Frenchman greatest boxer in country (4)

I believe the answer is:

mali

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'country' is the definition.
(I know that Mali is a country)

'frenchman greatest boxer' is the wordplay.
'frenchman' becomes 'm' (abbreviation for Monsieur - like 'Mr').
'greatest boxer' becomes 'ali' (Muhammad Ali. I am not sure about the 'greatest' bit.).
'm'+'ali'='MALI'

'in' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for mali that I've seen before include "A state" , "West African country, capital Bamako" , "Send mail out to Africa" , "Timbuktu is in this landlocked country" , "part of Africa" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun and The Times.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.