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

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

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.

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

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.

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.