Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

visited India on multiple occasions to participate in exhibition boxing matches, to visit schools and orphanages supported by his foundation, and for other private visits.

Exhibition boxing

In January 1980 Muhammad Ali visited India, reportedly at the behest of

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

, to participate in exhibition boxing matches in Delhi, Bombay, and Chennai.

Delhi

In Delhi, on January 27, 1980, Ali sparred with

Kaur Singh Kaur Singh ( pa, ਕੌਰ ਸਿੰਘ; 1948/1949 – 27 April 2023) was an Indian heavyweight champion boxer from Punjab. Singh won three gold medals for senior national boxing championship, Asian Boxing Championship and Asian Games. Early ...

, the Indian national heavyweight champion, for a four-round exhibition match. More than 50,000 people attended the match. According to

: A veteran journalist who witnessed the fight claimed that Ali hardly threw any punches at Kaur Singh during the match, spending the time chit-chatting with youngsters who had collected around the ring.

Madras

Ali came to Madras and held hands with

MGR M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987) was the Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. MGR may also refer to: * ManaGeR (MGR), graphical window system * Merry-go-round train, British freight-train design Mgr. is an honorific or abbreviation for: * Manager ...

. Crowds thronged Chennai's Nehru stadium to witness the legend in action in 1980. Organised by Tamil Nadu State Amateur Boxing Association and Apeejay, the exhibition bout that saw Ali taking on former heavy weight champion

Jimmy Ellis Jimmy Ellis may refer to: * Jimmy Ellis (boxer) (1940–2014), American boxer * Jimmy "Orion" Ellis (1945–1998), American singer * Jimmy "Preacher" Ellis (born 1935), American musician * Jimmy Ellis (1938–2012), lead singer of The Trammps * Ji ...

Social interactions in India

*According to a February 1980 report published in

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

: *In a press conference organized in Bombay in January 1980, Ali stated: "I am happy to be in Bombay; I was driving here from the airport and came via Muhammad Ali Road—you have already named a road after me."

References

{{Muhammad Ali

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Boxing in India