Muhammad Ali’s brother died
He knew what would be on his tombstone
Updated on 03.08.2025 – 01:37 a.m.Reading time: 4 min.
Rahaman Ali is dead. The former boxing professional died at the age of 82. He was on the side of his famous brother throughout his life. And played a special role.
Rahaman Ali, the brother of the boxing legend Muhammad Ali, is dead. The Muhammad Ali Center said in a message on Facebook. Accordingly, Rahaman died on Friday at the age of 82. So far, nothing has been known about the cause of his death.
The mayor of Rahaman’s birthplace expressed his condolences to the bereaved. “Louisville has lost a big person. Rahaman was an extremely generous, profound and lovable man. I am grateful that I was able to get to know him in the last few years of his life. Our thoughts are at the Alis family,” wrote Craig Greenberg on Facebook.
Rahaman was the one and a half years younger brother of the multiple boxing world champion in heavyweight, Muhammad Ali. Growing up in Louisville, in the US state of Kentucky, Rahaman-who was initially called Rudolph Arnett Clay-followed the example of his brother and also hit a career as a boxer early on. After working up in the amateur area and 77 of his 83 fights, he only brought it to 18 duels in the professional sector. He was able to win 14 of them.
His career in the ring lasted from 1964 to 1972, but Rahaman was never able to get the success and celebrities of his brother, as he himself admitted in his book “That’s Muhammad Ali’s Brother! My life on the undercard” (“This is Muhammad Alis Bruder! My life on the back bench”). Nevertheless, Rahaman became an indispensable contact and training partner for Muhammad Ali.
“Rahaman was the best sparring partner in all the years that you could wish for,” said Muhammad Ali’s former manager Gene Kilroy in Rahaman’s book. “He was always in forward gear, did not shy away from attacking his brother hard in training – and thus ensured that Muhammad Ali always stayed up”.
Rahaman Ali did not have the boxing elegance in the ring as she distinguished his brother. He lacked the floating, the dancing lightness of Muhammad. But Rahaman also cared for a rather elegant style and had a strong straight.