?He looks beautiful. He looks just beautiful and he looks like he?s mad!?
Archie Moore referring to Muhammad Ali as he entered the ring to face Joe Frazier in the Fight of the Century on March 8, 1970.
Forty years ago, has it really been that long?
In 2011 Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will do anything other than square off whilst in 1970 Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali sat in a Cadillac together and discussed the prospect of what would ultimately become ?The Fight of the Century?. Can anyone see Floyd and Manny going for a spin to discuss drug testing? How about Haye and Klitschko working out television rights in an Audi? It?s just not happening.
Frazier vs. Ali was and still is the biggest fight in boxing history. Two supreme heavyweights, who claimed to be the world?s best heavyweight, were going to settle matters against the backdrop of a nation loaded with violence that was split on civil rights and the Vietnam War effort. Ali was the revolutionary ? a magnificently charismatic personality who could turn heads in a morgue and with a boxing style so sublime that American Broadcaster, Dick Schapp once commented; ?Ali shadow boxed in front of me for a half hour. He was so perfect, his movements so beautiful, that it was better than watching anyone else in a fight!? Joe Frazier was the honest blue collar warrior, who took punishment but gave out twice as much. The HBO commentator Larry Merchant once referred to him as a ?truth machine? and that said it all.
The former Olympic light-heavyweight Gold medallist, Muhammad Ali (fighting as Cassius Clay) had won the heavyweight championship in 1964 with a stunning upset win against Sonny Liston and had barely lost a round in nine subsequent title defenses. Amongst his victims were Floyd Patterson, Cleveland Williams, Ernie Terrell and Zora Folley. In terms of talent Ali was to the sixties what Roy Jones was to the nineties. In 1967 there was nobody within the sport?s glamour division who looked capable of touching him but he was stripped of his title for refusing induction into the US armed forces. The American government had done what no active heavyweight could-they stopped him fighting.
Joe Frazier followed Ali?s lead by winning Olympic gold in Tokyo in 1964 and embarked on his own professional career with considerably less fanfare than his flashy counterpart. ?Smokin? Joe notched up a string of vicious, and in most cases quick knockouts, and by the time Ali was stripped the South Carolina native was, 15-0 (14 KO?s). Ali?s departure hurt Joe, who knew instinctively that to be the best he had to beat the best and ?The Greatest? was the number one fighter on the planet.
Regardless boxing moved on and Frazier became undisputed champion by destroying Jimmy Ellis via fifth round TKO in February of 1970. However, there was one man who did ?dispute? this and never at a loss for words Ali went on record and offered a unique post fight analysis; ?One was my sparring partner (Ellis) and the other is a good amateur (Frazier). For Joe to be the champion, he?s got to beat me?. The Fight had already started but would not take place for over a year.
Both men were trained by remarkable boxing men. Ali was fine tuned by Miami based Angelo Dundee, who often referred to his role as the ?easiest job in the world?. Angelo knew what he had and he didn?t need to change anything because what Ali lacked in fundamentals he made up for in speed, reflexes and incredible self belief. There was also no way that Ali was going to be bossed around in training so Dundee resorted to using reverse psychology, complimenting his charge on specific techniques that he hadn?t even been using as Dundee remembers; ?Ali would throw a punch that was nothing like a left uppercut and I would say in the corner that he landed a terrific left uppercut. In the very next round he began using that particular shot to effect.?
Like the fighters themselves, the trainers were polar opposite. Yancey ?Yank? Durham was a hardcore Philadelphia boxing trainer who found it difficult to form a sentence without swearing and used the term ?cocksucker? affectionately. After years of hard work he had finally developed a successful fighter and he was sure that ?Smokin? Joe had the antidote to Ali?s poison. Durham also worked with Eddie Futch who had a brilliant tactical brain and the game plan was always concrete way before Frazier climbed through the ropes.
