Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee — Drive Along the Legend of Muhammad Ali

MIAMI BEACH — Cassius Clay may have been born in Louisville, but legend has it that the world heavyweight champion America came to love or hate as Muhammad Ali, was born here in this urban resort town.

It was at the Miami Beach Convention Center in 1964 — as the Vietnam powder keg smoldered and President Johnson campaigned for the White House against Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater — that the brash 22-year-old overcame seven-to-one odds to best the all-but invincible Sonny Liston in what would become known as the “upset of the decade.”

The city of Miami Beach honored Ali on Tuesday as a kickoff to Art Basel week by co-naming Convention Center Drive as Muhammad Ali Way following a special 9 a.m. commission meeting. The champion passed away on June 3, following a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Ali won his Miami Beach fight by a technical knockout at the opening of the seventh round when Liston gave up after being dominated in the sixth. Ali’s contribution to civil rights and his legendary athletic accomplishments made him an iconic role model in the African-American community as well as an America sports legend.

Two days after the Feb. 25 spectacle, Muhammad Ali, still known to the world at the time as Cassius Clay, announced his membership in the Nation of Islam, which was soon followed by a name change to Cassius X and ultimately Muhammad Ali.

Even after the championship bout, “The greatest” as he would call himself, continued to train at Miami Beach’s Fifth Street Gym on Washington Avenue during his 1960’s fights.

Ali’s longtime fight doctor and friend reportedly said, “Cassius Clay was born in Louisville, but Muhammad Ali was born in Miami,” according to Miami Beach officials.

A reception and special unveiling followed the commission meeting in the first floor conference room of city hall at 1700 Convention Center Drive.

Photo of the 1964 Miami Beach fight courtesy of State Library and Archives of Florida via Wikimedia Commons.