I was in a “redneck” type bar to watch Ali fight Joe Bugner in England. Crowd started out all how Bugner would “teach that N a lesson”.
By the time Ali knocked him out, they were on their feet cheering Ali.
He was just an incredible sports figure.
In defense of Joe Bugner (born Hungary 1950). He went 15 rounds with Ali in Malaysia for the title and lost a unanimous decision. He fought Ali at the Convention Centre in Las Vegas two years later and again lost a unanimous decision. One bout in 1973 and the other in 1975.
Of course you could be thinking of his bout with Henry Cooper, who scored a knockdown, then was stopped with a "cut eye". That knockdown was played and replayed for years.