Muhammad Ali - The Greatest (Original Career Documentary)

he's the dancing master he's the ring magician he's the champion who has been labeled the fastest moving heavyweight in the entire history of one century of world heavyweight champions I wouldn't want to do too much bragging about it but everybody that watches me fight or everybody that has witnessed one of my bouts they say that I am the greatest that they've ever seen more than just a boxer like a butterfly stain like a be oh he was a cultural icon a revolutionary Muhammad Ali struck Us in the middle of America's Darkest Night in the heart

of its most threatening Gathering storm and I will say here boldly now on television no I am the king of the world hold it hold it pretty hold it you're not that pretty I'm a bad man wa I shook up the world I shook up the [Music] world float like a butterfly St like a beab but to live in his time watching his fights is experiencing The Genius of his talent was absolutely extraordinary the crowd did not dream when they laid down their money that Ali would retire Floyd and sunny uh I'm only bold and

cocket before and after fight let me see you close your mouth and just keep it closed well you know that's impossible keep it close you know that's impossible I'm the greatest and I'm knocking out all buns and if you get too small I'll knock you out a heavyweight who Moved as quickly like a lightweight quicker than a lightweight used his legs and then what he did outside the ring transcended what he did inside the ring he would be with kings and queens presidents the greatest the champ Muhammad Ali and then turn around be with the

poorest person on this Earth who's the greatest who's the purest he was beautiful he was the most perfect athlete you ever saw and those were his own words this is the legend of Cash's clay the most beautiful fighter in the world today auset by Mohammad Ali London my friends only once in a thousand years or so do we get to hear a Mozart see a Picasso read a Shakespeare Ali was one of them I am the greatest but as Muhammad Ali once said it's not bragging if you can back it up Muhammad Ali the greatest

Muhammad Ali was born Cash's clay and raised in Louisville Kentucky you find yourself thinking back ever to how it all started for you as a kid in Louisville how you became a fighter how I became a fighter somebody stole my bicycle and I wanted to learn how to fight so a be who sto I started about 6 years ago my bascle was stoen and my cousin was a boxer and so he was going to whip whoever we found him so I brought up the subject I said well you better learn how to fight before you

start challenging people that you're going to whip and he told me that uh he would train me if I ever catch the guy that stole my bicycle you I going to defend myself the course of boxing and perhaps even world history altered by way of bike theft anyway he took me to the gym and he quit later but I kept it up and so began Clay's Road to Glory I had a show on television every week amateur boxing tomorrows Champions wasn't with a short time I put him on that show and that was his first

boxing match was on television as an amateur Cash's clay compiled a record of 100 wins and five defeats Cash's Marcel's clay stepped into the ring in April of 1959 for the Pan-American amateur boxing trials you said yourself you're rather a boy on to a prettiest fight in the ring today 180 amateur fights when I'm as pretty as you and you don't fight two time United State Au Champion International Pan-American game Champion National a champion 59 and 60 as an amateur Clay won the national a light heavyweight and the golden glovs heavyweight this fight particular fight

with alen Hudson was for the United State light heavyweight Golden Glove Championship now it's time to turn the tables after a brief flurry by Hudson it's play chat to go to work he won multiple national championships including the golden gloves and the AA title's arm is raised in Victory but Hudson's down again this time just because his legs won't hold them up 1960 the Rome Olympics the world is about to be formally introduced to cases clay but the most popular USA winner was the lighthearted cases marcelis clay the the world was his stage and wherever

he went that became his stage it's August 18th 1960 Cash's clay of the United States takes on Ziggy Petroski of Poland in the finals of the Olympic light heavyweight boxing championship in Rome the 60s were a decade which in many ways belonged to Muhammad Ali the strength the Courage the footprint of Muhammad Ali formerly Cashes Clay Cashes Clay of the United States comes out in the light trunks P rowski of Poland is in dark there is no rival to it in sports there is nothing that compares today in our Sports room and there's the Bell

ending the fight clay took home the gold medal just moments later in the award ceremony the fighters take their places on the victory stand for 18 years of age though we're going to hear a lot more of this J Man Cash's clay has presented the coveted gold [Applause] medal a magnificent conclusion to the 1960 Rome Olympics 6 years after somebody stole his bike in Kentucky he was the Olympic champion [Applause] [Music] [Applause] well thinking about trying to grow up for an example right now I'm the world's amateur light heavyweight champion and I'm broke he was

now a national sensation an Olympic Hero ready to become the next great Pro how many fights you had uh about 180 amateur fights F three that was my first three by the way yeah um have you ever been knocked out have you ever been knocked out never dreamed of been knocked out despite being on television and adored by fans he was still treated as a second class citizen I always had some mystical idea that if I could become a big black man in the southern city I could be treated different or maybe I could have

powers open doors Muhammad Ali had go Mill around his neck went to a restaurant downtown here to get some food they wouldn't serve him they put me out of that restaurant I said this medal ain't worth a dam having an Olympic gold medal didn't change a thing for clay Muhammad Ali in in 1960 you won a gold medal at the Rome Olympics then apparently a few months later you stood on a bridge on the Ohio River and threw it away he famously threw his gold medal into the river marking a change in the way he

was going to approach his future an 18-year-old amateur boxing champion with a charming smile took a physical examination for his first professional fight he was set to make his Pro debut that evening Tony huneker was to go into the record book as the first professional opponent on the Slick boxing cases play weighing only 182 lb light for a heavyweight thought he was too awkward you don't pull back for punches fast hand don't move they thought you know too much he made a show of his first fight cases turned Pro in October of 1960 and defeated

tny hunon one of the issues that the older Sports writers had with him was his unorthodox style easily winning his professional debut with a flashy unanimous decision after his electrifying Pro debut clay called now legendary trainer Angelo Dundee I call him up I said I'm the world's greatest fight I'm going to be the world's greatest champion I'm now the Olympic champion I'm the Golden Glove Champion Au Champion I want to talk to you dunde ran a gym out of Miami and then after I signed up I with the Florida start training with the sun soaked

city was about to become home to the greatest [Music] I was mainly concentrating on my legs uh getting in and getting out because my defenses in my dancing ability if I'm right on my toes I don't have too much trouble with getting hit it was just a a grimy working Place had a feel that you can't get anywhere else except on a boxing gy and presenting from Louisville Kentucky weighing 1922 lb hes [Applause] play showcasing the skills that would make him an icon play wearing the white trunks is using his speed of foot to stick

and move play staging clock with that combination clock is down clay rattled off a series of impressive wins play doesn't punch flat footed for those combinations sure pack a lot of cumulative [Applause] Wallace Mar is down those four punches landed in under a second and a half the fans realize that it's all over and Cash's clay celebrates another KO Victory cases how do you rate yourself as a fighter well uh I wouldn't want to do too much bragging about it but everybody that watches me fight or everybody that has witnessed one of my bouts they

say that I am the greatest that they've ever seen while fighting in Vegas clay shared a venue with famed wrestler Gorgeous George inspired by Gorgeous George Ali realized people would pay big money to watch someone they rooted against and so he adopted a Persona designed to ruffle some feathers I can't I've I've been all over over the country I can't pay a chump to get in the ring with me there wasn't much that the older generation liked about Cash's clay the way he dissed them laughed at their questions but he tells funny poems and tells

