Rank these fights in order In Re: Capturing the imagination of the public more i.e. bigger event... more looking forward to it...issues/thoughts/actions after the event. Johnson vs. Jeffries (Original fight of the century) Louis vs. Schmeling 2 Ali vs. Frazier (FOTC)
Louis-Schmeling II. The stakes in Ali-Frazier I were raised because of Ali's draft conviction and the upheaval in the U.S. regarding the Vietnam War and civil rights. But, frankly, the rest of the sporting world didn't pay much mind to what was going on in Vietnam by 1971 or the civil rights movement in the U.S. The sporting world was more interested because it was the first time the two best heavyweights in the world, both undefeated in their primes, with a claim to the title, fought for the heavyweight championship. And Johnson-Jeffries was again a big deal in the U.S. because of racism. But it was fought in Reno - which was basically a cow town in 1910. The bigger cities in the U.S. didn't want it. And other countries weren't tripping over themselves to host it. The world wasn't losing any sleep over Johnson-Jeffries. Again, it was primarily a big deal in the U.S. The rest of the world was only as curious as they were about any heavyweight title fight to that point.
Louis schemling was the number one fight of the century for everything going on with Nazis and ww2. Johnson jeffries led to the deaths of many African Americans due to the white publics reaction so I'd say it was 2nd And as big as Ali Frazier was I'd say 3rd
Just as a bit of trivia Fight of The Century had actually been used before for Battling Nelson vs. Joe Gans (I had to look up which fight it was) Edit: Though acually I wouldn't be shocked if someone has an even older one called that.
If I could get in the time machine it would be Johnson vs. Jeffries sad ending after the fight with rioting in the streets but I would have liked to have been ringside
If you got in a time machine and went to anyplace other than Reno, Nevada, it probably wouldn't. Because, unless you were there, most people didn't know what happened for days, particularly those around the world. The other two fights were seen or listened to live around the world as they took place. It's really just between the two of them as far as bigger events and capturing the attention of people around the world. The Johnson-Jeffries fight, while it was going on, didn't really alter or interrupt anyone's day except for the people who had tickets to the fight in Reno.
First place: Louis vs. Schmeling 2 easily. According to those that saw it, there was real electricity in the air, a dress rehearsal for W.W II. Second Place: Ali vs. Frazier, 1971. Highly anticipated with the politics of Vietnam, and two fighters who didn't like each other. It was the best fight of the three, easily, and one that had two re-matches afterward. Third place: There was no Radio or TV for Jeffries vs. Johnson. The fight film was banned in some states, not an easy event to view unless you saw it live.
Most of those incidents occurred after the film was processed, duplicates were made, and they were shipped around the country and the world to be shown in theaters. When the fight was going on, nobody knew what was happening except for the people there. A lot of newspaper writers covering the fights didn't write for daily newspapers, so it wasn't like everyone woke up July 5 and even knew then what had happened. There wasn't radio. The fight didn't take place in a major city like New York, where there was a glut of people living. Finding out the result was a gradual process. The other two fights were "happenings" that people either listened to or watched live all over the world.
Totally and completely disagree with this misrepresentation of the fight and the events surrounding that fight. You don't need to be in the area, or even the city or even watch it...to be anxious what the results were. I've seen boxing matches live and UFC fights live, yet sometimes the results I've cared about the most were for fights I didn't see or pay PPV to see. But you better believe I was on the internet or reading play by play after the fact to find out what happened. To even think the only people who were waiting to hear the results were only the people in reno is ludicrous. It doesn't matter how long it took them to find them out, that is totally and completely irrelevant because of the time period we're dealing with. Being that information wasn't readily disseminated like it is these days, means we can't use that criteria as a benchmark mark here. Further, people did read newspapers and books and there was a known "search for the great white hope" that was publically known throughout the US. You act like people were unaware of the magnitude of the event or wanted to know the outcome because it wasn't live on PPV. They most certainly were anxiously awaiting the results. Just because the info was slower to get to them, doesn't mean they were waiting for it less. Those two things aren't mutually inclusive of one another.
