Editing Muhammad Ali (section)

==Return==
On August 11, 1970, with his case still in appeal, Ali was granted a license to box by the City of Atlanta Athletic Commission. [[Leroy Johnson (Georgia politician)|Leroy Johnson]], [[Jesse Hill Jr.]] and Harry Pett had used their local political influence and set up the company House of Sports to organize the fight, underlining the influential power of Georgia's black politics in Ali's comeback.<ref>{{Cite magazine |first=David |last=Davis |title=Knockout: An oral history of Muhammad Ali, Atlanta, and the fight nobody wanted |magazine=[[Atlanta (magazine)|Atlanta]] |date=October 1, 2005 |url=https://www.atlantamagazine.com/great-reads/knockout-oral-history-muhammad-ali-atlanta-fight-nobody-wanted/ |access-date=October 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031132439/https://www.atlantamagazine.com/great-reads/knockout-oral-history-muhammad-ali-atlanta-fight-nobody-wanted/ |archive-date=October 31, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ali's first return bout was against [[Jerry Quarry]] on October 26, resulting in a win after three rounds after Quarry was cut.

A month earlier, a victory in federal court forced the New York State Boxing Commission to reinstate Ali's license.<ref name=cgnyrl >{{cite news |url=https://palmbeachpost.newspapers.com/article/the-palm-beach-post/170982339/ |newspaper=The Palm Beach Post |agency=Associated Press |title=Clay granted New York ring license |date=September 15, 1970 |page=B4 |url-access= |access-date=June 6, 2016 |archive-date=September 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912212056/http://palmbeachpost.newspapers.com/image/132677737/?terms=%22Clay%2Bgranted%2BNew%2BYork%2Bring%2Blicense%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> He fought [[Oscar Bonavena]] at Madison Square Garden in December, an uninspired performance that ended in a dramatic [[technical knockout]] of Bonavena in the 15th round. The win left Ali as a top contender against heavyweight champion [[Joe Frazier]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Kang |first=Jay Caspian |author-link=Jay Caspian Kang |date=April 4, 2013 |title=The End and Don King |work=[[Grantland]] |publisher=[[ESPN]] |url=http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9123674/don-king-faces-end-career |access-date=April 4, 2013 |archive-date=April 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406192841/http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9123674/don-king-faces-end-career |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=McDougall |first=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hEyOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA149 |title=The Best American Sports Writing 2014 |date=2014 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] |isbn=978-0-544-14700-3 |page=149 |author-link=Christopher McDougall |access-date=July 24, 2023 |archive-date=October 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031224237/https://books.google.com/books?id=hEyOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA149#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Keating |first=Steve |date=March 5, 2021 |title=Ali, Frazier 'Fight of the Century' still packs a punch 50 years on |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-boxing-anniversary-ali-frazier-idUKKCN2AX2IS |access-date=March 16, 2021 |archive-date=March 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306181803/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-boxing-anniversary-ali-frazier-idUKKCN2AX2IS |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Fight against Joe Frazier===
{{Main|Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali}}
Ali and Frazier's first fight, held at the Garden, was on March 8, 1971, while Ali's Supreme Court appeal was still pending. It was nicknamed the "[[Fight of the Century]]" due to the tremendous excitement surrounding a bout between two undefeated fighters, each with a legitimate claim to be heavyweight champion. Veteran U.S. boxing writer John Condon called it "the greatest event I've ever worked on in my life." The bout was broadcast to 36 countries; promoters granted 760 press passes.<ref name="Hauser 2004" />

Adding to the atmosphere were the considerable pre-fight theatrics and name calling. Before the fight, Frazier called Ali "Cassius Clay," angering Ali who responded by calling Frazier a "dumb tool of the white establishment" and saying "Frazier is too ugly to be champ. Frazier is too dumb to be champ." Ali also frequently called Frazier an "[[Uncle Tom]]". Dave Wolf, who worked in Frazier's camp, recalled that "Ali was saying 'the only people rooting for Joe Frazier are white people in suits, Alabama sheriffs, and members of the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. I'm fighting for the little man in the ghetto.' Joe was sitting there, smashing his fist into the palm of his hand, saying, 'What the fuck does he know about the ghetto?{{' "}}<ref name="Hauser 2004" />

Ali began training at a farm near [[Reading, Pennsylvania]], in 1971 and, finding the country setting to his liking, sought to develop a [[Muhammad Ali's Deer Lake Training Camp|real training camp]] in the countryside. He found a five-acre site on a Pennsylvania country road in the village of [[Deer Lake, Pennsylvania]]. On this site, Ali carved out what was to become his training camp, where he trained for all his fights from 1972 to the end of his career in 1981.

