Before his bout with Joe Bugner in Las Vegas on February 14, 1973, Muhammad Ali met with Elvis Presley in his suite at the International Hilton Hotel. Elvis presented him with a boxing robe with the words “PEOPLE’S CHOICE” embroidered on the back. The $10,000 robe was supposed to say “PEOPLE’S CHAMP”, but the designer […]

Muhammad Ali traveled to Tokyo, Japan on April 1, 1972 to fight Mac Foster in his first bout of the new year. Ali weighed in at 226 lbs., and went the full 15 round distance with Foster. A month later, he was in Vancouver, Canada for a rematch with George Chuvalo. Ali was almost 9

 The “Fight of the Century”, between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier was signed for March 8, 1971 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It would be the first time that two undefeated heavyweight champions would meet in the ring, and was historical in many regards. Both men received $2,500,000 a piece, an incredible

After his knockout of Zora Folley in the seventh round on March 22, 1967, Muhammad Ali could do nothing but wait for his induction into the United States Army on April 28 in Houston, Texas. His intention was to refuse induction based on his religious beliefs, and face whatever legal ramifications followed. He had a

After his easy stoppage of Henry Cooper on May 21, 1966, Muhammad Ali returned to America for a few months, before venturing back to England to take on Brian London on August 6. The bout took place at Earls Court Arena in London, and the champion had an easy time disposing of London. Ali was

As I write this blog on October 2, 2025, it brings back the memories of the tragic bout on the same date 45 years ago. After having been gone for nearly two years, Muhammad Ali decided to come out of retirement in the spring of 1980. His original plans were to challenge the WBA champ

After the controversial second win over Sonny Liston on May 25, 1965, Ali chose Floyd Patterson as his next opponent. The bout was set for November 22 at the beautiful new Las Vegas Convention Center. Patterson had been knocked out twice by Liston, but had put together five straight victories coming into his shot at

 After his huge upset over Sonny Liston on February 25, 1964, Cassius Clay announced that he had joined the “Black Muslims’, and now wanted to be called Cassius X. A month later, he was given the name Muhammad Ali by the Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. The Muslims were viewed as a hate group

Cassius Clay’s last bout of 1963 was on June 18 vs. Henry Cooper, at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Cassius weighed in at 207 lbs. compared to Cooper’s 185 1/2lbs., and was an 8-1 favorite. Clay had been in the habit of predicting the round he would knock his opponent out in, and called the

Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. He began boxing at the age of 12, when a kid stole his bicycle, and he wanted to learn how to fight to get it back. A Louisville cop named Joe Martin the first one to suggest he become a