Muhammad Ali Twice Fought British Champion Joe BugnerJoe Bugner was on the cards to fight Ali next after the the Joe Frazier fight. Ali fought and beat Joe Bugner in his next fight in 1973. Bugner again dropped a 12-round decision to Ali in their rematch in January of 1974. Joe Bugner was the British heavyweight champion. Joe Bugner had beaten Britain's darlin' Henry Cooper for the British, Empire and European titles in 1971. The victory against Cooper was full of controversy. In that fight there were no judges at the ringside to judge the fight, the final decision of the fight was left to the referee, Harry Gibbs who gave Bugner the decision to Joe Bugner by a ¼ point. After his controversial win against Cooper he was alienated by the British boxing fans. In returning to the Ali, Frazier boxing affair. In 1974, Frazier had a second fight against Muhammad Ali which took place once again at the Madison Square Garden boxing arena in New York. Joe Frazier had by then lost the heavyweight crown to George Foreman in Kingston Jamaica. In this second fight Ali was given a 12 round decision in a rather uninspiring boxing match in comparison to their first encounter in 1971. Muhammad Ali Said: "It Was The Closest I've Come To Death." Joe Frazier finished that 1974 with another rematch, knocking Quarry out in five round. Frazier was back on the winning trail and the stage for a rubber match with Muhammad Ali, who had since won the title from George Foreman. In the suffocating heat in Quezon City, just outside the Philippines capital of Manila, the two aging warriors duelled for 14 rounds in a bout Ali billed as "The Thrilla in Manila." Muhammad Ali was leading in the early rounds, before Frazier found his rhythm in the middle frames and attacked the champs with ferociousbody blows using both hands. But this time Muhammad Ali was more prepared than in their first fight, turned the tide for good in the 10th round and won the next four rounds easily. By the end of the 14th both fighters were tremendously exhausted. This time Joe Frazier was beaten up badly his eyes were swollen to the point of being closed making him a sitting target for the 15 and final round. Frazier's trainer Eddie Futch intervene to save his man from further punishment threw in the towel to stopped the fight before the final round. Since that fight with Ali, Joe Frazier has never spoken to Joe Eddie Futch again, calling him a traitor. Frazier Looking For Another Title Shot Lost to Foreman Again Muhammad Ali remarks after the fight, was; It was the closest I've come to death. Nine months later, Frazier tried to fight himself back into a title match recognition with a rematch against George Foreman, This time Frazier lasted a little longer than their first clash in Jamaica. The fight was stopped in round 5, soon after Frazier retired, but Foreman kept on boxing. Five years later Frazier launched a one bout comeback, but drew with a journeyman, Jumbo Cummings, before hanging up the gloves for good. Joe Frazier was a great Heavyweight champion who put up the toughest resistance Muhammad Ali ever faced. As one half of the 1971 Fight of the Century, he was the first man to defeat Ali, and only Ali and George Foreman ever beat him. After marrying at the age of fifteen, Joe Frazier moved north eventually settling in Philadelphia and working in a slaughterhouse. He went to a gym in an effort to lose weight and there received his first formal boxing training. After Frazier had won a gold medal in the1964 Tokyo Olympic Games , he took up professional boxing the following year in Philadelphia. His first eleven fights were by knockout, four in the first round. In 1966, Frazier began to face opponents who were or had once been highly ranked contenders that led him to become World Heavyweight Champion in 1968. |
Enmity Brewed in the Eyes of Ali and FrazierIn 1970, Joe Frazier unified the heavyweight championship with a fifth round knockout of WBA champion Jimmy Ellis. Later that year, Muhammad Ali was cleared to begin fighting again. Eager to regain his championship, Ali challenged Joe Frazier. Enmity brewed in the eyes as the two fighters signed to fight on the 8th March 1971. Muhammad Ali bragged about his diminished prowess and denigrated, stand in the champion, and that Joe Frazier as a white man's pawn, a charge that infuriated Frazier. The bout was dubbed The Fight of the Century, An estimated 300million fans watched it on closed circuit television or via satellite, resulting in a gross of about $23milliion for the promoters. Hey, its the promoters who are the winners. | |