you how great he is to have written them how great a fighter he is he's the greatest of all times that rubs some people the wrong way he might be big and he might be tall but if he mess with me he sure will fall loud and cocky the Louisville lip was born tonight's 10 rounder from the Kentucky Fair and position center in Louisville Kentucky brings together cases clay 1960 Olympic boxing champion the 19-year-old clay has made a great start as a professional he's won all seven of his fights five of them by not playay

bragados Behavior made him unpopular among Sports writers around the country the wi by Angelo used to say this kid does everything wrong but it comes out right everybody wanted to see this kid cuz he was something new something bright I mean he he he let me tell you he wanted to be a fighter he was in just walking in the gym he was lighted up he was that kind of young I'm too fast I'm King to Camp with the many were eager to witness the loudmouth kid get knocked out there was just one problem clay

kept winning now makeup is Bell puffy around the left eyy and had cating extraordinary speed with his hands his feet I mean just move all night long all night long would move that's M off down three four five it's a knockout victory for Cash's CL that's Alex M and the winner by a TKO catches clay this is what they really love the Valley of the feet play more than any other heavyweight in history fights with his feet as much as is with his wrists shoulders hands arms before he came along it wasn't thought that men

of 15 stone or more could be light on their feet picking apart one fighter after the next with otherworldly speed you're going to be a fast fighter in C play you know you pull back you're not supposed to pull back players great speed quick hands not supposed to drop your hands he broke all the rules the conventional rules the textbook on boxing do and don't [Applause] he did all that he made wrong right how many guys are great enough to make wrong right he was he was I'm here to tell you all you think I'm

just talking you think I'm just running my mouth with each win more and more reporters turned out to get a quote from the lip he saw the publicity it brought and what did the publicity equal a larger and larger presence on the American Stage is this uh self-confidence in yourself perhaps a publicity gimmick As I understood and as I've met you know a lot of people a lot of people think it's a publicity gimmick but you can call it what you want he said he was the greatest before he actually was the greatest he wasn't

saying he's the greatest before he got the title he was saying it from day one Casas marcelus Clay is but 20 years old but he's making a strong imprint on the sport of pugilism as a professional he has won all 10 bout scoring seven Knockouts round one 10 Rounds scheduled Clay on the white trunks banks in Black I knew that night there was greatness in Muhammad Ali because he got there with a perfect left C there goes play on the floor he's got to take the M out on the way down he woke up that's

when I knew had a guy would great Banks smelled blood in the water but Clay's skill was too much once he recovered Bank was an easy target goes B down that's a knock down all right a flash knockdown just like the one that floored clay in round one now the knock down to Raven 15 seconds to go on the round he he hold combinations and speed faster than lightweights that's all ruby Goa stopping the fight that's all hey knock out for Cash's clay it was rather embarrassing me on the floor and uh as you know

I think that I'm the greatest and I'm not supposed to be on the floor so I had to get up and put him on out in four as I predict but he created a style inside and outside the rim he did everything wor they would characterize as being wrong fundamentally kept his hands down being swayed back and forth to pull out punches just by midle met cashes did things all wrong from a technical point of view but he could get away with them because of his speeding it and play continues undefeated having won 14 in

a row now Daniels has 116 and lost one by a TKO I think he could be a good fighter if he control his egotism and confine himself to Serious training I'm only bold and before and after fight let me see you close your mouth and just keep it closed well you know that's impossible no no keep it closed you know that's impossible I'm the greatest I'm knocking out all bones and if you get too smallart I'll knock you out play's poetic pre-fight Trash Talk turned into prophecy he became known for predicting the round he would

dispatch his opposition the ensuing weeks play has boasted that more would be stopped in four [Applause] [Music] tonight and again play celebrates Moore is sent to the canvas Again by a barrage of punches and it's all over Tommy Hart stops more in four just as predict in about 1 minute and 30 seconds of the fourth round Doug Jones are going toight fight him on March 13th and poetically you've said where what well Doug Jones presently is ranked number three in the top 10 heavyweights of the world I'm ranked number two it was the 13th time

in 14 Knockouts that clay had correctly predicted the round he'd win I got two piece of tape and put it over his mouth when we're going to the [Music] way leaning into the lip nickname clay was a promotional Pioneer cash clay of Louisville Kentucky in white Trunks and Doug Jones of New York City in the dark trunks Casas has his sight set on Sunny listen the World Heavyweight Champion One of a Kind totally [Applause] unique special gamechanging human being a tremendous job of physical conditioning By Angelo dundy in the case of Cash's play at home

we're looking now the decision is that the winner is Cash's play let me finish let me talk this boy's modest I'm the greatest he's not a toer I'm going to fight Sunny Liston right after I mate Hendry Cooper Henry Cooper was the popular British champ and unnown brawler if the fight as good as Z Can chant well it's going to be a good fight for the public that's I can well how are you going to finish Henry Cooper so quickly as you said Cooper will fall in fast a true test for the Speedy clay over

55,000 fans crammed into Wembley to watch their champ Champion quiet the bragado docious kid clay the gimmick man to the last comes into the ring with this monster crown on his head and all the way down to the ringside people were throwing things and trying to knock the crown off his head clay relished playing the part of the heel he walked into the ring to A Chorus of ooze shake hands when the bill Rings come out boxing and may the best man win and player said I'll beat him in five we'll see so here we

go the fight of the Year playay from the right hand corner against Cooper of Britain Cooper Has Come Out full of fight Cooper immediately turned to dirty tactics trying to hold Clay's arms the tactic worked allowing Cooper to land some early shots and now Clay is arguing with the referee that Cooper's trying to hold him and he's getting angry clay was angered and grew a little reckless as a result clay has gone fighting m [Music] look at him he's got his arms down he's contemptuously treating Cooper his arms are down by his hip Cooper connected

clean with a powerful left hook for the first time in his career clay was hurt well you remember when Henry Cooper knocked down Ali but that was like the biggest thing in the UK ever heard him bad on the Bell the Bell has sounded and he's up at about three clay that was the end of the fourth round and he hit him about 2 seconds before the end of the round he's still half out clay the most courageous fighter I ever watched I ever studied clay came out attacking in the F and out we come

for round five and now round five is the round in which clay said he would beat Cooper but now this crowd at Wembley are beginning to Bay for a coopa win playay sniped the cut over his eye over and over again koopa's left eye is pouring blood gum shs flying out Henry is dripping blood [Applause] it's round five and now he's stepping in and I think this is it the the tow has come in from Cooper's Corner and Tommy Little's looking at it and he's had to stop the fight it's all over in round five

and Clay is getting bombarded with programs from angry ringsider coer Corner threw in the towel and Clay had one and five just as predicted clay was now ready to take aim at history I watched him here in the gym a few months ago when he was here to fight Howard King and he can hit a guy on the elbows and just about break his L was a virtually Invincible just a Dre of a fighter list was a great fighter I seen him knock out a guy's teeth one night it's the truth there's no baloney hit

