Pause, rewind, play: The Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier trilogy – a boxing rivalry that transcended sport

By the time Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier squared off in the boxing ring for the first time, they were already seen as icons of the sport. Ali’s influence had won fans beyond the the sport. Named Cassius Clay at birth, the heavyweight had refused to be inducted in the American armed forces for the Vietnam war. He was subsequently stripped of the world heavyweight title he held in 1967.

Both boxers had stellar amateur careers before turning professional. Ali and Frazier already had Olympic gold medals in their kitty. While Ali was serving his three-year suspension, which ended in 1970, Frazier was going great guns in his professional career, cleaning out every opponent that came in his path.

Ali had a height advantage on Frazier but the latter had an all-round game that very few boxers at the time could cope with. Smokin’ Joe had knocked out Buster Mathis and Jimmy Ellis, established boxers in their own right to defend his heavyweight title.

Naturally, the hype around the first bout between Ali and Frazier had hit fever pitch. The ringside seats at Madison Square Garden in New York were worth $150, an eye-watering sum in 1971. Strangely, Frazier had helped Ali financially between ‘67 and 1970 and backed him with public statements against the policies of the US government at the time. But when it came to the square-off, friendship went out of the window and trash-talking only added to the spectacle.

Sparks flew. Ali said: “Joe Frazier is an Uncle Tom. He works for the enemy.”

Frazier didn’t back down: “He’s going to Uncle Tom me. THEE Greatest, he called himself. Well, he wasn’t The Greatest, and he certainly wasn’t THEE Greatest...It’s my mission to show him the error of his foolish pride. Beat it into him.”

Fight of the century (1971)

The arena was packed to the rafters with music great Frank Sinatra famously unable to get a ringside seat. There were several other notable personalities in the crowd, including writer Norman Mailer and filmmaker Woody Allen. Dozens of policemen were deployed to control the crowds.

The 15-round battle started with Ali getting the better of Frazier in the first two rounds, using his long reach and those vicious jabs “stung like a bee”. Ali extended his dominance in round three as well but his opponent finally managed to get his act together in the closing stages with a massive hook. Ali felt the heat of it and for a second, his head snapped back. That was the opening the wily Frazier needed and the momentum of the bout shifted.

By round four, Frazier was dominating proceedings. His famous body blows and left hooks took Ali by surprise and was regularly pushed against the ropes. The subsequent rounds saw a visibly tired Ali summoning his best to stay alive in the contest. While he did pull things back briefly with a flurry of punches, Frazier was clearly in the driver’s seat. By round 11, Ali had a swollen jaw and was struggling. By the final round, it was clear that there was only one winner in the much-awaited contest. Frazier was adjudged the winner by all three judges and Ali was handed his first-ever professional defeat.

Super Fight II (1974)

Madison Square Garden was once again the chosen arena three years on. This time, there was no title on the line. Both Ali and Frazier were beginning to slow down as their careers entered the twilight years. But there was no shortage of excitement. Ali was determined to avenge his loss from 1971 and set up a title match against George Foreman, who had knocked out Frazier to grab hold of the heavyweight belt.

Five days before the rematch, Ali and Frazier got into a verbal spat at an ABC studio, where the pugilists were asked to review their previous encounter. This time, though, a fired up Ali didn’t allow Frazier to settle down. Frazier always took his time settling into bouts but his famous opponent dictated terms here. A powerful right hand from Ali had set the tone and he kept the pressure on Frazier with a series of innovative upper cuts. Ali showed good defensive prowess too with his bobbing and holding as Frazier’s deadly left hand went missing on this occasion. Ali won by unanimous decision and it was left 1-1 after two bouts.

Thrilla in Manilla (1975)

The scene now shifted to Asia and the Areneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines was awarded the big-ticket event. A billion viewers tuned in on their television screens for the bout, and once again, there was no shortage of drama during the build-up.

Ali’s verbal volleys aimed at Frazier continued, and it may have gone a little too far: “It will be a killa and a thrilla and a chilla when I get the Gorilla in Manila,” Ali said. In another television interview, he said: “He’s [Frazier] the other type N****, he’s not like me.”

Frazier responded: “I don’t want to knock him out. I want to hurt him. If I knock him down, I’ll stand back, give him a chance to breathe. It’s his heart I want.”

Both men, yet again, weren’t champions. Frazier suffered a shocking second-round knockout against Foreman a year earlier and Ken Norton had the better of Ali as another tantalising boxing rivalry emerged elsewhere.

Yet again, a watchful start backfired on Frazier and Ali landed a couple of solid blows in the earlier rounds. Frazier needed to stay closer to his opponent because of his lack of reach, something he’d admit years later while watching this fight. Ali stood out with his awareness too, with his rope-a-dope technique, where he used the ropes for support while Frazier was attempting to throw punches at him.

The sixth and the seventh rounds saw Frazier relentlessly on the attack. There was sense of disbelief attached to how Ali could see through that passage of play, and wrestled back advantage in round eight.

Frazier’s vision problems had also aggravated the injuries he suffered and the last few rounds saw Ali have him on the ropes. Ali was spent too and told his trainer while catching his breath: “Man, this is the closest I’ve come to dying.”

Ali was declared the winner with one round to go. One of the great rivalries received a fitting finale. He summed up the bout: “We went to Manila as champions, Joe and me, and we came back as old men.”

Ali and Frazier’s legacy lives on to this day, the two men who didn’t just serve boxing but served the world of sport.