{"id":294422,"date":"2025-11-20T01:12:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T01:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/294422\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T01:12:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T01:12:14","slug":"boxer-and-brother-of-muhammad-ali","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/294422\/","title":{"rendered":"Boxer and brother of Muhammad Ali"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rudolph Clay could have been a contender. His only problem was growing up with an older brother who already knew that he was \u201cthe Greatest\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sharing a room in a small pink house in Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius and Rudolph Clay wrestled like puppies, but when they played cowboys and Indians with their mother\u2019s broomsticks, Cassius was always the cowboy because \u201cthe cowboys were always portrayed as the good guys in the westerns and my brother always wanted to be the good guy\u201d.<\/p>\n

Aged five, Cassius was the archetypal Tom Sawyer or William Brown, \u201cstanding on a platform like a leader addressing the neighbourhood kids\u201d. Many of the brothers\u2019 games revolved around demonstrating Cassius\u2019s athletic prowess, such as the one where Rudolph threw rocks while he ducked, weaved and learnt to \u201cfloat like a butterfly\u201d. Rudolph would remain on what he called \u201cthe undercard\u201d for the rest of his brother\u2019s life as Muhammad Ali, the greatest boxer who ever lived.<\/p>\n

\"Cassius<\/p>\n

From left: Cassius celebrates a win in 1962 with Rudolph and the singer Lloyd Price<\/p>\n

STANLEY WESTON\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

Rudolph Arnett Clay was born in 1943, 18 months after his brother Cassius. His father, Cassius Sr, was a sign painter, who quickly renamed his second son Rudolph Valentino Clay after his favourite actor. Cassius Sr was also a talented artist and jazz lover who rattled out words with the kind of jive rhythm that would be Cassius Jr\u2019s ABC. Like Valentino, he was also something of a lothario. <\/p>\n

The more sensitive of the brothers, Cassius Jr would cover his face with a blanket while his father argued with his mother, Odessa, n\u00e9e O\u2019Grady, a cook and house cleaner of mixed race whose father was an Irish immigrant. Rudolph later said his brother \u201cinherited his sweet, giving nature\u201d from Odessa. Both brothers were expected to make their beds, look neat and tidy at all times and be home before dark on pain of their father\u2019s belt.<\/p>\n

Cassius took up pugilism aged 12 after tearfully discovering that his bicycle had been stolen. On asking for a police station to report the crime, the brothers were misdirected to a gymnasium. Rudolph recalled hearing the \u201cthwap thwap thwap\u201d of skipping ropes hitting the floor before they walked in.<\/p>\n

Rudolph recalled his brother was \u201cso enraptured by the sights, the smell, the vibe of the gym that he almost forgot about his bike\u201d. He watched Cassius\u2019s first 60 seconds in the ring with an older and more experienced boy, who picked him off easily, leaving him dazed and with a bloody nose. Yet the trainer Joe Martin saw something. \u201cThat first failed foray into the ring showed my brother\u2019s heart and zeal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rudolph also joined the gym, one of the few places where white and black people mixed in the segregated state, exchanging flying sweat as they learnt the sweet science. As teenagers, the brothers were well matched, Rudolph often coming out on top as they sparred.<\/p>\n

The difference was ambition. \u201cThe moment he walked into the gym, he knew he would be great,\u201d said Rudolph. \u201cHe said to me, \u2018I\u2019m going to be the greatest fighter that ever lived\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rudolph was less self-disciplined than Cassius, who \u201cswore off soda pop in pursuit of greatness. His passion exceeded mine and he was willing to make sacrifices to get there.\u201d While Cassius was racing the bus to school, Rudolph was on it charming the girls. \u201cI was more of a ladies\u2019 man than my brother,\u201d he said. \u201cI certainly started having girlfriends before he ever did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cassius may have been the class clown but he struggled with dyslexia. \u201cHe lacked confidence and was petrified of asking girls out. Some even perceived my brother as what you might call a nerd.\u201d Rudolph would \u201chang out\u201d with his girlfriend after a day at their segregated school in Louisville. Cassius would knock on the door and pretend that their mother wanted Rudolph. \u201cI fell for this scheme over and over.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1960 the 18-year-old Cassius won Olympic gold in Rome in the light heavyweight division. Rudolph recalled his brother dropping the medal into the Ohio river after being refused service in a Louisville restaurant. The story is disputed, but Rudolph claimed to have seen it \u201cwith my own eyes\u201d. The waitress said, \u201cWe don\u2019t serve Negroes\u201d. Cassius\u2019s reply was as quicksilver as his punches. \u201cI don\u2019t eat \u2019em either. Just serve me a cheeseburger.\u201d<\/p>\n

