Do you think Frazier vs Ali really did end up as Fight of the Century?

I mean no other fight has pulled over 300 Million viewers world wide.

 

I don't any of these sniff Ali-Frazier 1.

Marciano was fighting a decrepit old journeyman in Walcott and a lightheavy past his best days in Charles
The Conn that Louis fought was no great heavy.
Firpo was a hype job against whom Dempsey slipped for a moment and otherwise dominated.
Robinson was shopworn by the time of Basilio
And neither Zale nor Graziano were true greats.

Ali and Frazier were true greats and as near there primes as one could hope for. Some might suggest Hagler/Hearns as reasonable competition.

 

You have three bouts that define the 20th Century transcending an boxing event ... Johnson - Jeffries, Louis - Schmeling 2 and Ali - Frazier 1. In all three cases the sociological impact surpassed the fights themselves . The Dempsey -Tunney rematch can also be argued into the mix as it was often portrayed as East vs West, Urban vs Rugged Individualist, past vs the future .. there have been many exceptional bouts but these really defined their ages ..

 

Their thrilla in Manila is a candidate for best HW fight ever…the first although not disappointing couldn’t possibly live to that hype.

 

That’s solid, fundamental criteria to go by - given same, at least at HW, I still think the 1971 FOTC achieves the highest cumulative score.

Totally understand the view on the lighter weight divisions which I referenced in a prior post.

Still, the attraction toward the HW division isn’t completely without merit, including the absolute power of punch and it’s potential to end a fight at any moment - not that the same potential doesn’t exist in the lighter weight divisions but it’s perhaps arguably more pronounced at HW.

I can work the P4P concept backward in order to actually credit certain HWs - who have moved incredibly well and were incredibly fast for their size - which could be reasoned as an equitable display of skills relative to their smaller counterparts - smaller counterparts who, if they were sized up to HW, would by nature lose a measure of their P4P skill set rating.

 

While I agree that Joe Frazier was agree, he may have not been too green in July 1967, he was rated at no.4, he just demolished George Chuvalo by TKO 4 on July 4 1967. I also agree that Yank Durham wanted to wait for Muhammad Ali to lose his physical gifts either by waiting or waiting for Ali to serve out a potential 5 year sentence for defying the military draft. Many managers pull this type of Waiting Game.

 

Basically there is nothing wrong with the label "FOTC". Considering all circumstances this event was worth its name.

In terms of competition, I think you can pick a couple of the Fabolous Four fights is for the top spot. And as a sports megavent + sensational upset i think about the Rumble in The Jungle.

 

Not throwing your fighter in too early is a legit practice but in some cases I guess there can be a measure of argument to claim possible avoidance.

Ali himself was steered clear of Chuvalo during his early years. (If I’m wrong, please correct me). IMO, that was a fair and just call - Ali was still developing and a fight vs the rough, tough veteran Chuvalo had the potential of derailing him before he hit his best years.

 

For me, it's Ali vs Foreman.

The back story was unforgettable.
The fight itself was greater than fiction.

 

Muhammad Ali was more interested in fighting WBA Champion Ernie Terrell on March 29 1966, but he settled on a title defense against Chuvalo when negotiations fell through, Ali spoke up about the war, he was literally chased out of the country. Why should he fear Chuvalo? Floyd Patterson decisioned Chuvalo by unanimous decision on Feb 1 1965.

 

Sure. I was talking pre title Ali. Ali didn’t fear anyone but if he’d fought some of his later title comp. too early, even in victory, it might’ve perverted/compromised his formative, pre title progress. Of course his management team would’ve also been involved in his early career choices.

 

Too many fans always bring up the knockdown suffered by Muhammad Ali against Sonny Banks in Feb 1962 and the knockdown against Henry Cooper in June 1963 all legitimate. But hasn't anyone ever failed a test in their life the very first time, I have before. Everything in life is a learning process, no one is born a perfect expert. Ali destroyed Henry Cooper in the rematch on May 21 1966, TKO 6. There was no knockdown in that fight, I saw it live on ABC's Wide World Of Sports, saw it with my Dad and Uncle prior to my three week visit to the local hospital for Valley Fever, I almost bit the big one then, there were no cures for that illness back then. The Doctor told me I might have six months to live, I proved him wrong. If someone does indeed dislike Ali, they should just say so, no skin off of my nose. Ali won't care either by the way. It sure is better than that corny laughable story that Mike Tyson lost his prime at age 23, those street walkers maybe were too much for him in Japan. But I do respect the true avid Tyson fans. He was a great fighter too. Ha Ha.

 

If I had to pick the most famous fight of the 20th century it probably would have been that one yes.