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Top 5 iconic Muhammad Ali fights
3. ”The Fight of the Century”
No event in the history of boxing – or any sport whatsoever – had the kind of tension and anticipatory buildup that the first fight between Muhammad Ali and Smokin’ Joe Frazier generated (a modern day classic like Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor doesn’t even come close).
It was a monumental clash between two undefeated champions – in the dawn of heavyweight boxing’s best-ever decade.
After an unwanted three-year lay off, due to refusing induction into the Army, Ali was finally allowed to return to boxing in 1970. With wins in two tough warm up bouts, he finally faced the new heavyweight kingpin Frazier at the Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971.
The highly anticipated 15 round bout went the distance and both fighters lived up to all expectations and more.
Smokin’ Joe gave his perhaps career-greatest performance, with a massive knockdown in the fourth. Ali did his best during the fight, but was outfought by the hungry champion.
In the final round, Frazier again floored Ali with another vicious left hook, to cement the unanimous decision win.
”Of all the men I fought, Sonny Liston was the scariest, George Foreman was the most powerful, Floyd Patterson was the most skilled as a boxer. But the roughest and toughest was Joe Frazier,” Ali said many years later.