The Monday night fight lived up to its billing. In a preview of their two other fights, a crouching, bobbing and weaving Frazier constantly pressured Ali, getting hit regularly by Ali jabs and combinations, but relentlessly attacking and scoring repeatedly, especially to Ali's body. The fight was even in the early rounds, but Ali was taking more punishment than ever in his career up until that point. On several occasions in the early rounds, he played to the crowd and shook his head "no" after he was hit. In the later rounds—in what was the first appearance of the "[[rope-a-dope]] strategy"—Ali leaned against the ropes and absorbed punishment from Frazier, hoping to tire him. In the 11th round, Frazier connected with a left hook that wobbled Ali, but because it appeared that Ali might be clowning as he staggered backwards across the ring, Frazier hesitated to press his advantage, fearing an Ali counterattack. In the final round, Frazier knocked Ali down with a vicious left hook, which referee [[Arthur Mercante]] said was as hard as a man can be hit. Ali was back on his feet in three seconds.<ref name="Hauser 2004" /> Nevertheless, Ali lost by unanimous decision, his first professional defeat.

=== After his loss ===
====Chamberlain challenge and Ellis fight====
{{Main|Muhammad Ali vs. Jimmy Ellis}}
In 1971, basketball star [[Wilt Chamberlain]] challenged Ali to a fight, and a bout was scheduled for July 26. Although the seven-foot-one-inch-tall Chamberlain had formidable physical advantages over Ali—weighing 60{{nbsp}}pounds more and able to reach 14{{nbsp}}inches further—Ali was able to influence Chamberlain into calling off the bout by taunting him with calls of "Timber!" and "The tree will fall" during a shared interview. These statements of confidence unsettled his taller opponent, whom [[Los Angeles Lakers]] owner [[Jack Kent Cooke]] had offered a record-setting contract, conditional on Chamberlain agreeing to abandon what Cooke termed "this boxing foolishness",<ref>{{cite news |title=Ali's Remark Ended Wilt's Ring Career |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-15-sp-979-story.html |at=Morning Briefing |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 15, 1989 |access-date=February 20, 2020 |archive-date=June 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603030813/http://articles.latimes.com/1989-01-15/sports/sp-979_1_wilt-s-ring-career |url-status=live }}</ref> and he did exactly that.<ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Reilly |first1=Terry |title=Achilles Heel Advertising: Repositioning the Competition |url=http://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/achilles-heel-advertising-repositioning-the-competition-1.3473631 |access-date=August 30, 2018 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |date=March 3, 2016 |archive-date=March 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328021008/http://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/achilles-heel-advertising-repositioning-the-competition-1.3473631 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Meanwhile, on June 28, 1971, the Supreme Court overturned Ali's draft evasion conviction. To replace Ali's opponent, promoter [[Bob Arum]] quickly booked a former sparring partner of Ali's, [[Jimmy Ellis (boxer)|Jimmy Ellis]], who was a childhood friend from [[Louisville, Kentucky]], to fight him. Ali won the bout through a technical knockout when the referee stopped the fight in the twelfth round.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/07/27/archives/victor-at-220-12-in-command-of-houston-bout-ali-stops-ellis-using.html |title=Victor, at 220½, in Command of Houston Bout |work=The New York Times |date=July 27, 1971 |access-date=May 18, 2022 |archive-date=May 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517044730/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/07/27/archives/victor-at-220-12-in-command-of-houston-bout-ali-stops-ellis-using.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Fights against Quarry, Patterson, Foster, Bugner and Norton====
After Ellis, Ali fought Jerry Quarry, had a second bout with Floyd Patterson, and faced [[Bob Foster (boxer)|Bob Foster]] in 1972, winning a total of six fights that year. During two bouts he had in 1973 with [[Joe Bugner]] and [[Ken Norton]], he wore a "People's Choice" robe given to him by [[Elvis Presley]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boxingnews24.com/2023/04/muhammad-ali-talks-about-his-relationship-with-elvis/|title=Muhammad Ali Talks About His Relationship With Elvis!|first=Ken|last=Hissner|publisher=Boxing News|date=April 21, 2023|accessdate=April 8, 2024|archive-date=April 8, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408071103/https://www.boxingnews24.com/2023/04/muhammad-ali-talks-about-his-relationship-with-elvis/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1973, before his fight with Norton, Tom Cushman, a boxing writer for the ''Philadelphia Daily News'', said Ali was "gloriously overconfident" and didn't consider Norton "a threat at all".<ref name="Selbe-2020">{{Cite magazine |last=Selbe |first=Nick |date=March 31, 2020 |title=This Day in History: Ken Norton Breaks Muhammad Ali's Jaw |url=https://www.si.com/boxing/2020/03/31/this-day-history-ken-norton-muhammad-ali-broken-jaw |access-date=April 8, 2024 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |language=en-us |archive-date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408194759/https://www.si.com/boxing/2020/03/31/this-day-history-ken-norton-muhammad-ali-broken-jaw |url-status=live }}</ref> But during the fight, either in the second round according to most press reports, or the final round according to Norton, Norton broke Ali's jaw and inflicted by decision the second loss of his career.<ref name="Selbe-2020" /> After considering retirement, Ali won a controversial decision against Norton in their second bout.{{cn|date=November 2024}} This led to a rematch with Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 1974; Frazier had recently lost his title to George Foreman.