him so hard he dis lied the mafy and the teeth went with the m he had this very forbidding intimidating utterly hostile manner about him Lon was considered to be Godzilla he was going to reain for a thousand years he sought out heavyweight champion Sunny L heavyweight boxing champion Sunny do you really think you can beat Sunny Lon I don't think I can beat him by know I can beat him I want that big ugly bear Sunny list I want him bad and I can't wait and he must fall in eight to prove that I

am great this is theice that everyone has been claming for and as of this minute it is now [Music] official in the leadup to the fight clay was spotted frequently with Malcolm X the rumors began to swirl leading up to the listed fight that cashes had been clearly seen in the com of Malcolm X that really deeply shook a number of uh insiders in the sports media Malcolm X who had taught himself to read in jail discovered the world of ideas and who had exploded on the scene as the most articulate and dynamic negro leader

since Frederick Douglas uh I want to talk with you briefly about your affiliation with Casas how long have you known him about 3 years I'm handsome I'm bad I'm pretty and can't Poss possibly be beat Lon was seen as Invincible Liston almost the first time he hits him could be one perhaps two I'll take one clay announced he joined the Muslim religion sparking even more controversy Cashes Clay decided to announce that morning he' joined the black Muslim religion an unpopular militant group cases controversy not controversy but there's great interest in the fact that you have

joined the Muslim religion how long have you had this impres oh for the past 6 years I would say Clay's Behavior got into Sunny's head everyone else had feared him but not this loudmouth kid now we'll see the craziest weighin in all boxing history you don't want to make sunny mad Sunny's bad enough but he's not mad and I agreed to that all the way up and then he hit the door said uh anybody would have to be afraid of a crazy man it was all part of young Clay's master plan C was smart and

he is clever and he had he could get on The Liston skin more so than anybody else I saw Sunny listing a few days ago C ain't he ugly he he's too ugly to be the world's CH the world's CH should be pretty like me well he told me to bet my life that you wouldn't go three rounds well if you want to lose your money then bet on Sunday via theater network television in over 350 locations tonight you'll be seeing this all important fight to be somebody who was whistling past the graveyard somebody who

had to be scared who was trying to you know keep his courage up before he was destroyed the only way he could beat Liston was with a machine gun and even that was doubtful as for Clay's chances against Sunny Liston the Sports World expected the lip would be shut up in brutal fashion clay was the most controversial polarizing figure in sports clay play and now he was going to be taught his place cash play on the move as we see looking to get Sunny to Lun carrying his left hand dangerously low very slippy greatest of

all time greatest athlete Ambassador human being of all time from the opening bell clay danced circles around the bear the Challenger is jabbing all over body and at right hand the best touch of the fight so look at the guy yawning tell us what you think at the end of one well I think this were the greatest round any any fight we've seen in a long time because I think playay complet the high class on l in this round D wble it was a master class in the sweet science hasn't hurt clay battered Liston into

submission Johny has a big mouth below his left eye and he's getting hit with all the punches in the book six round when list went back to his Corner Liston was a beaten man what do you think is going on in Sunny's mind at this point Liston didn't come up and answer the belt the doctors stopped it because they were complaining about the shoulder they might be stopping it that might be all ladies and gentlemen I think maybe back of his mind he thought he was going to get knocked out Sunny L not coming out

Sunny L is not coming out he's out the winner in the new heavyweight champion of the world is Cashes play last on going 1964 he became heavyweight champion of the world upsetting Sunny Lon the 7 to1 favorite electrified and there he was right in front of me and a whole bunch of other newspaper men pointing down to us like this I told you I told you I told you exactly what I was going to do and no nobody even the big uh Sports writers they they were in awe over what he had done so great

I don't have a mark on my face and I upset son list and I just t 22 years old I must be the greatest I am the king of the world hold it hold it hold Prett hold it you're not that pretty I'm a bad man wa wait I sh up the world I sh up the World clay had done it much to the annoyance of the boxing establishment had Lon gotten by and escaped with the victory that night the powers that be never would have allowed Cash's clay to fight for the heavyweight championship of

the world again who's the greatest who's the greatest said he was the greatest all of the odds were against him he upset the odds makers he won he became Victorious he became the champ cases Clay is a name no more is that right yes sir it's Muhammad Ali Muhammad means worthy of all praises and Ali means most high in the Asian African language officially Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali right Muhammad Ali that's my name after upsetting the World by dethroning the bare Sunny Liston clay dialed up the heat announcing proudly he was changing his name from

now on he would be known as Muhammad Ali now for the first time in his career clay began to draw a bad press almost unanimously the sports writers of the country turned against him Ali's name change made him even more of a pariah among the mainstream the boxing commission was even threatening to strip him of his title the title does not belong to the holder the title belongs to the world boxing Association we no longer had Cash's Play We Now had Muhammad Ali my name is Muhammad y'all keep calling me cashes I'm tired of telling

you you know you're intelligent my name is Muhammad Ali what do you think of cases' victory in Miami I think it was a great Victory he proved he was the best man before the rematch with Liston Malcolm X was gunned down February 21st 1965 Malcolm X was assassinated causing interracial tension across the country the nation was coming apart at the scams Ali's involvement with Malcolm X turned him into a face of America's growing tensions what do you think about Muhammad Al former casus CL you think you can beat him yes I do many observers had

thought Ali's victory in the first Liston bout was a fluke the ex-champ was a 9o5 favorite going into the rematch the rematch with sunny listen was moved to Maine as few cities expressed interest in hosting Ali again Liston was heavily favored and again the media couldn't wait to be finished with Ali introducing the challer opponent the heavyweight champion of the world mam the F rounds are left the world heavyweight title The Big Fight The Big Night round number one here we go when the fight began Ali danced around the range you'll note that cases wants

to stay out in the center of the Ring where where he happens to be the king Mohammad threw I don't know maybe four punches at most he sized up the bear and with one punch Sunny Liston went down the Press began calling it the phantom punch implying Foul Play all that said and Everyone likes to talk about the impact he had outside of the Ring it simply wouldn't have had the same kind of force had he not done the impossible inside the ring it was impossible to beat Sunny Liston that was just never going to

happen all the kind of resonance now of his life outside the ring I think was Amplified by the fact that he was in fact the greatest heavyweight who ever lived one minute of the price round the winner by a knock out and still the heavyweight champion of the world Mohamed Ali the crowd was less than pleased with the quick outcome he got hit hard I hit him with a punch that Jack Johnson used called The Anchor punch and this is a punch that Jack Johnson took to the graveyard with him nobody knew it but Stephen

fetch it and it's a Twist like chopped right hand that is hard to see from the time the punch started to the where it landed it was 4100 of the second which is a i bling like a camera flash that's 400 a second now the minute I hit Sun listen all of those people blinked at that moment that's why they didn't see when a youngster named cashes CL took Sunny liston's heavyweight title in 1964 boxing received a long overdue shot in the arm the vocal controversial play left the trail of reporters in his weight for

the next nine years Ali would next take on Floyd Patterson Patterson refused to call Ali by his new name and Bash The Champ for his faith Patterson announced he wanted to reclaim the title for America attacking Ali's patriotism and his conversion to the Nation of Islam by refusing to call the champ Muhammad Ali insisting upon Cash's clay Ali took this personally and made a point to embarrass Patterson you must be aware of the fact that Patterson has become a kind of sentimental hero in this country because of I want him to be the hero I

want everybody to cheer him and I want them all to boo me this gives me more strength and it makes me fight harder and it feel the wind feels much bigger when I feel that I have defeated everyone betting on him too the champion just moves dances Glides and slides this man fires in every direction crowd did not dream when they laid down their money that Ali would retire Floyd and suay when Muhammad Ali got him in the win he became pretty cruel in his beating the FL he carried Patterson 12 rounds before enough was

enough what about the time I fought for patteron I mean he could hit me founded very hard to slip that last left lead I mean I actually played with him I beat him in wheel I didn't really hurt him but they stopped the fight because it wasn't even no contest and that's it referee K stops The Fight 2 minutes 18 seconds of round 12 TKO Mohamad Ali cashes play again the crowd was less than pleased to see Ali win for years many news outlets refuse to refer to the boxer by his new name I'm not

