Clay/Ali met 'Gorgeous' George in Las Vegas whilst he (Ali/Clay) was giving pre fight hype for his upcoming match with Duke Sabedong in June 1961.

But when George hyped hia match he put on a display that included knocking over microphones and explaining how he would pull off his opponents arm and beat him with it!

"I am the Greatest" George exclaimed!

Clay/Ali realised his 'act' was puny in comparison and decided to go the whole hog and developed the on-screen persona that intially made him so unpopular.