I think it would be wrong to claim Ali got knocked out. Have a read of this:
"Younger, stronger, and in his prime, the 31 year old Larry Holmes (35-0), the WBC Heavyweight Champion, was matched up against an old, shopwarn Muhammad Ali (56-4) who was likely in the early stages of Parkinson's Disease, a disorder of the brain that slows one's reflexes and eventually leads to shaking (tremors) and difficulty with walking, movement, and coordination.
Unbeknownst to many, three months before the fight, Ali was ordered by the Nevada Athletic Commission to visit the Mayo Clinic for a neurological exam. The results exam were not made public at the time but contained the following results (source:BoxRec):
Despite the poor results, Nevada approved the fight with Holmes.
- Muhammad Ali was a little off when he tried to touch his finger to his nose.
- He had trouble coordinating his speech, and
- The fight legend couldn't hop on one foot well.
In an absolutely disgusting bout, the 31 year old champion dismantled the 38 year old legend in 10 rounds of a scheduled 15 round bout. There were no knockdowns, but Holmes dominated the fight and was given every round by all three judges. Finally, Ali's corner stopped the fight after the tenth round.
The TKO marked the first and only time Ali was stopped inside the distance in his 61 fight pro career".
Very sad fight to watch, but Ali wasn't exactly the nicest bloke in the world so some would say it was Karma if you believe in that sort of ****!
The first time they met was in March 2013 when Nietes kept his title by majority draw. Nietes took no prisoners in their second bout, stopping the challenger in the ninth in May 2014. The upcoming fight is to take place in California on September 29. An interesting sidelight to Donnie Nietes, is that he's the longest reigning champion in the rich history of Philippine boxing. It's said that he might in the not too distant future, move up to flyweight, a territory dominated by one Roman Gonzalez.