No locale is more apt to open a Muhammad Ali biographical drama than the Colosseum in Rome. We all know that an 18-year-old Cassius Clay captured light heavyweight gold in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Italy’s capital, kicking open the door to stardom before he’d punched for pay. But when you consider what Ali would later stand for as a heavyweight champion and a beacon for racial equality and freedom of religion, the ancient warrior battleground for gladiators was almost made for him, stone by stone.

The Greatest (2026) is the first authorized and fully scripted series devoted to Muhammad Ali and will premiere on Amazon Prime on November 4. In early September, I was lucky enough to be granted access to all eight episodes, and in terms of performances, narrative and visuals, the results were outstanding. The story takes us from Clay’s humble beginnings in Louisville through his Olympic triumph, his conversion to Islam, some potent challenges within his own family environment and a destiny-fueled ascent to the heavyweight championship of the world.

Ali’s story has been dramatized many times. In 1977, the man himself starred in a biopic, also titled The Greatest, but the downside was that Ali served as unofficial censor for that movie. The final product was vanilla, while reviews were mixed.

In 2001, Will Smith played the great man in a star-studded epic, Ali, directed by Michael Mann. The movie had plus points, but while Smith received an Oscar nomination, the actor synonymous with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Men in Black struggled to win over many critics.

Other worthwhile dramatizations include Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight (2013), which focused on the champ’s refusal to participate in the Vietnam War, while One Night in Miami (2020) used an ensemble cast to play Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, football player Jim Brown and singer Sam Cooke, who came together in a motel room to celebrate Clay winning the heavyweight championship while also discussing their needs for social, racial and political change.

With a running time of approximately six hours, this latest version was a much more ambitious undertaking than any of the above. The pressure of bringing to life a charismatic, influential and revered global icon like Ali for a major television series was enormous. Get it right and you’re home free. Get it wrong and Ali fans and critics would be the ones throwing the knockout blows.

“I was reluctant to engage because Muhammad Ali was such a hero of mine,” series creator and writer Ben Watkins told me. “I was a little intimidated by the prospect of trying to tell the story because I knew how much he meant to me. I wouldn’t want to get it wrong because I know how much he means to the world.

“But I also play by an edict, and I give other writers this advice: Do the thing that scares you. This was one of those moments when I had to take my own advice; engage and do the process, even though I was afraid. I also realized that this could actually turn into the most rewarding experience of my career.”

When Watkins accepted the Ali project, he was already critically acclaimed in his field, having served as a creator/writer on two successful television shows: Burn Notice (2007-13) and Hand of God (2014-17). He also directed the first two episodes of The Greatest.

Jaalen Best, the actor who portrays Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali from 18-22, is just getting started in the business and has minimal acting credits. Can you imagine the pressure on him? On the plus side, Best has the looks, size, athleticism, charisma and — as you’ll soon find out — the acting chops to pull off the role of a lifetime.

The North Carolina native is as convincing playing Cassius Clay outside the ring as he is inside it and truly delivers. On more than one occasion, even in repose, Best had me doing a double take or going back to watch a scene again. He’s that good.

Following multiple auditions and in-person meetings, the final decision on Best’s casting was made by Ali’s widow, Lonnie Ali.

“I flew him to Louisville, she texted me and said, ‘He is the right choice in so many ways … in ways you don’t even know,’” Watkins said. “What she meant by that was that he seemed to be capturing the essence of Ali.”

Given the ultimate seal of approval, the young actor immersed himself in “The Greatest” around the clock.

“I would put on a loop interview from when he was young Cassius Clay, and replay it and replay it,” Best told me regarding his preparation. “I would sit down and try to mimic everything he did, from hand gestures to facial expressions to jokes. I did it so much, I could cut off the sound, go straight through it and know exactly what he was going to say. It was second nature.

“With the boxing side, I had a coach [Rob Salley], a superfan of Muhammad Ali who had grown up during that time period as a fan and had watched him train. He would show me different depictions of what they were looking for when it came to my jab or my footwork. He would send me homework: ‘Break down this video and tell me everything you see.’ A large focus was on [Ali’s] relaxation, how fluid his motions were, just him in his element. How can I do all these things but make it fluid and be in my element as Jaalen Best? I had to marry the two together.”

