Muhammad Ali Record & Timeline

On this page, you’ll find a variety of useful information about the G.O.A.T., Muhammad Ali. Find a complete Muhammad Ali record, the most notable Muhammad Ali fights, and a full Muhammad Ali timeline of his life, including the notable fights as well as other important dates throughout his life.

Most Notable Muhammad Ali Fights

As you look through Ali’s career and take a peak at what he accomplished, there are a few notable Muhammad Ali fights that stand out in terms of significance. Here’s a brief listing at the biggest and most important Muhammad Ali fights:

• Professional Debut on October 29th, 1960 vs. Tunney Hunsaker, wins by Unanimous Decision after 6 rounds
• Faces legend Archie Moore on November 15th, 1962 and stops him in four rounds
• Survives a scare from the hard punching Henry Cooper in London on June 18th, 1963 to win by fifth round KO, with help from cornerman Angelo Dundee who cuts glove to buy Ali time
• Wins Heavyweight Championship against Sonny Liston on February 25th, 1964 after Liston fails to come out for the 7th; Ali earlier temporarily blinded by substance on Liston’s gloves
• Retains Championship in Liston rematch on May 25th, 1965 via KO1, fight features infamous “phantom punch”
• Taunts challenger Ernie Terrell with “what’s my name” as he brutalizes him and carries him the distance on February 6, 1967. Terrell had refused to call him Muhammad Ai.
• Last fight before suspension on March 22nd, 1967 against Zory Folley, wins by KO7
• Returns to the sport October 26, 1970 against Jerry Quarry, winning by KO3
• Challenges for Heavyweight Title on March 8th, 1971 against Joe Frazier, losing by UD after 15 rounds, “Fight of the Century”
• Breaks jaw in Split Decision loss to Ken Norton on March 31, 1973
• Defeats Ken Norton via Split Decision in rematch on September 10, 1973
• Defeats Joe Frazier via Unanimous Decision in rematch on January 28th, 1974
• Wins back Heavyweight Championship against George Foreman on October 30th, 1974 via KO 8 in “Rumble in the Jungle”; uses Rope-A-Dope strategy
• Defeats Joe Frazier in rubber match in “Thrilla in Manilla” on October 1st, 1975 when Frazier doesn’t come out for 15th round
• Loses to upstart Leon Spinks on February 15th, 1978 via Split Decision
• Wins Heavyweight Championship for record third time by UD against Spinks in rematch on September 15th, 1978
• Last professional fight on December 11th, 1981, a Unanimous Decision Loss to Trevor Berbick

Full Muhammad Ali Record – 56 (37 kos) – 5

Below, find a complete Muhammad Ali record beginning with his first professional fight in 1960 and extending through his final professional appearance in 1981. As a part of our Muhammad Ali record, compiled from various sources, you’ll find the date of the fight, the opponent, and if applicable, if it was a rematch, the location of the fight, and the verdict.

• October 29, 1960: vs. Tunney Hunsaker at Louisville, KY; Verdict: W UD 6
• December 27, 1960: vs. Herb Siler, Miami Beach, FL; Verdict: KO 4

• January 17, 1961: vs. Tony Esperti, Miami Beach, FL; Verdict: KO 3
• February 7, 1961: vs. Jim Robinson, Miami Beach, FL; Verdict: KO 1
• February 21, 1961: vs. Donnie Fleeman, Miami Beach, FL; Verdict: KO 7
• April 19, 1961: vs. Lamar Clark, Louisville, KY; Verdict: KO 2
• June 26, 1961: vs. Duke Sabedong, Las Vegas, NV; Verdict: W UD 10
• July 22, 1961: vs. Alonzo Johnson, Louisville, KY; Verdict: W UD 10
• October 7, 1961: vs. Alex Miteff, Louisville, KY; Verdict: KO 6
• November 29, 1961: vs. Willi Besmanoff, Louisville, KY; Verdict: KO 7

• February 19, 1962: vs. Sonny Banks, New York, NY; Verdict: KO 4
• March 28, 1962: vs. Don Warner, Miami Beach, FL; Verdict: KO 4
• April 23, 1962: vs. George Logan, Los Angeles, CA; Verdict: KO 6
• May 19, 1962: vs. Billy Daniels, New York, NY; Verdict: KO 7
• July 20, 1962: vs. Alejandro Lavorante, Los Angeles, CA; Verdict: KO 5
• November 15, 1962: vs. Archie Moore, Los Angeles, CA; Verdict: KO 4

