The incredible legacy of heavyweight icon Muhammad Ali speaks for itself.

After walking away from the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome with a light-heavyweight gold medal, Ali would embark on an incredible professional career which saw him change the landscape of boxing.

He captured world honours for the very first time in 1964 when he dethroned the legendary Sonny Liston, stopping his countryman in the sixth round of their bout in Miami to begin his first reign as world heavyweight champion.

He made a number of successful defences of his crown before he was forced to take a three-year hiatus from the sport after he refused to enlist in the United States Army for the Vietnam War.

It was 1970 when he made a sensational return to the ring before he dethroned George Foreman of his heavyweight championship in October of 1974, best known as ‘The Rumble In The Jungle’.

But before all of those outstanding achievements, there was a moment in the earlier days of Ali’s career that could have sent the then heavyweight prospect down a very different path had he suffered a defeat.

Ali was just a 21-year-old contender when he locked horns with England’s Henry Cooper – a 5/1 underdog – at a packed out Wembley Stadium in London in June 1963.

Despite being over 20lbs heavier than Cooper on the night, and having a four and a half inch reach advantage, Ali was sensationally dropped in the fourth round of their non-title bout after being on the receiving end of a thunderous left hook. The ropes cushioned his fall and the bell signalled the end of the round just as the referee began to count and Ali rose.

He was guided to his corner by trainer Angelo Dundee, with viewers stunned at what they had witnessed from Cooper, who had lost eight of his bouts up until that night.

It wasn’t to be for the Brit however, as the fight was stopped due to his severe cuts and Ali picked up his 19th consecutive victory as a professional. Ali later said that Cooper was one of the best he faced.

“Henry Cooper, one of England’s greatest, sat me on my pants in London and was without a doubt one of the best I had met. His big trouble was tissue-paper skin.”

The heavyweights would have a rematch several years later. ‘The Greatest’ would be victorious once again – another stoppage on a cut for Cooper, who saw Ali retain the WBC Heavyweight World Title that night.