Nation of Islam leader’s son led champ

A former manager of boxing legend Muhammad Ali has died at age 79, following recent open-heart surgery in Chicago. Jabir Herbert Muhammad, son of former Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, led a controversial career in the Nation and overseeing Ali’s boxing accomplishments from 1966 to 1981. Herbert Muhammad was among those who broke ranks with former Nation of Islam spokesman Malcolm X, who heavily recruited Ali to join the Nation and, at one point, offered to deliver the boxer, then known as Cassius Clay, into the Nation. Herbert Muhammad and much of the nation took little interest in Ali until after he’d defeated Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title, which Malcolm X had predicted. Herbert Muhammad soon took over Ali’s direction, but the relationship soured when they entered legal battles years later. Herbert Muhammad claimed the two eventually resolved their differences.