Ali as seen as the best of all time at his sport. (Getty)
Cassius Clay, best known as Muhammad Ali, passed away tonight at the age of 74. Ali had as storied a career as any American athlete ever had. In his heyday, he was more than a boxer; he was an icon, a celebrity, and such an oft-quoted figure you could practically mistake for a poet. Not just a boxer, he was an A-list celebrity.
But let’s not take away from his career as a boxer. He was a fierce competitor, a lover of the game, and unanimously considered to be the best of his time. That time, however, was so long ago that some might not even know just how well he floated like a butterfly, and how well he stung like a bee. An icon to older generations but a name to younger generations, just how good was Muhammad Ali at boxing?
Muhammad Ali’s Record
Let’s answer that quickly. He was good. Really, really good. BoxRec has his official record as 56-5. It’s an incredibly impressive record (37 wins were by knockout), but one that some might downplay, considering current great Floyd Mayweather’s perfect 49-0 record. NESN provides context for that. Ali played arguably past his prime and into an older age than other boxers. But much of his prime, they note, was taken away by his inability to obtain a boxing license. This was due to his refusal to fight in Vietnam when he was drafted – he was arrested and the case eventually made it to the Supreme Court. But damage was done and after a 1967 fight, Ali didn’t box professionally again until 1970.
Some could argue that Ali also faced better boxers than contemporary fighters. One such fighter was George Foreman, who Ali fought in 1974 in a legendary matchup referred to as The Rumble in the Jungle. Ali defeated Foreman, who to that point had a 40-0 record as a boxer.
The career admittedly ended on a bit of a sour note. Ali fought his last 4 matches from 1978-1981, and lost 3 of them, including his final two in 1980 and 1981.
Muhammad Ali’s Career Highlights
The entire Rumble in the Jungle could be considered a career highlight, considering it’s place in boxing history. Here’s the entire game, with 11 million views and counting.
Here’s a 1965 highlight reel of Ali’s fight against Sonny Liston. This was their second fight, as Ali had defeated him in 1964. Here, he gets a knockout.
This is the final round of his 1966 fight against Cleveland Williams, also ending in a knockout.
Let’s have another knockout, shall we? This one is against Jerry Quarry.
There are plenty more highlights. Here are some compilation videos of his best knockouts.