Cassius Clay stopped Sonny Liston to win the heavyweight title in 1964.
There were immediately calls for a rematch because Liston had been an overwhelming favorite before the fight because of his strength and punching power.
However, Clay's speed and sharp jab frustrated Liston and led to a TKO.
The rematch was fought in the unlikely location of Lewiston, Maine. Liston was badly out of shape for the fight. New York Times columnist Dave Anderson noted that he looked slow and ponderous in training, unable to even jump rope.
By the time of the rematch, Clay had changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He used his left jab and circled to his left and peppered Liston. Ali then shifted his weight, stepped to his right and hit Liston with a quick right that was not a power punch.
Liston never saw it and went down. By the time inexperienced referee Joe Walcott picked up the count, Liston was getting up and the fight continued.
However, Walcott was told by the timekeeper that Liston had been down for 10 seconds. At that point, Walcott stopped the fight, and Ali won by a controversial first-round knockout.