In between the two matches, he also became famous for other reasons: he joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali, although only a few journalists (most notably Howard Cosell) accepted it. 1966 and early 1967 were a busy time for the champion. In a period of a year, he defended his title seven times. No other champion has had that many defenses in only a year. In March, 1966, Ali won a unanimous decision over tough Canadian champion George Chuvalo (who was never knocked down in his career). Ali then traveled to England to face "British Bulldog" Brian London, and Henry Cooper (who had knocked Clay down in their initial 1963, non-title match). Ali won both fights by knockout. He traveled to Germany next, to face southpaw Karl Mildenberger (who was the first German to fight for the title since Max Schmeling).
In one of his tougher fights, Ali finally won by knockout in Round 12. In November, 1966, Ali returned to the United States to face Cleveland "Big Cat" Williams in the Houston Astrodome. Williams had one of the highest knockout percentages in history, and has often been ranked as one of the finest fighters who never won a title. Many felt he would give the champion a tough battle. However, Ali easily knocked him out in the third round. In February of 1967, Ali faced Ernie Terrell in the Astrodome at Madison Square Garden. Terrell had refused to acknowledge Ali's name, and the champ vowed to punish him for this perceived insolence. Even though the fight went to a decision, Ali delivered a horrible beating and won every round.
He kept taunting the challenger throughout the fight: after every hit, Ali hollered "What's my name?" Many called his treatment cruel and brutal. In March of the same year, and in the same location, he faced Zora Folley. Ali's fight with the 35-year-old Folley is regarded by many as his finest performance in the ring. He showed what a breath-taking fighter he was, by throwing every punch sharply and on target. He knocked out the challenger in Round 7.It was also in this same year that he refused to serve in the American army during the Vietnam War as a conscientious objector, famously saying that he "got nothing against no Viet Cong" - largely misquoted as "No Vietnamese ever called me a nigger." Ali was stripped of his championship belt and his license to box, and was sentenced to five years in prison. The sentence was overturned on appeal three years later, by a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court.
Lightning rod of controversy
Ali's actions in refusing military service and aligning himself with the Nation of Islam, made him a lightning rod of controversy, turning the outspoken but popular former champion into one of that era's most recognizable and controversial figures. Appearing at rallies with Nation of Islam leaders Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X, and declaring his allegiance to them at a time when mainstream America viewed them with suspicion—if not actual hostility—made Ali a target of outrage, and suspicion as well. Ali seemed at times to even provoke such reactions, with viewpoints that wavered from support for civil rights to outright support of racial separatism.
In 1970, granted a license to box once more following his Supreme Court victory wherein he was granted his right to refuse military service for religious reasons, he began a comeback. But he suffered a setback when he lost his 1971 title fight, a bruising 15-round encounter with Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden. This fight, known as The Fight of the Century, was perhaps one of the most famous and eagerly anticipated bouts of all time, since it featured two skilled, undefeated fighters, both of whom had reasonable claims to the heavyweight crown. The fight lived up to the hype, and Frazier punctuated his victory by flooring Ali with a hard left hook in the final round. Ali split two bouts with Ken Norton (in the bout that Ali lost to Norton, Ali suffered a broken jaw, but refused to quit), before beating Frazier on points in their 1974 rematch, to earn another title shot.
The Rumble in the Jungle and Thrilla in Manila
The incumbent, George Foreman, was a large, hard-hitting, undefeated young fighter who had previously demolished Frazier, KO'ing him in the second round of their championship fight. Foreman was the heavy favorite. The fight was held in Zaire, and promoted by Don King as "The Rumble in the Jungle." In the October 30, 1974 bout, that would cement his reputation as "The Greatest", Ali boxed his best tactical fight. Leading with his "wrong" hand and playing "rope-a-dope" by leaning far back on the ropes, Ali absorbed everything Foreman could throw at him, whilst only occasionally throwing counter-punches. By the end of the sixth round, Foreman had punched himself out, and Ali was able to attack a little more. Foreman kept advancing, but his blows were much less effective, and near the end of the eighth, Ali's right hand finally sent the exhausted Foreman to the floor. As a result of this fight, Ali was awarded the 1974 Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year, and Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award.
Muhammad Ali fights Ernie Terrell in 1967.
In 1975, Ali defeated Joe Frazier once more in the "Thrilla In Manila", in the Philippines. This fight surpassed their earlier bouts, and became one of the most well-known heavyweight fights ever. After 14 grueling rounds, Frazier's trainer Eddie Futch refused to allow Frazier to continue, and Ali left, the winner by TKO. Along with the "Rumble", his fights with Frazier are widely considered among the greatest in boxing history. Ring Magazine called this bout 1975's Fight of the Year, the fifth year an Ali fight had earned that distinction. Many felt Ali should have retired after this fight; however, he continued to box. 1976 saw him knock out two largely unknown opponents, Belgian stonecutter Jean-Pierre Coopman and English boxer Richard Dunn. On April 30, 1976 Ali faced Jimmy Young in Landover, Maryland, and many regard this as his worst fight.
Awarded a unanimous decision
Ali was heavy and out of shape, refusing to take the young challenger seriously. Ali was awarded a unanimous decision, but it was widely boo'ed by the crowd. Many who scored the fight at ringside thought Young deserved the decision. Even Ali's loyal trainer Angelo Dundee said this was his worst performance in the ring. In September, Ali faced Ken Norton in their third fight, held at Yankee Stadium. Once again, the champion won a widely-debated decision.He would retain his title until a 1978 loss to 1976 Olympic champion Leon Spinks, who was fighting in only his eighth professional fight. He defeated Spinks in a rematch, becoming the heavyweight champion for the record third time. Then on June 27, 1979, he announced his retirement and vacated the title.
That retirement was short-lived, however, and on October 2, 1980, he challenged Larry Holmes for the WBC's version of the world Heavyweight title. Looking to set another record, as the first boxer to win the Heavyweight title four times, Ali lost by technical knockout in round eleven, when Dundee would not let him come out for the round. The Holmes fight, promoted as "The Last Hurrah", was a fight many fans and experts view with disdain, because of what many viewed as a "deteriorated version" of Ali. Holmes was Ali's sparring partner when Holmes was a budding fighter; thus, some viewed the result of the fight as a symbolic "passing of the torch." Holmes even admitted later that, although he dominated the fight, he held his punches back a bit out of sheer respect for his idol, and former employer. It was revealed after the fight that Ali had an examination at the Mayo Clinic, and the results were shocking. He admitted to tingling in his hands, and slurring of his speech. The exam revealed he actually had a hole in the membrane of his brain.
However, Don King withheld this report, and allowed the fight to go on.Despite the apparent finality of his loss to Holmes and his increasingly suspect medical condition, Ali would fight one more time. On December 11, 1981, he fought rising contender and future world champion Trevor Berbick, in what was billed as "The Drama in the Bahamas." Because Ali was widely viewed as a damaged fighter, few American venues expressed much interest in hosting the bout, and few fans expressed much interest in attending or watching it. Compared to the mega-fights Ali fought in widely-known venues earlier in his career, the match took place in virtual obscurity, in Nassau. Although Ali performed marginally better against Berbick than he had against Holmes fourteen months earlier, he still lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Berbick, who at 27 was twelve years younger.Following this loss, Ali retired permanently in 1981, with a career record of 56 wins, 37 by knockout, against 5 losses.