MUHAMMAD "THE GREATEST" ALI - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH 05/20/1986 - HFSID 77787

MUHAMMAD ALI
The skilled boxer pens his name on this 7½x9½ photo
Photograph signed: "Muhammad Ali/ May 20-86" Color, 7½x9½. Action photo of Ali in the ring with Ken Norton in their September 10, 1973 rematch, which Ali won, at the Los Angeles Forum. Six months earlier (March 31, 1973), Norton had beaten the former World Heavyweight Champion and broken his jaw; however, Ali avenged that defeat by earning a hard-fought 12-round split decision in this rematch. The pugilistic poet, known for his famous slogan, "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee," went on to reclaim the World Crown two more times. On February 25, 1964, Muhammad Ali (1942-2016), as Cassius Clay, had knocked out champion Sonny Liston in the seventh round in Miami Beach to win the World Heavyweight title. He was stripped of his title in 1967 for refusing military service. On October 30, 1974, Ali KO'd George Foreman in the eighth round in Zaire to regain the title. Leon Spinks became champ when he won a 15-round decision over Ali on February 15, 1978 in Las Vegas, but he lost a rematch with Ali in New Orleans in another 15-round decision on September 15, 1978. Self-proclaimed as "The Greatest", Ali was just that, compiling a glittering career record of 56-5, with 37 knockouts. In championship bouts, he was 32-4, with 27 KOs. Ali, who retired as World Heavyweight Champion in 1979, is boxing's only three-time World Heavyweight Champion. Fine condition. Framed to an overall size of 15x24.