29) Zora Folley KO7: Muhammad Ali - Bert Randolph Sugar - US Fight Commentary TV -
I have a very strange feeling that if this do go through ... As a matter of fact I do know this is my last fight. Muhammad Ali, pre-fight interview
Zora Folley was as quiet in real life as he was in the ring. Bert Randolph Sugar
v Zora Folley 22 March 1967 Madison Square Gardens: [r3] ... The challenger Zora Folley watching his opponent go round him. Folley is a patient fighter ... Ali looking to get in now with that famous flurry ... [r4] ... Folley is up at nine ... There’s nothing wrong with Folley’s courage - he’s got plenty ... [r7] ... Muhammad Ali has retained his Heavyweight championship of the world. US fight commentary
28th April 1967 Stripped of WBC & WBA Titles: The New York Times - Muhammad Ali: Ringside TV - Bert Randolph Sugar - Martin Luther King junior - Colin Hart - Ali v Tyson: Who Was Greatest? TV -
Clay Refuses Army Oath; Stripped of Boxing Crown. The New York Times
Just a month after the Zora fight, Ali refused induction into the US Army, and his licence was suspended ... and he was stripped of the title. Muhammad Ali: Ringside
He was suffering. Bert Randolph Sugar, re Muhammad Ali’s three-year exile
Whatever you may think [of] Mr Muhammad Ali’s religion – you certainly have to admire his courage. Martin Luther King
Most countries of the world recognised that the title was vacant except one – and that was Britain ... and Ali never forgot that. Colin Hart, boxing correspondent
The Governing Body of Boxing stripped Ali of his Heavyweight championship. For three years and nine months Ali was kept out of the ring. Ali v Tyson: Who Was Greatest?
30) Jerry Quarry TKO3: Muhammad Ali - US Fight Commentary TV -
Fighting isn’t as exciting as it used to be. Muhammad Ali
I am glad that I am back so we can settle this confusion about Joe Frazier and all the people who thinks he is still the champion, and I hope something can be worked out to solve this Heavyweight mess. Muhammad Ali, post-fight interview
v Jerry Quarry 26th October 1970 Municipal Stadium Atlanta [r1] ... That left jab is finding its mark ... [r3] ... So far he has looked in fine condition ... There’s a cut over Quarry’s left eye. The cut is bleeding profusely. Once again a left right combination from Clay ... The fight is over. US fight commentary
31) Oscar Bonavena TKO15: ESPN Banner - US Fight Commentary TV -
Prior to this bout [Ali], Oscar Bonavena had defeated Heavyweight contenders Zora Folley, George Chuvalo and Karl Mildenberger. ESPN sports banner
Oscar Bonavena, a native of Argentina, boxed in 58 professional fights, with a career record of 58-9-1 (44KOs). He went the distance twice with Smokin’ Joe Frazier, losing both bouts by decision. On May 22 1976 Bonavena was murdered in Reno, Nevada. He was only thirty-three years old. ibid.
v Oscar Bonavena 7th December 1970 New York [r1] ... There’s the familiar shuffle step. And in this area he returns a popular man ... He’s a brawler, Bonavena ... He’ll go right to that mid-section if he can ... That left of Bonavena connected ... [r2] ... Surprising absence of movement in Ali ... [r3] ... Good combination, the left and the right. Opening up a bit ... A left by Bonavena, and Ali says to him as the round ends, ‘Come on!’ ... [r4] ... A powerful, powerful man – he’s coming after Ali now ... He is the aggressor! ... Where is that Ali movement? Ali holding on? Where is that circling? ... That left got into Ali ... Strange thing to see ... [r6] ... That left! And that landed ... [r8] ... Now Ringo comes at him, and strongly ... Nor have we seen the Ali shuffle ... A good left by Bonavena ... [r9] ... A left by Bonavena, and it connected ... Ali streaming punches on him ... Now the two are going at it ... Ali trying to make his prediction stick ... A good left by Bonavena in retaliation ... [r10] ... He [Ali] has to have lost something ... [r11] ... That right hurt! Bonavena got in a good right! ... It has to be an embarrassment to him [Ali] ... A good right by Ali! ... A bevy of blows by Bonavena ... Ali appears to be the tired one [r15] ... Oh! That left floored him! It came from nowhere! Ali came through with a left! ... And now Ali is behaving like the old Ali ... It’s over! Ali is the knockout winner! US fight commentary
32) Joe Frazier ***** Lost Points 15: Phil Pepe - Muhammad Ali - Joe Frazier - Harry Carpenter & UK Fight Commentary TV -
Moments after the signing was announced, a reporter took a random poll among boxing people, trainers, managers, and writers in attendance at Shor’s. Of the 32 people polled, 29 picked Frazier and many said, ‘And I like him big.’ Most of those selecting Frazier did so on the grounds that Ali had lost something during his three-and-a-half-year exile. Phil Pepe, Come Out Smokin’
As a sporting event, it was the most natural, logical, and dramatic pairing ever made. For the first time in history, two unbeaten heavyweights would meet to fight for the championship of the world – both claiming the title, both in the prime of life, both apparently unbeatable. ibid.
