A question to those who were alive during Ali-Frazier I

I remember the movie theater was selling tickets and me and a few friends went there MSG was sold out, it was a great fight, I was a boxing fan and I knew who Frazier was and saw him fight but a lot of people made Joe the villian and only knew he beat Ellis to unify the belts, remember Frazier was only 26-0, Ali was 31-0 and most people felt he could pull magic out of his hat but it was clear that Frazier was landing well on Ali especially with the hook, Ali was landing some good combo's but was being countered also, in the 11th round Frazier hurt Ali very bad, and Ali was proberly hurt worse in the 11th then the KD in the 15th, it was a great fight, both men were in there prime and great shape and tried very hard to win, Frazier was never the same after that night because the fame and money was overwelling to him and the whole world knew who he was after beating Ali, I felt bad for Ali but Ali came back and stayed in his prime longer than Frazier and went on to a few major wins over Frazier,Foreman and others but on that night Frazier, prime for Prime, Frazier was the better man but Ali went on for the greater legasy. Both men will be tied together in history

 

I rember the huge, glittering build up and ballyhoo for that fight, and how much I was for Frazier. I even bet a dollar on it and won, against a rabid Ali fan. He would only bet a dollar, which indicated to me that he was not really that confident in his man after all. It was Frazier's supreme moment of glory, and it's a real mystery to me why that fight is NEVER shown on ESPNClassic. Oh, I really no why, it's because it would be a sacriledge for the Nut-Huggers and that ****** they use to program the fights they show on that network.

 

I can remember reading the Ring and BI ,both built the fight up,as if it needed it ,2 undefeated Champions.

In the Boxing News a company was offering a good seat at MSG plus flight and accomodation for £125 ,its my everlasting regret that I didnt go for it.

The fight itself was a great one and lived up to the hype ,imo,I was rooting for Ali and though he would win,Frazier deserved the verdict ,he had Ali on ***** street in the 11th ,and only Alis guts kept him up right.

Frazier won the battle but lost the war ,he was never quite the same again after this fight.Frazier was in his prime and Ali nearly so ,I think he should have taken a couple of more tuneups ,before taking on Joe ,he didnt look too convincing against Bonavena ,and the Quarry fight was over too quickly to tell us much.
Ali didnt have his legs 100% I dont think,plus he had been laying on the ropes in sparring so much it had become a habit,no excuses the best man won on the night.

 

Agree here. It could be something to do with the rights but wouldn't surprise me if it was just because they're so up Ali's arse. What's even more galling is that a series of videos came out a decade or so ago, featuring all the greats, called Boxers. When it was the turn of Frazier the featured fight was Thrilla In Manilla. :-(

 

Of course the fight was huge, but Frazier still had to share the cover of Boxing News the week after with Joe Bugner. After Aussie Joe had beaten Our 'Enery.

 

ESPNCLASSICS is pissing me off. Apparently the only greats are Ali, Tyson, Whittaker (about 1 month every year is dedicated to him) and Holyfield. Or "Modern classics", where it is a snore fest from January 07, or June 06.

 

Let me you give you a few impressions off the top of my head about this, CP.

I was ringside that night. In the build-up and in the arena, it had all the electricity of those golden age fights of the '40s and '50s. If memory serves, it was the first card at MSG's new address on 34th Street.

Before the fight, I thought like Sugar Ray Robinson, when he went on that staggering winning streak, Ali would find some way to win. The great ones were always able to reach down and pull it out.

But Frazier was more than a "live" opponent; he was a destroyer who wouldn't be denied, and Ali's personal digs infuriated him. The match was a fan's dream. In my heart of heart 's, I hoped Frazier would shut Ali's mouth. (I'm hopelessly old school, raised on Joe Louis)

I was stunned that Ali was able to get up from that left hook, that would've flattened a water buffalo, and finished the fight.

 

I have heard some amazing stories about Ali vs Frazier 1. It was one of those events where everyone remembers where they were when they saw it.


I saw the movie American Gangster last night. The movie gives some time to Ali vs Frazier. The crowd was made up of plenty of movers and shakers. One of the most under rated things about a boxing event is when the fighters first make their way into the crowd, and into the ring. The movie nails it. I thought to myself, to sit ringside at such an event must have been a sports lovers dream.



I heard the event was so special that many fans stayed in the seats to talk long after the main event had ended.

 

I remember being 13 and such an Ali fan and watching the fight on TV with my father, I also remember being devestated when he lost, this was such a huge event the like of which we have not seen in boxing since.

 

Did you see ESPN's pound-for-pound countdown list(the one not made by Bert Sugar[Sugar's was at least decent])? Not only were about 12 of their 20 choices heavyweights and about 15 of the 20 from the last 35 years, they had- who could've guessed it?- Muhammad Ali as their #1 of all time, pound-for-pound! And let us not forget the Ali Ringside thing, where they showed in detail and blathered on and on and on about Ali's wins over Cooper(vocally debunking the "three-minute-break" myth), Liston, etc., even showing the Quarry fight, and then when it came time for Ali-Frazier I, they just talked about it for about 30 seconds, showed no footage and skipped straight to Ali-Foreman and Ali-Frazier III! :barf The biggest fight in the history of boxing, and they'd rather just pretend it never happened and cram some more Ali-Foreman into your daily dose of televised Ali worship.

 

I was in college at the time.....Viet Nam War a-raging.

All during the Spring they had great commercials on home TV...one of which had a split screen of Ali calling Frazier on the telephone and after talking, Frazier tells Ali "You just be there Chump" and Ali says "Chump" ???.

Ali's hands were BIG and the phone looked like a kid's toy in them.

We drove down from Austin to San Antonio to see the close circuit fight. The atmosphere was electric....people yelling at the screen begging Ali to "move" when Joe began to immediately take Ali to the ropes.

Ali starting trying to "clown" when Joe blasted him but everyone knew Ali was hurting.

In one brutal exchange Ali hits Joe with a combination, and Frazier just smiles at Ali, spits out some blood, and just dives right back in.

The younger people supported Ali, the older people probably Frazier...about a 60-40 % split I guess.

It was a much bigger event than Lewis - Tyson.

I remember someone said after the fight, that as he tried to give his ticket to the tickettaker live at MSG, a hand came out of the crowd and stole his ticket.

Of course you had all the Celebs..and Frank Sinatra took some famous photos at the fight.

Ali said before the fight that if Frazier won, he would crawl across the ring and congratulate Frazier...after Frazier won, Joe said no one should do any crawling.

I don't think Ali had much choice than to fight the way he did..and yes in the 11th it looked like Ali would go down and maybe TKO'ed.

I was rooting for Ali.....but I knew Frazier had won the fight. It wasn't till or month or so after that Ali starting talking up that "he had won" the fight, even though Ali's jaw looked like a grapefruit afterwards.

That was Frazier's "high point", even though he was great fighter post FOC. (He only lost to Foreman and Ali in his career).

It is probably the greatest sporting event I have witnessed.

 

It's ridiculous. One of the, if not THE best heavyweight fights of all-time and they pay it no attention. Is it something to do with broadcast rights or is it just because it doesn't suit their pro-Ali nature?

 

Even worse is the number they (ESPN) did on poor Jerry Quarry in his fight package that they show. They feature all his losses to Ali (of course) and Frazier, and I think they even sneak the Norton fight in there for good measure. They could have shown his early career knockouts, and especially his masterful taking apart of Thad Spencer, and his near shutout of the dangerous Ron Lyle. They make me sick at ESPN. They really basically hate boxing, and are the most shameless Ali-nuthuggers of all this side of Thomas Hauser of course.