• January 24, 1963: vs. Charlie Powell, Pittsburgh, PA; Verdict: KO 3
• March 13, 1963: vs. Doug Jones, New York, NY; Verdict: W UD 10
• June 18, 1963: vs. Henry Cooper, London; Verdict: KO 5

• February 25, 1964: vs. Sonny Liston, Miami Beach, FL; Verdict: KO 7 World Heavyweight Title

• May 25, 1965: vs. Sonny Liston II, Lewiston, ME; Verdict: KO 1 World Heavyweight Title
  
• November 22, 1965: vs. Floyd Patterson, Las Vegas, NV; Verdict: KO 12 World Heavyweight Title

• March 29, 1966: vs. George Chuvalo, Toronto; Verdict: W UD 15 World Heavyweight Title
• May 21, 1966: vs. Henry Cooper, London; Verdict: KO 6 World Heavyweight Title
• August 6, 1966: vs. Brian London, London; Verdict: KO 3 World Heavyweight Title
• September 10, 1966: vs. Karl Mildenberger, Frankfurt,Germany; Verdict: KO 12 World Heavyweight Title
• November 14, 1966: vs. Cleveland Williams, Houston, TX; Verdict: KO 3 World Heavyweight Title

• February 6, 1967: vs. Ernie Terrell, Houston, TX; Verdict: W UD 15 WBA Heavyweight Title
• March 22, 1967: vs. Zora Folley, New York, NY; Verdict: KO 7 WBA Heavyweight Title

—-no fights 1968 or 1969—-

• October 26, 1970: vs. Jerry Quarry, Atlanta, GA; Verdict: KO 3
• December 7, 1970: vs. Oscar Bonavena, New York, NY; Verdict: KO 15 NABF Heavyweight Title

• March 8, 1971: vs. Joe Frazier, New York, NY; Verdict: L UD 15 WBC & WBA Heavyweight Title
• July 26, 1975: vs. Jimmy Ellis, Houston, TX; Verdict: KO 12 Vacant NABF Heavyweight Title
• November 17, 1971: vs. Buster Mathis, Houston, TX; Verdict: W UD 12 NABF Heavyweight Title
• December 26, 1971: vs. Jurgen Blin, Zurich, Switzerland; Verdict: KO 7

• April 1, 1972: vs. Mac Foster, Tokyo, Japan; Verdict: W UD 15
• May 1, 1972: vs. George Chuvalo II, Vancouver, Canada; Verdict: W UD 12 NABF Heavyweight Title
• June 29, 1972: vs. Jerry Quarry II, Las Vegas, NV; Verdict: KO 7 NABF Heavyweight Title
• July 19, 1972: vs. Al ‘Blue’ Lewis, Dublin; Verdict: KO 11
• September 20, 1972: vs. Floyd Patterson II, New York, NY; Verdict: KO 7 NABF Heavyweight Title
• November 21, 1972: vs. Bob Foster, Stateline, NV; Verdict: KO 8 NABF Heavyweight Title

• February 14, 1973: vs. Joe Bugner, Las Vegas, NV; Verdict: W UD 12
• March 31, 1973: vs. Ken Norton, San Diego, CA; Verdict: L SD 12 NABF Heavyweight Title
• September 10, 1973: vs. Ken Norton II, Los Angeles, CA; Verdict: W SD 12 NABF Heavyweight Title
• October 20, 1973: vs. Rudi Lubbers, Jakarta, Indonesia; Verdict: W UD 12

• January 28, 1974: vs. Joe Frazier II, New York, NY; Verdict: W UD 12 NABF Heavyweight Title
• October 30, 1974: vs. George Foreman, Kinshasa, Zaire; Verdict: KO 8 WBC & WBA Heavyweight Title

• March 24, 1975: vs. Chuck Wepner, Cleveland, OH; Verdict: KO 15 WBC & WBA Heavyweight Title
• May 16, 1975: vs. Ron Lyle, Las Vegas, NV; Verdict: KO 11  WBC & WBA Heavyweight Title
• June 30, 1975: vs. Joe Bugner II, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Verdict: W UD 15 WBC & WBA Heavyweight Title
• October 1, 1975: vs. Joe Frazier III, Manila, ; Verdict: KO 14 WBC & WBA Heavyweight Title

• February 20, 1976: vs. Jean Pierre Coopman, San Juan, PR; Verdict: KO 5 WBC & WBA Heavyweight Title
• April 30, 1976: vs. Jimmy Young, Landover, MD; Verdict: W UD 15 WBC & WBA Heavyweight Title
• May 24, 1976: vs. Richard Dunn, Munich, Germany; Verdict: KO 5 WBC & WBA Heavyweight Title
• September 28, 1976: vs. Ken Norton III, New York, NY; Verdict: W UD 15 WBC & WBA Heavyweight Title

