
“ATTENTION! Stop talkin’ now!”
These were the opening words of Muhammad Ali’s impromptu post-fight press conference, soon after producing the second “I shook up the world” moment of his long career.
His first such moment had come a decade previously with his victory over Sonny Liston in Miami to become the youngest heavyweight world champion at that time. This second one had come after his stunning victory over an in-prime, fearsomely fearsome George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) on October 30 1974.

From Manchester pubs to global arenas, Ricky Hatton embodied working-class pride in and out of the ring, but his last round was fought in solitude, writes JOHN WIGHT

Vilified by the public after defeating Henry Cooper, Joe Bugner’s remarkable career and tragic decline reflected the era’s attitudes as much as the man himself, says JOHN WIGHT

Amid riots, strikes and Thatcher’s Britain, Frank Bruno fought not just for boxing glory, but for a nation desperate for heroes, writes JOHN WIGHT

In recently published book Baddest Man, Mark Kriegel revisits the Faustian pact at the heart of Mike Tyson’s rise and the emotional fallout that followed, writes JOHN WIGHT