Muhammad Ali

The Greatest — three-time world heavyweight champion, Olympic gold medallist and the most celebrated athlete of the 20th century.

Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. — Muhammad Ali — was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1942 and won Olympic gold as a light heavyweight in Rome in 1960 before turning professional that year. His professional record of 56 wins (37 by knockout) and 5 losses across a 21-year career (1960–1981) encompasses three reigns as undisputed heavyweight champion. He won the title for the first time in February 1964, stopping the fearsome Sonny Liston as a 7-1 underdog. He was stripped of the title in 1967 for refusing military induction — "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong" — and banned from boxing for three years in the prime of his career. He returned in 1970, lost to Joe Frazier in the Fight of the Century in 1971, then reclaimed the title in Kinshasa in 1974 by knocking out George Foreman — the Rumble in the Jungle — using his rope-a-dope strategy. The Thrilla in Manila against Frazier in 1975 — 14 brutal rounds in 100-degree heat — is considered the greatest heavyweight fight in history. He won a third title by defeating Leon Spinks in 1978. He fought 61 professional bouts across 21 years, winning 56, with 37 knockouts. His speed, footwork and psychological mastery of opponents — Ali Shuffle, rope-a-dope, trash talk — combined with his political courage make him the most significant athlete in the history of sport.

Fast footwork, exceptional hand speed, psychological warfare

Widely regarded as greatest heavyweight boxer of all time

• Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion 1964–67, 1974–78, 1978–79
• Olympic Gold 1960 (Light Heavyweight)
• Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year 1963, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978
• Sports Illustrated Sportsman of Century 1999
• BBC Sports Personality of Century 1999