He was fast of fist and foot -- lip, too -- a heavyweight champion who promised to shock the world and did. He floated. He stung. Mostly, he thrilled, even after the punches had taken their toll and ...

Muhammad Ali was just barely into his 40s and still pretty freshly retired for good. He was having dinner one evening with a writer who couldn’t help but notice the way the chicken leg trembled in his ...

The “Thrilla in Manila” is not just about Muhammad Ali’s victory in his third and final fight with Joe Frazier, 50 years ago. In the months before the fight, Ali set a cruel agenda and, on the night, ...

The air sat still and sticky. Body heat from some 28,000 spectators at the Philippine Coliseum brought Manila’s midmorning temperature to a boiling point. Breathing felt like sipping warm water. An ...

As he taunted Joe Frazier, former heavyweight champion of the world, Muhammad Ali, current champ, pointed at the custom black T-shirts he and his entourage sported as they crashed the Aug. 26, 1975, ...

In this Oct. 1, 1975 file photo, Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali connects with a right against challenger Joe Frazier in the ninth round of their title fight in Manila, Philippines. Ali won the ...

“We’re just two colored boys from the ghetto and we have the whole world watching us in the greatest event of all time!” Thus did Muhammad Ali describe himself and Joe Frazier hours before they faced ...