Fight of the Century 50th anniversary: Looking back at Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier I
Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole remembers when Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier met in the ring for the undisputed world heavyweight championship on March 8, 1971 in the Fight of the Century at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Video Transcript
KEVIN IOLE: If you were a boxing fan of any kind of seriousness, then the date March 8, 1971, yes, 50 years ago, now, means something to you. In fact, it probably means a lot to you as it does to me. Because on that date, two of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time met each other in what, I think, is not only one of the biggest boxing matches of all times, but one of the biggest sporting events ever held.
At Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971, unbeaten Muhammad Ali, 31-0 with 25 knockouts and Olympic gold medalist in 1960 in his prime at 29 years old, fought Joe Frazier, 26-0 with 23 knockouts in his prime at 27 years old, the 1964 Olympic gold medalist. What a fight it was, but this was much more than a fight. It was much more than a sporting event.
It was a cultural phenomenon. Everybody who was anybody was at Madison Square Garden that night. Burt Lancaster, the actor, was one of the announcers. Frank Sinatra shot photos at ringside. There was more celebrities there than you can imagine, and it became a political event as well.
Ali was in only his third fight after having been stripped of his championship and forced out of boxing for three years, because he refused to go into the Vietnam War. There was a vigorous debate in the country. At the time, Ali he was seen by many as the bad guy. There were many who really disliked Ali, who booed him, who did not like him, who were upset that he would not go to war and fight for his country.
And then there was the blue collar Frazier, who grew up dirt poor in South Carolina, who moved to Philadelphia, and who, literally, was rocky before rocky, hitting beef in a slaughterhouse. Joe Frazier was the guy that middle America was rooting for in this fight. He was the guy that would have gone to war had he been drafted. He was the guy that represented the values people said. So it was a clash not only of styles, the Boxster versus the slugger, but of political viewpoints.
It turned out to be an unbelievable fight. It was the first of three fights they would have. It wasn't the best of their three fights. The best, of course, was the Thrilla in Manila on October 1, 1975 when in searing heat and humidity, Ali and Frazier put on arguably the greatest fight ever held.
Eddie Futch, the legendary trainer, stopped that after the 14th round when he realized that Joe Frazier couldn't see, and Ali got the victory. What Futch and Frazier did not know was that Ali he was about to quit. Angelo Dundee was pleading with him not to quit, and then he saw that Futch was stopping the fight.
That was an unbelievable fight, but March 8, 1971, 50 years ago today, was the fight of the century. It brought together so much diverse opinion. Who was going to win? Who was right in the argument about the war?
Whose style was better? Whose claim to fame was more? This was just an incredible event, and we remember it now as vividly as we did then. It set box office records.
It's talked about, even today, as an iconic event in sports history. Those were the days in boxing, and unfortunately, we're never going to get back to them. But we will always have the memory of one of the greatest events ever held, concert, show, movie, music, whatever you want to say. March 8, 1971, Ali, Frazier outdid them all. For Yahoo Sports, I am Kevin Iole.
