West Lafayette, Indiana - Randy Roberts, Purdue University distinguished professor of history, can talk about Muhammad Ali from a historical perspective.

Roberts teaches a class on boxing history, and he is co-author of "Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X." He wrote the book with Johnny Smith, an assistant professor of American history at Georgia Tech University.

Roberts also authored "Joe Louis: Hard Times Man," "Jack Dempsey: The Manassa Mauler," "Papa Jack: Jack Johnson and the Era of White Hopes" and "Heavy Justice: The State of Indiana v. Michael G. Tyson." He also was featured in an HBO documentary "Joe Louis: America's Hero ... Betrayed," which aired in 2008 and the award-winning Ken Burns documentary "Unforgivable Blackness." 

Roberts has made more than 50 appearances on television documentaries and films in the past 20 years for the History Channel, ESPN Classic, HBO, BBC, PBS, E!TV and on the ABC, CBS and NBC networks. As a pop culture historian, he often is quoted in national media and appears on nationally syndicated radio shows. He is a regular on History Channel's "Reel To Real," and he also served as a consultant and on-camera expert for the Emmy-Award winning series "10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America."