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Rahaman Ali

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Rahaman Ali
Rahaman Ali (right) next to his brother Muhammad Ali in 1964
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
BornRudolph Arnett Clay[1][2]
(1943-07-18)July 18, 1943
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedAugust 1, 2025(2025-08-01) (aged 82)
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Resting placeCave Hill Cemetery, Louisville Kentucky
Height6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
WeightHeavyweight
Parents
RelativeMuhammad Ali (brother)
Boxing career
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights18
Wins14
Win by KO7
Losses3
Draws1
No contests0

Rahaman Ali[a] (born Rudolph Arnett Clay; July 18, 1943 – August 1, 2025) was an American heavyweight boxer. He was the younger brother of Muhammad Ali.

Biography

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Rahaman Ali was born Rudolph Arnett Clay to Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. and Odessa Grady Clay in Louisville, Kentucky on July 18, 1943.[5] He was soon renamed Rudolph Valentino Clay, after his father's favorite actor Rudolph Valentino.[5][6] He was 18 months younger than his brother Cassius Jr., who would become Muhammad Ali.[1][2] Muhammad started boxing in a Louisville amateur boxing league. While Muhammad went to the 1960 Olympics, Rahaman was not selected and remained amateur until February 25, 1964, the night his brother won his first world heavyweight title over Sonny Liston.[6]

His professional career would last from 1964 to 1972.[7][8] As a professional boxer, Rahaman Ali won 14 bouts, lost 3, and had one draw. In his career, he knocked out seven opponents and was himself knocked out once. He retired from professional boxing after back-to-back losses, the second of which saw him being knocked out by future Superman film series actor Jack O'Halloran in what would also be his only stoppage defeat.[9][3][10]

After his career ended, Rahaman would travel and also train with Muhammad.[7] He would later appear as himself in his brother's 1977 biopic The Greatest.

In 2014, Ali released his autobiography, That's Muhammad Ali's Brother! My Life on the Undercard, which was co-authored by H. Ron Brashear and the foreword written by Gene Kilroy, the longtime business manager of Muhammad Ali. In 2019, Rahaman released his second book titled My Brother, Muhammad Ali - The Definitive Biography. It was co-authored by Fiaz Rafiq, with the foreword written by NFL legend Jim Brown. In 2021, he appeared in the documentary Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali.[11] The same year, he appeared in three episodes of his brother's documentary miniseries Muhammad Ali.

Rahaman Ali died on August 1, 2025, two weeks after his 82nd birthday.[7] Ali's funeral was held on August 16, 2025, and involved a funeral procession where he made a stop at his childhood home before he had a Janazah funeral service, which is given for people of Muslim faith, at the Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.[12][13] Ali is buried at the Cave Hill Cemetery.[12]

Professional boxing record

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14 wins (7 knockouts, 7 decisions), 3 losses (1 knockout, 2 decisions), 1 draw[3]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location
Loss 14–3–1 Jack O'Halloran KO 8 1972-09-13 San Diego, California
Loss 14–2–1 Roy Wallace PTS 10 1972-05-08 Niles, Ohio
Draw 14–1–1 Jasper Evans PTS 10 1972-01-22 Denver, Colorado
Win 14–1 Joe Byrd TKO 4 1971-12-16 Kalamazoo, Michigan
Win 13–1 Harold Carter TKO 3 1971-10-27 O'Hare Port Hotel, Chicago, Illinois
Win 12–1 Larry Beilfuss TKO 2 1971-09-13 Milwaukee Auditorium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Win 11–1 Carl Baker MD 10 1971-04-30 Port of Spain
Win 10–1 Peter Robinson TKO 2 1971-04-23 Port of Spain
Win 9–1 Stamford Harris PTS 10 1971-04-16 Port of Spain
Win 8–1 Clement Greenidge PTS 10 1971-04-09 Port of Spain
Loss 7–1 Danny McAlinden PTS 6 1971-03-08 Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win 7–0 Howard Darlington PTS 4 1970-12-07 Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win 6–0 Hurricane Grant KO 3 1970-10-26 Atlanta City Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia
Win 5–0 Tommy Howard UD 10 1970-08-11 Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida
Win 4–0 Fairchild Hope TKO 2 1966-02-11 Nassau
Win 3–0 Buster Reed KO 2 1965-05-25 St. Dominic's Hall, Lewiston, Maine
Win 2–0 Levi Forte UD 10 1965-04-28 Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida
Win 1–0 Chip Johnson PTS 4 1964-02-25 Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida

Exhibition boxing record

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1 fight 0 wins 0 losses
Non-scored 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
1 N/a 0–0 (1) Muhammad Ali N/a 2 Jul 1, 1972 Los Angeles, California, U.S. Non-scored bout

Notes

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  1. ↑ alternately spelled Rahman in some media,[2][3] but Ali spells his name as Rahaman in his autobiography[1] as well as his biography of his brother Muhammad;[4] various other sources spell it either way

References

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  1. 1 2 3 Ali, Rahaman; Brashear, H. Ron (December 29, 2014). That's Muhammad Ali's Brother!; My Life on the Undercard. Page Publishing. ISBN 978-1634175326. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Olsen, Jack (April 11, 1966). "A case of conscience". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on January 1, 2024. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Boxing record for Rahman Ali". BoxRec.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2024. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  4. ↑ Ali, Rahaman; Rafiq, Fiaz (October 9, 2020). My Brother, Muhammad Ali: The Definitive Biography. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1538142448.
  5. 1 2 "Rahaman Ali obituary: Boxer and brother of Muhammad Ali". The Times. November 20, 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Rudolph Clay Discloses He's Muslim Member". The New York Times. 1964-02-27. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
  7. 1 2 3 "Rahaman Ali, Younger Brother of Muhammad Ali, Dies At 82". Muhammad Ali Center. 2 August 2025. Archived from the original on 2 August 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  8. ↑ "Britain's McAlinden to Fight Rahaman Ali in Preliminary". The New York Times. 1971-03-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
  9. ↑ Brookes, Sam (August 4, 2025). "Rahaman Ali, younger brother of Muhammad Ali, dies aged 82". DAZN. Archived from the original on August 9, 2025. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Rahaman Ali, younger brother of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, dies at 82". news.az. August 4, 2025. Archived from the original on August 5, 2025. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali". IMDB. Archived from the original on August 10, 2025. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  12. 1 2 "Rahaman Ali". Newcomer Kentuckiana Funeral Home. Archived from the original on October 2, 2025. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  13. ↑ Shanklin, Sherlene (August 6, 2025). "Rahaman Ali's Janazah service announced". The VIPP Report. Archived from the original on August 15, 2025. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
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