Editing Muhammad Ali (section)

====Fight against Patterson====
{{Main|Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson}}

Ali defended his title against former heavyweight champion [[Floyd Patterson]] on November 22, 1965. Before the match, Ali mocked Patterson, who was widely known to call him by his former name Cassius Clay, as an "[[Uncle Tom syndrome|Uncle Tom]]", calling him "The Rabbit". Although Ali had the better of Patterson, who appeared injured during the fight, the match lasted 12 rounds before being called on a technical knockout. Patterson later said he had strained his [[sacroiliac]]. Ali was criticized in the sports media for appearing to have toyed with Patterson during the fight.<ref name=Belth>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/37158310/ |title=Ali–Patterson: The Real Story |website=Sports on Earth |date=August 27, 2012 |access-date=June 3, 2016 |first=Alex |last=Belth |archive-date=November 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108100358/http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/37158310/ }}</ref> Patterson biographer W. K. Stratton claims that the conflict between Ali and Patterson was not genuine but was staged to increase ticket sales and the closed-circuit viewing audience, with both men complicit in the theatrics. Stratton also cites an interview by [[Howard Cosell]] in which Ali explained that rather than toying with Patterson, he refrained from knocking him out after it became apparent Patterson was injured. Patterson later said that he had never been hit by punches as soft as Ali's. Stratton states that Ali arranged the second fight, in 1972, with the financially struggling Patterson to help the former champion earn enough money to pay a debt to the [[IRS]].<ref name=Belth/>