Fight of the Century
The Fight of the Century ( English "fight of the century") was a historic boxing match between the reigning heavyweight world champion Joe Frazier and the ex-world champion Muhammad Ali . Frazier won the duel between the two previously undefeated boxers unanimously on points. The fight took place on March 8, 1971 in New York's Madison Square Garden and formed the prelude to a long-standing rivalry in the course of which both opponents were to face each other two more times in the ring. The third meeting also went down in boxing history as the Thrilla in Manila .
background
After the two major boxing associations, the National Boxing Association (NBA) and the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) awarded a joint world heavyweight title for almost 30 years, this connection dissolved in 1967. The previously unrestricted title holder Muhammad Ali, undefeated in 28 fights, continued the belt of the NBA successor World Boxing Association , which was unofficially considered a “true” world title. In March 1968, the WBA title changed to Jimmy Ellis after Ali had his boxing license revoked due to his conscientious objection to military service. At the same time, the NYSAC world title was awarded for the first time since 1938, which Joe Frazier secured against Buster Mathis in a duel between two unbeaten boxers. In February 1970, both world champions finally met as part of the title union, in which the NYSAC title holder Frazier ultimately proved to be the stronger.
Although Frazier now had both world champion belts in his possession with the WBA and the NYSAC successor World Boxing Council (WBC), he was denied recognition as an unqualified title holder, as Muhammad Ali was also unbeaten despite losing his title at the time. After his rehabilitation by the US Supreme Court and regaining his boxing license in 1970, the chances of finally finding out who was the real heavyweight number one increased. A first cross-comparison decided Ali in his favor when, after three years of abstinence from the ring, he played two development fights against Jerry Quarry and Óscar Bonavena , both of whom had already boxed against Frazier. While Quarry had to give up the fight as a year earlier against Frazier due to injury, Bonavena suffered the first knockout defeat of his career against Ali, after he twice defied Joe Frazier over the full distance in 1966 and 1968. After Ali's two convincing victories, nothing stood in the way of a fight between him and Frazier. In March 1971 this showdown, announced as Fight of the Century , was supposed to take place, in which two undefeated world champions faced each other for the first time in boxing history. The combat exchange for both fighters was $ 2.5 million each .
The interest of the fight extended far beyond the circle of boxing fans, as both opponents, despite their skin color as Afro-American in the public perception, represented two completely different currents in American society, which was deeply divided at the time of the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement . Ali, who, as a conscientious objector and advocate of the black supremacy ideology, formed the opposite pole to the Frazier, who is more popular with the white boxing community, ridiculed him, along with numerous other insults, as " Uncle Tom ", which led to years of bitterness among his opponent.
| Surname | Fight name | Struggles | Victories (by knockout) | Defeats | draw |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Frazier | Smokin 'Joe | 26th | 26 (23) | 0 | 0 |
| Muhammad Ali | The Greatest | 31 | 31 (25) | 0 | 0 |
The fight
Ali was able to keep Frazier at a distance at the beginning of the fight and land a few hits. The longer the fight lasted, the more it became apparent that Frazier could win the fight. Although Frazier also received a few blows to the head, Ali in particular suffered severe liver and head hits. Frazier weakened Ali enormously during the fight, which is why Ali missed almost every stroke from the ninth round and Frazier gave several chances to attack. In the tenth round Frazier managed to push Ali several times into the ropes, which is why Ali tried to convey with "clowning" Frazier that he did not take him seriously. From then on, Frazier struck even harder and Ali was barely able to save himself from a knockout several times .
Frazier extended his lead so much that Ali would have needed a knockout on the 15th round to defeat him. However, Ali was no longer able to do this. He launched several attacks on Frazier, but almost all of them failed. Instead, a left hook brought him down himself. Although he was able to get up again, Frazier won the fight unanimously on points and kept his belt.
After the fight
- After this fight Frazier defended his title twice until he was surprisingly dethroned by George Foreman on January 23, 1973 at the " Sunshine Showdown " .
- In 2001, the hostility between Ali and Frazier was officially ended when Frazier allegedly accepted an apology from Ali for his insults at the time. The reason for the announcement was the upcoming fight between their daughters Laila Ali and Jackie Frazier-Lyde .
Web links
- March 8, 1971: The “Fight of the Century” Joe Frazier v Muhammad Ali
- Comparing Joe Frazier vs Muhammad Ali (English)
- When we got up with Dad at 3 a.m. on Wissen.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Thriller in Manila. BBC Films, accessed February 6, 2013 .
- ↑ Muhammad Ali: "The Greatest" asks for forgiveness. Spiegel Online , accessed February 6, 2013 .