Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. is one of the most controversial and outspoken athletes to ever step into the sports world. This is not just because of Clay's continuous taunts of his opponents, but because of his battles against political and social issues. He joined the Nation of Islam and became close friends with Malcolm X. It was here that he changed his name to Cassius X, and then later given the name Muhammad Ali by the Nation of Islam. Muhammad Ali was more concerned with delivering a message and supporting his beliefs than with being what society wanted him to be. This was what cost Ali to get his championship belt stripped away and his boxing license revoked.
It was at this point that the World Boxing Association began an elimination tournament to see who would be awarded with Ali's championship belt. During this same time, a boxer on the rise by the name of Smokin' Joe Frazier had a chance for the New York State world title on March 4th, 1968 at the Garden. After winning the title and a few other title defenses, Frazier was matched up against the winner of the WBA tournament, Jimmy Ellis. "Smokin' Joe became the undisputed world champion after knocking-out Ellis in the 5th round at Madison Square Garden in a unification match."
Muhammad Ali's statements about the war at Vietnam were frightening to the United State's government because they did not want Ali to influence other athletes, as well as other African Americans. The draft was set and refusal to go to war, or draft evasion, was considered a federal offense. Ali, however, did not just refuse to go to war, but he spoke about why he was not going to aid America in this war against Vietnam. He used his status to make his voice heard by millions of people. He was not afraid to be viewed standing beside civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King. Even with his career on the line, Ali stood his ground and voiced his opinions.
Joe Frazier stood by Muhammad Ali's side during Ali's time out of the sport. Frazier tried to help Ali with regaining his license by petitioning for him. After Muhammad Ali's license was reinstated in 1970, and he was able to once again compete for the title. Though his case dealing with the draft evasion was still pending, the states agreed that Ali's boxing license was wrongly revoked. With his vision set on the gold once again, he first had to defeat the top contenders, who were Jerry Quarry and Oscar Bonavena, before getting his title shot. Many were doubtful that Ali would have the same quickness and speed he used to have because of the years of absence from the ring. Ali proved the critics wrong and the stage was set for one of the biggest fights in the sport's history. Quickly winning popularity over the sporting world, the fight between the two became known as "The Fight of the Century." As the case with all of his fights, Muhammad Ali began taunting his opponent Joe Frazier. He began using demeaning terms like "ugly" and "stupid" to describe Frazier and the meanwhile, Joe Frazier waited patiently for his time in the ring.
The friendship between the two began deteriorating. Though Ali seemed to be getting publicity and promoting his fight, Frazier was taking these shots personally. Joe Frazier was not the same type of athlete that Muhammad Ali was. Frazier had not voiced his opinions about certain political and social issues and therefore Ali considered Frazier to be a coward. Frazier viewed the situation differently than Ali had. He had previously done everything in his power to get Ali back into the boxing world and back in the ring. Now Ali is seen trying to provoke and take shots at Joe Frazier. As the fight began to near, the United States began to divide itself.
Those who followed the Nation of Islam, as well as most African Americans, began to cheer on Muhammad Ali. Ali began to turn many African Americans against Joe Frazier with his comments and accuasations. As a result, it seemed that conservative White America was in Frazier's corner. The two had begun what would later be viewed as one of the greates rivalries in sport's history. The fight not only lived up to the hype, but it surpassed what anyone was expecting. On March 8th, 1971, the two fighters were both ready for war at the ring in Madison Square Garden. Smokin' Joe was able to knock-down Ali in the 15th round with a left hook. Ali would quickly get back up but Frazier had done enough damage in the eyes of the judges. Frazier won the fight between the two by decision and became the heavyweight champion of the world. Ali would later try to again provoke Frazier for a rematch.
Smokin' Joe Frazier would unexpectedly lose his next fight to George Foreman. Foreman was able to knock down Frazier a few times before the fight was finally stopped in the 2nd round. Ali no longer had to struggle in order to obtain a fight with Joe Frazier becuase Frazier was no longer the champion. Not only was he no longer the champion, but he was destroyed quickly by a much stronger opponent. The title seemed to slip away from Ali's grasp, as he now had to once again fight in order to be viewed as a contender to the new stronger champion.
