This t-shirt is a replica of the one that Muhammad Ali, then Cassius Clay, wore in training for his 1964 upset of Sonny Liston in which he won the heavyweight title for the first time. It was victory that, as Ali famously put it, "Shocked the Word," and immediately launched him into that rare stratosphere of super stardom that he would occupy for the rest of his life. As an artifact, this shirt has heavy resonance in Ali's development, for immediately after the first Liston fight he would make the announcement that as a member of the Nation of Islam and devoted follower of Elijah Muhammad, he no longer wished to be known by his slave name, Cassius Clay. He initially took the name Cassius X in the mold of his mentor, Malcolm X, but soon afterward was anointed Muhammad Ali by the Elijah Muhammad himself. No Mas is available at Boundless NY.
