Becoming Muhammad Ali

Everyone dreamed about the future, Lucky remembers, but he thinks that “Cassius really, truly saw it” (93). He would always do things his way, including race the bus to school. He always attracted attention.

Sometimes, however, he was quiet and somber. He, Rudy, and Lucky would lie outside and watch the stars. Cassius would explain that he was waiting for an angel to appear, which confused Lucky.

Cassius found inspiration at Churchill Downs, the horse racetrack in Louisville. Early in the mornings, when the trainers practiced running the horses, Cassius would run alongside, racing them. Eventually, he got kicked off the track when a horse swerved to avoid Cassius and his rider fell. He was inspired by how it seemed like the animals were stronger and faster than humans.

Returning to Cassius’s perspective, he details how they would go to Camp Sky High in the summers during the day. On Saturday nights, they would all go over to Riney’s house to watch boxing fights on his front porch. 

Cassius remembers how these Saturday night fights captivated everyone on their block. At the end of the three rounds, judges would declare the winner “Tomorrow’s Champion” (100).