In 1970 Ali had two comeback fights against quality opposition. He sliced up the tough Jerry Quarry in Atlanta winning by third round technical knockout but he was given hell by the crude Argentinean, Oscar Bonavena. He eventually prevailed by 15th round knockout and was just happy to get the rounds under his belt; ?I?m glad that I was made to work. Now we have a chance to see who the real heavyweight champion of the world is.? Joe Frazier was waiting like a lion in the grass.
The pre fight publicity was unprecedented. If the fight were to have happened today HBO or Showtime would be running reality television shows on a daily basis for months. Ali told the jokes and mocked his opponent while ?Smoke? was all business. Both men looked in terrific condition at the weigh in with Ali scaling 215lbs and Frazier 205lb. The venue would be Madison Square Garden in New York City, site of Ali?s recent brawl with Bonavena, and the crowd was electrified at the prospect of all out war.
The first round set the tone. Ali moved beautifully from side to side and launched a picture perfect single shots and crisp combinations. ?The Greatest? appeared slower than he?d been against Liston and Patterson but he was still faster than any other heavyweight in the world plus there was a noticeable improvement in punching power. Frazier?s head was tagged repeatedly with jabs, left hooks and straight right hands and the audible thud whenever Ali landed flush, which was often, made many ringsiders wince.
The next three rounds were more of the same as Ali created space with movement and zinged home incredible shots. Triple left jabs, ripping right uppercuts and every conceivable sequence of punch variation that you could imagine nailed Frazier, who would not take a backwards step as he cornered the former champion and focused on damaging his internal organs. Casual observers may look at body work and think it?s just a case of aiming at anything below the neck – it?s not. Joe was purposefully looking for the heart, liver and kidneys which would extract a heavy toll on Ali?s vaunted stamina. The fight entered round five and Frazier was just getting started. ?The Greatest? was in the fight of his life.
By the sixth round Ali was being made to miss frequently. Joe had his measure and was now timing Ali?s assaults and smashing him with hooks down both flanks. The bob and weave style that was masterminded by Durham and Futch was being executed to perfection and ?Smoke? actually took time out to mock Ali?s inaccuracy, visibly unnerving the former champion. Ali?s pride was hurt at being embarrassed in front of the capacity crowd and his answer was to showboat and create the impression that he was playing with his opponent. He navigated to the perimeter of the ring and ?Rope a Dope? was born but Joe Frazier was no ?dope? in a prize ring. Ali threw pity pat punches in rapid succession, while Frazier ripped in huge left hooks to body and head, causing damage and closing the gap on all scorecards.
In the ninth Ali was in trouble, he appeared unsteady and Frazier was landing monster left hooks with abandon. However, just when it looked like a stoppage defeat was on the cards Ali countered a Frazier left hook with an invisible but terrific left hook of his own, stopping Frazier dead in his tracks. Ali tripled on it, mixed in the right and ?Smokin? Joe backed off for the first time in the contest. The bell saved the champion from further punishment and the crowd erupted at the sight of Ali displaying the heart and bravery which would become hallmarks of his second coming.
The eleventh round is one of the most famous in boxing history. Ali, still trying to convince himself and everyone else that Frazier was out of his depth, was tagged by a massive left hook that turned his legs to jelly and a follow up left had him completely out on his feet. The twenty foot ring became an ice rink, as the former champion staggered around, desperately trying to regain his balance. The only thing Frazier is guilty of is not closing the gap quickly enough because if he had a stoppage was almost certain. Joe explained his reluctance to rush Ali many years later; ?One of the things that Yank and Eddie said to me was once you hurt a man he?s dangerous and you really need to be careful about how you approach him. Ali was always clowning and when he staggered backwards I wasn?t sure if he was trying to set me up for a shot.?
Ali recovered sufficiently enough to continue but he was now ?fully convinced? of Frazier?s ability. In the thirteenth he began boxing effectively behind his jab but was soon forced into a neutral corner, where both men essentially squared off and traded the best each had to offer. Don Dunphy, who was commentating at ringside, remarked; ?They are fighting like lightweights now.? The champion was ripping the body and head with hammering hooks while Ali responded with crisp right uppercuts and left hooks of his own. This is simply a beautiful sight for any fan and a perfect example of how both gladiators were made for each other in terms of their own fighting styles.
