Frenchman greatest boxer in country (4)

I believe the answer is:

mali

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'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 Times and The Sun.

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