Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II
Ali - Frazier II , also known as Super Fight II , is the name of a boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier that took place in Madison Square Garden , New York on January 28, 1974 . He was the middle of a total of three fights between the two opponents, who at that time embodied the absolute world leaders in heavyweight boxing. In contrast to the Fight of the Century and the Thrilla in Manila , this second encounter did not achieve the status of a classic .
background
Compared to the first meeting of the two protagonists, this fight was not a world championship, but had only limited sporting significance as the NABF title fight . After Ali had suffered the first defeat of his career over 15 rounds against the unbeaten Frazier, he had been defeated again in 1973 against Ken Norton and had not been able to convince in the rematch despite subsequent revenge. Also in 1973, WBA / WBC world champion Frazier found his first conqueror in George Foreman , when he was downright outclassed by him in The Sunshine Showdown in just two rounds with a total of six knockdowns. The current encounter between the two ex-world champions was therefore set as a twelve-round World Cup elimination match, the winner of which was then allowed to challenge the foreman, who at that time was considered unbeatable by many experts.
Similar to the first fight, this encounter was shaped in advance by the mutual antipathy of both opponents, which was reflected in repeated insults. While Ali - usually the active part - was often assumed to have marketing motives for his actions, Frazier, on the other hand, seemed to react to these insults with deep personal bitterness. A joint appearance on the TV show Wide World of Sports in the ABC studios ended in a fight.
- Battle statistics before the clash
| Surname | Fight name | Struggles | Victories (by knockout) | Defeats | draw |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Frazier | Smokin 'Joe | 31 | 30 (25) | 1 | 0 |
| Muhammad Ali | The Greatest | 46 | 44 (32) | 2 | 0 |
The fight
The venue for the encounter was again Madison Square Garden in New York. NABF defending champion Ali was an easy favorite with an odds of 7: 5. With the start of the first round, the fight showed the expected image of a Frazier marching steadily forward, trying to weaken his opponent with a series of left and right hooks . Although he was able to overcome Ali's cover here and there, the latter proved his qualities as a counter-boxer , intercepting Frazier's attacks again and again and setting clear hits on his part. After Ali was awarded the first two rounds by all three judges, he defended this lead over time. At the end of a long and balanced fight, Ali was the unanimous point winner.
- Judges' evaluation
- (Ali v Frazier tie)
| Tony Perez (Referee) | Tony Castellano | Jack Gordon | |
|---|---|---|---|
| after round 2 | 2 - 0 | 2 - 0 | 2 - 0 |
| after round 3 | 2 - 1 | 2 - 1 | 3 - 0 |
| after round 7 | 4 - 2 - 1 | 4 - 2 - 1 | 5 - 2 |
| after round 9 | 5 - 3 - 1 | 5 - 3 - 1 | 6 - 3 |
| after round 11 | 6 - 4 - 1 | 6 - 4 - 1 | 8 - 3 |
| Final score | 6 - 5 - 1 | 7 - 4 - 1 | 8 - 4 |
After the fight
As the winner of the fight, Muhammad Ali was allowed to challenge world champion George Foreman nine months later . In Rumble in the Jungle , he celebrated his return to the world championship throne after more than seven years with a sensational knockout victory over the previously undefeated defending champion. Joe Frazier fought for the World Cup challenge right through two wins against Jerry Quarry and Jimmy Ellis and finally met Ali for the third time in October 1975. In this duel, which went down in history as the Thrilla in Manila , Ali triumphed again.
The Super Fight did not leave as lasting an impression on critics and fans as the Fight of the Century , which took place three years earlier, and is now considered the most unspectacular of the three fights between Ali and Frazier. He was the only one who was not voted fight of the year .
Web links
- New York Times article of January 29, 1974 on nytimes.com about the fight
- Excerpt from the TV show Wide World of Sports with Ali and Frazier on January 26, 1974 on ABC News
- Articles on Ali vs. Frazier II on BoxRec
Individual evidence
- ↑ Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali: 'They Needed Each Other'. (No longer available online.) ABC News , Nov. 8, 2011, archived from the original on Sept. 19, 2013 ; accessed on February 23, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