• May 16, 1977: vs. Alfredo Evangelista, Landover, MD; Verdict: W UD 15 WBC & WBA Heavyweight Title
• September 29, 1977: vs. Earnie Shavers, New York, NY; Verdict: W UD 15 WBC & WBA Heavyweight Title

• February 15, 1978: vs. Leon Spinks, Las Vegas, NV; Verdict: L SD 15 WBC & WBA Heavyweight Title
• September 15, 1978: vs. Leon Spinks II, New Orleans, LA; Verdict: W UD 15 WBA Heavyweight Title

—-no fights 1979—-

• October 2, 1980: vs. Larry Holmes, Las Vegas, NV; Verdict: L TKO 11 WBC Heavyweight Title
• December 11, 1981: vs. Trevor Berbick, Nassau, Bahamas; Verdict: L UD 10

Muhammad Ali Timeline of his Life

Above, you will have been able to see a complete Muhammad Ali record as a professional, as well as a list of the most notable Muhammad Ali fights. Building on this further, take a look at this Muhammad Ali timeline of his life, which includes some of the notable Ali fights above, in addition to other significant events in his life.

• January 17th, 1942: Born as Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.
• 1954: Begins boxing as a 12-year-old
• Summer 1960: Wins Olympic Gold at light heavyweight in Rome
• October 29th, 1960: Professional Debut vs. Tunney Hunsaker, wins by Unanimous Decision after 6 rounds
• November 15th, 1962: Faces legend Archie Moore and stops him in four rounds
• June 18th, 1963: Survives a scare from the hard punching Henry Cooper in London to win by fifth round KO
• February 25th, 1964: Wins Heavyweight Championship against Sonny Liston after Liston fails to come out for the 7th. Becomes youngest heavyweight champion in history.
• Immediately following bout announces membership with the Nation of Islam, with new name Cassius X, then to be Muhammad Ali
• August 14, 1964: Marries first wife Sonji Roi
• May 25, 1965: Retains Championship in Liston rematch via KO1 and “the phantom punch”
• January 10, 1966: Divorced from Sonji Roi
• March 22, 1967: Last fight before suspension against Zory Folley, wins by KO7
• April 1967: Refuses induction into the United States Army
• June 1967: Found guilty of draft evasion
• August 17, 1967: Marries second wife Belinda Boyd (has four children with her)
• October 26, 1970: Returns to the sport against Jerry Quarry, winning by KO3
• March 8, 1971: Challenges for Heavyweight Title against Joe Frazier, losing by UD after 15 rounds
• June 1971: Supreme Court overrules earlier draft evasion guilty verdict
• March 31, 1973: Breaks jaw in Split Decision loss to Ken Norton
• September 10, 1973: Defeats Ken Norton via Split Decision in rematch
• January 28, 1974: Defeats Joe Frazier via Unanimous Decision in rematch
• October 30, 1974: Wins Back Heavyweight Championship against George Foreman via KO 8 in “Rumble in the Jungle”
• October 1, 1975: Defeats Joe Frazier in rubber match in “Thrilla in Manilla” when Frazier doesn’t come out for 15th round
• 1976: Stages exhibition against Japanese wrestler and martial artist Antonio Inoki. Suffers infection and two blood clots in legs
• Summer 1977: Divorced from Boyd, marries third wife Veronica Porsche (has two children with her)
• February 15, 1978: Loses to upstart Leon Spinks via Split Decision
• September 15th, 1978: Wins Heavyweight Championship for record third time by UD against Spinks in rematch
• June 27, 1979: Retires, and proceeds to come back
• December 11th, 1981: Last professional fight, a Unanimous Decision Loss to Trevor Berbick
• 1984: Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease
• November 19, 1986: Marries fourth wife Yolanda Ali  (has one adopted child with her)
• 1993: Declared by American survey as most recognizable dead or alive athlete, tied with Babe Ruth at 97% recognition
• Summer 1996: Lights the torch at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Given new honorary Gold medal after tossing his into a river previously
• 1997: Wins Arthur Ashe Courage Award
• 2001: Will Smith plays Ali in Hollywood biopic Ali
• November 19, 2005:  Opening of $60 million Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, KY

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the Muhammad Ali timeline of his life, notable Muhammad Ali fights and complete Muhammad Ali record. He’s the Greatest for a reason.