Muhammad Ali's Chin: Knocked Down Only 4 Times

Muhammad Ali’s boxing career is well documented, so instead of going over his entire career, I will focus on the four times Ali was knocked down.

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First Knockdown — Sonny Banks

After winning the gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Ali started his professional career on October 29, 1960. He won his first ten fights against mostly low-ranked boxers. On February 10, 1962, he faced Sonny Banks, who had a record of 10–2. Banks, like Ali, was a newcomer, beginning his pro career in 1960.

Banks shocked everyone by knocking Ali down in the first round, and it wasn’t just a lucky punch. In the first two rounds, Banks hit Ali with several shots that clearly hurt him, but Ali (then Cassius Clay) won the fight by TKO in the fourth round. Sadly, Sonny Banks died three years later from injuries he sustained in the ring.

Second Knockdown — Henry Cooper

After the fight with Banks, Ali won his next seven fights, raising his record to 18–0. His nineteenth fight was against 29-year-old Henry Cooper, the British and Commonwealth Champion. Cooper entered the bout with a 27–8–1 record. Although Cooper was technically a heavyweight, his body weight was closer to that of a light heavyweight, and he was twenty-one pounds lighter than Ali.

By the third round, Cooper had a severe cut, and by the fourth round, he was bleeding heavily. Sensing the referee might stop the fight at any moment, Cooper threw a solid body shot at Ali and followed with a powerful left hook that knocked Ali down. Although Ali got up quickly, it was obvious he was hurt, but Cooper didn’t get a chance to finish because the bell rang.

Controversy

Some claim that while Ali sat on his stool between rounds, his trainer, Angelo Dundee, gave him smelling salts to help revive him. Ali should have been disqualified if that were true because smelling salts were prohibited in British boxing. The claim was never proven true or false because the film of the fight is unclear.

To add to the controversy, Dundee also requested that Ali’s boxing gloves be replaced because of a tear in one of them. There was no spare pair available, and Cooper later complained that this was a delaying tactic to give Ali more time to recover. Regardless, Ali recovered, and the fight was stopped in the fifth round after Cooper sustained a second cut.

The two boxers fought again three years later, but the fight was stopped once more due to a severe cut, this time in the sixth round. Cooper retired from boxing in 1971 with a 40–14–1 record.

The U.S. Army Calls

Eight months after his first fight with Henry Cooper, Ali won the title by defeating Sonny Liston. He defended the belt nine times before his title and boxing license were stripped for refusing induction into the U.S. Army. Ali did not fight again until three and a half years later.

Third Knockdown — Joe Frazier

After defeating Jerry Quarry and Oscar Bonavena, Ali fought Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden in what most call “The Fight of the Century.” Ali was slightly behind on the scorecards going into the 15th and final round when Frazier tagged him with a left hook that knocked Ali down for only the third time in his career. Frazier won unanimously, handing Ali the first loss of his career. Frazier retired in 1976 with a 32–4 record.

Ali avenged his loss to Frazier three years later and regained his title in October 1974 with a victory over George Foreman.

Fourth Knockdown — Chuck Wepner

Five months later, he defended his title against Chuck Wepner, who had an unimpressive 31–9–2 record. Wepner, a Marine, grew up on the tough streets of Bayonne, New Jersey, and had a reputation as a brawler, with the nickname “The Bayonne Bleeder.”

The fight was expected to be easy for Ali, and although he was leading on all three scorecards, Wepner was challenging him more than he had anticipated. In the ninth round, Wepner slipped an Ali punch and landed a strong right to Ali’s ribs, knocking the champ down.

Although the referee called it a knockdown, this is highly disputed. Replays show that Wepner was standing on Ali’s foot when he threw the punch. Ali says this caused him to lose his balance and fall backward. Wepner insists it was the punch that knocked Ali down. Footage of the fight appears to support Ali’s version. Ali ultimately won the fight by TKO in the 15th round.

Wepner retired in 1978 with a record of 36–14–2. His courageous performance largely inspired the film Rocky.

After the Wepner fight, Ali went on to fight thirteen more times, retiring in 1981 with a record of 56–5.

Among all that has been said and written about Muhammad Ali, what I remember most is his ability to take a punch and stay upright. Even his rival Joe Frazier was amazed by this and credited Ali. Said Frazier, “I hit that man with punches that would have knocked down a brick wall, and he wouldn’t go down.”

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Mark Morthier is the host of Yesterday’s Sports, a podcast dedicated to reliving memorable sports moments from his childhood days and beyond. He grew up in New Jersey just across from New York City, so many of his episodes revolve around the great sport’s teams of the 70s for the New York area.

He is also an author of No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training (Second Edition): A Guide for People with Limited Time and Running Wild: (Growing Up in the 1970s)