The one I've seen most often was Foreman. That's because it achieved cult status in our school, and shortly after, When We Were Kings came out and it played all over campus, too.
He's my favourite boxer so there are quite a few to choose from. My favourite "Ali moment" out of a LOT of favourite "Ali monents" was when he beat George Foreman to regain the title. So - gun against my head - my answer would be this one.
The " Mummy" is #3 The "Big Ugly Bear " is #2 But my absolute favorite is the" FOTC" against "The Gorilla" in the legendary "Madison Square Gardens". A losing effort for Ali, but this fight demonstrated he was a warrior underneath the flash and gab.(Like Leonard's trail by fire against Duran in Montreal) The greatest heavy fight in history.
His trilogy with Frazier. Not sure HW boxing gets better than that. Runner up, his fight with Williams. The best he ever looked. That Ali is the Ali of legend. The HW who gives the finger to physics, is as fleet of foot feet and as fast of hand as a WW. Maybe even a LW.
Some posters on here seem to hate him so much that their favorite is probably Berbick or Holmes. SMFH.
I actually really like the Ali of Terrell - all of the pre-fight and in-fight context aside. This Ali was vicious, showed great jabbing and punching around and through the guard, superb reflexes, distance negotiation and matrix-like headmovement at times. Completely took away Terrell's jab, which was rated as one of the best in the division. Of course, there's the argument about Terrell's eye and an intentional poke - but Terrell was certainly more capable than Williams was when Ali fought him. The Folley is underrated. Excellent right hand over the jab. Ali was overly nonchalant in this fight - walked him down like he walked through Bob Foster and took punches that he could have easily avoided but the end result was a decisive win.
Alot of people say Foreman vs Ali for me personally i've never enjoyed that fight, although from a historical view point it rates highly in Ali's career. I can't pick just one fight but i'll choose a single fight from each era. 60's = It has to be Cleveland Williams fight that's Ali at the peak of his powers, and arguably one of the finest performances ever from a Heavyweight. 70's = The 2nd fight vs Ken Norton, for me that's one of the few times Ali looked like the 60's version of Ali. He kept up his incredible footwork for all 12 rounds, and was arguably at his quickest and fittest ever for 70s. And finally the 3rd fight vs Joe Frazier just sheer guts and bravery, and i really wish this would of been Ali and Frazier's final fight it would of been a great farewell.
Other mentions from me must include Liston I Williams Frazier I Quarry II Norton II Frazier II Frazier III
Definitely Ali-Frazier 1! The best HW fight of aaaallll tiiiiimes! I love when, during one of the later rounds I believe, Don Dunphy says 'boy they're fighting like lightweights now!'. Also, when referee Arthur Mercante warned them both about talking, and Dunphy was like 'the ref is telling them to stop talking.....they have time for that?!' An amazing amazing amazing fight, it had it all.
I adore the Zaire fight, the Liston 1, Thrilla, but it's got to be the FOTC. To me the FOTC was Bowe/Holy 1, Norton/Holmes level...which is saying a lot in my book. I thought Ali looked dominating in the early rounds...so much so that if I had been older when I watched it (as it happened) after the fourth round I would have guessed Ali was on his way to stopping Joe. What a fight!
Muhammad Ali vs WBA Champion Ernie Terrell on Feb 6 1967, 15 rounds for the undisputed World Heavyweight Title, Houston Astrodome, Ali wins by unanimous 15 round decision. Ali looked very sharp, left jab on target, timing and reflexes were on target against a fighter with a good left jab, difficult style who stood at 6"6, weighed 215 lbs. Ali was in peak condition, we never saw his prime years. I think that my second favorite was Ali vs Karl Mildenberger on Sept 10 1966, in Frankfurt, Germany. Ali by TKO 12. A peak Ali struggled early against southpaw Mildenberger until Ali found his groove and began to connect with his straight right. I remember in the original broadcast of the bout that Howard Cosell began to criticize Ali for his lack of a punch to do away with Karl. It was broadcast live on ABC's Wide World Of Sports that Saturday
