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 and is often regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer 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.
Robert Arum is an American lawyer and boxing promoter. He is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. Prior to becoming a boxing promoter, Arum was employed as an attorney in the tax division of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier lll, billed as the "Thrilla in Manila", was the third and final boxing match between undisputed champion Muhammad Ali, and former champion Joe Frazier, for the heavyweight championship of the world. The bout was conceded after fourteen rounds on October 1, 1975, at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines, located in Metro Manila. The venue was temporarily renamed the "Philippine Coliseum" for this match. Ali won by corner retirement (RTD) after Frazier's chief second, Eddie Futch, asked the referee to stop the fight after the 14th round. The contest's name is derived from Ali's rhyming boast that the fight would be "a killa and a thrilla and a chilla, when I get that gorilla in Manila."
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". He is a two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist. As an entrepreneur, he is known for the George Foreman Grill.
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 often seen as being one of the Best Heavyweight Boxers never to be Champion. He beat 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. He accumulated damage 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.
George Louis Chuvalo is a Canadian former professional boxer who was a five-time Canadian heavyweight champion and two-time world heavyweight title challenger. He is known for having never been knocked down in his 93 bout professional career including fights against Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, and George Foreman. Chuvalo unsuccessfully challenged Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight championship in 1966. Chuvalo was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
Stephen Brunt is a Canadian sports journalist, well known as a former columnist for Sportsnet.ca, Sportsnet, and former co-host on podcasts for Sportsnet.
Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks was a professional boxing match contested on February 15, 1978, in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight championship.
Muhammad Ali and Henry Cooper fought two boxing matches with each other in London. Their first match took place on 18 June 1963 and the second on 21 May 1966. Ali won both matches. The first fight was stopped by the referee in the fifth round, and the second in the sixth round. Both fights were stopped after Cooper started bleeding excessively from a cut to the left eye. The first Ali-Cooper bout is remembered for being one of the four fights in which Ali was officially knocked down in the ring by his boxing opponent, as well as leading to the mandate that ringside handlers always have an extra pair of boxing gloves available.
Muhammad Ali vs. Earnie Shavers was a professional boxing match contested on September 29, 1977, for the undisputed heavyweight championship.
Muhammad Ali fought three professional boxing matches against Ken Norton between 1973 and 1976. Ali won the series 2–1, though the final fight was highly controversial.
Heavyweight boxers Muhammad Ali and Bob Foster fought on November 21, 1972, in Stateline, Nevada. Ali won the bout by knocking out Foster in the eighth round. Ali knocked Foster down seven times and this was the only fight in which Ali ever suffered a cut. The bout was notable because it was one of the first boxing matches refereed by Mills Lane.
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 vs. Ernie Terrell was a professional boxing match contested on February 6, 1967, for the WBA, WBC, NYSAC, and The Ring heavyweight championships. The fight went 15 rounds, with Ali winning through a unanimous decision.
Muhammad Ali and Cleveland Williams fought each other in a boxing match at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas on November 14, 1966. Ali won the bout through a technical knockout in the third round. Many experts and boxers, including Mike Tyson, regard Ali's performance in this fight to be the finest of his boxing career. This was also the fight in which Ali made famous the move he called the "Ali shuffle".
Cassius Clay vs. Doug Jones was a professional boxing match contested on March 13, 1963. Clay won on points in what would prove to be one of the closest fights of his early professional career. The fight was named 1963’s Fight of the Year by The Ring.
Cassius Clay fought Argentine Alex Miteff in a ten-round boxing match in Louisville on October 7, 1961. Clay won the fight through a technical knockout when the referee stopped the fight in the sixth round. Miteff and Clay would feature in the 1962 film Requiem for a Heavyweight.
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.
The Last Round: Chuvalo vs. Ali is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Joseph Blasioli and released in 2003. The film centres on the 1966 boxing match at Maple Leaf Gardens between Canadian boxer George Chuvalo and world champion Muhammad Ali.
