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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

The third and final fight between Joe Frazier and Ali was signed for September 30, 1975 in Manila, the Philippines, and was billed Ali as “The Thrilla in Manila”. The pre-fight banter by Ali was cruel, calling Frazier “The Gorilla”, in an attempt to get under Joe’s skin. Frazier smiled, but seethed underneath, and planned

 Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali agreed to meet for the second time, on January 28, 1974 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. After his knockout loss to George Foreman in January of 1973, Joe had one more bout that year, vs. Joe Bugner on July 2 in England. Frazier got back on the

Following his easy win over Terry Daniels in January of 1972, Joe Frazier seemed to more interested in his singing career than being a boxer. He and his group ‘The Knockouts’ performed in different locales, and to decent reviews. He had no intention of giving Ali a rematch, and was frank about it. While Muhammad

The ‘Fight of the Century’ between heavyweight champion Joe Frazier and ex-champ Muhammad Ali, was set for March 8, 1971 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. At just 10 years old, even I was excited about this one, and read every article printed in Sports Illustrated previewing the bout. I was flabbergasted when