5 farewell matches of iconic sportspersons gone horribly wrong

Modified Aug 13, 2017 17:27 IST

Bolt fell to the track in his final race

#4 Muhammad Ali

Ali (right) lost in a knockout, the only such result in this career — Ali (right) lost in a knockout, the only such result in his career

Muhammad Ali is one of the most renowned and celebrated sportspersons in history, inspiring people with his achievements in the ring and outside it. He was rated as the greatest athlete of the 20th century Sports Illustrated and BBC, and nicknamed 'the Greatest', Ali's trash talk and intimidation of his opponents are truly legendary.

He has been involved in some of the greatest boxing matches in history, against the likes of Joe Frazier and George Foreman, but his match against Larry Holmes in 1980 is widely criticized. A year prior to it, he had announced his retirement but came back to fight Holmes for the world heavyweight championship.

Ali was a shadow of the man he was, suffering from stutters and trembling hands, but he still chose to fight. Holmes dominated the match, with Ali barely managing to fight back. The fight was stopped in the 11th round by Ali's trainer, which made it the only loss he suffered via knockout.

About the author

Shraishth Jain is a former sports journalist & content specialist, with over eight years of experience of working in the industry. A graduate of commerce, he earned his post-graduate diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) in Delhi.

His journey in the field of sports journalism began as a freelancer with Sportskeeda in 2015, covering events from a wide range of sports across north India. He joined the organization full-time two years later and then worked at Times Now. Subsequently, he worked as a Media Officer at the All India Football Federation (AIFF) from 2019-2022, working in media operations, handling social media & PR for the federation and its various verticals, along with travelling with various national teams. He moved to RoundGlass Punjab FC for a season, before making the switch to working on his retail business.

He has been watching sports religiously for as long as he can remember. He is a die-hard Manchester United fan and spends almost all of his free time watching one sport or the other, and keeping tabs on the happenings in the world of sport around the globe.

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Edited by Shraishth Jain