====Second fight against Joe Frazier====
{{Main|Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II}}
[[File:Gatti, Reutemann, Cap, Clay y Frazier - El Gráfico 2831 3.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Ali vs. [[Joe Frazier|Frazier]], promotional photo]]
Ali was strong in the early rounds of the fight, and staggered Frazier in the second round. Referee Tony Perez mistakenly thought he heard the bell ending the round and stepped between the two fighters as Ali was pressing his attack, giving Frazier time to recover. However, Frazier came on in the middle rounds, snapping Ali's head in round seven and driving him to the ropes at the end of round eight. The last four rounds saw round-to-round shifts in momentum between the two fighters. Throughout most of the bout, however, Ali was able to circle away from Frazier's dangerous left hook and to tie Frazier up when he was cornered, the latter a tactic that Frazier's camp complained of bitterly. Judges awarded Ali a unanimous decision.

===World heavyweight champion (second reign)===
====''The Rumble in the Jungle''====
{{Main|The Rumble in the Jungle}}
The defeat of Frazier set the stage for a title fight against heavyweight champion [[George Foreman]] in Kinshasa, [[Zaire]], on October 30, 1974—a bout nicknamed ''[[The Rumble in the Jungle]]''. Foreman was considered one of the hardest punchers in heavyweight history. In assessing the fight, analysts pointed out that [[Joe Frazier]] and [[Ken Norton]], who had given Ali four tough battles and won two of them, had both been devastated by Foreman in second-round knockouts. Ali was 32 years old and had lost speed and reflexes since his twenties. Contrary to his later persona, Foreman was at the time a brooding and intimidating presence. Almost no one associated with the sport, not even Ali's long-time supporter Howard Cosell, gave the former champion a chance of winning.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

As usual, Ali was confident and colorful before the fight. He told interviewer [[David Frost]], "If you think the world was surprised when Nixon resigned, wait till I whup Foreman's behind!"<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/1aGHpXt_hMc Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20140202235829/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aGHpXt_hMc Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aGHpXt_hMc |title=Muhammad Ali – The Rumble In The Jungle(Interview) |publisher=YouTube |date=March 22, 1967 |access-date=September 3, 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He told the press, "I've done something new for this fight. I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick."<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/dGk0R63C0eM Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130317021119/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGk0R63C0eM Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGk0R63C0eM |title=Muhammad Ali Inspirational Speech (Cassius Clay Boxing Motivation) |publisher=YouTube |date=September 14, 2012 |access-date=September 3, 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Ali was wildly popular in Zaire, with crowds chanting "Ali, bomaye" ("Ali, kill him") wherever he went.