Cass he still calling me I can't you're talking talking you want to keep calling me a white man's name I'm not white I don't want to be called after your name no more I'm not no slave I'm Mohammad Ali with America's contentious involvement in Southeast Asia growing more and more young men were being forced into service Ali was Suddenly reclassified by the government and made draft eligible after Ali was declared eligible for the draft on February 17th 1966 Ali finally replied I ain't got no quarrel with them VI ATC this prompted Ali to declare if

he were drafted he would not be going announced his refusal to fight in Vietnam Dr Martin Luther King Jr arrived to stand beside Ali My My Views on the draft very clear I'm against it and I think the sooner our country does away with the draft the better it will be for everybody I'm very disturbed about the militaristic posture of our nation when he basically said I ain't going um a lot of us were kind of like yeah baby I ain't going either I'm just trying to figure out another way of doing as you viewers

know there is absolutely no secret about the fact that Muhammad Ali or Cashes Clay as you will has become one of the most controversial Personalities in this entire country and no one in the States including promoters wanted anything to do with the champ virtually every city of note put out uh pronouncements that they wouldn't allow the fight in their City we ended up in Toronto the powers that set about making an example of Ali so that no others would dare follow his Reckless path now blacklisted in the US his left eye is beginning to swallos

that's from the left jab of the champion Ali scrambled to find any location that would allow him to host a match as a result he fought his next four fights in Europe and Canada he won a unanimous decis decision in his next outing this is the hotel where Muhammad Ali or Cash's clay as you will the heavyweight champion of the world is in training for the defense of his crown Ali returned to Vegas to train but found no takers for a fight in the states he headed overseas to fight a rematch against British champion Henry

Cooper the controversial Ali headed overseas to find opponents between May and September of 1966 he defended his title three times all in Europe Ali's fights were drawing record crowds much to the Chagrin of the boxing Powers Muhammad theik because that's his new pose began to walk the Streets of London Muhammad Ali likes to do this he likes the agulation that he's getting in London Town people in London don't view him the way so many in America do with Vietnam raging in the background Muhammad Ali was no longer just a boxer and his fights were no

longer just Sport and there's for round one while his stance was really unpopular in the main he became not only the hero of the black people but of the young white people just like the first fight Ali opened a cut over Cooper's eye should look at it because it is a terrible looking eye above the left eye ladies and gentlemen and of course it's a disappointing thing coming at at about a minute and 45 seconds of the sixth round the champion is still champion in this 110 world heavyweight championship fight ever stay since Jeff and

Corin 3 weeks before the fight Ali is in serious training prior to leaving for England he was meant to be a pariah instead he had become a counterculture hero it didn't matter where the fights were Ali was a class above the competition Muhammad Ali is defending His World Heavyweight Championship in London England against European heavyweight title holder Brian London a sharp Break by Ali Ali moving in on [Applause] London a fuselage of punches by Muhammad Ali London goes down the fight is over Ali wins by a knockout Mohammad Ali is still The Undefeated world heavyweight

champ champion and looks like he's at his brilliant bet the last three fights are here in Europe two in London England one in American networks still refused to use Ali's new name just over a month after beating Brian London Ali was defending his title in Frankfurt West Germany against the European heavyweight champ Carl milenberg Ali headed to Germany where he was mobbed by European fans they adored alian Europe against the European champion Ali used the jab to devastating effect muhamad Ali as the bell we're ready for and Ali took on the biggest baddest toughest guys

on the planet he that these were tough guys and Ali would just beat him into pulse textbooks sticking [Applause] moves the ey again now bleeding [Applause] [Applause] heavy bar he was knocked down swy with the straight right oh bety walon is stopping this bout it's a technical knockout Ali's hard-earned victory in Frankfurt will be the last time the champion would fight on network TV for 7 years back home in the states the draft was intensifying protests were growing in numbers as more and more young men returned home in body bags he stood up for things

when it was not popular nor it did him no good to do that for his career other than to be a righteous indiv ual after four fights abroad Ali's promoters had finally managed to secure an American venue this is the astrom in Houston Texas blacklisting Ali had been a failure it had made him a face of the counterculture Cleland Williams the big knockout artist from here comes Muhammad Ali cas's play the heavyweight champion of the world the Texas crowd showered Ali with booze 22 and 34 theu [Music] mamed 15 round and he was lambasted and

boo mandatory we have a knock down in round two it was a masterpiece welterweight combination had him going down on his sitting down above us this is Art this is Art right here it's art because there was never a heavyweight that moved like this people have to realize this just didn't exist Man 1 minute and 5 Seconds of the third round heavyweight champion Cashes Clay goes through the final stages of training for the defense of his title against Ernie Terell Terell had got it into his head that he could rattle Ali's cage by calling him

Cash's clay Cash's clay yes why do you want to say cash is Clay when how coel and everybody is calling me Muhammad Ali then why you got to be the one of all people whose color to keep saying cash is Clay uh Howard carcel is not the one that's going to fight you I am my name is Muhammad Ali and you will announce it right there in the C of that ring after the fight if you don't do it now so ladies and gentlemen as the two contestants prepare for battle it did not have the

effect Terell intended [Music] the heavyweight champion of the world Mohamed he's the dancing master he's the ring magician he's the champion who has been labeled the fastest moving heavyweight in the entire history of one century of world heavyweight champions Terrell couldn't touch Ali a heavyweight who Moved as quickly like a lightweight quicker than a lightwe they used his legs Ali pouring it on now stinging whipping [Applause] punching it's amazing that Ernie Terell has taken such a beating and is still standing Ali handed out a beat down in which he stood Center ring and demanded Terell

address him by his proper name and Al he is really whing and he is screaming at him what's my name what's my name a brilliant boxing exhibition by Champion Muhammad Ali as he receives a unanimous verdict to the public and all of the doubs out there that earn in Terell has no class whatsoever and you cannot compare him even in my uh rank I don't think you have to say that really the man fought a courageous fight you would say everything if I lost especially you the draft lottery a live report on tonight picking of

