Warning! The following contains spoilers for The Greatest. Stream the series with a Prime Video subscription, and read at your own risk!One of the latest sports series to hit the small screen, The Greatest runs through the early years of Cassius Clay's career in boxing and his eventual transformation into the icon we all know as Muhammad Ali. The first episode highlights his time immediately after the Olympics back in Louisville, Kentucky, and how the frustrations between his treatment there and back in Rome led him to launch his gold medal into the Ohio River.To be quite honest, that scene is one of the most shocking things I've seen on the 2026 TV schedule. I've watched a lot about Muhammad Ali in my life, and I wasn't familiar with this moment. It was wild to think one of the most famous gold medals in United States history was sitting at the bottom of a river, but it turns out the truth behind that story is widely disputed. What Historians Say About Cassius Clay Throwing His Gold Medal In The Ohio RiverIt didn't take long for me to discover some information on this situation. Apparently, while the story of Cassius Clay launching his gold medal into the river after being denied service at a diner because of his race is a well-known legend, it is often disputed by historians. Even though Ali famously recalled the story in his 1975 autobiography, some within his inner circle hinted that while the restaurant story happened, Clay had lost the medal in a move a year later. American television producer Dick Ebersol later wrote in Sports Illustrated that Ali had told him that he "simply lost" the medal at some point. It made for a great dramatic moment in The Greatest, but there's more evidence than not that the event itself simply never happened. The Greatest Provides A Fresh Perspective On AliAs mentioned, The Greatest is all about the life of Cassius Clay, specifically the early years of his boxing career after his Olympic Gold Medal win in Italy. The story is largely about what happened between those big bouts as well as the issues Clay and his family experienced in their quick rise to fame. More On Muhammad AliBoxing Trainer Shares How Will Smith ‘Fell To His Knees’ After Particularly Brutal Training For Muhammed AliThe show -- which is executive-produced by Michael B. Jordan -- also focuses on Clay's friendship with Malcolm X and how he became a major advocate for the treatment of Black Americans after witnessing equality while overseas in Italy. The premiere is a powerful one, showing how Cassius slowly witnesses just how different life is back home in Louisville, and the number of people quickly coming into his life to potentially take advantage of him as much as to help him. As someone who loves some of the best sports movies as much as the next person, I'm really enjoying The Greatest. While there hasn't been a ton of boxing-oriented action thus far, there's plenty to learn about the fighters' lives, including that of one of Ali's most memorable opponents, Sonny Liston. Sure, some creative liberties are taken, but so far, there's more fact than fiction I'm spotting in this riveting series. You might even say it deserves a gold medal of its own.Watch The Greatest on Prime Video right now. I've often argued that November is the best time to watch boxing shows and movies, and this series is proving me right!