If this had been just a sporting event, all those elements would have been enough to sell it. But this was more. This was a holy war, a political forum, a battle of two diametrically opposed ways of life. Ali’s problems with the law became as much a topic of discussion, as much a factor when assessing the outcome, as his left jab. These were two men with the widest contrast in styles, in and out of the ring.
Ali was flashy, Frazier was steady. Ali was swift, Frazier was methodical. Ali danced like a butterfly and stung like a bee. Frazier plodded like an elephant and kicked like a mule. Ali was loud and brash, Frazier was soft-spoken. Ali pushed to the forefront, Frazier stayed in the background. ibid.
This will be like a good amateur fighting a real professional. Muhammad Ali, pre-fight interview
Frazier falls in six. Muhammad Ali, pre-fight interview
You soon come to the point when you let your guard down. Muhammad Ali, post-fight interview
I think I’ll stop him inside of ten rounds. Joe Frazier
The most extraordinary sports event of all time. This is the first Heavyweight world championship in which both men have never lost a fight. Harry Carpenter
v Joe Frazier 8th March 1971 Madison Square Garden New York [r1] ... He outreaches Frazier by four and a half inches ... Clay dancing fast, and the tassels on the shoes twirling away ... The opening round has gone to Clay ... [r2] ... And Clay is hurt, and he dances away from the ropes because he has to. Frazier keeps coming ... And these two will never last fifteen rounds at this pace ... He gives that little shake of the head again ... He's picking off Frazier all the time ... [r3] ... That’s a good left hook and he catches Clay that time ... This is the best championship fight for many years ... The jab has slowed down from Clay ... Still able to pick his man off at long range ... Clay is bleeding from the nose ... [r4] ... Frazier straight at his man ... Clay still whips the right hand across the face of Frazier ... An incredible pace ... The two men beginning to slow ... There’s the big one, and he [Ali] got hurt ... [r5] ... Clay’s got his work cut out now with this fight and he knows it. And Frazier snarls back at Clay as Clay catches him in the head ... And Frazier gets caught as he comes in ... One of these is going to crack ... Frazier grins. He puts his hands down and laughs ... [r6] ... He [Ali] plays about with him. How can the man do this? ... And the prediction has failed ... [r7] ... Although Clay shakes his head again he felt that ... I make Clay in front by this stage of the fight ... [r8] ... Good looking jabs from Clay ... But this windmill of a machine, this threshing machine that is Joe Frazier ... They’re just messing about .... This is not fighting; this is exhibition stuff ... [r9] ... Joe! Joe! Joe! they shout ... This is more like it ... There’s a good left hook ... There's a strange death-wish about Clay ... He hangs his chin out ... And now he’s giving Frazier a good working over ... Frazier forced back and hurt ... [r10] ... I think Clay lost that one ... [r11] ... Hooking all the time and chasing his man all the time: typical Rocky Marciano style ... It was a slip [Ali]. Again Frazier hammers forward ... The punches are getting through to Clay’s head ... And Clay beckons him back. And Frazier goes after him and he's got him with the left hook ... And Clay is in trouble and he makes a face ... And he is hurt again and he almost goes over ... He’s hurt. Tremendous round for Frazier ... [r12] ... He’s pulled himself together, and he’s coming back ... That’s a good right hand ... [r13] ... And these two have nearly punched themselves out on each other ... The side of Frazier’s face looks puffed and raw ... He’s been in that corner for a minute now ... [r14] ... It’s still not resolved ... Good strong finish there by Muhammad Ali ... [r15] ... Oh there it is! The left hook! Frazier at last has caught up with him! ... There’s the left hook again. And he almost went down from that one ... What a finish and what a fight! And that knockdown has probably saved the title for Frazier ... This extraordinary fight saved a sensation for the fifteenth round ... [8-6-1 Frazier 9-6 Frazier 11-4 Frazier] Harry Carpenter UK fight commentary
33) Jimmy Ellis TKO12:
34) Buster Mathis Points12: