Top 5 most intense individual rivalries in the history of professional sports

#4 Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier (Boxing)

Joe Frazier (R) knocks Ali down

If you were to ask an average fan who the greatest boxer of all time is, chances are pretty high that the name Muhammad Ali would be mentioned. However there is one man who would have a lot to say about that.

Muhammad 'The Greatest' Ali was a true revolutionary in the art of boxing, garnering headlines wherever he went with his trash talking, poetry composing and fighting ability which helped him gain considerable exposure.

When it came to the art of trash talking, there is none better than Ali.

The late great machismo perfected the art of using his mouth as a weapon to get into the psyche and emotions of his opponents prior to the match and most times succeeded in an age where boxers most times let their managers do the talking.

However, beyond his quick wits and charming personality, Ali could also strut his stuff in the ring, possessing a fighting technique far above what was obtainable by boxers of his era.

Having won the Gold medal at the 1960 Olympics games in the light heavyweight division, Ali turned pro in 1961 and won the World Heavyweight title just three years later at the age of 22 when he defeated Sunny Lister in a major upset.

Till date, Muhammad Ali remains the only three-time lineal champion in heavyweight boxing history and holds the joint-record of beating 21 boxers for the world heavyweight title.

He is widely considered by many to be the greatest boxer of all time and among the greatest sportsmen ever. Ali also showed great compassion and philantrophy to social causes and protested against injustices including the Vietnam war (for which he was stripped off his titles) and was also named among the TIME 100 people of the 20th century in 1999.

In total, Ali's professional record reads 61-56-5, with 37 of his 56 victories coming via knockouts.

For his part, Joe 'Smokin' Joe' Frazier also played his part to lay a marker to be considered among the greatest in the history of the sport and gained fame for his strength, durability and incredible punching power.

Fraser was named Fighter of the Year on three occasions by The Ring magazine and was an Olympic Gold medalist as an amateur at the 1964 Olympic Games.

His record reads 32 wins from 37 matches, with one match ending in a draw and 27 victories coming via knockout. Upon retirement, Frazier became a trainer, training both his son and daughter, but sadly passed away 2011 due to complications arising from Liver Cancer.

In an age widely considered as the Golden Period of heavyweight boxing, Ali and Frazier shone through, rising high above their contemporaries and helping to rewrite the history of their sport.

In total, they met three times in their career, with the first and last ones ('Fight of the Century' and 'Thrila in Manila') being for the world title; while another highly publicized, record breaking and thrilling match 'The Rumble In The Jungle' between Ali and George Foreman in 1974 was also an offshoot of the Ali/Frazier rivalry.

Joe Frazier won the first of their three fights (the aptly named 'Fight Of The Century') in 1971 to win his first world title.

Ali won the last two, winning the second by unanimous decision in controversial circumstances in 1974 as well as the 'Thrilla in Manila' in 1975.