Boxing legend Muhammad Ali dies at 74

When he returned to the ring in 1970, Ali made quick work of Jerry Quarry before going 15 rounds with champion Joe Frazier, who won the “Fight of the Century” by unanimous decision.

Following a second loss to Ken Norton, Ali defeated Frazier in 1974 to set up a title fight with champion George Foreman in Zaire.

Dubbed “The Rumble In The Jungle,” Ali “handcuffed lightning” and knocked out Foreman in the eighth round. Ali’s “rope-a-dope” style of letting Foreman go on the attack, wore Foreman out because Ali was fast enough to move out of harm’s way. It’s been a strategy later used by champions Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.

Ali and Frazier fought a third time in 1975 at the “Thrilla in Manilla” and Ali won by a 15th-round TKO.

Ali remains the only three-time lineal heavyweight champ – capturing titles in 1964, 1974 and 1978. Of his 56 victories, 37 were by knockout.

Following his career, Ali devoted his life to civil rights causes and philanthropy. While Ali has never denied throwing his 1960 gold medal into the Ohio River as a protest of racial strife, he was given a replacement in 1996 and lit the Olympic torch at the Atlanta Games.

An aging Ali lost three of his last four fights before retiring in 1981. A loss to Larry Holmes in 1980 was thought to be the cause of his Parkinson’s Disease, of which he was diagnosed in 1984.

Ali received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award in 1997 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. He received the Otto Hahn Peace Medal of Gold in Germany later that year for his work with the U.S. civil rights movement.

Ali was a star away from boxing. He appeared in multiple TV shows and inspired several films. Will Smith received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Ali in the 2001 movie, “Ali.”

Ali was married four times and had seven daughters and two sons. His daughter, Laila, later became a boxer and has never been defeated as a professional.