Ali opened the fight moving and scoring with right crosses to Foreman's head. Then, beginning in the second round, and to the consternation of his corner, Ali retreated to the ropes and invited Foreman to hit him while covering up, clinching and counterpunching, all while verbally taunting Foreman. The move, which would later become known as the "[[Rope-a-dope]]", so violated conventional boxing wisdom—letting one of the hardest hitters in boxing strike at will—that at ringside writer [[George Plimpton]] thought the fight had to be fixed.<ref name="Hauser 2004" /> Foreman, increasingly angered, threw punches that were deflected and did not land squarely. Midway through the fight, as Foreman began tiring, Ali countered more frequently and effectively with punches and flurries, which electrified the pro-Ali crowd. In the eighth round, Ali dropped an exhausted Foreman with a combination at center ring; Foreman failed to make the count. Against the odds, and amidst pandemonium in the ring, Ali had regained the title by knockout. Reflecting on the fight, George Foreman later said: "I thought Ali was just one more knockout victim until, about the seventh round, I hit him hard to the jaw and he held me and whispered in my ear: 'That all you got, George?' I realized that this ain't what I thought it was."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Foreman |first=George |url=http://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/sport/george-foreman-on-ali |title=George Foreman on why Muhammad Ali was so much more than a 'boxer' |magazine=[[ShortList]] |date=January 2012 |access-date=June 6, 2016 |archive-date=June 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611144417/http://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/sport/george-foreman-on-ali |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Muhammad Ali and Jimmy Carter.jpg|thumb|President [[Jimmy Carter]] greets Ali, along with his wife Veronica Porché, at a White House dinner, 1977.]]

It was a major [[Upset (competition)|upset]] victory,<ref name="Herald">{{cite news|first=Bill|last=Lee|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-herald/138782533/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115100043/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-herald/138782533/|title=Zaire's fight promotion opens new gold mines|newspaper=[[The Morning Herald]]|page=30|archive-date=January 15, 2024|date=November 18, 1974|access-date=January 15, 2024|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> after Ali came in as a 4{{ndash}}1 [[underdog]] against the previously unbeaten, heavy-hitting Foreman.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ali Regains Title, Flooring Foreman |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1030.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 30, 1974 |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615140040/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1030.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The fight became famous for Ali's introduction of the rope-a-dope tactic.<ref name="guardian">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/oct/29/rumble-in-the-jungle-muhammad-ali-george-foreman-book-extract |title=Rumble in the Jungle: the night Ali became King of the World again |date=October 29, 2014 |work=The Guardian |access-date=October 29, 2014 |archive-date=October 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029183605/http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/oct/29/rumble-in-the-jungle-muhammad-ali-george-foreman-book-extract |url-status=live }}</ref> The fight was watched by a record estimated television audience of 1{{nbsp}}billion viewers worldwide.<ref name="usatoday">{{cite news |title=Revisiting 'The Rumble in the Jungle' 40 years later |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2014/10/29/muhammad-ali-george-foreman-rumble-in-the-jungle-40th-anniversary/18097587/ |work=[[USA Today]] |date=October 29, 2014 |access-date=May 11, 2018 |archive-date=November 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101103836/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2014/10/29/muhammad-ali-george-foreman-rumble-in-the-jungle-40th-anniversary/18097587/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="jet">{{cite magazine |title=Mike Tyson May Fight George Foreman In Biggest Money Match: $80 Million |magazine=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]] |date=September 18, 1995 |volume=88 |issue=19 |page=46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fTkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA46   |access-date=July 24, 2023 |archive-date=October 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031224046/https://books.google.com/books?id=fTkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA46#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> It was the world's [[List of most-watched television broadcasts|most-watched live television broadcast]] at the time.<ref name="briefly">{{cite news |last=Gitonga |first=Ruth |title=Most-watched television events in the world ever: Top 20 list ranked |url=https://briefly.co.za/facts-lifehacks/top/152256-most-watched-television-events-world-top-20-list-ranked/ |work=briefly.co.za |date=February 7, 2023 |access-date=November 5, 2023 |archive-date=March 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314153340/https://briefly.co.za/facts-lifehacks/top/152256-most-watched-television-events-world-top-20-list-ranked/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Fights against Wepner, Lyle and Bugner====
Ali's next opponents included [[Chuck Wepner]], [[Ron Lyle]], and [[Joe Bugner]]. Wepner, a journeyman known as "The Bayonne Bleeder", stunned Ali with a knockdown in the ninth round; Ali would later say he tripped on Wepner's foot. The fight inspired [[Sylvester Stallone]] to create the acclaimed film ''[[Rocky]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/2006/08/10/rocky-stallone-settlement-cx_rs_0810autofacescan04.html#34f600e166bd |title=Stallone Settles With The 'Real' Rocky |first=R. M. |last=Schneiderman |date=August 10, 2006 |work=Forbes |access-date=October 16, 2019 |archive-date=October 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031224107/https://e.infogram.com/_/PGbi4jGUl7iSfajoEZwo?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2F2006%2F08%2F10%2Frocky-stallone-settlement-cx_rs_0810autofacescan04.html%3Fsh%3D29658a0a66bd&src=embed#34f600e166bd |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Third fight against Joe Frazier====
{{Main|Thrilla in Manila}}
Ali then agreed to a third match with Joe Frazier in [[Manila]]. The bout, known as the "[[Thrilla in Manila]]", was held on October 1, 1975,<ref name="greatath" /> in temperatures approaching {{convert|100|°F|°C}}. In the first rounds, Ali was aggressive, moving and exchanging blows with Frazier. However, Ali soon appeared to tire and adopted the "rope-a-dope" strategy, frequently resorting to clinches. During this part of the bout Ali did some effective counterpunching, but for the most part absorbed punishment from a relentlessly attacking Frazier. In the 12th round, Frazier began to tire, and Ali scored several sharp blows that closed Frazier's left eye and opened a cut over his right eye. With Frazier's vision now diminished, Ali dominated the 13th and 14th rounds, at times conducting what boxing historian Mike Silver called "target practice" on Frazier's head. The fight was stopped when Frazier's trainer, Eddie Futch, refused to allow Frazier to answer the bell for the 15th and final round, despite Frazier's protests. Frazier's eyes were both swollen shut. Ali, in his corner, winner by TKO, slumped on his stool, spent.

