Muhammad Ali that year, before converting to Islam after 1961. At age 22, in 1964, he won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston in a major upset. He then changed his name from Cassius Clay, which he called his "slave name", to Muhammad Ali. He set an example of racial pride for African Americans and resistance to white domination during the Civil Rights Movement. In 1966, two years after winning the heavyweight title, Ali further antagonized the white establishment by refusing to be drafted into the U.S. military, citing his religious beliefs, and opposition to American involvement in the Vietnam War.
Mahershala Ali full first name was "a crazy thing to do considering that we're in Hollywood", although he had never been pressured by managers or agents to change it. What persuaded him to use a shorter version of his first name was being told that his full name was too long to fit on the poster for "The Place Beyond the Pines", and not liking the alternative of "M. Ali" appearing on the poster, Ali changed it. He elaborated in an interview to "Vanity Fair" in October 2016: "I think if you have any desire to be a leading man or to