Muhammad Ali was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "the Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century. Widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, he held the Ring magazine heavyweight title from 1964 to 1970. He was the undisputed champion from 1974 to 1978 and the WBA and Ring heavyweight champion from 1978 to 1979. In 1999, he was named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated and the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC.
George Edward Foreman is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister, and author. In boxing, he competed between 1967 and 1997 and was nicknamed "Big George". Widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all-time, he is a two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist. As an entrepreneur, he is known for the George Foreman Grill.
Joseph William Frazier, nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. Widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, he was known for his strength, durability, formidable left hand, and relentless pressure fighting style and was the first boxer to defeat Muhammad Ali. Frazier won a gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics as an amateur, held the NYSAC heavyweight title from 1968 to 1973, and was the undisputed heavyweight champion from 1970 to 1973.
Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. was an American actor and professional boxer who competed from 1967 to 1981. He was awarded the WBC world heavyweight championship in 1978, after winning a close split decision over Jimmy Young in a title eliminator bout, after which Leon Spinks refused to fight with him.
Jimmy Young was an American heavyweight professional boxer. Young was known for his awkward, defensive style and counterpunching. He was one of the top contenders of the 1970s, losing a controversial unanimous decision against Muhammad Ali in 1976 and earning a victory over George Foreman in 1977. Young fought many other significant fighters of his era, including twice outpointing Ron Lyle and losing only by a split decision to then-number one contender Ken Norton in a title eliminator in late 1977. Fellow boxer Bobby Watts was his cousin.
George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali, billed as The Rumble in the Jungle, was a heavyweight championship boxing match on October 30, 1974, at the 20th of May Stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire, between undefeated and undisputed heavyweight champion George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. The event had an attendance of 60,000 people and was one of the most watched televised events at the time. Ali won by knockout in the eighth round.
Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali, billed as The Fight of the Century or simply The Fight, was an undisputed heavyweight championship boxing match between WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight champion Joe Frazier and Lineal champion Muhammad Ali, on Monday, March 8, 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Jerry Quarry, nicknamed "Irish" or "The Bellflower Bomber", was an American professional boxer. During the peak of his career from 1968 to 1971, Quarry was rated by The Ring magazine as the most popular fighter in the sport. His most famous bouts were against Muhammad Ali. He is regarded as being one of the best heavyweight boxers never to win a title. He beat former world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson and top contenders Ron Lyle, Earnie Shavers, Brian London, Thad Spencer, Buster Mathis, Randy Neumann, Jack Bodell, Mac Foster and Eduardo Corletti. The damage he accumulated from lack of attention to defense against larger men at the top level, no head guard sparring, and attempted comebacks in 1977, 1983, and 1992 resulted in Quarry developing an unusually severe case of dementia pugilistica.
Angelo Dundee was an American boxing trainer and cornerman. Internationally known for his work with Muhammad Ali (1960–1981), he also worked with 15 other world boxing champions, including Sugar Ray Leonard, Sean Mannion, José Nápoles, George Foreman, George Scott, Jimmy Ellis, Carmen Basilio, Luis Manuel Rodríguez, and Willie Pastrano.
József Kreul Bugner is a Hungarian born British–Australian former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division and actor. He holds triple nationality, originally being a citizen of Hungary and a naturalised citizen of both Australia and the United Kingdom. He unsuccessfully challenged Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight championship in 1975, losing by a unanimous decision. As an actor, he is best known for his role in the 1994 action film Street Fighter alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia.
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II, billed as Super Fight II, was a professional boxing match contested on January 28, 1974, for the NABF heavyweight title. The second of the three Ali–Frazier bouts, it took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Oscar Natalio "Ringo" Bonavena was an Argentine heavyweight professional boxer with a career record of 58 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw. A rugged, wild-swinging puncher, he was nicknamed "Ringo" because of his Beatles haircut, and enjoyed professional success in both Argentina and the United States. He is remembered for giving Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali hard fought bouts.
CBS has occasionally broadcast boxing events; its first broadcast occurred in 1948. The network's most recent broadcasts of the sport have fallen under Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions banner, and its most recent primetime broadcasts have been produced by sister pay television channel Showtime.
Cyrille Delannoit was a Belgian boxer. He was also known by his nickname Tarzan. In 1948, he became European boxing champion in the middleweight class.
George Foreman vs. Joe Frazier II, billed as "Battle of the Gladiators", was a professional boxing match contested on June 15, 1976, for the NABF heavyweight championship.
Muhammad Ali vs. Jean-Pierre Coopman was a professional boxing match contested on February 20, 1976, for the undisputed heavyweight championship. Ali won the fight after knocking out Coopman in the fifth round.
Muhammad Ali vs. Jerry Quarry, billed as The Return of the Champion, was a professional boxing match contested on October 26, 1970, for the Lineal heavyweight championship. This was Ali's first fight since his suspension from boxing in 1967.
Muhammad Ali vs. Oscar Bonavena was a professional boxing match contested on December 7, 1970, for the NABF and Lineal heavyweight championship at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 7, 1970.
Muhammad Ali was a boxer who mastered the rope-a-dope fighting technique. He is widely regarded by many boxing commentators and historians as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. Boxing magazine The Ring named him number one in a 1998 ranking of greatest heavyweights from all eras. In 1999, The Associated Press voted Ali the number one heavyweight of the 20th century.
Boxing on ABC refers to a series of boxing events that have been televised on the American Broadcasting Company. Many of these events aired under the Wide World of Sports banner which began on April 11, 1964 when challenger Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, defeated champion Sonny Liston in the seventh round. ABC's final boxing card occurred on June 17, 2000.
