![]() "I will say directly, no, I will not go 10,000 miles to help kill innocent people."Īfter undergoing his physical in Houston, Ali refused to step forward when his name was called during the induction ceremony. ![]() "Why should me and other so-called Negroes go 10,000 miles away from here in America to drop bombs and bullets on other innocent brown people who've never bothered us?" he said. The draft board gave in but also demanded that Ali show up for induction in Houston on April 28, 1967.īefore he left Louisville (the place where he no longer lived) to travel to Houston for his appearance, Ali gave a press conference and made his position clear. While training for the fight, he received word that he'd been drafted and had to report for induction.Īli's lawyers put off this induction by claiming that he no longer lived in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, because the boxer had moved to Houston, Texas, to train for his most recent fights. "Man, I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong," he said.Īli was scheduled to defend his championship against Zora Folley at Madison Square Garden in March 1967. ![]() ![]() Informed of his new draft status, the champ made his feelings clear. ![]()
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