Muhammad Ali v Joe Frazier, 50 years on: The untold story of the fight that shaped boxing

[ASFN Admin]

Its global appeal was so wide that it was billed as simply: ‘The Fight’. Yet 50 years on from the first of the Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier mega-bouts, details from the two icons’ bitter dispute continue to compel generations of fans. The vast scale of their undisputed heavyweight title fight on March 8, 1971, which Frazier won by unanimous decision, remains one of the most important moments in boxing history. When Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury get their £100 million payday, they will have ‘The Fight’ to thank. Both undefeated and in their prime, Ali and Frazier were the sporting giants of their day. With the purse of an unheard of $5m, being heavyweight champion of the world really was the richest prize in sport. But the untold story which forms the backdrop for the bitter dispute between the two icons - more so on the part of Frazier - is a much more complex affair. Fans would pick a side based on their views on the Vietnam War while the relationship between the two titans would never recover. Jerry Izenberg, now 90, and then a sports reporter in New York, takes up the story. “It’s kind of an amazing thing. There was a lot of tension which I really didn’t understand until much later,” he told Telegraph Sport. Ali, returning from a three-year ban for failing to sign up for the Vietnam War draft, was 26-0 with 23 knockouts, Frazier was 31-0, with 25 knockouts. Frazier held all the belts; Ali was considered by The Ring magazine as the No 1 in the division.

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