The+Fight+of+the+Century

== media type="youtube" key="tc7Kx468fiY" height="316" width="353" media type="youtube" key="H56dQ5Lm298" height="314" width="336" == = Who? = ==Muhammad Ali, was one of the greatest fighters of his time. He was born in Louisville Kentucky where he picked up boxing and gained valuable experience. He discovered boxing after police officer and boxing coach Joe Martin told him to try it out after seeing him extremely mad when his bike was stolen. Muhammad went on to win the gold medal in the 1960 summer olympics, and continued his impressive career in boxing winning three world championships and one North American Boxing Federation title.== ==**Joe Frazier was born January 12, 1944, Beaufort, South Carolina into a large family. Joe beat up a white man because he called Joe a nigger. During that time there was still racial tension in the south and because of his actions, he moved up to Philadelphia at age 14. Joe had a job at a meat packing plant and struggled with obesity. He joined a gym in hope to get in shape and there he began boxing. The owner of his gym and his later manager. Joe's first real success was in the 1964 Olympics where he won gold for America while fight with a broken hand.**==

=****Significance ** ** =  ==****The three fights that took place from 1971-1976 between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Alie go down in history as the best boxing matches since it's existance, between the two best heavyweight boxers of all time. There were multiple mixed beliefs and morals that came into question through the fight. Muhammad Ali was a re-born Muslim who refused to fight in the Vietnam War because of religious morals. Joe Frazier was on the opposite side of the spectrum and supported the war along with fighting for your country. Both were thought by respected audiences to be the best boxers of their time and both had larger egos along with eccentric personalities. It was a match made for history. The two met on three separate occasion, Joe wining the first and Muhammad winning the second two. The bitter and entertaining rivalry shot the two athletes into instant stardom and the fight film soon became an instant classic all the while putting Professional Boxing on the map as a new spectator sport during the turn of the decade. The two world-class boxers cannot be mentioned without the others company and it is both their separate raw talent and the bitter rivalry that makes the punches throw at each other that much stronger. The fight between Smokin' Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali changed opinions on boxing and created a much needed distraction for the citizens of America, and the rest of the world, during a dime of desperation and struggle.**** ==

= The Vietnam War = ==**In 1964 Muhammad Ali declared his membership to the Nation of Islam, and stated that he would not participate in the draft. The world boxing association stripped him of his boxing license which led him into three and a half year absence of professional boxing. He returned as strong as ever in 1974, defeating George Foreman for the championship.**==

**Frazier's feelings about the war were not as strong. Frazier was pro-war, and supported our reasons for being in Vietnam.**
==**The opposing feelings of the fighters only made the fight more intense, and mean a lot more to many people. The fight had become more than just a boxing match, it displayed the struggle between anti-war and pro-war activists.**==

=What? = == World Heavy Weight Championship. Both Joe and Muhammad were undeafted the year of the fight up until the first title fight. Joe Frazier was the current heavyweight champion of the world. The winner of the fight would be the new undisputed world heavy weight champion of the world.==

= ** The Match ** = == March 18th 1971- The fight was expected to be one of the greatest in history. And it was, the fight exceeded its expectations ending in the 15th round by unanimous decision. Muhammad Ali got off to a better start than Frazier but had trouble keeping a steady pace. Frazier eventually gained the upper hand on Muhammad displaying incredible stamina while Muhammad slowly started to get worn out. By the later rounds Muhammad was exhausted, allowing Frazier to land harsh head and body hits. During the 15th round Frazier landed a devastating left hook sending Muhammad to the ground. This was only the third time in Muhammad's career he had been sent to the ground. Muhammad got up very quickly but a few minutes later, the round ended and the decision was made. Joe Frazier had won by unanimous decision. ==

==January 28th 1974- The second fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier was not as highly anticipated as the first, yet it gained attention very quickly. Tension rose after both Ali and Frazier met in ABC studios to review their last match. Frazier had commented on his win, this led Ali to call Frazier ignorant. Short tempered Frazier got up, asking why Muhammad called him ignorant. This quickly led to a verbal fight which then erupted into a full out fist fight on the floor of ABC studios. After this event the fight had gained much more popularity, things were going to be settled in the ring and neither of them were going to hold anything back. The fight was held at Madison Square Garden, in the early rounds Muhammad had the clear upper hand. He was avoiding Frazier's deadly left hook, and landing solid punches. Ali and Frazier battled it out tillthe match ended in decision giving Ali the win and the redemption he was looking for.==

==October 1 1976- The Thrilla in Manila took place in the Philippines and was expected to be a great fight. Ali expected little of Frazier and was using the momentum from his last win against Joe. There was not as much hype as the previous two fights, but it still drew in quite a crowd. The fight started off favoring Ali who came out stronger than ever. Muhammad landed numerous amounts of punches to Frazier's head and body which inflicted a great amount of pain and took a lot out of both of them early. A little later in the fight Frazier started to land punches yet was clearly still trying to catch up. Both of the fighters were getting extremely tired but Ali took advantage of this landing devastating combos on Frazier. By the later rounds Frazier was very bruised and started to lose sight in his right eye because of how swollen it was. Ali summoned what strength he had left to land crucial punches on Frazier before the end of the 14th round. At this point Frazier could barely see out if his right eye and had a severely cut up mouth. In the beginning of the 15th round Eddie Futch decided to end the match, Frazier protested but it was clear the fight was over Frazier was to close to getting permanently injured.==

=When? =

The thrid and final fight was fought on October 1 1976.
=Where? =

=  =



"Ali, Muhammad." Biography Reference Bank. 2009. Biography Reference Bank. Web. 19 May 2011.

"Frazier, Joe." Current Biography. 1971. Biography Reference Bank. Web. 19 May 2011.

Joe Frazier Career Highlight Video(video) retirieved may,18,20111  from @http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc7Kx468fiY

Muhammad Ali highlights (video) retirieved may,18,2011 <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande',tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">from @http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H56dQ5Lm298

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