Becoming Muhammad Ali

Rudolph “Rudy” Clay is Cassius’s younger brother. He follows Cassius and his friends everywhere throughout the novel, and he aspires to be just like his older brother. They both become professional boxers, and Rudy himself will become Rahaman Ali, following in Cassius’s footsteps once again. While sometimes impatient when Rudy asks him questions he doesn’t want to answer, Cassius’s care for his younger sibling is clear, as when Cassius allows Rudy to ride his new bicycle and is not perturbed when “all he did was fall / and scrape my brand-new chrome, / so I promise to teach him / later” (121).

Rudy often rides on Cassius’s handlebars, and they take up boxing together. He is one of Cassius’s biggest supporters, cheering him with their parents and friends. His love and desire to emulate Cassius shows both how Cassius himself is a role model and the responsibility Cassius feels to take care of his family. 

In the novel, Lucius “Lucky” Wakely is Cassius’s best friend. He is a fictional character, and he narrates the prose introductions to each round. While Lucky and his memories are fictional, they work to further the novel’s story-truth, the idea behind the plot that speaks to an emotional reality. Lucky frequently details aspects of Cassius’s life and character that are not clearly revealed Cassius’s own narration. For example, Lucky describes how “sometimes, when it was just me and Cassius, that confidence slipped a little” (168). These moments alone did not really happen, given that Lucky didn’t exist; however, Lucky’s suggestion that Cassius periodically doubts himself offers a deeper insight into Cassius’s character and his rise to fame as a professional boxer.

Lucky also adds historical context to the novel, explaining that the neighborhood he and Cassius live in is a Black neighborhood in Louisville and that many Black children had conversations with their parents explaining how to behave in front of white people. By giving this insight into Cassius’s background, Lucky deepens the depiction of his struggles growing up in 1950s Kentucky, and it provides further explanation of Cassius’s motive to succeed.

Odessa “Bird” Clay is Cassius and Rudy’s mother. She nicknames Cassius “Gee-Gee” because he made the G sound often as a toddler (35). Cassius describes her by saying that “her heart is the biggest, / wide as the sea” (30). She is dedicated to her faith, and she sings at Mount Zion Baptist Church, where she brings both her sons each Sunday, encouraging them to keep and grow their Christian faith. Bird is Cassius’s biggest supporter, and it is in her that he often confides. After meeting Joe Martin, he asks Bird’s for permission to begin boxing; she is the first person he tells about his dream to become a champion. This shows how much he trusts his mother, and her allowing him to begin the sport despite her worries that he will get hurt also demonstrates how much faith she has in Cassius.

Cassius wants to provide a better life for his mother, promising her that when he becomes a champion, “the first thing / I’m gonna do is buy you a big house up in / the Highlands just like the ones you clean for / them rich folks every day” (180). When he makes this vow, Bird quickly reminds him that she takes pride in her work and that she feels content with what she has. For Cassius, who is so confident, Bird plays a crucial role in his life by keeping him humble, grateful for everything that he already has.

As Cassius comes to follow Granddaddy Herman’s charge to remember who he is, where he’s from, and whose he is, Bird ensures that Cassius knows whose he is because she reminds him of the importance of family and faith. Her prayer before he leaves for Chicago at the end of the novel exemplifies this: “[R]emember whose you are, Cassius Clay. / Hold fast! / Together, we can dream a new world” (283). Her faith is important to Cassius, and Cassius’s decision to join the Nation of Islam later in life—changing his name to Muhammad Ali in the process—suggests that faith remained important to him as well.

Joe Martin is Cassius’s boxing coach. He is also a police officer. Meeting Cassius on the day that his red bicycle was stolen, Martin suggests, “Seems to me if you wanna whup somebody, you should learn how to fight first” (163). He encourages Cassius to use the anger he feels around his stolen bike and channel it into boxing. Martin is a mentor to Cassius, and he helps Cassius get into fight shape, constantly reminding Cassius that if he wants to make his dream come true, he’s “gotta put in the work” (175). His training regimen becomes the focus of Cassius’s life.

Cassius is anxious to get into the ring and fight, but Martin encourages patience. This strategy ultimately pays off for Cassius, as he learns to balance his confidence with practice. Martin also imparts the notion that “[t]he fight is won before you get in the ring” to help Cassius sharpen both his mind and his body (187). Eventually, Cassius repeats this same axiom to Rudy, demonstrating that Martin’s advice has sunk in. 

Cassius “Cash” Marcellus Clay Sr. is Cassius’s father. Both are named for Cassius Marcellus Clay, a white slaveholder who freed those he enslaved, and “a man with principles, probably the only white man [Herman] ever knew to be good” (68). Cassius Jr. describes his father as often found “singing / or scolding / or dancing / or joking / with his Saturday night buddies” (37). He sometimes arrives home drunk, and Cassius is much less close with his father than with his mother.

Cash is a painter, and he paints signs for a living. His work can be found all over Louisville, and Cassius lists the variety of businesses for which he paints. Cash has also painted signs like “Whites Only” and “Colored Waiting Room,” showing that his father takes work wherever he it is available (39). By mentioning examples such as these, Cassius highlights the unjust irony in asking a Black man to create a sign that is used to separate Black individuals from white. Other signs, like “Segregation Is Immoral,” add to the contested nature of segregation and racist laws in Louisville. Cash’s work spans it all.

While Cassius is somewhat distant from his father and often fears his father’s anger, he is grateful for the support that he receives from him. Cash’s delivery of the red bicycle shows the affection behind his often-stern demeanor. Later, Cassius notes how difficult it was for him when Cash was arrested and unable to cheer for him ringside at the 1958 Golden Gloves championship: “I couldn’t get / into a rhythm / ’cause it seemed like there was nobody / in the whole arena / singing my name” (237). This quote illustrates how important his father’s (and family’s) support is for him, even if Cassius himself always seems confident in his ability to succeed.

Herman Clay is Cassius’s grandfather and Cash’s father. He was a baseball player, but he was unable to play much professionally because he is Black. Cassius and Rudy would often go over to Granddaddy Herman’s home because he “would give us / something sweet / […] / show us magic tricks, / tell us funny / and not-so-funny stories / about famous / and not-so-famous Negroes” (40). Cassius calls these tales his grandfather’s “sermons,” and it is Granddaddy Herman who tells Rudy and Cassius about the “two Louisvilles” (47).

This sermon is important to Cassius because it emphasizes that they live in a city divided, with only some areas safe for Black folks. Additionally, Granddaddy Herman’s exhortation to “know who you are, boys. / And whose you are. / Know where you going / and where you from. / Amen. Amen. Amen” echoes through Cassius’s mind throughout the novel, as he develops in each of the three areas his grandfather mentions (49). Cassius echoes back Herman’s sermon at the end of the novel, showing not only how important his grandfather’s influence was but also who he has become: someone who knows who he is, whose he is, and where he came from.