Muhammad Ali Turns 70 Today

He celebrated his birthday with family and friends in his home town of Louisville,Kentucky on Saturday.Like no other sportsman before or since, Ali shook up the world. He was a heavyweight boxer of breathtaking skill and speed whose feats in the ring, and outspoken support for black rights, made him the most influential sportsman of the 20th century.In a 21-year ring career, the self-proclaimed "Greatest" achieved what no heavyweight had done before by regainingThe world title, more than 10 years after he first held it.However, his impact and influence transcended boxing.Ali was the most recognizable man in the world from the late 1960s when his refusal to serve in the United States Army led to him being banned from boxing.His later years have been clouded by Parkinson's syndrome, which he refused to blame on his boxing careerAt the 1996 Atlanta Olympics opening ceremony, the world watched as Ali, his hands shaking uncontrollably because of his illness, lit the Olympic flame.At the same Games he was presented with a gold medal to replace the one he had won at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Originally he had thrown it in the Ohio River in disgust after being turned away from an all-white restaurant ,and chased by a gang of white people.After retirement from the ring he took on some diplomatic tasks, meeting politicians as diverse asNelson Mandela and Saddam Hussein.