Well 41 years ago today Cassius Clay became the World Heavyweigh Champion when in the 7th round Sonny Liston refused to leave his corner
One of the greatest upsets in boxing history

He was without a doubt the greatest heavyweight ever, graceful, stylish and with a fantastic sense of humour and wit that unnerved his opponents.
I grew up with boxing as my grandfather was a middle-weigh champ in his day, and he always said Clay was the best he'd ever seen....

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I actually think Rocky Marciano was the greatest heavyweight ever, not Ali.  He didn't have the greatest form but he was unbeatable (49-0 if I remember right), the only undefeated heavyweight ever (except for maybe a couple 1-0 guys, lol).  Many people believe that he would have beaten Ali had they fought in the same era (Marciano retired about 10 years before Ali became great) and I agree with them.  He didn't have the same kind of style as Ali, none of that bouncing around (which Ali lured fighters in with), but he hadly a deadly uppercut and amazing endurance.  I believe Marciano was better than Ali (I also feel that in his prime, Joe Louis was probably better than Ali as well).