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Muhammad Ali beat the invincible Sonny Liston, fought a string of thrilling fights with Joe Frazier and stopped George Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire.

All told, he once said, he took 29,000 punches to the head during a career that made him perhaps the most recognized person in the world. He paid a terrible price for those punches later in life when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, which ravaged his body but could never dim his larger-than-life presence.

Ali was a giant of his time — a furious and loud fighter whose influence was felt far beyond the ring. This is a look at his career inside the ropes through the lenses of AP photographers.