Clay’s main antagonist is Charles “Sonny” Liston, the menacing, enigmatic and ill-fated heavyweight champion of the world, who is played brilliantly by versatile actor Amin Joseph. While Best had countless hours of Ali interviews to peruse, Joseph was tasked with bringing to life a legendary but mysterious boxing figure who often shunned the media and was monosyllabic in his delivery when they did track him down. The lack of material on Liston only served as motivation.

“That was the gift for me,” Joseph said. “With Sonny Liston, a lot of the biographies are written about him as a pariah. The way the media promoted the fights was to make him the villain and an antihero. Most of the literature was ‘Sonny, the boy who would be king,’ ‘The Bear’ or ‘Sonny Liston the devil.’ It was difficult to peruse through that and find the humanity, the father, the son, the juvenile delinquent, the young man that was fearful, the young man that loved his mother and called her when he won the heavyweight championship. She didn’t want to be there in person, but he was able to mail a memento to her.

“That was the challenge with this. I had to peel through the way he was portrayed in the media to find out things about the man. I could build up the character from there and have a true three-dimensional portrayal of him. He was a loving man; he was humorous; he was sexy; he was whimsical; he was all of these other things. This was a man who loved his children (Liston had one adopted son), that was silly, that could play bagpipes and put on a kilt and have fun. Even if you look at some of the hijinks that he and Clay did, [like] when they were at the casino and he pulled out a cap pistol, Sonny Liston was in on the joke sometimes.”

When it comes to the Liston-Clay showdown, which took place at the Miami Beach Convention Center on February 25, 1964, one can make a solid case that it was the best fight that Muhammad Ali ever fought. When you consider the competition, the skill on display, the 6-to-1 odds against him and that he had to survive a full round against Liston with limited vision, producing his TKO 7 triumph was one of the finest wins in boxing history.

“It was extraordinary," said Best, who has watched the fight countless times. “The way he was bouncing around Sonny Liston, the way he’s throwing these jabs. He stood in that fight, and that’s what I think a true hero is. I can’t fathom the feelings that were going through his mind and his body. The greatest athlete of all time, in my opinion.”

When you look back at Liston-Clay with modern eyes, it does retain a timeless quality.

The main fights covered in this series are Clay’s Olympic final triumph over Zbigniew (Ziggy) Pietrzykowski, his pro debut against Tunney Hunsaker, the big scare against English hero Henry Cooper and, of course, Liston. Any hardcore fight fan will notice that a diligent attempt has been made to replicate the real-life action.

“We punch for punch, parry for parry learned the choreography of the entire fight. Although that was nuanced and a bit difficult, it made us free during the actual filming because it was almost like a dance,” said Joseph, who boxed as an amateur in his youth. “You can see Jaalen Best is a great dance partner. All the stuff that I learned early with boxing was years ago. I’m a man of a different age now.”

Toward the end of production, Joseph revealed to the crew that he was a natural southpaw, which explained why he frequently threw a reverse one-two in error. Incidentally, Liston was also left-handed but boxed out of the orthodox stance.

“I spent my first two months just doing choreography before we started shooting,” said Best. “A lot of it was like being an athlete. I grew up playing all sports, but basketball is my favorite one. It’s like learning plays, essentially. You’ve got to learn it until you can master the play. That’s when you really experience the benefits. It’s very similar to learning the choreography and showing up every day and trying to get these pieces together.”

What makes The Greatest special are the performances by the lead actors. Outside of Best and Joseph, you have Omari Hardwick (Power) and Dana Gourrier (True Detective), who turn in terrific performances as Ali’s parents, Cassius Clay Sr. and Odessa “Bird” Clay. Watkins explores the dysfunctional side of young Cassius’ family life, placing a spotlight on his father’s jealousy, adultery and violence, which are juxtaposed alongside his mother’s unbridled love and devotion to her sons.

“I knew I was doing a coming-of-age story,” said Watkins. “No matter who you are, where you come from, what gender, what culture, we all have to do a coming of age, and so I knew that's universally relatable.

“I started digging around on Muhammad Ali. What were some of the challenges that he had in going from boy to man? I started seeing little hints of tension between Ali and his father. Some of it is mentioned in books, but it’s never really focused on. Even Ali at a young age, with his conviction and confidence, I realized how close he was to his mother. I started saying, 'OK, well, if there was tension there, and there was some domestic violence in the household, you can't tell me that there wasn’t a lot going on between father and son.'

