The four who managed to send the legend Ali into a knockdown

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During his legendary career, Muhammad Ali was never knocked out in the true sense of the word (he was defeated by a technical decision of the referee by Larry Holmes, but he was not actually knocked out). However, there are 4 instances in his memorable career where his opponents managed to knock him down. We will present all 4 cases to you in the following lines.

In 11 consecutive fights, Ali, then Cassius Clay, crushed his competitors without sustaining almost any blows. That changed at Madison Square Garden in New York, when Sonny Banks knocked him down with a heavy left hook in the first round. The blow was no accident, as in the first minute of the match, Ali took several heavy blows, as Banks had well studied Ali's defensive style. However, the legend quickly rose to his feet and knocked out his opponent in the 4th round, as he himself had predicted before the duel.

Ali's orthodox style of defense, which has been perfectly copied by Tyson Fury nowadays, once again caused problems for the legend, this time against Britain's Henry Cooper. At the end of the 4th round, Ali lands a heavy left hook to the chin that sends him into the ropes and to the floor. Fortunately for the legendary boxer, the gong sounded to end the round, but he was visibly stunned. After the match, many believed that if Cooper had 30 seconds left in the match, Ali would have been knocked out. This never happened, as in the very next round Ali recovered from a surprise knockdown and finished the match in the 5th round by TKO - again in the round he had predicted before the clash.

The Match of the Century in 1971 marked the first time in history that two undefeated boxers faced each other in a world heavyweight title match. In the 15th round of the great spectacle, Ali's defense was "pierced" and he was again knocked down with a left hook. Although he managed to get to his feet, the knockdown proved decisive as the judges awarded Joe Frazier a points victory in one of the most electrifying bouts in boxing history. Ali lost his title, but in the next two fights he beat Frazier and did not allow him to knock him down a second time.

The last time Ali ended up on his back in the arena was actually due to a slip on the part of the legend. He faces Wepner in what will be the champion's first fight since his title defense against George Foreman in Zaire. In the 9th round, Wepner acted extremely unsportsmanlike, after first stepping on Ali's leg and then delivering a heavy body blow. Ali ends up on the ground as the referee awards a knockdown in favor of his opponent and begins the count. Replays immediately showed that Wepner had acted illegally and a knockdown should not have been awarded, but the referee did not notice the offense. Nevertheless, in the 15th round, Ali crushed his opponent, sent him three times on his back in the arena and won by knockout. It is also the last time Ali has been knocked down in his illustrious 21-year career.

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