Was The Greatest cheating?

I am a fan of the sweet science and I must admit my favorite technician of the sweet science was none other than the greatest Muhammad Ali. Hands can't hit what your eyes can't see, Float like a butterfly sting like a bee, AHHH! Rumble young man rumble AHHHH! I love him he's the greatest heavyweight to me. His footwork, speed, coordination and reaction time was fantastic. You won't see heavyweights moving like that these days.

Now the thing I really wanna ask is if was Ali cheating throughout his fights. I respect him but when I watch the Ali vs. Frazier 2 vid he held Smokin Joe behind the neck alot not to mention others. Is that legal? And in the Bonavena fight I realized he didn't return to his neutral corner for the mandatory eight count.

He wasnt a cheap boxer, but he pulled a few fast ones.

I remember he got floored from a hook, and was gone. so they ripped his glove and bought some time with that, then he went on to win the fight because the rip cut his opponent!
not sure who that was against.

I personally think the liston rematch was a set up. but thats just me.

still, cant deny ali's skills, even if he does get hyped as much as bruce lee

That was his first fight with Henry Cooper (Ali was still known as Cassius Clay at the time).

The real controversy with this fight was that he failed to make the count, but the ref got confused by the bell at the end of the round and let him continue. He was out, and his corner is said to have opened some stitches in the glove to give him more rest time.

It wasn't the stitching that cut cooper however, Henry was notorious for cutting, and it was also the cause of the stoppage when they met again a few years later.

Every year, on the anniversary of the fight, Henry gets a call from Ali, and they talk (they became friends during their careers), and Henry says 'I beat you' and apparently Ali laughs and says 'watch it again, and count slower' or words to that effect.

Ali was not a 'fair' fighter. He used every trick in the book, both inside and outside of the ring. He was a master of psychological warfare, and the first fighter to use the media like a member of his training team. Very often, his oponents would be beaten before they got in the ring.
This did have a price however. Foreman was a broken man for many years after their fight, and to this day Joe Frazier hates Ali with a genuine passion, despite Ali having apologised in person and in public for the terrible things he said at the time about him. Some wounds are too deep, and Ali has spoken of his deep regret over that.