Muhammad Ali vs Joe Bugner

Venue: Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. 14th February, 1973.

Muhammad Ali’s staid fight with Joe Bugner was played out against a radically changed heavyweight scene. On being woken on the morning of 23 January 1972 to be told George Foreman had destroyed Joe Frazier in their bout in Jamaica, knocking him down six times in two rounds and becoming the new champ, ali had wryly remarked: “my my there goes $5m out the window…”

Frazier’s defeat spurred Ali from the torpor that had threatened to stall his career. He signed for two fights, the first against the British heavyweight Bugner and the second against ken Norton, a little known former US marine who had quietly ascended the rankings.

Bugner was a source of great frustration to British fight fans. Descended from a Hungarian family, he was big and strong and a skilful technical boxer. Early in his career an opponent named Ulrich Regis collapsed and died a few days after Bugner had outpointed him at London’s Shoreditch town hall. Many observers felt Bugner, consciously or otherwise, now held himself back. Nonetheless he was to box a combined total of 39 rounds in fights with Ali and Joe Frazier and was not stopped by either.

The robe Ali wore to the ring, which had been given to him by Elvis Presley, turned out to be the flashiest thing on display all night. Over 12 slow rounds, Ali beat Bugner comprehensively without either man’s senses coming under threat.

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