"In a classic 15-round battle, Joe Frazier broke the wings of the butterfly and smashed the stinger of the bee tonight in winning a unanimous decision over Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden," Dave Anderson wrote in the New York Times.It was March 8, 1971, 40 years ago today.
"Frazier, with an unrelenting pursuit and a brutal body attack, wore down the dancing, jabbing Ali through 14 rounds, then sent him crashing to the canvas and pounded him at will in the final round to retain his championship with a unanimous decision," the UPI wire story reported. Ali's jaw was hurt and he was taken to a hospital. "I don't think he wants a rematch -- not right away," Frazier said, in the AP story.
Frazier won the Fight of The Century that night -- but it's mostly Ali people are remembering today. GQ put him on the cover in February, for the second time in three years, this time as one of the "25 Coolest Athletes of All Time" (in 2007 it was for being one of the "50 Most Stylish Men of the Past 50 Years.") Whatever. Inside, GQ runs three quotes about Ali, from Don King, Norman Mailer, and...Garry Shandling.At The Sweet Science, Bernard Fernandez has a new piece looking at the syndicate of Philly guys who bankrolled Frazier (and later banked profits) as he turned pro and started winning big purses.
The keepers of Life magazine are releasing a gallery of photos from the 1971 fight and its build-up -- photos that, they say, are previously unpublished, though I know I've seen this one (top right) before. The whole pictorial is worth checking out -- it's right here.
