CB 1000

23 January 2014
#Throwback Tuesday “Muhammad Ali Vs Joe Frazier II”, 40 years TODAY.
by Shane Alexander Caldwell
Shane Alexander Caldwell
Shane Alexander Caldwell is the Editor of Circus Bazaar Magazine, host of the Big Tent Podcast and the sole Ringmaster of the Circus Bazaar Company. He performs acts of international political magic on the regular.

Muhammad Ali Vs Joe Frazier 2 40 yearsExactly forty years ago today two immortals of the great sport of boxing fought their second legendary battle.  Happy 40th anniversary Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II.

From a serious boxing fans perspective I have always questioned the neck size of anyone that showed little historical interest in the second fight of the Ali/Frazier trilogy. That either of them were done was just nonsense. Even such a schooled sports commentator such as Howard Cossell referred to Smokin Joe’s greatness in the past tense during the lead up commentary to this fight. This was long before Frazier was seen as a “has been” in the lead up to the “Thriller in Manila”. In my opinion people just misunderstood Joe Frazier’s style and mental toughness. If anyone was to going to be resilient against the negative impacts of a nasty KO it was going to be a fighter like Frazier who had just come off exactly that against the monster who was George Forman.

Muhammad Ali Vs Joe Frazier 2 40 yearsAli came into this fight having clicked up a little more mileage than he was able to in the run up to their first fight which was set against the back drop of him regaining his boxing license and undergoing a transformation from public enemy number one to national treasure. As a consequence he came in fitter, faster and more conditioned to meet the relentless barrage of pressure that Joe Frazier was always going to bring, even on a bad day.

My view was that this was never a one sided fight and followed a similar script to the first except for the one controversial incident in the early rounds in which someone dinged a fake bell just seconds after Ali had caught Frazier cold with a straight right preventing him from following up in what could have potentially been a KO.

As Ali’s older legs slowed and he was still to perfect his “Rope-a-dope, Frazier began to smoke as he always did, and began to catch Ali but the non-championship twelve round distance meant it was never enough to level the score cards. Ali got away with what looked to some as a convincing win.

Here is the full original fight footage. Enjoy!

MORE ARTICLES

‘It can be so sweet it makes you sick’ – Saint Sebastien France de Griessen – Album review

France’s vocals are intent, holistic and purposeful. The lyrics are as they need to be, at times urgent, also reflective, on time or in the moment.  The writing is mature and scripted and leaves openings for improvisation. The old school...

by Craig Bradbrook

‘It can be so sweet it makes you sick’ –...

France’s vocals are intent, holistic and purposeful. The lyrics are as they need to be, at times ...

by Craig Bradbrook

‘And I don’t, and I don’t, and I don’t…Ghost Stories...

[dropcap size=big]A[/dropcap]ny expectations that this new Coldplay album would be a return to fo...

by Craig Bradbrook

‘Coloured Into a Colour Never Seen’ Warpaints Warpaint – Review

The space and time Warpaint create lends this group to a unique continuum.  There is patience and...

by Craig Bradbrook

‘He always keeps his mouth shut…’ Cash Savage and the...

Cash Savage will tell a story with believable angst and paint a suitable background with violins,...

by Craig Bradbrook

‘Never want to wake up’ I Killed the Prom Queen...

I Killed the Prom Queen compositions are a diverse cross section of metal and mathcore genres tha...

by Craig Bradbrook