Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II

Coordinates: 40°45′01″N 73°59′37″W / 40.7504°N 73.9935°W / 40.7504; -73.9935
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Super Fight II
Closed Circuit Poster
DateJanuary 28, 1974
VenueMadison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Title(s) on the lineNABF heavyweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer United States Muhammad Ali United States Joe Frazier
Nickname "The Greatest" "Smokin' Joe"
Hometown Louisville, Kentucky Beaufort, South Carolina
Purse $850,000 $850,000
Pre-fight record 43–2 (32 KO) 30–1 (25 KO)
Age 32 years 30 years
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) 5 ft 11.5 in (182 cm)[1]
Weight 212 lb (96 kg)[2] 209 lb (95 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition NABF heavyweight champion Former undisputed heavyweight champion
Result
Ali won via 12th round unanimous decision

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II, billed as Super Fight II, was a professional boxing match contested for the NABF heavyweight title.[3] The second of the three Ali–Frazier bouts, it took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Monday, January 28, 1974.

Background[edit]

Promotional photo

On January 17, 1974, Ali and Frazier appeared together on The Dick Cavett Show, where there was both humor and obvious tension – which included the removing of jackets and mock blows between the pair. Things dramatically escalated, however, on January 23, when Ali and Frazier visited the ABC studios in New York City 5 days before the rematch to review their first fight for ABC's Wide World of Sports. During their critique of 11 Ali began trash talking Frazier and calling him "ignorant" for mentioning Ali had visited the hospital after the bout, as he had put Frazier in one for a full month afterwards. This denigration enraged Frazier, who stood up from his seat and squared up to a seated Ali, repeating, "Why you call me ignorant? How am I ignorant?" While Frazier was not looking at Ali and studio crew and his entourage tried to calm him down, Ali grabbed Frazier by the neck to force him to sit down, which broke out into a fight on the studio floor. Both boxers were subsequently fined for their outburst, and significant drama added to the countdown to their rematch in the ring. Ali was a slight favorite going in.[4]

The fight[edit]

The fighting was uneven, with flashes of excellence marred by Ali initiating 133 clinches,[5][better source needed] many by holding Frazier's head and pushing down on his neck, which referee Tony Perez did not regard as a violation under the rules.[6]

Tactically, instead of fighting flat-footed in the middle of the ring and "fighting Frazier's fight" as in their first, meeting, Ali came out dancing in his traditional "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" form. In the three years since he had been stripped of his titles and banned from the sport he had been able to recover much of the ringmanship on his toes he had lost since his 1967 professional ban. Still, he was older, heavier, and slower...as was Frazier. In hopes of making more contact with the relentlessly bobbing and weaving Frazier, he often employed a new punching style, flurries of a half-hook half-upper cuts coming from both sides. As in the first fight, Ali attempted to prevent Frazier from working inside, tying up the shorter man by holding him behind the neck with his left hand while keeping Frazier's vaunted left tied up with the other. This pattern of Ali punching in flurries followed by clinching, and stifling Frazier's advances and leaving him no room to throw his punches through neck-grabs and half-headlocks, dominated most of the fight, at times earning rounds of boos from fight fans. Explaining why he did not even warn Ali, referee Tony Perez explained, "The only violation is if you [hold] and hit at the same time. Ali was holding but he wasn't hitting."[6]

Ali was aggressive right from the start. At the end of round two, Frazier, a notoriously slow starter, was hurt by an Ali right hand and was in significant trouble. The referee, having mistakenly thought he heard the bell, stepped in between the two fighters and sent them to their corners. Ten seconds or more elapsed before they were returned to action, the interruption allowing Frazier precious time to recover finish the round on his feet.

Many rounds were close and difficult to score and though action was exceptionally high overall for a heavyweight bout, both fighters missed with their punches more often than in their first bout. Ali won a close but unanimous decision, with referee Tony Perez scoring it 6–5–1, judge Tony Castellano 7–4–1, and judge Jack Gordon 8–4–0.

Aftermath[edit]

Held in between their two major title bouts (the Fight of the Century in 1971 and The Thrilla in Manila in 1975, each for the then-reigning WBA and WBC professional boxing championships), this twelve round fight was promoted as Super Fight II. At stake was a chance for Ali to avenge his loss to Frazier in their first fight, and set up a shot for the world title against then Heavyweight champion George Foreman, who in between had dethroned Frazier. While some fans and experts then and now consider to be the least interesting and hyped of their three fights, it provided flashes of excellence by both fighters, and was described by the Associated Press as "...another great match between two different types of fighter, the slugger versus the master craftsman".[2] Extremely anticipated at the time, it lacked the absolute drama of the first bout, but, evening the score at one win apiece, served to set the stage for the now iconic tie-breaker between the two historic champions a year later in Manilla, once again for World Championship recognition after Ali's electric dismantling of Foreman in Zaire.

Scorecard[edit]

Round[dubious ]  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 Total[7][6]
Tony Perez (referee) A A F A A F F A F A F Ali, 6–5–1
Tony Castellano (judge) A A A F A F F A F A A Ali, 7–4–1
Jack Gordon (judge) A A F A A F F F A A A F Ali, 8–4–0

Undercard[edit]

Confirmed bouts:[8]

Reviews[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Dwyre, Bill (January 28, 1974). "Much ado about weigh-in". Milwaukee Journal. p. 11.
  2. ^ a b Grimsley, Will (January 29, 1974). "Ali's back and so is boxing". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. p. 1B.
  3. ^ "Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier (2nd meeting) - BoxRec".
  4. ^ "Cocky Ali, sullen Joe await bell". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. January 28, 1974. p. 1C.
  5. ^ Anderson, Dave (1991). In the Corner. Wm. Morrow & Co. pp. 288. ISBN 0688094465.
  6. ^ a b c Anderson, Dave (January 29, 1974). "Ali Beats Frazier On Decision Here". New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  7. ^ Dwyre, Bill (January 29, 1974). "Ali pumps new blood into boxing". Milwaukee Journal. p. 9. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  8. ^ "BoxRec - event".
Preceded by Muhammad Ali's bouts
28 January 1974
Succeeded by
Preceded by Joe Frazier's bouts
28 January 1974
Succeeded by

40°45′01″N 73°59′37″W / 40.7504°N 73.9935°W / 40.7504; -73.9935