How many knockout rounds did Muhammad ali predict in row that came true?

Answer 1

There is no accurate record of his fight predictions. Some people say he got 12 out of his first 15 predictions right. The majority of the predictions were made whilst he fought as Cassius Clay once he became Muhammad Ali he didn't predict as much.

The only predictions known to be wrong are: Doug Jones, Sonny Liston (could very well have come it true had Liston not quit, the round before the predicted round), Bonavena, Mac Foster, Joe Frazier, Joe Bugner and Ron Lyle.

He also predicted he'd floor Chuvalo but Chuvalo was never put on the canvass in any of his 93 fights. So if you include this EIGHT wrong predictions.

There may also be Holmes and Norton in the incorrect prediction list but I can't verify if he made predictions about them.

The only predictions that can be proved correct are according to Thomas Hauser, Cassius Clay had correctly predicted seven bouts before his match up with Doug Jones. Of course, Cooper was stopped in accordance with Clay's prophecy as well.

Once Ali became champion, he himself said predicting was just a way of drawing attention to himself as a challenger, thus somewhat retiring from the prediction game.

However there is the case of Richard Dunn, my favourite prediction. Muhammad Ali promised the gloves he had used in the fight to British promoter Mickey Duff, who was raising funds for Chris Finnegan (a fighter who had lost sight in one eye). When he passed his gloves to Duff in the ring, Ali told Duff to look inside. In one it was written 'Ali wins' and in the other 'round five'. Journalists at the time say Angelo Dundee wrote the prediction on the gloves. It is noted that Dundee would write a number on a small slip of paper and place it inside Ali's glove. The number that Dundee wrote on the slip of paper was the round in which he predicted Ali would knock out his opponent. However in this case the words and fact it was written on the glove rather than just a number on paper slipped inside the glove supports the theory Ali wrote on the glove.

There are other versions of what happened to and surrounding the gloves such as at the end of the fight he gave the gloves to a fan and inside in black marker on one glove the letters "KO" the other glove "5". The other leading story is that a journalist kept pushing Ali everyday for a round prediction every single day, day after day and every day Ali kept saying "no I don't do that anymore - I'm never going to predict another round ever again". After the fight the reporter comes to the edge of the ring and says "you looked like you coulda stopped him whenever you wanted to champ?" and Ali struggles to remove his gloves and gives them to the reporter and says "you can go and auction them for $5000" and the reporter says "who's going to pay $5000 for a pair of old gloves?" and Ali turns back to him and says "look inside the gloves" and written inside the gloves in thick black marker is "KO 5" and Ali gives the reporter a cheeky grin and a wink.

So if Dunn is included, that would make NINE.

It's worth noting he was accurate enough that he was called to speak in front of a New York board about abolishing boxing. They asked Ali don't you think it's fishy that your fights have all ended in the round you predicted. Ali then replied will it be a fix when I get Doug Jones in six. The entire room broke out laughing. Ali promised to keep quiet after that hearing which he did for the most part but still made a few more predictions afterwards.

By my count he got more right than wrong by 9-8 but if you go by speculation it's around 14 right and 10 wrong approx.