/ AP file

Muhammad Ali fights Joe Frazier at New York's Madison Square Garden on Jan. 28, 1974.

If you’re a 20-something, it’s probably impossible to understand the furor that Ali raised when, as the young and brash heavyweight champion of the world, he changed his name from Cassius Clay — his “slave name” — to the name by which the entire world knows him today. Nor is it possible to imagine the outrage he inspired among the parents of those of us who were kids then by his brash predictions of victory, delivered in simple, doggerel rhyme.

Some people have credited his verses with inspiring rap and hip-hop. That particular art form is actually rooted in the Caribbean and goes back to a street-corner game called “doin’ the dozens,” but you’ll have a hard time convincing anyone of it. Ali is the person they remember doing it. That makes him the founding father.

That’s fine with me. Ali certainly made trash-talking acceptable and fun, and with him, it was never bragging, because he did what he said he’d do.

What finally set him apart was his refusal to be drafted during the Vietnam War. You didn’t do things like that in those days, and the reason he gave — he said he was a conscientious objector because of his belief in Islam as interpreted by the Nation of Islam — gave establishment America fits.

He gave up his career for that belief, denied — illegally — his right to earn a living while his case made its way to the Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled in his favor. Who among today’s heroes would do such a thing?

It was when he came back that he finally won over the world, including most of those who had once found reason to hate him. After a three-year layoff, he came back, lost to Joe Frazier, then fought three of the greatest fights ever — beating Frazier twice and George Foreman in Zaire. He fought around the planet, picking up fans everywhere he went, a handsome, brilliant athlete who made people happy just by being in their presence.

It was the whole package that made him the one transcendental star of his or any era. No one had ever been like him. No one would be like him again, because there would never be a like opportunity. People don’t ignore public opinion on principle these days. They don’t give up millions for their beliefs. They don’t travel the world sowing smiles and hope in their wake. And all of that while awing and inspiring us in the arena.

He’s officially a golden-ager now. Happy birthday, Champ.

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