Okay, so I’ve been digging into Muhammad Ali’s greatest fights lately, and man, what a rabbit hole that’s been! I wanted to share my little journey with y’all, so here goes.
First off, I started with the most famous one, “The Rumble in the Jungle.” I mean, who hasn’t heard of that, right? It was Ali versus George Foreman, back in 1974. I found this old documentary about the fight and watched it. The atmosphere, the tension… it was all so palpable, even through the screen, decades later.
Then, I went chronological, starting with Ali’s bout against Ernie Terrell in 1967. I grabbed some old news articles and fight summaries online. This one was at the Astrodome, and it seemed like a pretty big deal. Apparently, Ali was 27-0 at the time, and Terrell was 39-4. That got me thinking about their records, so I did a little digging there, too.
Next, I jumped forward to 1975, the “Thrilla in Manila.” This was Ali’s third fight with Joe Frazier, and boy, was it brutal. I watched some highlights, and it was intense. They really went at each other! Ali himself said Frazier was the roughest and toughest fighter he ever faced. “Brought out the best in me,” he said. Can you imagine?
After that, I got curious about his overall record. I found out he ended with 56 wins, 5 losses, and 37 knockouts. Not too shabby, huh? It made me think about how other boxers compare, but that’s a whole other can of worms.
I also stumbled upon some info about Ali’s later fights, like the one against Earnie Shavers in 1977. Apparently, Ali wasn’t the same after the Frazier fight, and Shavers was hitting him hard. I read that Ali should’ve retired by then. That got me a bit sad, thinking about how these legends eventually have to hang up their gloves.
Here’s a little list of what I’ve checked out so far:
- The Rumble in the Jungle (Ali vs. Foreman, 1974) – Watched a documentary, read about the historical context.
- Ali vs. Terrell (1967) – Found old news articles and fight summaries.
- The Thrilla in Manila (Ali vs. Frazier III, 1975) – Watched highlights, read Ali’s quotes about Frazier.
- Ali’s Overall Record – Looked up his wins, losses, and knockouts.
- Ali vs. Shavers (1977) – Read about the fight and the discussions on Ali’s potential retirement.
So yeah, that’s where I’m at with my Ali deep dive. It’s been a wild ride, going through these iconic fights and getting a glimpse into the world of boxing during that era. I’m no expert, but it’s been fun learning and sharing this with you all. What do you guys think? Any other Ali fights I should check out?