New Delhi: Indians had an opportunity to see legendary boxer Muhammad Ali in action in 1980 when he visited the country for exhibition bouts titled 'Greatest to Greatest, the reference being to him and to Indira Gandhi who had just returned to power after a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections after the emergency.

Ali played exhibition bouts in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai when he visited the country at the invitation of London-based NRI industrialist Lord Swaraj Paul, who paid glowing tributes to the boxer today saying, "He was truly a legend. Crowds in India were thrilled to see him in action."