Pietrzykowski was stronger and vastly more experienced than his rival, and Ali initially struggled to adapt to his rival's southpaw style. Standing in the opposite corner to Muhammad Ali in Rome’s Palazzo dello Sport stadium on September 5, 1960, was the imposing frame of Poland's Zbigniew Pietrzykowski. Although Muhammad Ali had to dig deep at times, he had made it through to the light heavyweight Olympic final. That scoreline was replicated in his next bout against Australia’s star pugilist Tony Madigan. His quarter-final opponent was Russia's Gennady Shatkov, a man who had won Olympic gold in the middleweight division four years earlier.ĭespite his impressive pedigree, he was no match for the American - who swept to a 5-0 triumph on points. In his first bout at the Rome Olympics against Belgian Yvon Becaus, the referee had to stop the contest in the second round, fearing a brutal knockout. Muhammad Ali’s Olympic medalĪs befitting a man nicknamed 'the Louisville Lip', Muhammad Ali soon began making his presence felt around the Olympic village, becoming a hugely popular figure.īut as well as making friends outside the ring, Ali began making an impression inside it too. Reputedly, the teenage boxer did insist on taking a parachute on board for the journey - just in case. Only after some more gentle encouragement from his mentor, Joe Martin, was Ali persuaded to get on the plane.
In fact, the then-light heavyweight nearly didn't travel to Italy at all.Ī turbulent flight to California for the Olympic trials had put Ali off flying. Muhammad Ali traveled to the Rome 1960 Olympics to represent the United States as a callow, relatively unknown 18-year-old. (Getty Images) ‘Turbulent’ journey to Rome 1960 Muhammad Ali’s Olympic medal came at Rome 1960.
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