Entering the fifteenth and final round Frazier was sure that the fight was his to lose but he was determined to punish his man to the limit. Early in the round Ali came out of a clinch with his hands low and began to throw a right uppercut when Frazier released the finest punch of his entire career. ?Smokin? Joe?s ultimate left hook connected squarely on Ali?s jaw, who was on his back in the blink of an eye. Make no mistake; if this shot had hit your average heavyweight then the result would have involved a stretcher and a long hospital stay at the very least. If the knockdown wasn?t shocking enough then the site of Ali rising like the mythical phoenix was simply miraculous. By the count of four Ali was on his feet having his gloves wiped by referee Arthur Mercante when still blinking from shock, he advanced. If Muhammad Ali is remembered for one outstanding moment of bravery in his career then this should be it. Both men continued trading shots but the bell rang with Frazier on the ascendancy and the crowd, who had began their standing ovation a minute before the end, exploded in awe and appreciation. It had been the finest heavyweight title match in history and for this reporter that has not changed in four complete decades. Forget Manila when their respective wear and tear forced a torrid albeit fabulous brawl, this was both men in their twenties going at it with skill and precision in a battle for all the marbles. Never has there been anything like it.
If you watch enough biased documentaries you could be forgiven for thinking that Ali took the loss in his stride and displayed incredible grace but that is nonsense. Ali denied losing at all and blamed everything from incompetent judges to his refusal to be inducted into the army for the defeat. Appearing with Michael Parkinson in 1971 Ali stated; ?The people who know boxing seen me win nine rounds. I gave away four rounds playing with him and I lost the eleventh and he knocked me down in the fifteenth but those were the only rounds I lost?. This statement only proving that Ali made for a better fighter than a judge. Between the Fight of the Century and the 1974 rematch, which Ali won on points, the ex-champion took every opportunity to berate Frazier and referred to him mockingly as ?the tramp?. This trash talking would ultimately lead to the blood feud that was settled physically in Manila and in Joe Frazier?s mind, still exists to this day.
Ultimately this fight defined both men?s careers. Frazier was never the same and was crushed inside of two rounds by the huge punching George Foreman in January 1973. Two further losses against Ali have stuck in his throat ever since and he has launched some horrible verbal assaults on the muted ex-champion who was diagnosed with Parkinson?s syndrome in 1984. Joe Frazier is one of the toughest men who ever entered a boxing ring and the insults Ali threw at him are fixtures within his very soul ? don?t look for that to change in this lifetime.
Muhammad Ali had a remarkable constitution and arguably improved after the first meeting with Frazier which culminated in an epic win over the aforementioned, George Foreman in 1974. ?The Greatest? rode the crest of a wave, winning the title three times, but his destiny was to remain in the sport long after his sell by date and tragically he has paid a heavy price for that.
On a positive note today should be celebrated, so if you happen to own a copy of The Fight of the Century and have an hour to spare then sit down and watch 15 fantastic rounds of boxing that literally made the world stop.
More on The Fight of the Century
? Frazier and Ali both earned $2.5 million a piece ? Going in Frazier?s record was 26-0 (23 KO?s) while Ali was 31-0 (25KO?s) ? The fight was scored on a rounds basis with a supplementary points system if a round was even. Official scores were 8-6-1, 9-6 and 11-4 for Frazier ? The fight was distributed via closed circuit around the globe and was not shown on television in the United States for over a year ? Harry Carpenter, a great friend of Ali?s, refers to him consistently as ?Cassius Clay? in the UK broadcast of the fight. This was seven full years after Ali changed his name. ? Frank Sinatra was an official ringside photographer for Life Magazine ? Hollywood Legend, Burt Lancaster, was part of the broadcasting team ? Diana Ross wept on Ali?s lap in the dressing room following the bout ? In Chicago a theatre was destroyed when there was a fault with the live broadcast ? The fight was featured in the 2007 Denzel Washington movie American Gangster ? Both men spent time in hospital after the contest
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