He was the best heavyweight ever IMO. He is remembered largely for his 1970s big fights but he was then a shadow of the boxer he was pre-ban in 1967. He was just coming to his peak then and was unbelievable. His reflexes were astonishing. He hardly ever got hit and his jabs were devastating. As we found out late in his career, when he did get hit he could take a punch as well as any boxer I can remember. He revolutionised the heavyweight division and there has been nobody since who has been able to emulate his unique style. As to Joe Louis - he did not fight the calibre of boxers that Clay / Ali did.

He was the best heavyweight ever IMO. He is remembered largely for his 1970s big fights but he was then a shadow of the boxer he was pre-ban in 1967. He was just coming to his peak then and was unbelievable. His reflexes were astonishing. He hardly ever got hit and his jabs were devastating. As we found out late in his career, when he did get hit he could take a punch as well as any boxer I can remember. He revolutionised the heavyweight division and there has been nobody since who has been able to emulate his unique style. As to Joe Louis - he did not fight the calibre of boxers that Clay / Ali did.

He was the best heavyweight ever IMO. He is remembered largely for his 1970s big fights but he was then a shadow of the boxer he was pre-ban in 1967. He was just coming to his peak then and was unbelievable. His reflexes were astonishing. He hardly ever got hit and his jabs were devastating. As we found out late in his career, when he did get hit he could take a punch as well as any boxer I can remember. He revolutionised the heavyweight division and there has been nobody since who has been able to emulate his unique style. As to Joe Louis - he did not fight the calibre of boxers that Clay / Ali did.

Loved the documantary the other night on BBC 1....what a LEGEND !

He wasn't quick enough to avoid ' Enry's hammer '

But yes , the greatest

Interesting that Benn, Eubank, Bellew, Nelson, Watt............... have all been rolled out to offer what Ali gave to them and boxing but nothing from the current world heavyweight champion

A superb sportsman who saved boxing.

Was he the most famous man on the planet at the height of his fame?

If you want to see the way Ali moved in the days before his ban go to that well known video sharing site and enter Ali v Cleveland Williams full fight. A few Ali shuffles in there whilst actually fighting seriously. In about 7 minutes of boxing landed 100 punches against 3. Although Williams was in his thirties by then it was a world title fight and Williams was considered one of the best heavyweights never to win the world title.

I'm far from a boxing expert, so I can't make any reliable statements about being the greatest HW of all time; but if ever there was an athlete who transcended his sport to become a worldwide cultural icon - it's Ali. There's no doubt he said some questionable things about race and religion, but in the context of the times he lived in, they are less inflammatory than they appear.

It's very sad that he's gone, but I would imagine it's also a relief to those people who knew him.