40th anniversary of The Fight Of The Century

A great fight that saw the start of a great trilogy. It was an interesting stylistic matchup between the dancing, outside speedster and the bobbing, pressure fighter with heavy hands. It was a very close fight, I had Ali winning most of the first ten rounds thanks to his pinpoint accurate punching that clouted Frazier's skull all night long. Frazier, however was reigning champion and agressor which was enough for the judges, and his sheer determination that night overcame the task ahead of him: Defeat Muhammad Ali. It was the closest anyone came to defeating a prime Ali really. He was 29. However I think those 3 and a half years out took there toll. Frazier had the momentum down the final stretch that "The Greatest" could not match and Frazier even decked Ali in the 15th with one of the mightiest left hooks ever thrown.

This is one of the greatest single performences by any boxer in history in my view, and one of the greatest scalps ever taken in the ring.

Of course such a performence had an effect on Frazier. He was in hospital for a while after the fight, and was never ever quite as good as he was on that night in 1971. Few were.

Of course they'd meet again for a lackluster rematch, and again for the thrilling decider in Manila. But that's another story.

Hi, good to honour this fight/event/whatever.
I cut n pasted a story about this fight today..have a look...
(there was also some sordid extracts from my diary i accidentally added too,
but gone now unfortunately).

Yeah, but your got replies!

I frequently switch back and forth in my mind between the 'Fight of the Century' and the 'Thrilla in Manila' when deciding which of Ali and Frazier's battles is my favourite.

I don't really think you can beat their 1971 battle when it comes to pure quality of the boxing, though. It was like a Heavyweight version of the 'Brawl in Montreal.' It was the absolute summit of Frazier's powers and career, and even in defeat Ali turned in a superb perfomance. I personally reckon Frazier took nine of the fifteen rounds, certainly no controversy about the decision.