An ailing Ali said afterwards that the fight "was the closest thing to dying that I know", and, when later asked if he had viewed the fight on videotape, reportedly said, "Why would I want to go back and see Hell?" After the fight he cited Frazier as "the greatest fighter of all times next to me".

After the third fight with Frazier, Ali considered retirement. He said, "I'm sore all over. My arms, my face, my sides all ache. I'm so, so tired. There is a great possibility that I will retire. You might have seen the last of me. I want to sit back and count my money, live in my house and my farm, work for my people and concentrate on my family."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fight-library.com/2019/05/28/history-lesson-thrilla-in-manila/ |title=History Lesson: Thrilla in Manila |publisher=Fight-Library.com |author=Blaine Henry |date=May 18, 2019 |access-date=March 4, 2020 |archive-date=October 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031065245/https://fight-library.com/2019/05/28/history-lesson-thrilla-in-manila/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Later career===
[[File:Anderson ali.jpg|thumb|Ali being interviewed by [[WBAL-TV]]'s [[Curt Anderson]] in [[Baltimore]], 1978]]
On February 2, 1976, Ali defeated [[Jean-Pierre Coopman]] by 5th round knockout. The WBC Heavyweight title was not on the line for this fight. On April 30, 1976, Ali would fight [[Jimmy Young (boxer)|Jimmy Young]] and win a controversial unanimous decision. Howard Cosell would remark that he had "never seen Ali so off in his timing" and when asked on his performance against Young in the post-fight interview, Ali stated that he was "getting old" and that he was "preserving his energy" for Ken Norton.<ref>{{Citation |title=Muhammad Ali vs Jimmy Young ABC 1080p 60fps (1976) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR0Wg_XDSoY |language=en |access-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125232742/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR0Wg_XDSoY |url-status=live }}</ref> On May 24, 1976, Ali defeated [[Richard Dunn (boxer)|Richard Dunn]], winning by 5th round technical knockout. The punch used to knock Dunn out was taught to Ali by [[Taekwondo]] [[Grandmaster (martial arts)|Grandmaster]] [[Jhoon Rhee]]. Rhee called that punch the "Accupunch"; he learned it from [[Bruce Lee]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.jhoonrhee.com/bio7.html |title=Jhoon Rhee, Father of American Tae Kwon Do |website=jhoonrhee.com |access-date=May 1, 2019 |archive-date=May 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506223915/http://www.jhoonrhee.com/bio7.html }}</ref> The Dunn fight was the last time Ali would knock an opponent out in his boxing career.

