PIM -Fallen Angels-January 2017

The Fight of the Century
March 8th 1971
Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali
January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016
Champion boxer Muhammad Ali, known as “The Greatest
of All Time,” died at age 74 of respiratory complications. Ali
achieved success as a heavyweight fighter and Olympic gold
medalist, but he continues to be a role model for athletes
who protest against Black oppression. The activist boxer
refused to fight in the Vietnam War on religious grounds
but also declared the Viet Cong were not the true enemies
of Black people.
The Fight of the Century (also known as The
Fight) is the title boxing writers and historians
have given to the boxing match between
champion Joe Frazier (26–0, 23 KOs) and
challenger Muhammad Ali (31–0, 25 KOs),
held on March 8, 1971, at Madison Square
Garden in New York City. Frazier won in 15
rounds via unanimous decision.
In 1971, both Ali and Frazier had legitimate
claims to the title of World Heavyweight
Champion. An undefeated Ali had won the
title from Sonny Liston in Miami Beach in
1964, and successfully defended his belt up
until he had it stripped by boxing authorities
for refusing induction into the armed forces in
1967. In Ali’s absence, the undefeated Frazier
garnered two championship belts through
knockouts of Buster Mathis and Jimmy. He
was recognized by boxing authorities as the
World Champion. Unlike Mathis and Ellis,
Frazier was plausibly Ali’s superior, which
created a tremendous amount of hype and
anticipation for a match pitting the two
undefeated fighters against one another to
decide who was the true heavyweight champ.
8 PREP INSIGHT MAGAZINE - FALLEN ANGELS EDITION | JANUARY 2017
JANUARY 2017 | PREP INSIGHT MAGAZINE - FALLEN ANGELS EDITION 9