Muhammad Ali's Best Career Moments

Both the career and life of Muhammad Ali were filled with unforgettable moments. The three-time heavyweight champion of the world had his fair share of hardships throughout his 74 years of life as well as a huge amount of incredible achievements. 

June 3rd 2022 marks 6 years since the death of Muhammad Ali. However, his legacy and name live on to this very day. 

The greatest moments of one of the greatest boxers and greatest humans to ever live are:

1954 - A young Cassius clay discovered boxing

Clay's journey into boxing was a very unusual one. At the age of 12, his bike was stolen. Clay told officer Joe Martin that he wanted to beat up whoever it was that stole his bike. Officer Martin told Cassius that he better learn to fight before he starts challenging people. Clay decided to do what the officer said and joined a boxing gym. Within 6 weeks Clay had won his first amateur fight.

1960 - Clay won gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics

It only took Clay 6 years between lacing up a pair of gloves and winning the light-heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome at just 18 years of age. This was a phenomenal accomplishment in the young career of Cassius Clay and had people hailing him as a future world champion.  

Just over a month later an 18-year-old Cassius Clay made his professional debut in a 6 round unanimous decision victory over Tunney Hunsaker.

1963 - Clay faced his toughest test yet in his fight with brit Henry Cooper

Up until this point, Clay had amassed an impressive 18-0 record. Before heading into his fight with British and commonwealth champion Henry Cooper, Clay was tipped to be heading right to a championship title fight. All that stood in his way was Henry Cooper. 

The fight turned out to be far tougher for Clay than people had thought, with Hooper even dropping Clay with a vicious left hook at the end of the fourth. However, Clay would see the fifth round and subsequently stop Hooper via TKO to set up a heavyweight world title fight with WBA and WBC champion Sonny Liston.

1964 - Cassius Clay becomes the youngest heavyweight champion ever

Clay walked into the ring a huge 8-1 underdog in what was one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history. The 22-year-old American put on a masterful performance that resulted in the heavyweight champion Sonny Liston giving up at the beginning of the seventh round. 

This upset meant that 22-year-old Cassius Clay became the youngest ever heavyweight champion of the world and cemented his name in the history books.

1964 - Cassius Clay changes his name to Muhammad Ali

Soon after the fight with Sonny Liston, Clay made one of the most infamous decisions in boxing history. He changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali. The reasoning behind this name change was his recent switch to Islam and because Ali no longer wanted to go by “Cassius Clay” as he described it as his slave name.

Muhammad Ali was a name given to him by his spiritual mentor Elijah Muhammad. Concerned that Ali would stray from the religion of Islam, Elijah offered him a new name to secure his allegiance with Islam.

1965 - Ali makes a statement in a rematch with Sonny Liston

This highly anticipated rematch between the former and the new WBC champion was arguably one of the most controversial heavyweight title fights of all time, the newly named Muhammad Ali knocked out the former champion in the very first round. This came at a time when match-fixing in boxing was not all that uncommon, leaving many convinced that this was another case of it. 

However, to this day there is no convincing evidence that this fight was at all fixed and therefore stands as a statement victory for Ali as he retained his belts against the man he took them from.

1966 - Takes heavyweight belt out of America

In 1966 Ali took the WBC heavyweight title out of America and into Canada in his title defence against George Chuvalo at Maple Leafs Gardens in Toronto. The Canadian heavyweight was a stern test for Ali, in 93 fights he was never once knocked off his feet. Ali walked away with a unanimous decision victory over the Canadian.

1971 - Fight Of The Century

March 8th 1971 marks one of the greatest fights of all time. Ali, at the time, had a phenomenal record of 32-0 and Joe Frazier a record of 26-0. On that night at Madison Square Gardens, somebody's 0 had to go. This was the first time ever that two undefeated heavyweights were fighting for the heavyweight championship. 

Ali’s goal was to regain the belts that were taken away from him upon his refusal to be inducted into the US Armed Forces. During Ali’s four year absence from boxing, Frazier had begun to take control of the decision and had cemented himself as the number one heavyweight. 

Frazier took the victory on the night in a unanimous decision that meant Muhammad Ali was the fighter to lose his undefeated record. However, in the words of the great man himself “Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win”. 

Three years later he would avenge this defeat in a unanimous decision victory that would set up Another chance for Ali to regain his heavyweight titles against George Foreman in ‘The Rumble In The Jungle’.

1974 - The Rumble In The Jungle

George Foreman Vs Muhammad Ali took place in the Republic of Zaire. This was one of the most highly anticipated fights of the era. George Foreman was the undefeated and undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and Muhammad Ali was very much the people's champion. 

There had been a lot of talk between the two fighters in the build-up to the fight and it was evident from the first bell. The 25-year-old Foreman came out extremely aggressive against the older and more composed Ali which ended up to his detriment as Ali weathered the early storm before brutally finishing Foreman in the eighth round.

1975 - Thrilla In Manilla

The Thrilla In Manilla was the trilogy fight between heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali and his long rival Joe Frazier. The fight took place in Manilla, Philippines at the Araneta Coliseum on January 10th 1975. 

This trilogy fight was a brutal display of the true heart of a champion. It was a bitter rivalry from the moment it began and the resentment was taken all the way to the grave. Some of the insults hurled at Frazier were in his eyes unforgivable. The fight itself was a brutal back and forth that started with Ali dominating early before Frazier came back in the later stages. By the end of the fourteenth round, Ali had nearly closed both Frazier's eyes, so bad that Frazier's corner was forced to stop the fight out of fear that he would lose his vision completely, handing the Victory to Muhammad Ali.

1978 - Ali becomes the first-ever three-time heavyweight champion

Four years after regaining the heavyweight championship in ‘The Rumble In The Jungle’ Ali would lose his championship for the second time in a huge upset against 25-year-old Leon Spinks in a split decision loss at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. 

Later that year Ali and Spinks would meet again in a rematch that would see Muhammad Ali become the first heavyweight to win the heavyweight championship on three separate occasions as he avenged his loss in a unanimous decision victory at the Superdome in New Orleans.

1981 - The great Muhammad Ali retires from professional boxing

After once again regaining his heavyweight crown in his rematch against Leon Spinks, the career of Muhammad Ali, unfortunately, took a turn. He suffered two convincing losses in a row, something that had never happened, or had even looked like happening in his career. 

It was time for the great Muhammad Ali to hang up his boxing gloves and retire from professional boxing. It had looked imminent as his performances were diminishing for a number of years before his official retirement. 

Looking back on the exceptional career of Muhammad Ali, he was a fighter that went through his fair share of downs and a phenomenal amount of ups. Throughout his career and life, Ali perfectly encapsulated the role of a champion. He fought with his head and his heart.  Muhammad Ali fought till the very day that he passed and held himself throughout, as the champion he was, is, and will always be.