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

Espn has done that to Quarry more than once. I saw it again the other day, turned it off. I agree with you on other things mentioned, especially Hauser the nut hugger.

I would like to see Quarry as amateur, if tape exists, against Alongi (his first major pro fights) and Spencer, Mac Foster, and Lyle.

 

Thanks for these words of insight, Garfield! It's always great to read your posts in the Classic section :good

 

I think the "Jerry Quarry site" has some of his real early fights, and of course Youtube has some of his great moments.

 

The reason espn doesn't show the 1st Ali/Frazier fight is because they don't own the rights to it.I forgot the guys name who does, but that's the reason they don't show the fight on espn. If any of you are looking for it hit me up.

 

Ali was the single most important figure in boxing history. There'll never be another like him.

 

I was 11 at the time. From my perspective, no sporting event since then -- let alone any boxing match -- has been more anxiously anticipated.

The fight was on a Monday night, and there was no home TV -- you had to go to a closed-circuit theater broadcast to see it. Because my father was going to work the next day and I was going to school, that wasn't happening in my house. The local news radio network in Chicago, which was an affiliate of CBS, broke into its all-news format at the end of every round with a report of what had just happened. I can't think of any other occasion when that had happened.

Boxing had much more mainstream popularity then than it does now -- more non-sports fans were aware of heavyweight championship fights than they were of the Super Bowl. The heavyweight champ, whoever he was, got the kind of attention that later came to be associated with somebody like Michael Jordan or David Beckham: he was an A-list celebrity known by people who didn't care about his sport. This fight had two undefeated heavyweight champions, both still under thirty and reasonably considered to be in the prime of their careers, so it was deserving of unprecedented hype even if you just looked at the in-ring significance of the match.

Then add to that the social significance that came from the outside-the-ring factors: Ali was a brash, arrogant, loud-talking, draft-refusing, Christianity- rejecting novelty. No fighter since Jack Johnson represented such a blatant rebellion against the accepted rules of athlete behavior. Joe Frazier was old-school: he played by the old rules and succeeded under them. The fight represented young rebellion against old-fashioned attitudes more clearly than any other event of the time, and most people were violently rooting for one side and against the other. In social significance, the fight was probably behind Johnson-Jeffries, Johnson-Burns and Louis-Schmeling II, but I can't think of any other contenders.

I was rooting for Ali and cried when I heard over the radio that he'd lost. I didn't actually see the film of the fight for the first time until almost three years later. It was shown on the first time on free TV in the U.S. just before their January 1974 rematch. That showing was a big deal for millions like me who hadn't seen the first fight with our own eyes. It was such a big deal that ABC's Wide World of Sports had Ali and Frazier in a studio to give live commentary on the film. That's when Ali called Frazier ignorant, Frazier took offense, left his seat and went over to stand in front of Ali and the two ended up wrestling around on the floor with various entourage members.

 

I remember the fight being a major deal...and since it took place when it did and not today we were not already in a society that innundates us with media hoopla. So comparably there is so much more media coverage about events today, so in that light it cannot be the biggest event in my mind. But since it did take place in a time when were not used to such it stands out in my mind so much more than most events.
There were racial tensions (suprising for neither guy was white), unprecedented media coverage...the arena had double booked and there was a group (I believe James Taylor???) scheduled to play the same night, they were offered free tickets in order to cancel their show and they agreed, LOL! Even among those who were not boxing fans every one knew about this fight and most had an opinion on it. I can't think of another match that had that??? Tyson-Holyfield (so many people just did not care) DLH-Mayweather (their names may have drawn a few who are not regular boxing fans, but again so much of our socity just did not care). Ali was so popular and contriversial that even among non fans everyone had an opinion. It seemed then (just like now) that Ali was a super hero and Joe was just there for the ride...But I was from Philly....and our motto is if you ain't from Philly you don't belong...Most of my friends and me KNEW (course I knew he was goin to beat Foreman too, for what that is worth!) Frazier would win, we just talked about how bad a beatin' Ali would recieve. One of the biggest events that stands out in my mind...on Par with:

Colts- JETS SB III
and maybe the Doc, Magic & Bird rivalry of the 80"s

 

Ali's biggest show of greatness came in 1975, when he survived the thrashing of his career against an all time great in Chuck Wepner.

 

Others say Dempsey and Louis were. Ali is most famous now, I would guess. His fame is not deserved though.

 

Ali is ALMOST famous now? His fame is not deserved?

I'm not sure that I understand the basis for these claims. Ali was considered as one of the greatest fighters of all time, practically before his career ended, and was known throughout all corners of the earth. He was a famed megastar, and a true all time great. I would say that his name and recognition have long since surpassed that of Dempsey's and Louis's.

 

I don't care what they say...this was the best fight out of the 3 fights hands down.It was the closest thing to their primes as they could get, ruined Frazier and damn near ruined Ali. And I actually liked the 2nd fight better than the 3rd ,thought the 3rd fight is a bit overrated.

 

Jesus Christ.

 

Jack Kent Cooke (Los Angeles Laker owner) was the promoter for the Ali-Frazier fight in Madison Square Garden in 1971.

Jack Kent Cooke signed checks worth $5 million to underwrite the first Ali-Frazier fight in 1971.

That was the Fight in which a couple of shrewd Los Angeles entrepreneurs, a Hollywood hotshot agent named Jerry Perenchio, and the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings, Jack Kent Cooke, guaranteed Ali and Frazier each the then unheard of sum of $2.5 million.

Jack Kent Cooke (estate) probably owns the rights.....look at his
corporations.
http://www.ketupa.net/cooke.htm