Muhammad Ali vs. Brian London

**Challenger rankings**
Org.	Pos.	As of	Published
1+ Mth. Old
WBA	NR	30.04.1966	02.05.1966
Ring	NR	20.05.1966	18.05.1966
2+ Mth. Old
WBA	NR	28.02.1966	03.03.1966
Ring	NR	20.04.1966	17.04.1966
3+ Mth. Old
WBA	NR	28.02.1966	03.03.1966
Ring	NR	20.03.1966	16.03.1966

Notes

On April 1, columnist Red Smith reported that London was considered as Ali's next opponent.[1]
On April 12, Swedish promoter Eddie Ahlqvist made a public offer to Ali: $300,000 to defend his title against either London or Doug Jones in Sweden on closed-circuit TV. Jarvis Alstaire, head of Viewsport Ltd. (provider of closed-circuit TV broadcasting), publicly stated that he was not interested in Ali vs. Jones but liked the proposal of Ali vs. London.[2][3]
Even after Ali had already signed to face Henry Cooper, reports about Ali facing London did not die down; later in April, London's promoter Mickey Duff, who was also involed in promoting Ali vs. Cooper, stated that the winner of London vs. Thad Spencer on May 2 would likely be next in line for a title shot.[4]
London remained in talks even after being defeated by Spencer; late May, promoter Lawrie Lewis stated that Ali vs. London would become a "hard fact" if London defeated Amos Johnson on June 21.[5]
Contracts signed on June 27-30.[6][7]
Ali was guaranteed $252,000 plus a percentage of the TV revenue. London made about $112,000.

Just like Ali's previous opponent Henry Cooper, Englishman Brian London was initially unranked by the WBA and The Ring and was unknown to the US public; his only fight in America was a TKO11 loss to Floyd Patterson in 1959. London's promoters Mickey Duff and Jack Solomons was mostly involved in the British boxing scene at the time but had little, if any, influence in America.
However, London's opponents, American heavyweights Spencer and Johnson, were ranked 7th and 8th respectively by the WBA; they were elevated to 6th and 7th on May 2. While London lost to Spencer, he managed to defeat Johnson by disqualification.

Ali was a 15 to 1 betting favorite.
There was a crowd of about 13,000.
In the third round, Ali backed London into a corner and unleashed a flurry of punches that put him down for the count.
This was Ali's last fight under his managerial contract with the Louisville Sponsoring Group. He chose not to renew the contract, and Herbert Muhammad became his manager.

"I'd like a return, but only if you put a 50-pound weight on each ankle." - Brian London

Preceded by:
Ali vs. Cooper II

WBC Heavyweight Title Fight
# 7

Succeeded by:
Ali vs. Mildenberger