Muhammad Ali: The Greatest Sports is filled with showmen, and with great athletes, but perhaps never were they better combined than in the young man who began life as Cassius Clay and became a worldwide phenomenon as Muhammad Ali. The man who bragged about his ability to "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee" went from being a curious oddity in the early 1960s to a national villain to an international hero. And now he reigns as one of the most beloved men on the planet.

Muhammad Ali won the heavyweight championship with a 7th round TKO of Sonny Liston on February 25, 1964 in Miami.

25 Hours of Ali ESPN Classic Friday, Dec. 21 - Saturday, Dec. 22 All times Eastern Friday, Dec. 21 8 p.m. - SportsCentury: Muhammad Ali 9 p.m. - Ali vs. George Foreman (1974) 10 p.m. - Ali vs. Sonny Liston I (1964) 11 p.m. - SportsCentury: Muhammad Ali Saturday, Dec. 22 Midnight - Ali vs. Oscar Bonavena (1970) 1 a.m. - Ali vs. Karl Mildenberger (1966) 2 a.m. - Ali vs. Jurgen Blin (1971) 3 a.m. - Ali vs. Ron Lyle (1975) 4:30 a.m. - Ali vs. Jerry Quarry I (1970) 5 a.m. - Ali vs. Cooper/Ali vs. Williams 6 a.m. - Ali vs. Zora Folley (1967) 7 a.m. - Classic Wide World of Sports - Ali and Cosell: A partnership begins 8 a.m. - Classic Wide World of Sports - Ali and Cosell: On the road 9 a.m. - Classic Wide World of Sports - Ali and Cosell: A dance, a drubbing and the draft 10 a.m. - Classic Wide World of Sports- The Ali comeback 11 a.m. - Classic Wide World of Sports - The march to Frazier rematch Noon - Classic Wide World of Sports - 1974: Rematch and redemption 1 p.m. - Classic Wide World of Sports - 1975: From the sublime to the ridiculous 2 p.m. - Classic Wide World of Sports - Ali vs. The greatest fighters 3 p.m. - Classic Wide World of Sports - The end of a career 4 p.m. - Ali vs. Jerry Quarry II (1972) 4:30 p.m. - Ali vs. Jimmy Ellis (1971) 5:30 p.m. - Classic Battle Lines: Ali vs Joe Frazier I 6:30 p.m. - Ali vs. Frazier III (1975) 8 p.m. - Reel Classics Uncut: "Ali"

Muhammad Ali by the numbers Bouts Wins Losses Draws KO W KO'd L Won World Heavyweight title 61 56 5 0 37 19 1 4 3 times ALI's FIGHT BY FIGHT RECORD

Features Page 2: Going toe-to-toe with "Ali" What goes on at a big-time Hollywood movie junket? Bill Simmons went behind the scenes of Will Smith's "Ali" to find out. Page2: A victory for Ali? Muhammad Ali won one of his most important victories years nearly 30 years after the fact writes David Halberstam.

Columns Ali-Frazier I transcended sports Boxing historian Michael Silver looks back at the first fight of the Muhammad Ali - Joe Frazier trilogy. Halberstam: Chasing 'Ghosts of Manilla' Though the last Ali-Frazier fight took place 26 years ago, it still seems to have happened only the other day writes David Halberstam.