1. Johnson vs. Jeffries 2. Frazier vs. Ali Which one would you pick for the following categories 1. more anticipated 2. which event was more of a spectacle in its time 3. caused more battle lines to be drawn about who you wanted to win. 4. which event impacted the sport more after it was over All things considered: Which is truly the FOTC for you?
1. More anticipated - probably Frazier vs Ali. I don't think too many people thought Jeffries was coming back. 2. Which was more of a spectacle? Hard to say. Ali vs Frazier obviously had far more widespread media coverage both in the build up as well the actual event. Johnson vs Jeffries had huge racial and political undertones though. 3. Caused more battle lines about who one wanted to win? I wasn't alive for either of them. But I think Johnson vs Jeffries pretty much divided American boxing fans. 4. Which impacted the sport more ? Probably ali vs Frazier. It set the stage for followed as just about the greatest heavyweight era ever and raised the bar in a lot of ways. conclusion - Ali vs Frazier
Honestly, with hindsight you have to say Ali v Frazier. But without that gift I think you have to go with Johnson v Jeffries.
I might be tempted to say "neither." The correct answer might just be Louis-Schmeling II. It had a lot of socio-political underpinnings as well, but on more of a global scale.
Well, as a "FIGHT" with two undefeated Titans at their peak (or near peak), with all the social/cultural significance involved, I have to say Frazier-Ali l,....without a doubt. Both Johnson-Jeffries and Louis-Schmeling ll were great choices, but mainly for social significance sake.....but NOT for the sake of them being competitive or anything....that's where Frazier-Ali l has them beat, and in all honesty, is the only fight that comes to mind when the term "FOTC" ever comes up. This content is protected
In terms of a negative impact it'd say Johnson vs Jeffries. People died after that fight largely because of colour, otherwise l'd pick Louis vs Schmeling.
Incidentally Tyson vs Spinks probably ranks up there with historical fights of importance in the 20th century.
Because much like Johnson vs Jeffries and Ali vs Frazier you had two guys who for their own unique reasons were being called by the public as "champ" and the dispute needed settling.. The only difference being that both participants were active professionals who hadn't taken any significant time off, making the dispute even more valid.. Not sure why Jeffries was being hailed as the champion by so many given that he hadn't stepped in a ring in some six years.. I mean I know the old adage that the Champion can only lose the title in the ring but common.. Muhammad hadn't been too active going in against Frazier either... And Tyson Spinks was hyped about as much as any other heavyweight fight we can think of.
Little question. Say Holyfield had come on the heavyweight scene earlier and Tyson hadn't yet knocked out Spinks who would you have rather seen Tyson face?
In hindsite? Holyfield. Back then and in actuality ? Spinks. It also depends on what you mean by " come on the scene." He'd have to be pretty well established to take precedence over Tyson facing the lineal champion.
The Fight of the Century was the Fight of the Century! Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier! I would argue that the second fight between Joe Louis and Max Schmeling what's a bigger fight than Jeffries vs. Willard. It had the mixture of global politics and race set on a Global stage teetering on war.
I don't think people realize how big Johnson vs. Jeffries was at the time. Jeffries was considered the best that ever lived, and at the time, there wasn't the media exposure and dissemination of information as today or even as of the Ali vs. Frazier fight. People didn't realize how the time off could impact Jeffries the way it did. Most people didn't even have some of the facts about the fight, let alone most of them. So in their eyes, this was the be all end all fight. From just looking at how it was viewed in that time period, I think it stakes up quite favorably with anything mentioned in the thread.
There were roughly 90 million people living in the U.S. in 1910. 89% of them were classified as white. About 10% were black. How "split" was the country back then on who they wanted to win - Johnson or Jeffries? I certainly doubt there were many white Americans jumping up and down rooting for Johnson. And the coverage was all basically newspapers. There was also no radio broadcast of the fight. If you weren't there, you didn't see it. In many state, the films of the fight were illegal. And most of the countries in the world didn't even understand why whites and blacks didn't care for each other in the U.S. Black fighters were celebrated in many other countries. The world wasn't linked like it would be later. There hadn't been a world war yet. Countries tended to worry about what was happening in their own backyard instead of what was going on a half a world away. Jeffries-Johnson was a significant fight in the U.S., but the vast majority of the country wasn't split on who they wanted to win. On the other hand, there were more than 200 million people living in the U.S. around 1970. How many of them were against the Vietnam War and were rooting for Ali? I'm going to say more than 10 percent. What percentage of older white Americans were rooting for Frazier and what percentage of younger, college age white Americans were voting for Ali? The fight was being hyped on TV and in newspapers all over the globe. It was viewed live all over the globe. It was a true global sporting event. Ali-Frazier 1 was the fight of the century.
