What is the greatest rivalry in sports history?

Some rivalries make a sport bigger than itself. Boxing, tennis, basketball, football, motor racing — pick the two names that belong together permanently.

1. 1
   Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier

   Three fights across five years, ending with the Thrilla in Manila in 1975.
2. 2
   Evert vs Navratilova

   Eighty matches between 1973 and 1988, sixty of them finals, split 43-37.
3. 3
   Magic Johnson vs Larry Bird

   From the 1979 NCAA final to three NBA Finals meetings in the 1980s.
4. 4
   Federer vs Nadal

   Forty meetings over sixteen years, including the 2008 Wimbledon final.
5. 5
   Senna vs Prost

   Teammates then enemies, decided by collisions at Suzuka in 1989 and 1990.
6. 6
   Messi vs Ronaldo

   Two decades of parallel record-breaking, nine years of it in the same league.
7. 7
   Yankees vs Red Sox

   More than a century of it, and the 2004 comeback that reversed the story.
8. 8
   Lakers vs Celtics

   Twelve NBA Finals meetings and the two biggest trophy cabinets in the league.
9. 9
   Borg vs McEnroe

   Ice against fire, and the 1980 Wimbledon final tiebreak that ran to 18-16.
10. 10
    Palmer vs Nicklaus

    The king against the challenger, and the 1962 US Open playoff that swapped them.
11. 11
    Real Madrid vs Barcelona

    El Clasico, played more than 250 times and watched almost everywhere.
12. 12
    Chamberlain vs Russell

    142 meetings between the era's most dominant scorer and its most decorated winner.
13. 13
    Brazil vs Argentina

    South America's oldest football argument, contested since 1914.
14. 14
    Ohio State vs Michigan

    College football's most-played grudge match, simply called The Game.
15. 15
    Sampras vs Agassi

    Serve against return, thirty-four meetings and the 2002 US Open final.
16. 16
    Evander Holyfield vs Mike Tyson

    Two heavyweight fights in 1996 and 1997, the second of them notorious.