Jabir Herbert Muhammad (April 16, 1929 – August 25, 2008) was an American

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

and co-founder of Top Rank, Inc. He was the longtime

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

of legendary boxer

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

Early life

Muhammad was born in Detroit, Michigan, as the third son of the

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A centralized and hierarchical organization, the NOI is committed to black nationalism and focuses its attention on the Afr ...

leader,

Elijah Muhammad Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah who led the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1933 until his death in 197 ...

. He served as a chief adviser to his father until his departure in 1975. He visited Libyan leader

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

in Tripoli in December 1971 on behalf of his father to raise fund for the Nation of Islam. Muhammad also worked as the chief

business manager The Oxford English Dictionary defines a business manager as "a person who manages the business affairs of an individual, institution, organization, or company". Compare manager. Business managers drive the work of others (if any) in order to op ...

for the Nation of Islam, and he along with

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

founded their weekly newspaper. Jabir Muhammad was a staunch supporter of his brother,

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

Warith Deen Muhammad Warith Deen Mohammed (born Wallace D. Muhammad; October 30, 1933 – September 9, 2008) was an African-American Muslim leader, theologian, philosopher, Muslim revivalist, and Islamic thinker. He was a son of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of th ...

, whom he followed into mainstream

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. He, along with

and others, built Masjid Al-Fatir, a stand-alone, purpose-built

Masjid A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were simple p ...

on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. This was one of the first mosques built from the ground by Muslim Americans, especially African American Muslims.

Career

Muhammad was the director and founder of the Muhammad Islamic Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation which published the book ''Prayer and Al-Islam'' by Imam Warith Deen Mohammed in 1984. Muhammad managed Muhammad Ali's

professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

career from 1966 when he took over Ali's management after the expiry of Ali's management agreement with the Louisville Sponsoring Group, until Ali's retirement in 1981. Muhammad negotiated the first multimillion-dollar earnings for any athlete, starting with the $2.5M Ali earned for the Frazier vs Ali "Fight of the Century" in March 1971 and including the $5.5M purse Ali achieved for the Foreman vs Ali "Rumble in the Jungle" in Zaire in 1974. Muhammad was considered one of the most powerful figures in boxing in the 1960s and 1970s, achieving the Boxing Hall of Fame's 1974 "Manager of the Year" award. He continued to manage Ali's career for another ten years (from 1971 to 1981) after his retirement from boxing. Muhammad then went on to a successful career in business. Jabir Herbert Muhammad died on August 25, 2008, at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago, at the age of 79, after undergoing heart surgery. He was survived by his wife, Amenah Antonia Muhammad, and fourteen children.

Criticism

Muhammad has been criticized for his handling of Ali's money and for allowing him to continue boxing into "fistic old age". However many boxing experts have argued that Muhammad secured the largest fight purses in boxing, making Ali the highest paid athlete despite the criticisms. Others questioned Muhammad's actual business acumen, given Ali's financial profligacy and lack of quality income generating activity post-retirement. Ali's financial affairs improved in the 1990s after his management was taken over largely by his wife, Lonnie Ali.

References

External links

New York Times: Jabir Herbert Muhammad, Who Managed Muhammad Ali, Dies at 79

Final Call: Memories of the life, work of Jabir Muhammad by Richard Muhammad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhammad, Jabir Herbert 2008 deaths American boxing managers American sports businesspeople Businesspeople from Chicago Family of Elijah Muhammad African-American Muslims 1929 births 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century African-American sportsmen Muslims from Michigan Muslims from Illinois African-American company founders