7 Chapter 6 Two Huge Fights

Chapter 6 Two Huge Fights While Ali was banned from boxing, a new heavyweight champion arose. "Smokin'" Joe Frazier had one of the most powerful punches ever. He never seemed to mind getting hit, either. Muhammad Ali had become world famous during his time away from the ring, but he

当阿里被禁止参加拳击比赛时，一个新的重量级冠军出现了。 “烟鬼”乔·弗雷泽打出了史上最有力的一拳。 他似乎也不介意被撞。 穆罕默德·阿里在离开拳击台的那段时间里已经闻名世界，但他

remained controversial even after returning to boxing. Some fans still resented his choices, while others loved him even more for standing up for what he thought was right. Everyone agreed on one thing, however: They were all eager to see him fight Joe Frazier. After his time off, would Ali still be a great boxer? The match was scheduled for March 8, 1971, in Madison Square Garden in New York City. Every one of the more than 20,000 seats in the Garden was sold out. Three hundred million people around the world watched the Fight of the

即使在重返拳坛后仍然备受争议。 一些粉丝仍然怨恨他的选择，而另一些人则因为他坚持自己认为正确的事情而更加爱他。 然而，每个人都同意一件事:他们都渴望看到他与乔·弗雷泽对决。 休息一段时间后，阿里还会是一名伟大的拳击手吗? 比赛定于1971年3月8日在纽约麦迪逊广场花园举行。 花园的2万多个座位全部售罄。 全世界有3亿人观看了拳击比赛

Century on television. That was a bigger audience than had watched the first moon landing in 1969. The two boxers slugged it out for fifteen punishing rounds. Ali danced, but perhaps not as quickly as before. Frazier battered Ali, and even knocked him down. After the fight was over, the judges said Frazier had won. It was the first loss of Muhammad Ali's pro boxing career. Soon after, however, Ali won a different sort of fight. The US Supreme Court heard his appeal and accepted his reasons for refusing the draft. They erased his conviction! He stood up for what he believed, and others came to believe the same thing.

世纪电视节目。这比1969年第一次登月的观众还要多。 这两个拳击手狠狠地打了十五个回合。 阿里跳了起来，但也许没有以前那么快了。 弗雷泽殴打阿里，甚至把他打倒在地。 比赛结束后，裁判说弗雷泽赢了。 这是穆罕默德·阿里职业拳击生涯的第一次失利。 然而不久之后，阿里又赢得了另一场比赛。 美国最高法院听取了他的上诉，并接受了他拒绝服兵役的理由。 他们抹掉了他的定罪!他坚持自己的信念，其他人也开始相信同样的事情。

But he was still not the world heavyweight champion. In 1974, he got his revenge on Frazier, winning a twelve-round decision. However, Frazier was not the champ by then; he had already lost the title to George Foreman. To become champion again, Ali would have to win the championship from Foreman. GEORGE FOREMAN Meanwhile, millions in Africa loved Ali as a black Muslim champion. So, in late 1974, Mobutu

但他仍然不是世界重量级冠军。 1974年，他对弗雷泽进行了报复，赢得了12轮比赛。 然而，弗雷泽那时还不是冠军;他已经输给了乔治·福尔曼。 要想再次成为冠军，阿里必须从福尔曼手中赢得冠军。 与此同时，数百万非洲人爱戴阿里这个黑人穆斯林冠军。 1974年末，蒙博托

Sese Seko, the leader of the African nation of Zaire, offered Ali and Foreman $5 million each to have their heavyweight championship fight in his country. The two boxers accepted and headed to Zaire for a fight called the Rumble in the Jungle. Ali debuted a new poem for this fight: I have wrestled with an alligator, I have tussled with a whale.

非洲国家扎伊尔的领导人塞塞·塞科(Sese Seko)向阿里和福尔曼每人提供了100万美元，邀请他们在扎伊尔举行重量级拳王赛。 两位拳击手接受了邀请，前往扎伊尔参加一场名为“丛林之战”的比赛。 阿里为这场比赛献上了一首新诗:我和一条短吻鳄搏斗过，我和一条鲸鱼搏斗过。

I have handcuffed lightning, and put thunder in jail. . . . Only last week, I hospitalized a brick. I'm so mean I made medicine sick. In Zaire, huge crowds followed Ali wherever he went. They would chant, "Ali, bomaye, Ali, bomaye!" That meant "Ali, kill him!" They wanted their hero to beat young George Foreman and become champ again. Ali was in Zaire for more than a month before the fight. He traveled the country and spoke to thousands of people. He told reporters traveling with him from America, "I want to uplift my brothers sleeping on concrete floors, black people living on welfare, black people who can't eat, black people who have no future. I want to win [back] my title and help a lot of people." His words during this trip to Africa played a big part in cementing his role as a world celebrity.

我给闪电戴上手铐，把雷声关进监狱。 ……就在上周，我把一个砖头送进了医院。 我太刻薄了，我把药都弄生病了。 在扎伊尔，无论阿里走到哪里，都有大批群众跟着他。 他们会高呼:“阿里，波迈耶，阿里，波迈耶!”意思是"艾莉，杀了他!"他们希望他们的英雄能够击败年轻的乔治·福尔曼，再次成为冠军。 拳击赛前，阿里在扎伊尔待了一个多月。 他走遍全国，对成千上万的人发表演讲。 他对跟随他从美国来的记者说:“我想让我睡在水泥地板上的兄弟们振作起来，让那些靠福利生活的黑人振作起来，让那些吃不上饭的黑人振作起来，让那些没有未来的黑人振作起来。” 我想赢回我的冠军头衔，帮助更多的人。” 他在非洲之行的一席话对巩固他作为世界名人的地位起到了很大的作用。