Muhammad Ali was so much bigger than boxing, that sometimes we forget what a masterful boxer he was. Speed, power, footwork, defense and ring generalship, Ali had it all in spades.
No heavyweight has ever possessed the multitude of skills he had. It was like if you mashed up Floyd Mayweather with Mike Tyson.
Check out the greatest knockouts video and pay close attention especially to the younger version of Ali. Look at how fast, crisp and powerful his combination punches were.