Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

vs. Jimmy Young was a professional boxing match contested on April 30, 1976, for the undisputed heavyweight championship. Ali won the bout through a

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...

on points. This bout was aired live in primetime on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

with

Howard Cosell Howard William Cosell (; né Cohen; March 25, 1918 – April 23, 1995) was an American sports journalist, broadcaster and author. Cosell became prominent and influential during his tenure with ABC Sports from 1953 until 1985. Cosell was widel ...

calling the action from the Capital Centre in Landover,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Background

The fight was Ali's sixth defense during his second championship reign. By comparison, Jimmy Young had a relatively unimpressive record, but had scored several big victories (most notable at this point was

Ron Lyle Ronald David Lyle (February 12, 1941 – November 26, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1971 to 1980, and in 1995. He challenged unsuccessfully for the world heavyweight championship, losing to Muhammad Ali in 1975. Kno ...

), leading him to being ranked #3 overall heavyweight since 1975. Ali did not believe Young would be a difficult opponent. Prior to the bout, Muhammad Ali's trainer

Angelo Dundee Angelo Dundee (born Angelo Mirena; August 30, 1921February 1, 2012) was an American boxing manager, boxing promoter, boxing trainer and cornerman. Internationally known for his work with Muhammad Ali (1960–1981), he also worked with 15 other w ...

put up a message board to Ali saying "Remember

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

" That was when Ali, overweight, lost a 12-round split decision to

Ken Norton Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. (August 9, 1943 – September 18, 2013) was an American actor and professional boxer who competed from 1967 to 1981. He was awarded the World Boxing Council, WBC world heavyweight championship in 1978, after winning a ...

on March 31, 1973, in that city, knowing just before this bout Ali trained lightly. Ali came into the bout at 230 pounds, the heaviest he weighed for any fight until his final bout in 1981 when he weighed 236 pounds against

Trevor Berbick Trevor Berbick (1 August 1954 – 28 October 2006) was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 2000. He won the WBC heavyweight title in 1986 by defeating Pinklon Thomas, then lost it in his first defense in the same year to Mi ...

The fight

The fight was a hard-fought defense for Ali, who found himself struggling against the crafty challenger. Young's footwork and defensive skills made him stylistically difficult for Ali, and for most of the fight he did well against the champion. During the bout on six occasions, Young ducked outside of the ropes when he began to be seriously pressured by Ali. This was done in the seventh, eighth, 12th, twice in the 13th and once more in the 15th round. When he did it in the 12th round, the referee ruled it an official knockdown and began to count. Young pulled his head back into the ring at the count of two. Young's decision to duck outside of the ring did not go over well with the judges, costing him points, and was one of the chief factors in his loss. When the decision was made, the crowd loudly booed. Ali won by decision with the three judges voting for him. In the stats department, Young landed 222 punches to Ali's 113. Young outlanded Ali 65–27 in jabs and 187–86 in power punches. The punch disparity highlighted the booing at the judges decisions.

Compubox CompuBox is a computerized punch-tracking system widely used in professional boxing to provide statistical analysis of matches. Established in 1985, it has become an integral tool for broadcasters and analysts, offering viewers quantitative data o ...

points out that Young landed 41.1 percent while Ali only 18.9 percent of the shots. Ali's 113 punches we're the lowest Ali ever had in a 15-round bout.

Aftermath

, while commentator for Ali's rematch with Leon Spinks in 1978 believed that Ali's decline truly began to show with this fight. Although he would successfully defend his title four more times, three of them would also prove quite difficult for Ali, with this fight and his eventual third match with Ken Norton being among his most controversial victories. Top contender Ken Norton, who was in attendance later stated, Ali never rematched Young, although the latter would continue to rise through the ranks, with Young defeating

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (January 10, 1949 – March 21, 2025) was an American professional boxer, businessman, minister, and author. In boxing, he competed between 1967 and 1997, and was nicknamed "Big George". He was a two-time world heavyweig ...

for the NABF heavyweight championship in 1977, but ultimately losing on a split decision in a title eliminator fight against Ken Norton later that year.

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:

Broadcasting

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Young 1976 in boxing 1976 in sports in Maryland April 1976 sports events in the United States Boxing in Maryland Boxing matches in the United States

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one's age is low, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an America ...

World Boxing Association heavyweight championship matches World Boxing Council heavyweight championship matches Boxing on ABC Boxing on BBC