I asked around the family, and it was confirmed. It’s such a beautiful, bittersweet story. His father is an integral part of who he became, but [Ali’s father] was also a bitter man because he didn’t get a chance to live his dream. Imagine you help raise a son who is finally getting a chance to claim a dream, and it’s only a reminder of what you didn’t get.”

Another newcomer, Kai Parham, is memorable as Clay’s younger brother, Rudy. There’s a standout performance by Erica Tazel, who plays Liston’s unwaveringly supportive but long-suffering wife, Geraldine. We don’t have space to list each performance, but everyone delivers: Aleks Paunovic as William Faversham, the fiery head of the Louisville Sponsoring Group, which financed the young Clay’s professional rise; the legendary Angelo Dundee is played by Giovanni Ribisi, who captures the shrewd and wisecracking trainer to perfection.

Another one to look out for is Dean Redman’s portrayal of light heavyweight champion Archie Moore, who briefly trained Clay at his Salt Mine Gym, which had a separate sparring area in a converted barn known as the “Bucket of Blood.” While their 1962 fight isn’t covered — it didn’t need to be — their early relationship is played out in full.

The segregation, systemic inequality and racism that Clay and his family experienced are difficult but necessary themes. The abduction and brutal murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till had a profound effect on Cassius during his formative years and is explained in full. Clay’s conversion to Islam, which he undertook alongside his brother Rudy, is detailed accurately and serves as a visceral motivator for the young fighter from early on in the series.

“We really went to great lengths to get the details about that right, but it also played into the coming of age,” Watkins said. “If we’re going to see him convert to Islam, we have to also show Christianity in a way that doesn’t make that an easy decision, right? You have to show what his family’s [Christian] religion was, and why that was so important and such an integral part of their family life, and still see him go to the Nation of Islam because of the combination of factors that made him convert.”

Are some things made bigger for dramatic effect? Sure, but show me a biographical drama that doesn’t go there. When Liston is introduced to us in a penitentiary, we see the future heavyweight champion almost beat a fellow inmate to death wearing nothing but wraps around his fists. In reality, Liston boxed under proper rules and regulations while in prison and pursued an amateur career upon his release.

When you introduce a menacing and recurring character in a TV series, you need some creative license, so that approach is understandable. Moore battering his pupil to the canvas seven times as punishment is also a tall tale, but again, it’s a way of highlighting young Clay’s fighting heart. He gets up seven times. There are some small inaccuracies in the boxing history front, but nothing that detracts from the viewing experience.

The music is a mix of what was around during the early 1960s and a more contemporary cluster of R&B and hip-hop. This blend works really well and will help expand the demographic appeal. Visually, The Greatest is stunning, with Rome, Louisville and Miami retaining an authentic 1960s feel.

“The first time I [saw] the whole story of the first episode, I’m in tears,” Watkins said. “There’s a difference between being there and getting it shot — piecing all that together over time, seeing it sequenced together — and watching a dream come true right in front of you.”

As well as having streaming powerhouse Amazon Prime on board, The Greatest had other serious backing. Michael B. Jordan’s television production company, Outlier Society, serves as executive producer, as does Lonnie Ali. The media and entertainment company arrangements and also served in an executive producer capacity.

It was clear in conversations with Watkins and Best that a second season is already being discussed. Both men looked very excited when I asked, and it’s not like they’ll be found wanting for material. “Hey, man, you know I ain’t got no hassle. I’m ready,” said Best, who was smiling from ear to ear at the prospect.

Ali’s journey is multilayered and more fascinating than any Hollywood movie script, so following up with the rest of the story seems like a given.

“When I first stepped into this, I said, ‘In an ideal world, I would do three chapters,’” said Best. “The first would be 1960 to ’64, and that would be called ‘I Shook Up the World.’ The second chapter would be 1967 to ’71, which is the Fight of the Century [between Ali and Joe Frazier]. That would be called ‘Ready to Die.’ The last chapter would focus on The Rumble in the Jungle [between Ali and George Foreman] and be called 'I Am The Greatest.' It’s almost as if history wrote this for us.”

The team behind The Greatest is off to a wonderful start.