Boxer dressed as Muhammad Ali was knocked down and lost for the first time in his career to Gervonta Davis’ last KO victim

Michel Rivera suffered the first defeat of his professional boxing career, but caught the eye with his fight attire as he did so.

In 2021, the then 23-year-old made headlines by beginning to dress like a young Muhammad Ali for his fights.

Rivera made headlines with a sensational one-punch knockout of Jon Fernandez, which brought back memories of The Greatest.

The boxer originates from the Dominican Republic and began his career with 14 straight wins in his country.

Then, after a single fight in Uruguay, he made the switch to continue his boxing career in the USA.

As his star continued to grow, he developed an eye for what will make headlines, adapting his fighting nickname to 'Ali' due to their resemblance.

Rivera explained to BoxingScene: "Everyone around me claims that I resemble a young Cassius Clay, who of course became Muhammad Ali.

"My coach [German Caicedo] always told me that from day one and it just stuck."

In the Fernandez fight, Rivera did 'The Greatest' proud with the brutal one-punch KO of Fernandez, which left the Spaniard slumped on the canvas in round eight.

He then picked up three further wins and was unbeaten at 24-0 when he took on Frank Martin in December 2022.

However, he was unable to perform like his idol as he was outboxed, knocked down, and lost for the first time in his career.

In an intriguing match-up of unbeaten lightweights, Martin kept his record in tact with a wide decision win.

Martin floored Rivera in round seven en route to a dominant victory.

The judges were unanimous with scores of 120-107, 118-109, 117-110.

To make matters worse, the beaten boxer tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide and triamterene after the fight.

He was banned from boxing for six months as a result of the drugs test failure.

Rivera has since returned with a win over Sergey Lipinets in late 2023.

He is now set to face Hugo Alberto Roldan as he looks to rebuild career momentum on July 27.

Meanwhile Martin has now also been beaten as he was knocked out by Gervonta Davis last month.