Muhammad Ali
The Late, Great Muhammad Ali (Brief Synopsis)

Widely regarded as the greatest pound-for-pound boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali is a name familiar with people all over the world, and his career achievements will probably never be repeated. Outside of the ring, Ali was an equally as special human being. He was a man who will undoubtedly be remembered forever, for a myriad of reasons; the main of which was his unparalleled boxing talent.

Ali took up the sport of boxing at the age of 12 (at which time he was known as Cassius Clay, his birth name), and remarkably just ten years later he was crowned heavyweight champion of the world. Prior to this, his career started perfectly with two national Golden Gloves titles, and a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. It was already evident at this stage in Ali’s career that he had a bright future in boxing, and his reputation began to spread beyond his home of Louisville, Kentucky.

Just months after his success at the Olympics, Ali turned professional, and amassed a total of 19 victories from 19 fights within three years. His 20th fight was without doubt the biggest and most important of his life. His opponent was Sonny Liston, who held ‘The Ring’, WBA and WBC world heavyweight belts going into the fight. In the 1960’s, Liston was akin to Mike Tyson, with a huge right hand and a strong, intimidating physique. Ali was written off before either man even stepped in the ring, as the whole boxing community believed Liston to be unbeatable. The fight proved to define Ali’s career. In the build-up, Ali was broadcasted on television for the first time, showing-off his confident attitude and slick, humorous “trash-talking” which is still popular amongst all generations today. Ali’s rapid footwork and fast hands proved troubling for Liston, who despite landing some heavy shots, struggled to find his way in the fight. At the start of the seventh round, the unthinkable happened, as Liston refused to get up from his corner, and surrendered. Ali jumped to the ropes before declaring to the world, “I’m the greatest!”

From this point on, Ali truly was. He knocked Liston out in their rematch and continued on a stunning winning streak. However, in 1967, he was suspended from boxing for conscientiously objecting to joining the army in the Vietnam War. Sadly, this resulted in Ali losing out on four prime years of his career, and who knows how much more he would have achieved had he not been suspended. Nonetheless, Ali returned to the ring, but in his thirty-first professional fight, he suffered his first ever loss to Joe Frazier by unanimous decision in an epic 15-round battle, which was later to be dubbed “The Fight of the Century”. In 1974, Ali avenged this loss and then went on to regain the titles he lost to Frazier in the “Rumble in the Jungle” with an eight round knockout against George Foreman. Ali then beat Frazier once more in their third and final contest, and at 36 years of age he forged another rivalry with Leon Spinks, where he lost and then won back his heavyweight world championships. He hung up his gloves just shy of 40 years old, and many argue that he should have retired sooner.

With a record of 56 wins from 61 fights (37 by KO), he lived up to his claim as “The Greatest”!

Boxing aside, Ali made a difference in many ways. He was a prominent civil rights activist for African-Americans, and most of his talking was done within the ropes, which for Ali was the best and easiest way to silence any critics. His objection to war also inspired many, and he was not nicknamed “The People’s Champion”. In 1984, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Syndrome. Sadly his health dramatically deteriorated very quickly, but Ali was still fighting even until his final breath, as he passed away on June 3rd 2016, aged 74, still the champion that he had always been.