As the second fight between the two became a reality, Ali continued his verbal assault to the former heavyweight champion. Muhammad Ali once again called Frazier derogatory names like "Uncle Tom." By doing this, he was trying to convince society the Joe Frazier was a tool for the government. Ali stated that no one told him what to do, but that Joe Frazier was being told what to do by those who followed him. Ali attacked Frazier in a racial way. The nation began to split even more as the second fight approached. Ali was not just attacking the boxer, he was attacking the man. Joe Frazier did not, however, allow Ali to get to him with his previous verbal assaults. Yet now Smokin' Joe was beginning to feel that it was no longer his boxing or athletic ability that was in question, but his "blackness." The second fight came and it was not nearly as exciting as their first fight. Ali was not going to make the same mistakes he made in the first fight. The two fighters went the distance and neither seemed to give up. Ali won the fight through a decision. Ali was not satisfactory with this victory because he had not achieved his goal yet. He had not retained his title which was stripped away from him when he dodged the draft. Though his appeal had succeeded, and the Supreme Court reversed the decision of his conviction, Ali had one goal in mind. That was getting a fight with George Foreman and regaining his championship belt.
In order to achieve his goal of a title shot, Ali began to insult George Foreman. Like usual, he began his taunting and mocking of the stronger and younger opponent. He called him names, like "The Mummy," claiming that Foreman was too slow to catch him. The fight known as "The Rumble in the Jungle" was finally set and staged in Kinshasa, Zaire. Following a post-ponement and reschedule because of an incident in the Foreman camp, the two finally met on October 30th, 1974. In order to win the fight, however, Ali began to do the opposite of what many believed. He used a technique known as the Rope-a-Dope and layed on the ropes allowing Foreman to hit him. Foreman punched Ali repeatedly until he finally wore himself out and Ali was able to finally counter. Ali hit Foreman with a combination of punches and knocked him out in the 8th round, finally regaining the title which was wrongly stripped away from him.
In the meanwhile, Smokin' Joe Frazier was staging for his own shot at the title and another match with his nemesis. In previous fights, Ali had used taunts and poems to intimidate his opponents. In Joe Frazier's case, these taunts did not just seem to be for the purpose of intimidation. In their first fight, the taunts and poems might have been viewed as for promotional purposes and also for intimidation. For their second fight, Ali had labeled Frazier an "Uncle Tom." This was more than just intimidation. Ali was attacking Frazier's character, but Joe Frazier knew that Ali was concerned about playing mind games with his opponents. If Ali was able to distract his opponent from the boxing aspect, then his goal was accomplished. Yet as the third fight was beginning to come into form, Ali began a different type of taunt and mock. The third and final fight between the two was dubbed "The Thrilla in Manila."
For this fight, Ali pulled out a toy gorilla and claimed it was the "soul" of Joe Frazier. He relentlessly continued to verbally assualt Joe Frazier, using his previous statements of Frazier being an "Uncle Tom" and now using this toy gorilla to demoralize Frazier. It seemed like these quotes, poems, and mocks were no longer being used to intimidate Frazier but to humiliate him. What Ali had not known was that unlike his previous opponents, Frazier was not going to allow Ali to get under his skin and distract him from the fight. Ali's statements seemed to fuel Frazier and the hatred and animosity between the two grew to its climax. Both were prepared to put it all on the line within this fight. It seemed that it was no longer the Heavyweight Boxing Championship title that was on the line, but the respect and manliness of each of the fighters. They met in the ring for the last time on October 1st, 1975 in the Philippines.
Throughout Muhammad Ali's career, it seemed that he always had the support of the Black community. While in Africa, during the fight with George Foreman, it seemed that Foreman could not understand why so many people were in Ali's corner. People seemed to admire the fact that Ali stood up for his opinions and beliefs. He was never quieted by the media or even the government. Athletes today seemed to be so concerned with the media and the market that they seem to be too afraid to voice their opinions on social and political issues. It seems that athletes today are tied down through endorsements and contracts that they are afraid of tainting their image. The sports world has become a consumer-driven market and athletes seem to follow the "rules" and stay out of certain issues.
Smokin' Joe Frazier seemed to be one of these types of athletes that were quiet and did not voice their opinion. It was because of this that Ali saw him as so much of a threat, and also because Frazier had the talent to defeat Ali. Ali seemed to be fighting for athletes to have a voice and Frazier seemed to be satisfactory with the way things were. Ali was more liberal and fought for civil rights, while Frazier was more conservative and quiet. The hatred between the two, however, was portrayed in their third and final fight. The two fought in a fight far more exciting than their second bout. The fight was stopped right before the 15th round, as one of Frazier's trainers threw in the towel. Muhammad Ali compared the fight to death. The two athletes would go on to become legends in not only the boxing culture, but the sporting world as a whole. Muhammad Ali went on to become known as simply "The Greatest."