Ali fought [[Ken Norton]] for the third time in September 1976. The bout, which was held at [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]], resulted in Ali winning a controversial decision that ringside commentators had scored in favor of Norton. Afterwards, he announced he was retiring from boxing to practice his faith, having converted to [[Sunni Islam]] after falling out with the Nation of Islam the previous year.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newspaperarchive.com/SiteMap/FreePdfPreview.aspx?img=110827611%3Fsec%3DSports |title=Champion Ali Quits Boxing |work=The Paris News |page=12 |access-date=October 19, 2011 |date=October 1, 1976 |archive-date=June 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607021747/http://www.newspaperarchive.com/SiteMap/FreePdfPreview.aspx?img=110827611%3Fsec%3DSports |url-status=live }}</ref>

After returning to beat [[Alfredo Evangelista]] in May 1977, Ali struggled in his next fight against [[Earnie Shavers]] that September, getting pummeled a few times by punches to the head. Ali won the fight by another unanimous decision, but the bout caused his longtime doctor [[Ferdie Pacheco]] to quit after he was rebuffed for telling Ali he should retire. Pacheco was quoted as saying, "the New York State Athletic Commission gave me a report that showed Ali's kidneys were falling apart. I wrote to Angelo Dundee, Ali's trainer, his wife and Ali himself. I got nothing back in response. That's when I decided enough is enough."<ref name="Hauser 2004" />

In February 1978, Ali faced [[Leon Spinks]] at the Hilton Hotel in [[Las Vegas]]. At the time, Spinks had only seven professional fights to his credit, and had recently fought a draw with journeyman Scott LeDoux. Ali sparred less than two dozen rounds in preparation for the fight and was seriously out of shape by the opening bell. He lost the title by split decision. A rematch occurred in September at the [[Mercedes-Benz Superdome|Superdome]] in New Orleans, Louisiana. 70,000 people attended the bout and paid a total of $6&nbsp;million admission, making it the largest live gate in boxing history at that time.<ref name="Times-Picayune, New Orleans, Peter Finney's column from 1978">[http://www.nola.com/sports/index.ssf/2016/06/read_peter_finneys_column_from.html Read Peter Finney's column on Ali vs. Spinks 2 at the Superdome in 1978] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419053449/http://www.nola.com/sports/index.ssf/2016/06/read_peter_finneys_column_from.html |date=April 19, 2018 }}, ''The Times-Picayune'' NOLA.com (New Orleans, LA.), re-posted on June 4, 2016.</ref> Ali won a unanimous decision in an uninspiring fight, with referee Lucien Joubert scoring rounds 10–4, judge Ernie Cojoe 10–4, and judge Herman Preis 11–4. This made Ali the first heavyweight champion to win the belt three times.<ref>''Muhammad Ali, The Glory Years'', Felix Dennis and Don Atyeo, p. 258.</ref><ref name="RingsideReport.com, Kevin Kincade, 2016">[http://ringsidereport.com/?p=63321 The Last Flight of the Butterfly: Remembering Ali vs Spinks II] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419053533/http://ringsidereport.com/?p=63321 |date=April 19, 2018 }}, RingsideReport.com, Kevin "The Voice" Kincade, September 22, 2016.</ref>

Following this win, on July 27, 1979, Ali announced his retirement from boxing. His retirement was short-lived, however; Ali announced his comeback to face [[Larry Holmes]] for the WBC belt in an attempt to win the heavyweight championship an unprecedented fourth time. The fight was largely motivated by Ali's need for money. Boxing writer [[Richie Giachetti]] said, "Larry didn't want to fight Ali. He knew Ali had nothing left; he knew it would be a horror."

It was around this time that Ali started struggling with vocal stutters and trembling hands.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/21/us/muhammad-ali-fast-facts |title=Muhammad Ali Fast Facts |work=CNN|access-date=February 20, 2013 |archive-date=March 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327055610/http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/21/us/muhammad-ali---fast-facts |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Nevada Athletic Commission]] (NAC) ordered that he undergo a complete physical in Las Vegas before being allowed to fight again. Ali chose instead to check into the [[Mayo Clinic]], who declared him fit to fight. Their opinion was accepted by the NAC on July 31, 1980, paving the way for Ali's return to the ring.<ref name="LVSun 50">{{cite news |url=http://www.lasvegassun.com/muhammad-ali/timeline/ |title=Timeline: Fifty years of Las Vegas memories for Muhammad Ali |newspaper=Las Vegas Sun |access-date=November 12, 2013 |last=Koch |first=Ed |archive-date=November 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112134317/http://www.lasvegassun.com/muhammad-ali/timeline/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Fight stoppage vs. Larry Holmes====
{{main|Larry Holmes vs. Muhammad Ali}}
On October 2, 1980, Ali returned to the ring to fight Holmes at [[Caesars Palace]] in [[Las Vegas]]. Holmes, who fought under the nickname "The [[Easton, Pennsylvania|Easton]] Assassin", easily dominated Ali. After the tenth round, [[Angelo Dundee]] stepped into the ring and instructed the referee to stop the fight. It was the only time Ali ever lost by [[technical knockout|stoppage]].