Muhammad Ali professional boxing record

56 wins (37 knockouts, 19 decisions), 5 losses (4 decisions, 1 KO)
No. Res. Record Opponent Type Rd, Time Date Age
61 Loss 56–5 Trevor Berbick UD 10 1981-12-11 39 years
60 Loss 56–4 Larry Holmes TKO 10 (15) 1980-10-02 38 years
59 Win 56–3 Leon Spinks UD 15 1978-09-15 36 years
58 Loss 55–3 Leon Spinks SD 15 1978-02-15 36 years
57 Win 55–2 Earnie Shavers UD 15 1977-09-29 35 years
56 Win 54–2 Alfredo Evangelista UD 15 1977-05-16 35 years
55 Win 53–2 Ken Norton UD 15 1976-09-28 34 years
54 Win 52–2 Richard Dunn TKO 5 (15) 1976-05-24 34 years
53 Win 51–2 Jimmy Young UD 15 1976-04-30 34 years
52 Win 50–2 Jean-Pierre Coopman KO 5 (15) 1976-02-20 34 years
51 Win 49–2 Joe Frazier TKO 14 (15), 0:59 1975-10-01 33 years
50 Win 48–2 Joe Bugner UD 15 1975-06-30 33 years
49 Win 47–2 Ron Lyle TKO 11 (15) 1975-05-16 33 years
48 Win 46–2 Chuck Wepner TKO 15 (15), 2:41 1975-03-24 33 years
47 Win 45–2 George Foreman KO 8 (15), 2:58 1974-10-30 32 years
46 Win 44–2 Joe Frazier UD 12 1974-01-28 32 years
45 Win 43–2 Rudie Lubbers UD 12 1973-10-20 31 years
44 Win 42–2 Ken Norton SD 12 1973-09-10 31 years
43 Loss 41–2 Ken Norton SD 12 1973-03-31 31 years
42 Win 41–1 Joe Bugner UD 12 1973-02-14 31 years
41 Win 40–1 Bob Foster KO 8 (12), 0:40 1972-11-21 30 years
40 Win 39–1 Floyd Patterson TKO 7 (12) 1972-09-20 30 years
39 Win 38–1 Alvin Lewis TKO 11 (12), 1:15 1972-07-19 30 years
38 Win 37–1 Jerry Quarry TKO 7 (12), 0:19 1972-06-27 30 years
37 Win 36–1 George Chuvalo UD 12 1972-05-01 30 years
36 Win 35–1 Mac Foster UD 15 1972-04-01 30 years
35 Win 34–1 Jürgen Blin KO 7 (12), 2:12 1971-12-26 29 years
34 Win 33–1 Buster Mathis UD 12 1971-11-17 29 years
33 Win 32–1 Jimmy Ellis TKO 12 (12), 2:10 1971-07-26 29 years
32 Loss 31–1 Joe Frazier UD 15 1971-03-08 29 years
31 Win 31–0 Oscar Bonavena TKO 15 (15), 2:03 1970-12-07 28 years
30 Win 30–0 Jerry Quarry TKO 3 (15) 1970-10-26 28 years
Suspension
29 Win 29–0 Zora Folley KO 7 (15), 1:48 1967-03-22 25 years
28 Win 28–0 Ernie Terrell UD 15 (15) 1967-02-06 25 years
27 Win 27–0 Cleveland Williams TKO 3 (15) 1966-11-14 24 years
26 Win 26–0 Karl Mildenberger TKO 12 (15) 1966-09-10 24 years
25 Win 25–0 Brian London KO 3 (15) 1966-08-06 24 years
24 Win 24–0 Henry Cooper TKO 6 (15), 1:38 1966-05-21 24 years
23 Win 23–0 George Chuvalo UD 15 1966-03-29 24 years
22 Win 22–0 Floyd Patterson TKO 12 (15), 2:18 1965-11-22 23 years
21 Win 21–0 Sonny Liston KO 1 (15), 2:12 1965-05-25 23 years
20 Win 20–0 Sonny Liston TKO 7 (15) 1964-02-25 22 years
19 Win 19–0 Henry Cooper TKO 5 (10), 2:15 1963-06-18 21 years
18 Win 18–0 Doug Jones UD 10 1963-03-13 21 years
17 Win 17–0 Charlie Powell KO 3 (10), 2:04 1963-01-24 21 years
16 Win 16–0 Archie Moore TKO 4 (10), 1:35 1962-11-15 20 years
15 Win 15–0 Alejandro Lavorante KO 5 (10), 1:48 1962-07-20 20 years
14 Win 14–0 Billy Daniels TKO 7 (10), 2:21 1962-05-19 20 years
13 Win 13–0 George Logan TKO 4 (10), 1:34 1962-04-23 20 years
12 Win 12–0 Don Warner TKO 4 (10), 0:34 1962-03-28 20 years
11 Win 11–0 Sonny Banks TKO 4 (10), 0:26 1962-02-10 20 years
10 Win 10–0 Willi Besmanoff TKO 7 (10), 1:55 1961-11-29 19 years
9 Win 9–0 Alex Miteff TKO 6 (10), 1:45 1961-10-07 19 years
8 Win 8–0 Alonzo Johnson UD (10) 1961-07-22 19 years
7 Win 7–0 Duke Sabedong UD 10 1961-06-26 19 years
6 Win 6–0 LaMar Clark KO 2 (10), 1:27 1961-04-19 19 years
5 Win 5–0 Donnie Fleeman TKO 7 (8) 1961-02-21 19 years
4 Win 4–0 Jim Robinson KO 1 (8), 1:34 1961-02-07 19 years
3 Win 3–0 Tony Esperti TKO 3 (8), 1:30 1961-01-17 19 years
2 Win 2–0 Herb Siler KO 4 (8) 1960-12-27 18 years
1 Win 1–0 Tunney Hunsaker UD 6 (6) 1960-10-29 18 years