Who did Muhammad Ali beat to win his third championship boxing title?

Muhammad Ali had to beat Leon Spinks to win his third championship boxing title. On September 15, 1978, Ali defeated Leon Spinks at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans to win the world heavyweight boxing title for a third time. Ali won a unanimous decision in an uninspiring fight, with referee Lucien Joubert scoring rounds 10-4, judge Ernie Cojoe 10-4, and judge Herman Preis 11-4. This made Ali the first heavyweight champion ever to do such a thing. Following his victory, Ali retired from boxing, only to make a brief comeback two years later. Ali, who once claimed he could “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” left the sport of boxing permanently in 1981.

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky, on January 14, 1942, the world boxing champ changed his name to Muhammad Ali in 1964 after converting to Islam. He earned a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome and made his professional boxing debut against Tunney Hunsaker in October 1960, winning the bout in 6 rounds. On February 25, 1964, Ali defeated the heavily favored Sonny Liston in 6 rounds to become heavyweight champ, after which he famously declared, “I am the greatest!".

Muhammad Ali was hospitalized in Scottsdale, Arizona, on June 2, 2016, with a respiratory illness. Though his condition was initially described as fair, it worsened, and he died the following day at the age of 74 from septic shock.