Many consider Muhammad Ali to be the greatest fighter of all time thanks to his iconic moments and elite skillset.
From Ali’s ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ with George Foreman to his famous trilogy against Joe Frazier, there are many wonderful moments in the career of ‘The Greatest’.
With his final professional fight coming in 1981, Ali ended an incredible career after 21 years as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. In this run, Ali would win 56 of his 61 fights, scoring 37 knockouts in the process.
Among his 37 stoppages, one was a standout thanks to its bizarre look.
Muhammad Ali knocked out Leon Spinks with ‘phantom punch’
Ali would be given his first world title opportunity in February 1964 at the age of just 22. In order to become a champion, he would have to get past Sonny Liston, the holder of the WBC and WBA belts.
Despite the bout being closely contested through six rounds, the bout would end before round seven could start. Due to an injury to the shoulder of Liston, he was unable to continue.
Ali won the bout via retirement, extending his professional record to 20-0.
Due to a somewhat inconclusive ending to their first meeting, Ali and Liston would meet once again the following year.
Fighting in Maine on May 25th, 1965, Liston looked to regain his heavyweight crown. However, he would be stopped in the first round.
The bout lasted just over two minutes as Ali was able to defend his title in style. To finish the fight, Ali landed what the media at the time described as a ‘phantom punch’.
A quick and short right hand from Ali would catch Liston, putting him down moments before the fight was called off.
The punch is hard to see in real time, which made many miss the punch upon first watch. It was for this reason it was described as a ‘phantom punch’.
As Ali knocked down his opponent, he celebrated as one of the most iconic photos in sports history was taken.
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Muhammad Ali made nine defenses of his heavyweight title
As Ali defeated Liston for the second time, this was his first defense of his WBC World Heavyweight title.
After the fight, Ali would go on to defend the belt a further eight times. Among these victories includes wins over Floyd Patterson, Cleveland Williams, and Zora Folley.
Ali would not drop his champion status due to a loss. Instead, he would lose his title due to a ban from boxing. In his first world title attempt after the three-year suspension, he was unsuccessful against Joe Frazier.