the birth dates for the draft it was now when Ali got the news his number had been called he was going to be drafted and sent to Vietnam go 10,000 miles uh away from home here in America to drop bombs and bullets on other innocent uh brown people who's never bothered us and uh I will say directly no I will not go Ali was due to be inducted into the Armed Forces in the coming week we what did cashes say to you when you stepped into the ring and shook hands with him before the Terrell

fight excuse me Muhammad Ali Ali was set to take on Zora Foley at New York's Madison Square Garden taking Zora Foley to lightlight why would you say that because every indication has been that you're confident that you can beat Zar I'm confident I can whip all of them this ain't nothing new my image is being confident what you're trying to make it look like something new for I'm always confident I'm with all of them you're being extremely truculent whatever truculent mean if that's good done there and with his military induction looming Ali hinted before the

fight that this might be the Public's last chance to see him in action for a while Ali was aware there was a strong chance this would be the last time he ever entered a boxing ring we're just about ready to go here at Madison Square Garden Muhammad Ali and Zora Foley scheduled for 15 the Gladiators are wearing 8 O gloves Muhammad Ali the white trunks zor Foley the Challenger with every Victory scored in the ring the people's Champion gained cultural power and they're fing down I am the gra this would be the final time Ali

fought for the next 3 and A2 years the anti-vietnam movement was gaining ground and Ali was becoming the face cas's clay or as he prefers to be called Muhammad Ali reports to an army induction Center in Houston Houston Texas however he says he will refuse on religious grounds to take the Army over Friday in Houston was the Champion's Moment of Truth he showed up at the induction Center but refused to step forward bringing on the thread of prison and a shattered career as you have just seen the heavyweight champion of the world is rejected induction

into the military service sentences you to 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine the boxing Powers took immediate action boxing Commissioners around the country immediately stripped him of his boxing licenses an indictment by a Federal grand jury would follow in May Muhammad Ali was unceremoniously stripped of his title it took an all-h jury less than a half hour to find Muhammad Ali guilty of all charges he was sentenced by federal judge Ingraham to 5 years in prison and was F $10,000 in a time where every Young American Boy feared being forced to fight in

a war they wanted no part of Muhammad Ali stood up for all of them and said no he had basically crossed the Rubicon didn't take long for them to stripping love his title suddenly it didn't seem so Craven to be afraid to go into the army and fight this war Ali was no longer on the sports page but the front page New York Joe Frasier knocked out Buster Mattis in the 11th round with Mohammad Ali now out of the picture that means that in New York Massachusetts Maine Illinois Texas and Pennsylvania Joe Frasier is now

recognized as the heavyweight champion of the world MLK Stood Beside Ali again I think that he's doing what he is doing on the basis of conscience I've talked with him about it and I think he's absolutely uh sincere no matter what you think Mr Muhammad Ali's religion you certainly have to admire his courage legal seg ation of restaurants restrooms he means so much to me he meant and means so much to so many people there were millions of young men my age eligible for the draft for a war that we didn't believe in all of

us huddled on the conveyor belt that was rapidly feeding the war machine but it was Ali who stood up for us by standing up for [Music] himself Alli had the strength to speak in a time you could be silenced Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight ladies and gentlemen we've kept the air on because we've heard an alarming report that Robert Kennedy was shot with Bobby Kennedy gone Martin Luther King gone Malcolm X gone who was that to relate to when Vietnam exploded in our face the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement

had merged and America was boiling over he took loud profound powerful stands Against Racism at a time nobody did nobody did what about your unpatriotic remarks that you made you said you were the people's Champion yes sir do you think that you're acting like a people's Champion yes sir after he was stripped of the title and the right to fight anywhere in the world he gave speeches at colleges and on television that totally reached me look for me to be on the trail to jail without bail in making a bankrupt and a felon out of

this Champion they had made him a martyr and a hero I would like to hear this from you and I want the world and the cameras to hear who's the heavyweight champion of the world they took away his money his prizes reduced his Fame slandered his name and my title be taken without me been whooped one more time they aimed to break him financially imprison him and silence him the mightiest government in the world come down on you yet he didn't compromise you my enemy my enem is a white people not VI Chinese or Japanese

cases had receded and the man who became Muhammad Ali had transcended sport this nation will rise up live out the true meaning of its Creed they were the police jury and executioner all in one you my opposer when I want freedom you my opposer when I want Justice you my oppos when I want equality you won't even stand up for me in America for my religious belce and you want me to go somewhere and fight but you won't even stand up for me here at home there had been no arraignment there had been no trial

there had been no conviction the very essence of due process had been abroad it after 3 years Ali's case was overturned by the Supreme Court he appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court and in 1971 his conviction was finally reversed Ali here today A victim in his greatest fight at the Supreme Court exonerated at last Muhammad Ali was back I haven't uh really went into training and I haven't really been up against stiff competition in three and a half years so but I figure if I condition myself up time he was out would

have been great it would have been a watching a master at work cuz he had reached his F foror full maturity so the world never got to see the best of ouri what you got was plenty but didn't see the best of you know you got that window as a fighter man it's like four to six years and and he and half of it let's take it in a televised and sold out sparring session Ali showed he still had something left in the tank well yes it really did after been all three years and reading

various writeups about does he still have a speed can he still dance he's overweight or how would he look for his return fight Ali took on Jerry Cory the heavyweight champion of the world oh well I don't think it'd be part because I don't think anybody took the title away from him in the ring so I think we're fighting for the title in this auditori Muhammad Ali will try to show that the teeth of time have not GED away the sharp edges of his flashing attack if his come back bals he'll become another Sports might

have been the question on everyone's mind was whether Ali could ever be the fighter he once was now on the far side coming in course the crowd yelling screaming mix [Applause] booze here he comes the first time again stepping in as a heavyweight and an important fight since his last title defense three and 1/2 years ago Muhammad Ali coming up with his handlers here all right we're ready to go 2 minutes again clay utilizing the jab Cory trying to get in the left hook [Music] no hav is having quite a comeback and he appears to

be in excellent shape as a cut over Cory's left eye Ali looked sharp in his return his jab sliced Quarry up the ref stopped it after three rounds referee tonny Perez standing directly above Forest Corner watching him and Perez is calling for the do bridge Tony Perez has signal the fight is over apparently because of an eye cut it's a terrible cut Tom you and I both can see it the winner at the end of the third round by a TKO mamed [Applause] Ali after his suspension for three and a half years he comes back

and reinvents himself becomes a whole different allei his next opponent made the fight personal why you not go the Army I will tell you Monday night in the first clinch we get chicken you good deal keep talking Ringo bonov not a polished boxer clay clay clay I said Muhammad Ali clay We I will you will call it when the fight comes off lost two decisions a 10 rounder and a 15 rounder the second for the heavweight championship of the world but never knocked down he wait till the fake please tell everybody to get to your

theaters I've never had a man that I wanted to whoop so bad crowd draws now as Muhammad Ali comes down the aisle April 28 1967 Houston Texas refused military induction in the courts ever since it all threshold in his will well face Oscar won for him the first was eroded was diminished it was he reinvented himself and now instead of winning with skill he won will will ship of the world now we have a chance to see who the real champion of the world is there was only one fight left to be fought in this

