Battle of the Champions, 1971
Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali
at Madison Square Garden
55 × 35.5cm
"The Fight of the Century is the name given to the first of three matches between champion Joe Frazier and his challenger Mohamed Ali, on March 8, 1971 at Madison Square Garden in New York. During this meeting which went to the end of 15 regulatory rounds , Ali dominates the first three. Then Frazier strikes several times with his devastating left hook, pushing his opponent against the ropes to strike in the clinch. In the sixth round, Ali visibly tired does not manage to maintain the rhythm he had imposed in the first third of the fight. At the end of the eleventh round, Frazier applied his famous hook to Ali, who was cornered in a corner, and made him fall into the ropes. At the start of the fifteenth round, Ali was unable to protect himself from the blow that surprises and sends him to the mat, (this is the third time in his career). Ali, counted by the referee, gets up and resumes the fight despite his cheek swelling. Frazier"s terrible blows do not prevent him from staying on his feet until the end of the match. The judges unanimously render their verdict: Frazier retains the title. Ali experiences his first professional defeat. During the rest period following the fight, word spread of Frazier"s death. Ali, the learner, promised to retire from boxing if the news was true."