In 1960, an 18-year-old boxer named Cassius Clay arrived in Miami, determined to become heavyweight champion. He moved into the city’s Overtown district — a vibrant center of Black entertainment and commerce — and trained with Angelo Dundee at the Fifth Street Gym on Miami Beach. Over the next few years, coinciding with the height of the national civil rights movement, Clay evolved professionally and politically, piling up victories in the ring and adopting the Black separatist teachings of the Nation of Islam. Soon he would have a new name: Muhammad Ali.

A national PBS premiere in 2008

Released internationally as Becoming Muhammad Ali

“A surprisingly fresh take on an early chapter of the Ali saga” — Sports Illustrated

Network PBS

Air Date August 11, 2008

Producers Gaspar González | Alan Tomlinson
Directors Gaspar González | Alan Tomlinson
Concept By
Gaspar González
Cinematographer
Alan Tomlinson
Archival Research Francesca De Onis
Editor Marjie Farber
Assistant Editor Kirsten Strom
Colorist Clive Christopher
Music and Sound Mix Tracey Larvenz

Running Time 53:43

A WLRN / Tomlinson-De Onis Production