country between Ali and Frasier at last the fight of the century could be set between Joe Frasier and the now returned Muhammad Ali a slow flat-footed ugly slow awkward Joe phase you're going to whip Mohammad Ali if he dreamed he better wake up and apologize I'm going to show you that I'm the real champion and I'm going to stay here and let you take pictures give you an interview every day I'm playing and show you that I'm still the real Champion how you going to have two champions of the world he the ultimate Champion the

real Champion is back now the champion of the world I'll straighten you out I beat son list twice and they wasn't con it's all over let me finish you Ain fighting no you listen you listen look I'm the champ you ain't you listen right on now listen that's all over Sun listen is all over now you champ their first fight at Madison Square Garden in 1971 was dubbed the fight of the century two unbeaten Champions battling it out for Supremacy heavyweight boxers Joe Frasier and Muhammad Ali meet in New York's Madison Square Garden Monday night

in what one promoter calls the biggest fight since Kane Tangled with AEL 40 years ago the entire Sports Universe was tuned in to Madison Square Garden New York City just listen to the noise of this crowd this is well going to be a great evening for boxing fans all over the world Muhammad Ali in the ring in a beautiful beautiful red and white robe the event was known as the Battle of Champions now here comes Joe Frasier Joe Frasier will be here any minute he's coming out listen to the Roar of this crowd I want

to tell you this is going to be a spectacular evening the tension and the excitement here is Monumental two Champions each with a claim to the title and undefeated records Rose to the top and faced each other that night for the first time in Heavyweight Championship history we have two undefeated fighters in there Frasier has won all 26 of his bouts with 23 Knockouts and Muhammad Ali has won all 31 of his bouts with 25 Knockouts Mohammad [Applause] Ali he were both somehow undefeated Undisputed heavyweight champions and now we're ready hundreds of millions are seeing

this vout around the world and they were both under 30 at the time rer will try to pour in and catch his man each fighter delivering crushing blows that was a hard left took that c Frasier Ali shakes his head that is warned for holding behind the neck [Applause] round [Applause] two as the fight went on a good exchange Frasier's power began to wear on Ali mam Ali may have been [Applause] St rer has been hit with solid right hands that would have F an ordinary man blood he is bleeding inside the [Applause] mouth round

three round three if I just touch him one time the left fo he going to know by that was going to be his style he would take two to land one he would take three to land one but he would keep coming forward he's hit this man with his suy punches and Joe keeps coming in that night Joe Frasier was about as good a fighter as anyone has ever been ever in the ring that's still a good ja left [Applause] my the first part of the round was all Muhammad Ali but Fraser kept pouring in

Relentless round five round five good one two on a jab now rer is mimicking Ali it's just smiling at him that's the way Muhammad Ali used to tr his [Applause] opponent I don't see how this fight Can Go the Distance how as The Crowd has changed before the yelling Ali Ali now they're yelling Joe Joe and Joe says come on out and fight the Bell hasn't sounded there it is round eight round [Applause] eight left cut Ali not to get that hand behind the neck [Applause] I can still hear the roar that went up all

could hardly believe this was going to happen and here it was Muhammad Ali holds on but Joe's not rushing in there either he's holding too Joe Fraser gave such an extraordinary [Music] effort that one hurt go to that mamad Ali tager Muhammad Ali was locked he's holding on desperately Muhammad Ali was staggered in the 11th and almost went down that's the end of round 14 and what another great round it was all right this is the final round of the fight and what a fight it's been 16 and Ali is going to go boing again

Frasier dropped Al with an iconic left hook iconic left hook that drops him and cements the decision [Applause] his heavyweight finwe champion of the world frer Fraser for the first time in his career Muhammad Ali was [Applause] beaten Frasier won the unanimous decision and was now the true Undisputed heavyweight champion that he was in the hospital yes for more than a week after that fight trying to recover from the fight no nothing broken just because he had used up all the fluids of life right in that fight and he was never the same smoker Joe

Frasier was the first man to defeat the legendary Muhammad Ali and when I do come back if I ever do I'll have a more of a hungerer determination which is something you lose in the intoxication of soall greatness at this point few believed Ali could ever recapture his former glory the body is now aging you ready a shell of what it used to be the man's beset by fear hosel had often doubted Ali's capacity to regain his flber glory Ali headed to Switzerland to fight their [Applause] champ just how far we will go if we're

determined enough and trained enough how far we it go to accomplish something and if this head work and arm work gets a bit too rough there's always a chance in the Le get I did the same when I was kind to mats but I'm not showing any tonight and he means it come on let him him [Music] [Applause] opening up he's goinging him a mandatory 8 lb he's slumped on his knees there just like a stricken ball Jurgen Liv he really felt the effect of those punches and sued them up but I don't think his

heart can do it it's all over it's all over in round seven and they're really throwing things into the ring here it was a great finish by muhamed Ali next a rematch with former champ Floyd Patterson helping me to get ready for my rematch with Joe Frasier this is why this fight means so much it will help to get me in shape for Joe Frasier and if I lose I will not get a chance at Joe Frasier so I must win before the fight Joe Frasier showed up for some fan agulation the fight the winner

is M hammed Ali but while Frasier was reigning at top the boxing world and Ali was reclimb the mountain a new Challenger was Rising look at George piz I thought that with my fist I could knock any man out before Foreman was selling grills he was handing out beat downs forman's Dynamite power in both hands is making him the scourge of the heavyweight division as a puncher as has ever existed George Forman is now the number one Contender for the heavyweight championship and the question is who's going to stop this Foreman steamrolling it looks like

Muhammad Ali and even Champion Joe Fraser will have to make room for this Houston tornado George Foreman a fight was made between Frasier and foran Frasier was Heavy favorite although in hindsight that seems ridiculous conventional wisdom heading into the fras fight was that George was a raw sort of rookie without the depth or the background to beat a great fighter like Joe scoring 34 Knockouts he's 6'4 and has a reach of 78 1/2 in George Foreman the Challenger because Joe Fraser had beaten Muhammad Ali and was undefeated they didn't see how this young kid could

win he was undefeated and was coming off the Ali win and he was a three and 1 half to one favorite than [Music] you what down and then he's got these hands that are literally like canned hands and he just George was powerful there's no doubt about that me he was out there to get me the Beast who was George Foreman who had beaten Joe Frasier beating him up Foreman blasted Frasier knocking him down six times it was absolutely devastating no one could believe it and from that point on George was regarded as Invincible he

ding discharges on me man I couldn't survive George Foreman was just a bear of a man at that point he was Sullen and distant and flat out scary you've been known as the hardest puncher ever has never taken this kind of punishment all I had was this one punch and if I could hit you with you I would hit you with it i' take you out if I miss you you'd win on decision it's target practice for George Foreman's power was a weapon unlike any the sport had seen Foreman annihilated Joe Frasier and took the

crown the winner is George foran [Applause] you to be heavyweight champion of the world as soon as it happens to you it's like uh John El Sullivan uh Bru all the Joe Lewis Rocky Mariana moham it's like they all just pour right into you and you feel that moment you feel I am the heavyweight champion of the world the crushing defeat upset the boxing world Frasier's Reign was over you must be bitter over the fact that Joe elected to go with Foreman thus costing you and Joe a Fortune of money it didn't cost me you

