The following version of the book was used to create this study guide: Alexander, Kwame; Patterson, James, Becoming Muhammad Ali. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, New York, NY, 2020. Kindle AZW file.

Cassius Clay and his younger brother Rudy grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, with their father (a sign painter known as Cash) and Momma Bird, their mother. The family lived near Granddaddy Herman and other members of an extended family. Though Cassius was surrounded by friends throughout his life, ten sections of this biographical novel are narrated by Lucius, a fictitious friend. Lucius introduces Cassius and the situations Cassius faced over several years as a teenager, culminating with boxing championships and a wrap-up of his life. Between the narratives, Cassius tells his own story through poetry, giving the reader a look at the people and events that were most important to him.

Cassius spent a lot of time with Granddaddy Herman who urged Cassius to think about where he came from and to plan for his future. Cash wanted to be an artist but met with opposition because he was Black, and he wanted Cassius to be the first in the family to graduate high school and go to college. Cassius struggled with school and coped by memorizing much of what he was expected to learn by reading. Momma Bird cleaned houses for wealthy White people, and Cassius pledged to make a better life for her once he was rich.

From a young age, Cassius and Rudy faced prejudice in many aspects of their lives. Cassius never forgot being denied a drink of water when he was very young because Blacks were not served in downtown Louisville. He also hated the injustice of being denied access to an amusement park in the neighborhood, simply because he was Black. He and Rudy dreamed of becoming rich and building an amusement park that would be open to any child.

Cassius wanted a different life. He saw boxing as an opportunity to achieve that. He and his friends watched boxing matches on television and had their favorites among the locals and professionals. One day, Cassius, Rudy, and Lucius got caught in a thunderstorm and sought shelter in the Columbia Auditorium. Later, Cassius discovered someone had stolen his bicycle. When he sought out an official inside to report the theft, he happened upon the Columbia Boxing Gym. For the first time, he saw a boxing ring in real life and met a coach who invited him to train there. Cassius begged Momma Bird for permission and was soon spending every afternoon working under Joe Martin.

Lucius noted that Cassius had more focus and dedication than anyone he knew. Cassius and Rudy left home at 4:30 every morning to run, and Cassius strictly adhered to a training regimen and restrictive diet. After more than a year of training under Joe, he got his chance on a local television show and won his first televised match. The training continued and Cassius continued to win until he reached the National Golden Gloves championship where he lost in the semifinals. Over the next year, he continued to train, managed to graduate high school, and prepared for his second chance at that award.

Lucius wrapped up the novel by talking about the later years of Cassius's life. He won two titles on the national level and an Olympic Gold Medal. He was then drafted into the army but refused to fight, which led to losing his heavyweight title and his license to box. It took a legal battle for him to recover both and begin boxing again. He joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. His career continued until he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. By then, he had begun having trouble forming words and his hands developed a tremble. His boxing career was over but he used his fame and influence to become an activist, fighting for causes he found worthy and raising money for famine victims and for Parkinson's research. He died in Arizona in 2016, and Lucius said he was glad he was not there, preferring to remember the boxer as a funny, loud kid from Louisville who was Lucius's best friend.