Immediately after the fight, Ali was given painkillers and antidepressants, in violation of World Boxing Council rules prohibiting the administration of any drug before the postfight urinalysis.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barnes |first1=Bart |title=Ali Faces Ring Suspension |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1980/10/15/ali-faces-ring-suspension/20b7b27d-ce78-485e-9b10-399387218d5a/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=April 5, 2023 |language=English |date=October 15, 1980 |archive-date=August 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828170407/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1980/10/15/ali-faces-ring-suspension/20b7b27d-ce78-485e-9b10-399387218d5a/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Eig |first1=Jonathan |title=Failed drug test was sign of the great man's decline |url=https://www.thetimes.com/sport/article/failed-drug-test-was-sign-of-the-great-mans-decline-bcrwwbvnj |website=The Times |access-date=April 5, 2023 |language=English |date=September 30, 2017 |archive-date=November 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111191348/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/failed-drug-test-was-sign-of-the-great-mans-decline-bcrwwbvnj |url-status=live }}</ref>

Giachetti called the fight "awful...the worst sports event I ever had to cover". Actor [[Sylvester Stallone]] was ringside for the fight and said that it was like watching an autopsy on a man who is still alive.<ref name="Hauser 2004" /> The Holmes fight is said to have contributed to Ali's [[Parkinson's syndrome]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/arts/television/27muhammad.html |work=The New York Times |title=Boxing King Casts His Shadow, Even at Time of Defeat |date=October 26, 2009 |access-date=March 5, 2012 |first1=Mike |last1=Hale |archive-date=March 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310053609/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/arts/television/27muhammad.html? |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/sports/muhammad-ali-doctor-doubts-parkinsons-1.3619442 ''AP''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112024309/https://www.cbc.ca/sports/muhammad-ali-doctor-doubts-parkinsons-1.3619442 |date=November 12, 2020 }} "Muhammad Ali's doctor doubts boxing led to Parkinson's", ''Associated Press'' via ''CBC'', June 6. 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2018.</ref><ref name="nytimes" /> Despite pleas to definitively retire, Ali fought one last time on [[Muhammad Ali vs. Trevor Berbick|December 11, 1981]], in Nassau, [[Bahamas]], against [[Trevor Berbick]], losing a ten-round decision.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ali to try again? |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1870&dat=19810816&id=9_EwAAAAIBAJ&pg=2603,113296&hl=en |newspaper=The Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal |agency=Associated Press |date=August 16, 1981 |access-date=June 4, 2016 |archive-date=August 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828083317/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1870&dat=19810816&id=9_EwAAAAIBAJ&pg=2603%2C113296&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=It's all over for Ali after loss |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19811212&id=XKUyAAAAIBAJ&pg=3700,2405394&hl=en |newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World |agency=Associated Press |date=December 12, 1981 |access-date=June 4, 2016 |archive-date=September 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929102632/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19811212&id=XKUyAAAAIBAJ&pg=3700,2405394&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |first=William |last=Nack |author-link=William Nack |title=Not with a bang but a whisper |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1981/12/21/826243/not-with-a-bang-but-a-whisper-after-losing-to-trevor-berbick-a-subdued-muhammad-ali-softly-admitted-that-his-illustrious-career-had-come-to-an-end |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=December 21, 1981 |access-date=June 4, 2016 |archive-date=June 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609212952/http://www.si.com/vault/1981/12/21/826243/not-with-a-bang-but-a-whisper-after-losing-to-trevor-berbick-a-subdued-muhammad-ali-softly-admitted-that-his-illustrious-career-had-come-to-an-end |url-status=live }}</ref>