know like every other month I'm working I you know takes longer but whatever me and Joe would have earned I'll do it in a year anyway he's fighting three or four fellas here and there but I wanted to be the one to whip him that made me angry that I wasn't the one to whip him Ali took on Bob Foster next he dropped him six times in eight rounds a good right Ali playing his game despite the blood pretending to stagger another right oh another knockdown a quick left the sixth knockdown of Bob Foster in

this fight he's a courageous man but this it seems to me is the time to call it quits it's over it's over it's a knock out it looked for most that Ali and Foreman were on a collision course there was just one more fight before Ali would get another title shot Ken Norman I'm going see Kenny Norton Kenny Norton Kenny Norton the young man who's been seasoned by sparring with Joe Frasier Mohammad Ali Ali the bell for round one Norton was a tremendous Underdog just another tuneup for Ali good left there by n now you

see Ali for the first time beginning to dance Ali's started sluggishly won the first as I saw it lost the second round as I saw it and then started to fight the Ali away as you see him now doing at some point in the fight one of Norton's punches fractured Ali's JW unknown unheralded youngster who really didn't seem to belong in the same ring with Ali you're looking at a tired Muhammad Ali frankly no one gave Kenny Norton a chance as you look at the two fighters was able to connect early and often on a

lead one has to wonder has he gone stale from the constancy of fighting no matter the caliber of opponent one has to wonder is it all suddenly going out of is he now but a relic of the fighter he was a countdown for the end of the fight Ali's mouth is bloody to left gets in and a good right he is all over on this crowd is going wild they are sensing a decision in favor of unknown Kenny n nobody can really believe what they have seen it is a tired Ali and a hurt Ali

it is is one of the greatest upsets again in boxing history Ali had been on the trail to recapture his stolen title a trail that may have ended with a broken jaw and a loss to sixth ranked Ken Norton Saturday night now he was viewed as an aging hasb been the talk is that Ali is finished he washed up but I have a big surprise for the whole world the bee has not lost his thing and the Butterfly still has his wings some of his closest Associates feel that Muhammad Ali has reached the end of

the line Ken Norton the first man who ever managed to really really silence him and he did that as you well know by breaking his job that last fight a dead end or perhaps just a bend in the road Jane chain Channel 4 Sports oh the Muhammad Ali Kenny naon rematch the scene set Monday night past Los Angeles California not even an hour before fight time I don't think in all the years I've known you I've ever seen you so sternly subdued so quiet what does this mean well that atmosphere calls s how or as

I heard you say on one's sport show that if I lose them finish you know it shows you how people consider my talent I sensed the self-doubts I sensed that he had begun to question himself probably up at the training camp George Foreman the heavyweight champion of the world George has got on one of those do Hawaiian shirts with much of the world doubting him Ali set a rematch with Ken Norton between them in 73 fights there's only been three losses if H lost this fight it was unlikely he'd ever get another shot at the

title with the left and Ali definitely up on the toes Bud Ali simply couldn't avoid the punches like before ask him did he have on his dancing shoes he had it was going to be a battle of Will and heart the left jab by Ali heavyweight champ of the George Foreman is leaving George can't stand for a fight to go over two rounds I guess Alli still on his toes still dancing come back George Foreman you're missing a great fight yes he hurt n is again he's hurt n but a lot more at stake particularly

for Mohammad Ali he has said he might retire if he loses Norton style appears as though he had taken on a new respect for Ali's punching power nort kept pounding away oh right in the great basket and that hurt Ali A man's entire fistic future may be riding on this round and he's on his toes again Ali with a beautiful combination Alli coming on strong Ali had enough left in the tank to pull out the final round a minute and 45 seconds to go but Norton's too tired now to punch [Applause] back I've got a

feeling you got a feeling what I think that the comeback of Muhammad Ali has happened I gave Ali the last round I think that that is the round that's going to win the fight for it ladies and gentlemen we have a split decision to the winner [Music] Muhammad Ali had won the split decision right now I think I want Joe frasia you want Joe fras I want Joe frasia I'm going to retire soon former might duck me but I want Joe Frasier I want Joe Frasier the Quest for another title shot was back on brother

here this too no that down quick Joe well we're having a scene both were seeking a shot at the title both were standing in one another's way fing Joe [Music] Frasier was thought by most to be the end of the Rivalry since both Fighters appeared headed toward the dark days of their career having Avenged both of his defeats Ali set aim on the champ big George foran in his career he's copied the baleful stare of the man who once was his boxing hero Sunny list the devastating power of George Foreman is something of a legend

George Foreman when George Foreman wasn't selling grills was the Beast of all times hit it and he is knocked out George foran Foreman had been on a tear knocking out everyone he faced most inside the first round or two any of his fights when he when he scored those big knockouts uh he would really brutalize the guy before he got him out of there final knockdown takes place look at Roman's eyes utterly glazed Forman with that imp passive face now forman's being acknowledged as the winner Roman still cannot get up Kenny Norton had split two

fights with Ali 24 rounds and was Ali was lucky to win the second one and he broke Ali's jaw and foureman knocked them both out in two rounds and then turn around and lost to Mohammad Ali 12 rounds on a split decision back in September combination of cheers and Cat calls definitely the favorite here as far as the crowd is concerned is Ken Norton as far as the odds are concerned it's George Foreman the most menacing heavyweight of all time it would be George foran I was going to be the best heavyweight that ever existed

he is with k Norton and the reason for that of course is that he doesn't like George Foreman one bit do you really believe Ali that he can beat this man yeah the man went 24 rounds with me broke my jaw in the first round I was in shape and S fight in those days he was a bully the people around him were afraid of him Foreman had really brutalized the people who trained him and they were terrified of him give him the hell he gave me as fast as I am as ACC as I

am I couldn't whoop Ken Norton I had beaten the best in Joe FIA no doubt about it I had beaten the best people had some something to say about that I said you know what I'm going to kill one of these fellas then they'll shut up and it looks like Norton has really been staggered for was a guy who destroyed frasia destroyed Kenny n whipped by Kenny N I knocked Kenny Norton out easily once again Muhammad Ali found himself in great demand the WBC and the WBA mandated the fight the public certainly wanted it and

the media clamored for it I think George Foreman will knock Muhammad Ali out and it'll end Muhammad Ali's career the boxes were scared handlers were scared the only person that didn't appear scared of Foreman was Ali the foreman that fought Ali 40 and0 37 Knockouts undefeat unbeatable guy's never going to lose everybody was scared but Mohammad Ali himself and Ali is getting the people to Ali that means Ali kill him true story Ali is running in zier and kasas Z Through the Alley and he comes across a mural of him crushing a war plane as

like a giant crushing a war plan and he realized at that moment this is bigger than him he's affected the entire world and so he had to beat George Foreman who no one could beat and he and and he realized it's not just about him beating Foreman he had to draw strength from all oppress peoples all over the world because he was their Champion now there's more right and Ali is getting the people to Ali B that means Ali kill [Applause] him have you fought many guys who were Talkers in their ring no one never

