A special visit by Muhammad Ali to a London school has emerged to highlight his lifelong love affair with the UK.
The former world champion struck up a unique friendship with a leading British civil rights campaigner.
Paul Stephenson, now 79, first accosted the world heavyweight champion in a hotel foyer in 1974 and asked him to come as a guest to Tulse Hill School, south London.
Ali , who had changed his name from Cassius Clay after converting to Islam, was in the capital on the way back to Chicago from retaining his belt against George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle.
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The legendary fighter had been a regular visitor to London ever since he first fought Henry Cooper at Wembley in 1963, when he was famously knocked down in the fourth before stopping Cooper who was cut badly in the next round.
Upon being confronted by Mr Stephenson, who spent decades fighting racial inequality in the UK, Ali said: "I'm a very busy man - how much are you going to pay me?"
The school governor explained that he did not have so much as a "dime", to which the boxer quipped: "Man, you have got more nerve than Frazier", his long-time nemesis in the ring.
He then smiled and agreed to visit the school, which was in one of London's most ethnically diverse areas, the following day.
After convincing the headmaster to entertain the champion, Mr Stephenson found himself standing backstage in front of an room of 1,000 expectant pupils.
"I said to the pupils 'I've got this young man from Africa, he's American and on his way to Chicago, he's come to say hello to you all, so I want you all to give him a big hand'," Mr Stephenson said.
"The room was packed, but it was silent, you could have heard a pin drop and Muhammad looked at me and I looked at Muhammad and I said 'I think you better go on first, let's see how it goes'.
"He stepped out from behind the curtain and on to the stage and all of a sudden a roar went out because there was Muhammad Ali in front of them."
Ali often took in the sights during his trips to London with pictures showing him jumping in Hyde Park, running along the Mall and taking in the sights at the GPO tower in London.
He spoke to the school before sparring with some of the seniors on stage and even spared time to sign some good behaviour certificates, with which the teachers could bribe pupils.
Mr Stephenson added: "I was absolutely dumbfounded and then he said 'I like your school, Mr Stephenson, I admire your style, but the pay is so cheap, I won't be back for a while'.
"I think the thousand-odd youngsters that were there that day will remember it for the rest of their lives."
Three years after fighting Cooper, a newly crowned world heavyweight champion Ali returned for a rematch with the British great in front of more than 45,000 fans at Highbury Stadium.
Cooper once said the "British public took to Ali before the American public" and he was mobbed by dozens fans at a West London hotel.
He also visited Notting Hill Carnival organiser Rhuane Laslett at her home in Tavistock Square.
She had set up a play group which Ali attended and signed countless autographs for adoring children.
The special relationship between Ali and London continued into his later life as he met children in Brixton in 1999.
He was also a guest at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards in Wood Lane, London.
Pictures show the world's most famous boxer with David Beckham and former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.
Equality campaigner Stephenson, who led the Bristol bus boycott in 1963, said he worked with Ali on the civil rights struggle in Britain for a further five years.
He recalled once having to persuade his high-profile friend not to head over to east London in person when he heard there was a riot taking place in Hackney.
Ali later developed the progressive neurological condition Parkinson's disease and Mr Stephenson said: "Race relations would have been better in England had he not come down with Parkinson's - he would have been very active in breaking down racism and giving hope to a lot of the young people."
Reflecting on the loss of the sporting great at the age of 74, he added: "It's a great loss, from a humanitarian point of view, he was one of the greatest people the world has ever known.
"I don't know if we will ever see another person like Muhammad, he was a world figure and he radiated hope to so many."
David Haye launched a petition in February to recognise Muhammad Ali with an honorary Knighthood .
The 'I AM THE GREATEST' exhibition was held at the O2 in London, showcasing his extraordinary life and career which is running until August 31.
Two-weight world champ Haye said he was inspired to take up boxing by Ali and even named his son Cassius after him.
Sources closes to Muhammad Ali said he was desperate to meet the Queen on a last ever visit to the UK which had been planned for the summer.
