Muhammad Ali was nicknamed ‘The Greatest’ for a reason, and even before his fights with Frazier and Foreman, the writing was on the wall that he would reach the very top of the sport.
Muhammad Ali overcame a scare against Henry Cooper in 1963, before facing Sonny Liston for the world championship.
After beating Liston twice, Cooper once more, and a few other names, including Floyd Patterson, Ali faced Ernie Terrell in 1967.
He won by unanimous decision before going into his final fight for three years, and the last before his title was stripped.
Muhammad Ali labeled Zora Folley his toughest opponent yet
In 1967, Ali faced 74-7-4 Zora Folley in a defense of his heavyweight crown.
Ali was never behind in the fight, and many believe he played with Folley in the first and second rounds, and then carried him through the fifth and sixth.
It was in the seventh round when, according to BoxRec, Ali’s manager finally told him to “stop playin'”, advice Ali listened to, securing a stoppage the very same round.
Ali, who KO’d Leon Spinks with a phantom punch, said of Folley: “He was a better fighter than Sonny Liston, or Floyd Patterson or Ernie Terrell. He was slick, tricky and a good boxer.”
Folley, meanwhile, praised Ali, asserting that no man would be able to beat him.
Muhammad Ali returned with a Round Three KO against Jerry Quarry
In 1970, after three years off of boxing as a result of his stance as a conscientious objector, Ali, who fought an NFL star once, finally returned against 37-4-4 Jerry Quarry.
Quarry was unable to pose Ali any problems, and ‘The Greatest’ made light work of him, taking him only to the third round before the fight was stopped as a result of a cut Ali had given Quarry earlier in the fight.
It seemed Ali was well and truly back with this dominant performance.