get chance to talk much by the time you get to know fellas all over as for the fight itself discussion centered not on who would win but on how much punishment Foreman would dish out time may have come to say goodbye to Muhammad Ali and now we understand that George Foreman is about to make his way through the ring because very honestly I don't think he can beat George Foreman coel was convinced that Ali is washed up [Applause] this guy was the closest thing to a human monster I I'd ever seen before he was certainly

the scariest boxer look at this now as they stare Muhammad Ali beginning to talk to George bman they're really putting the stare on each other I looked him in the eye to stare him down and said oh George you in sco when I was beating Sun L gone in the past four years Beyond Two Rounds in any fight a w up by George Foreman he knew that the one weakness in in this monster was thought of as unbeatable was his stamina the first round all of us y get off the roping round one and he

would just say shut up I know how I'm doing well I would say that the the round was very even course I se and Ali totally got into the guy's head and he didn't even realize it Ali had a chance to upset the world one more time it was muhamad Ali's fertile mind that created the Rope Here We Go Round number two the determin Ali get off his stool in between rounds George foran sat down all the way Ali leans on the ROP inting him starting second to third round when he went to the ropes

he was calling forming all kinds of name any name of ugliness you can think of the definitely serious tremendous combination B just like your initial bomb just lay on a rope and take a with it this time he did it with character he said I'm going to weather this don't the Rope of dop was something was invented by Muhammad Ali that night I must say I don't understand those tactics Joe of staying on the ropes and letting him hit it just shows you the power of intellect and intelligence and how that can compete against anything

and believe me I was a big powerful Giant in the ring with Muhammad I mean a knockout atist he stood up to me Forman setting him up against the Rope what look at him whispering in the a of foran Foreman so young so strong not supposed to do leaning up against the ropes four punches downstairs on Ali so Fearless I had him beat I really did and really thought I had him beat up in the body had him tired continues to talk against George Foreman he does away with his opponents one after another and less

than three Lan George not going that type of distance a long time he was treading in water you know never been in before this is the furthest that George Foreman has gone in a fight since 1972 misses the right hand Ali is definitely confusing him missing the shots that he missed it drained him look at forman's face he does look tired nobody knew the strength of Muhammad Ali he was manhandling him just like Arie said grabbing him and he emptied the guy's tank I was afraid he was going to get killed by a George Foreman

that many of our young viewers don't know backs him up in his back the right back to the left the ball ending round five I follow the best round of the fight unbelievable I thought he was hurt I thought his body was hurt he came back he hit for with everything and he winked at me yes there's no doubt about it he went right over here to this corner you know the guy really was the People's Choice and he was the People's Choice because he loves [Applause] them yes I'd hate to predicted any fight but

my goodness those people who said Foreman would win in a Flash have certainly been proved wrong in about the seventh round he asked me that all you got George that was like a nightmare I couldn't believe it I just knew I was going to knock him out in a few seconds and after eight rounds I am laying on the canvas listening to a referee I was [Music] embarrassed who's the 3 4 5 get I shook up the worldall I shook up the worldall muhamed Ali has won Muhammad Ali has won by a knockdown I'm the

greatest of all times mamad Ali has done it the great man has Against All Odds Ali had upset the world again I told you all of my critics I told you all that I was the greatest of all time when I beat Sunny Liston I told you today I'm still the greatest of all time Muhammad Ali recaptured his stolen title and was now the heavyweight champion of the world he was already an icon Now mobbed by fans and followed by the Press wherever he went he was a living legend the people's chimp Blood on the

show a name synonymous with greatness etched into the channels of sports history boing chion mamed [Music] Ali I am the greatness eight the referee stops the fight it'll be he loved people uh and he love the agulation of the crowd Joe Fraser will fall all of us thought it was going to be a nice easy fight come on gorilla we in Manilla where Ali comes out dances around the heat the and knocks him out in 78 a lot of people qu Joe Frasier was washed up we got something for you you you better believe it

is once described as the world's most famous man and indeed it's difficult to think of even a contender this is almost certainly Frasier's last chance to regain the title he collects $2 million for this appearance against his arch rival mamed [Music] Ali he's telling frasia what he's going to do to him and frasia is talking back they left pie of themselves in the ring that night each man aimed to destroy the other hammering away conducting his own [Applause] private whatever happened it's something fight and slowly their pride their heart it was still full theorious Le

[Music] [Applause] brutal the punch is reached right down into his [Applause] Bo had an awful lot of trouble coping with alli's fast hands several times he landed very hard punches on allly and I thought allly was gone now double hooking with that left hand round 10 schedu for 15 two of the greats okay going at it nearly killed each other between rounds before the 10th I heard Ally say something to you that I never heard him say before what was that Ali later said it was the closest thing to death he could imagine Goan out

of his M by right hand they've very nearly given it all by now his mouth is bleeding and fr reels about the ring on rubber legs he doesn't know where he is or what he's doing I think it's going to be over it's all over after 14 rounds of back and forth brawling Frasier's Corner Stop the fight years later Muhammad Ali said that if God ever called him to a whole War he wanted Joe Frasier by his side Ali won but Frasier had dished it out as well as he had received neither man would ever

be the same again and a great fight you know to for people but a damaging fight a fight where much of them was left in the ring that night much of them was left in the nose let N to whoever fight of the instead of retiring Ali continued on he successfully defended his title six more times us I think down oh combination five in a row left and right's toast is down goop is down so again Muhammad Ali has successfully defended his Heavyweight Championship knock out of the fth before facing Leon spin there's no explaining

why a guy comes back the [Applause] new it's tough tough to take away the Glamour the alore the light I would think that Muhammad Ali will have won back the heavyweight championship for the third time 11 years older than spanks with Muhammad Ali retirement was a Dirty Work Muhammad Ali now in the ring awaiting the arrival of Larry and he was really suffering from Parkinson's already he was yeah I was already kicked in evidence of some speech problems it was a fight Ali never should have taken Larry Holmes teeing off on Ali gets to his

feet ever so slow for the 10th round he was a shell of himself as a box at that particular moment in time and it actually broke Larry Holmes heart yeah it was like like hting a slow moving heavy bag over second all right I stopped the fight all right moli story is is a triumphant story cuz cuz he did Triumph and he did change his own life and he changed the lives of so many other people he was kind of a skinny like kid uh the first fight I put him in he weighed 89 PBS

heavy weighs Jimmy Jones and Casas clay square impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men Comin five in a row left and right too fast who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the world they have to change it he was somebody that had principles he stood for the world lost a true icon Muhammad Ali extremely truculent whatever truculent mean if that's good I'm there Ali forced us to take a look at ourselves oh never right hand this frash young man who thrilled us angered us

confused and challenged us ultimately became a silent messenger of Peace round five the champion El says I'm putting you away now get ready you're going down he was one of the most influential people of the 20th century and one of the most dominant athletes in the history of sports I'm the greatest the ball time cases how do you rate yourself as a fighter I wouldn't want to do too much bragging about it but everybody that watches me fight or everybody that has witnessed one of my bouts they say that I am the greatest that they've

ever seen and he whispered in my ear little brother you made my life better than a was I am the greatest but didn't he make all of our lives a little bit better than they were nobody brings it home like Joe no make it so [Music]