 before retiring with a 56-5 record with 37 career knockouts.