Fight of the Century on March 8, 1971

On March 8, 1971, one of the most anticipated and highly promoted sporting events in history had taken place. It was on this day that the boxing world witnessed WBC/WBA Champion "Smokin" Joe Frazier putting his undisputed title on the line against Muhammad Ali in what ignited one of the greatest rivalries in sports history. The contrasting styles of both men in and out of the ring made this rivalry a classic. This first fight between them was a battle of undefeated boxers as well. It was only fitting that the world renowned Madison Square Garden in New York City held this event that was billed at the "Fight of the Century".

Frazier(26-0), from Philadelphia, was in favor of supporting the Vietnam War in which he would have served had he been selected. He used his punching power to beat his opponents, and was a no nonsense boxer who took his craft seriously. He would become the symbol of the pro-war movement as well as conservatives, too. Frazier was very much a popular champion who used vicious left and right-handed hooks with great effectiveness.

Ali(31-0) was out of boxing for three years because of refusing induction into the U.S. Armed Forces. He came back in 1970 to beat Jerry Quarry before finally being able to fight in New York again after having his license suspended. He beat a tough fighter in Oscar Bonavena at Madison Square Garden in his second fight since his return before earning a shot to face Frazier for the first time. His flamboyant, trash-talking style along with hand speed and a granite chin was the extreme opposite of Frazier.

The fight received so much publicity that an impressive list of famous celebrities were in attendance: Frank Sinatra, Woody Allen, Burt Lancaster, Dustin Hoffman, and Diana Ross. Lancaster and fight announcer Joe Don Murphy called the action on closed circuit televisions while Sinatra took photos for Life magazine. Numerous magazine covers featured the two on them, and both earned an unprecedented $2.5 million each for the bout. The fight was shown on televisions throughout the world, and it lived up to its expectations. But there were some negative instances before the classic bout took place.

Riots ensued across the United States the day before the fight. In Chicago, one theater was nearly destroyed because attendants had found out they would not be able to view the fight on closed circuit television.

In the early going of the fight, Ali dictated the pace with his quickness and used jabs to keep the champion off-guard. Ali continued with this pace, and had caused damage to Frazier's face with welts by the time Round 3 had ended. But Frazier wouldn't go down without a fight.

In Round 4, Frazier's power began to show when he backed Ali into the ropes while catching him with several left hooks to the face. Then he punched Ali with several body shots as the champion began to find his rhythm. Ali showed some fatigue in the middle rounds of the scheduled 15 for this fight, too.

According to the scorecards, the fight was about even as Frazier overcame a tough beginning to even things up by the time Round 10 came to an end. It was Round 11 that completely turned the fight in Frazier's favor.

A devastating left hook by Frazier in the latter part of Round 11 staggered Ali in which he fell back in the ropes and nearly to the canvas. Frazier continued to pound away, and was leading on the scorecards at the end of Round 14.

In the final round, Frazier landed a left hook that sent Ali down to the mat for only the third time in his career at that point. Ali did make it to his feet quickly, and survived 15 rounds as both fighters concluded their initial encounter in the ring. Ali took more punishment in the last round after the knockdown, and his jaw was swollen very noticeably when the final bell sounded.

Frazier was able to defend his undisputed title successfully by unanimous decision to hand Ali the first loss of his professional career. The classic matchup between the two ended up being named the bout of the year by Ring Magazine.

Eddie Futch, Frazier's trainer at the time, trained the champion to watch Ali's right uppercut from a standing position. Ali would drop his hand before throwing it which enabled Frazier to counter with a left hook to the face of the challenger. That strategy is how he nearly floored Ali in Round 11, and then knocked him down to the canvas in the final round.

Both fighters would be hospitalized after the bout, but it was Ali who suffered the most damage. Ali had his jaw examined, and Frazier would attend not long after.

Frazier was able to keep his undefeated record intact after winning his next three fights. But it was in 1973 that a fighter by the name of George Foreman that handed Frazier his first loss and ended his reign as champion. Foreman knocked down Frazier six times in the two rounds of the fight to win the title.

Even though he lost his first fight against Frazier, Ali was far from done on making his mark on boxing. After Frazier lost the title to Foreman, the second fight between the two took place with Ali prevailing this time around. This made Ali the No. 1 contender for Foreman's title.

In October 1974, Ali was again an underdog in the famous "Rumble in the Jungle" fight from Zaire against Foreman. But his "rope-a-dope" approach in taking punches from Foreman and his stamina was able to help overcome the power-punching champion as he regained the title.

The two met again one final time in the famous "Thrilla in Manila" fight. It was during this fight that Futch threw in the towel in the final round and Frazier never spoke to him again. Ali won the third fight between the two, and would hold the title until 1978 when he lost it to Leon Spinks. He would regain it from Spinks in a rematch.

The "Fight of the Century" was a fight that took center stage in a world-wide audience not seen since the days of Joe Louis in the 1930s and 1940s. The fight was unprecedented in many ways including the prize purse as well as starting the sport's biggest rivalry.

The two have had an on-off relationship long after retirement. It was widely reported that Frazier still had some jealousy towards Ali, and he still claims to have won all three fights between the two. However, both fighters received induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

The feud between these two was exactly what boxing needed. If there was ever two different people to clash in an epic rivalry, these two were it. It is for that reason that this is one of sport's greatest rivalries of all time, and their first encounter changed the landscape of both their careers as well as boxing itself.

Thanks for viewing, and I hope you enjoyed this sports history flashback!

Posted in: Ali, boxing, Fight of the Century, Frazier, Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, rivalries, rivalry

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