This Is The Muhammad Ali Fight That Made Him Greatest Of All Time

Muhammad Ali has always been a great fighter, but there was one fight during his prime that convinced the world he’s the greatest of all time.

Looking back at Ali’s legacy, there’s no denying that his two victories over Sonny Liston, the rumble he had with 'Big' George Foreman in Zaire and the brutal third war with Joe Frazier also known as “The Thrilla In Manila,” are more significant chapters of his prime. However, Ali’s dismantling of Cleveland ‘Big Cat' Williams, which happened on November 14th 1966, is said to be the greatest fight of his career.

A bold statement was made by legendary broadcaster Howard Cosell after witnessing Ali’s domination that night. According to Cosell, the Ali who knocked Williams out was the greatest Ali the world has ever seen, The Sportsman reported.

“The greatest Ali ever was as a fighter, was against Williams - that night, he was the most devastating fighter who ever lived,” Cosell emphasized.

The epic fight was Ali’s seventh heavyweight title defence and more importantly, his first title fight in U.S. since he famously stated “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong.”

There were approximately 35,460 people in attendance mostly hoping Ali to finally get shut up.

At the same period of time, America perceived Ali as public enemy number one, some were angered by his sudden decision to become a Muslim and some were still mad over his refusal to fight in Vietnam. But most boxing fans were just upset by his loud mouth. There were also reports that claimed many people had a problem with him being black.

Despite of all the drama, what happened next was one of the greatest performances from any world champion in the history of boxing. “Boos” flooded the stadium as Ali made his way to the ring but he opened the fight by dancing around Williams in typical Ali fashion. His hands were dropped to his side, daring Williams to hit him as he picked him off with snapping jabs any time he dared to come close.

Round 2 saw Williams hit the canvas three times and he went down again in the third. Referee Harry Kessler was forced to end the fight and rescue the helpless “Big Cat.”

Ali is indeed an impactful figure not only to boxing fans but to some legendary boxers as well. In fact, Mike Tyson recently admitted that he never wanted to be a boxer but after seeing one of Ali’s speech, the way he sees boxing instantly changed.

“He (Ali) started talking to us about being in detention, how he had been in jail and lost his mind. He was saying beautiful, inspiration stuff - that speech was a game changer for me,” Tyson admitted.