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 much too quick for his smaller opponent, and it was over via a third round knockout.
A month later, Ali traveled to Frankfurt, Germany to fight Karl Mildenberger. The September 10 bout was shown live on ABC, and was another showcase of Ali’s skills. He toyed with the German southpaw, easily landing punches whenever he wanted, and knocked him down three times as well. The end came in the 12th round, and the victory left Ali with a professional record of 26-0, with 21 knockouts.
Muhammad had his first bout in the U.S. in a year, scheduled for November 14, 1966 at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. His opponent was the tough veteran Cleveland ‘Cat’ Williams, someone who had fought Sonny Liston twice himself. With the United States government hounding him, and threatening him with induction into the armed services in the spring of 1967, Ali continued to train and perform to his very peak. The Williams fight was broadcast on closed circuit TV, and Ali’s performance that night is regarded as possibly the finest of his long career. Ali dropped Williams three times in the second round, then put him on the canvas in the third with a perfect combination of punches. As soon as Williams got up from the final knockdown, the champ swarmed him, forcing the referee to call an and to the bout.
On February 6, 1967, Ali was back at the Astrodome to face Ernie Terrell. The fight was famous for the fact that Terrell insisted on calling Ali, Clay, which infuriated the champion. During the entire 15 round fight, Ali kept saying “What’s my name!? What’s my name!?” to Terrell, and tried to inflict as much punishment as he could on him. The bout was no contest, and ended with Terrell finally calling Ali by his proper name.
Six weeks later, Ali was at Madison Square Garden in New York to face veteran Zora Folley. The March 22 bout was in total contrast to the Terrell affair, with Folley showing Ali total respect, and the champion returning the favor. It ended mercifully in the seventh, when the referee stopped the action, rescuing a totally outclassed Folley from any further punishment.
On April 28, 1967, Ali refused induction into the United States Army. He was stripped of his championships, not allowed to leave the country to make a living, and forced to hire a legal team to defend his case, until it went to trial. The Folley bout would be the last time he fought in the 1960’s, and he would not box again until October 26, 1970, a three and a half year absence from the ring.
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