He had dominated most of his opponents to the point that he had often predicted the round in which he would knock them out. Prior to his enforced layoff, Ali had displayed uncommon speed and dexterity for a man of his size. In addition to the millions who watched on closed-circuit broadcast screens around the world, the Garden was packed with a sell-out crowd of 20,455 that provided a gate of $1.5 million (equivalent to $9,585,456 in 2020). Ringside seats were $150 (equivalent to $959 in 2020) and each man was guaranteed $2.5 million. Frazier was plausibly Ali's equal, which created a tremendous amount of hype and anticipation for a match pitting the two undefeated fighters against one another to decide who was the true heavyweight champ. In Ali's absence, Frazier won two championship belts through elimination tournaments, knocking out Buster Mathis and Jimmy Ellis, to replace Ali as the acknowledged world champion.
Ali had won the title from Sonny Liston in Miami Beach in 1964, and successfully defended his belt up until he had it stripped by boxing authorities for refusing induction into the armed forces in 1967. In 1971, both Ali and Frazier were undefeated champions (in Ali's case, actually, former champion) who held legitimate claims to the title of "World Heavyweight Champion". It was the first of a trilogy, followed by the rematch fights Super Fight II (1974) and Thrilla in Manila (1975), both won by Ali.īackground and cultural significance Ali, who had been stripped of his titles by boxing authorities for refusing to submit to the draft for the Vietnam war, had become a symbol of the left-wing anti-establishment movement during his government-imposed exile from the ring, while Frazier had been adopted by the conservative, pro-war movement.įrazier won in 15 rounds via unanimous decision. The bout held broad appeal for many Americans, including non-boxing and non-sport fans. It was the first time ever that two undefeated boxers who held or had held the world Heavyweight title fought each other for that title.
The fight is widely regarded as the biggest boxing match in history and arguably the single most anticipated and publicized sporting event ever. Muhammad Ali, billed as the Fight of the Century or The Fight, was a heavyweight championship boxing match between WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight champion Joe Frazier (26–0, 23 KOs) and Muhammad Ali (31–0, 25 KOs), on Monday, March 8, 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight championįrazier wins via 15-round unanimous decision WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight titles Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, United States
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