Ali was convicted of draft evasion, stripped of his title, suspended from boxing, sentenced to five years in prison and fined $10,000.

Muhammad Ali‘s boxing career was put on pause when he refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army 53 years ago today. 

On April 28, 1967, a 25-year-old Ali denied his call for military service while citing religious reasons. As punishment, Ali was convicted of draft evasion, stripped of his heavyweight title, suspended from boxing, sentenced to five years in prison and fined $10,000. 

Widely considered among the greatest boxers of all time, Ali was called to join the armed forces while the United States was involved in the Vietnam War. The army lowered its classification for draftees in 1966, allowing Ali to qualify after he originally failed his test in 1964 due to his dyslexia. 

“I ain’t got no quarrel with those Vietcong,” Ali said after he found his status changed.

During his