When his brother relocated to Miami to train with Angelo Dundee at the 5th Street Gym, Rudolph went with him. Rudolph fought more than 100 bouts as an amateur. Before Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston in Miami Beach in 1964 to fulfil his promise of winning the world heavyweight title, the younger brother won his first professional fight on the undercard. His opponent, Chip Johnson, was a competent and more experienced fighter. \u201cIt was a tough fight. I took some heavy shots.\u201d He later found out that his brother interrupted his preparation for his world title bout, sneaked out of his dressing room and watched the fight as the boos rang out: Cassius was initially perceived as a cocky upstart, known as the \u201cLouisville lip\u201d, and Rudolph was guilty by association. \u201cHe wanted me to prevail with as little damage as possible. That meant more to me than winning the fight. Knowing that my brother was more concerned for my wellbeing than his own on the most important night of his career.\u201d<\/p>\n

He then watched Cassius beat the highly favoured Liston to \u201cshake up the world\u201d. Back in the dressing room, Cassius told his brother to retire because he lacked his reflexes. But over an eight-year career Rahaman the younger brother would win 14 bouts, draw one and lose only three.<\/p>\n

\"Boxing<\/p>\n

Muhammad Ali with his father, Cassius Clay Sr, and his brother Rahaman Ali at a training camp in Miami Beach, Florida, 1971<\/p>\n

AP<\/p>\n

Rudolph followed his older brother into the Nation of Islam, the black separatist group, and consequently both changed their names in 1964: Cassius became Muhammad Ali, and Rudolph was renamed Rahaman Ali.<\/p>\n

Rahaman finally retired from the ring in 1972 after two successive defeats and settled on becoming a key member of Muhammad Ali\u2019s entourage as \u201cthe Champ\u201d \u2014 who lost his title after having his boxing licence revoked in 1967 on account of refusing to fight in Vietnam \u2014 fought his way back towards his second reign as heavyweight champion of the world from 1974, knocking out George Foreman in the eighth round of the \u201cRumble in the Jungle\u201d in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo).<\/p>\n

Muhammad Ali\u2019s life sped up to a pitch of insanity as the most famous living sportsman on the planet. Some felt that Rahaman\u2019s services bordered on slavish. For example, Muhammad did not wear a watch and relied on Rahaman to tell him the time, while \u201cthe Champ\u201d could summon his brother with a click of the tongue for any number of other tasks, from chauffeuring him to making his breakfast, all for a reported annual salary of $50,000.<\/p>\n

\"Muhammad<\/p>\n

Rahaman, left, with Muhammad and the boxing promoter Don King after Muhammad defeated Joe Frazier at the Thrilla in Manila, 1975<\/p>\n

GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

Rahaman himself regarded his principle role as minder, in a deeply divided country where Muhammad\u2019s outspoken statements on racial equality put him in as much danger of assassination as Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X and others. He hawkishly watched even those closest to his brother because of fears that Muhammad was under surveillance from the FBI, which was paying informers, though Rahaman always denied that Dundee was one of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy primary job was to keep my eyes on my brother. I did everything from literally watching his back to making sure no one tried to poison Muhammad. Did it make me a little paranoid? Absolutely. Did it enrage me? Certainly.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1980 Muhammad Ali made it into the Guinness World Records, surpassing Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon and Jesus Christ as the most written about person in history. Rahaman\u2019s memoir added to the vast canon in 2014 and sold well.<\/p>\n

A hagiography it was not. Rahaman criticised his brother as an absent parent. He recalled Muhammad swapping tips with Sylvester Stallone on chasing women. Belying the highly confident, bombastic image, Rahaman said that in private his brother was soft-hearted, \u201cdidn\u2019t particularly care for his wealth\u201d and would be conned into donating money to bogus charitable schemes.<\/p>\n

Rahaman had little to say on why Muhammad imprudently carried on fighting until 1981 rather than retire at his peak as he should have done. Ultimately, it was Muhammad\u2019s decision but Rahaman did say that throughout his brother\u2019s career he took too many punches in training. \u201cHe was convinced that being pummelled would toughen him up for real fights.\u201d<\/p>\n

During Muhammad\u2019s subsequent decline with Parkinson\u2019s disease, Rahaman said that his brother\u2019s mind remained sharp despite his deteriorating motor skills.<\/p>\n

In later years Rahaman lost his place in his brother\u2019s inner circle after falling out with Muhammad\u2019s fourth wife, Lonnie. He returned to Louisville in penury. Married several times, he had three daughters and a son, and is survived by his wife, Caroline.<\/p>\n

\"Rahaman<\/p>\n

Rahaman Ali in 2014<\/p>\n

PAUL REDMOND\/WIREIMAGE\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

Rahaman was reconciled with his brother before Muhammad\u2019s death in 2016, aged 74. \u201cHe was sweet, kind, loving, giving, affectionate \u2026 a man who struggled with anger, fear, temptation like any other, but who always did his best to make the world a little better every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recalling their last conversation, he added: \u201cHe said to me, \u2018I\u2019m in no pain. Don\u2019t cry for me, Rahaman. I\u2019m going to be with Allah God. I made peace with God. I\u2019m OK.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll always be with me. He\u2019s my older brother. He\u2019s the greatest fighter on this planet. My black brother who became the most famous man in the world. That\u2019s a blessing from God, and I was there from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rahaman Ali, boxer, was born on July 18, 1943. He died on August 1, 2025, aged 82<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rudolph Clay could have been a contender. His only problem was growing up with an older brother who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294423,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-294422","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}