The Greatest (1977 film) The Greatest (1977 film) The Greatest is a 1977 film about the life of boxer Muhammad Ali, in which Ali plays himself. It was directed by Tom Gries and Monte Hellman. The film follows Ali's life from the 1960 Olympics to his regaining the heavyweight crown from George Foreman in their famous "Rumble in the Jungle" fight in 1974. The footage of the boxing matches themselves are largely the actual footage from the time involved. The movie is based on the book "" written by Muhammad Ali and Richard Durham and edited by Toni Morrison. The song "The Greatest Love
Joe Frazier vs. George Foreman defending that title four times before knocking out Jimmy Ellis to claim the vacant WBA and WBC titles in 1970 that had been stripped from Muhammad Ali. Frazier's most notable defense would come against Ali himself in what was billed as the "Fight of the Century." After defeating Ali by unanimous decision, Frazier captured "The Ring" heavyweight title and became recognized as the lineal champion. In between his first Ali fight and his bout with Foreman, Frazier successfully defended his title twice against fringe contenders Terry Daniels and Ron Stander. Following his knockout of Stander, Ali attempted to gain a