Venue: Merdeka Stadium,
Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia. 30th June, 1975.
Muhammad Ali was lured to Kuala
Lumpur by a $2m purse to resume hostilities with Briton Joe
Bugner. He was also intrigued to be in Malaysia as it was
only the second Muslim country he had fought in (Indonesia
being the first).
The bout was a hard sell , however as the pair’s first
encounter had been thoroughly predictable dictated by Bugner’s
disinclination to become involved in anything approaching
violence.
Ali was persuaded to announce to the press this might be
his last fight, thus stirring up hype and hopefully shifting
some tickets. Ali rehearsed some convincing lines about missing
his family and wanting to go out on top so that many reporters
believed him. Until someone mentioned Joe Frazier.
“Joe Frazier?” Ali yelled. “I want him
bad! How much money will I get for whopping Joe Frazier?”
Bugner once again proved himself a capable fighter, even
if he didn’t quite show the calibre that had prompted
Ali to declare after their first match, that Bugner could
become the world heavyweight champion. He was a big man, hard
to shove around and he was an adept boxer, strong in defence,
but Ali built up a solid points lead throughout the fight
and Bugner was unable to produce the aggression needed to
upset Ali’s rhythm.
The Briton admitted after the first fight, that it was hard
to know how to fight Ali. Any plan you devised seemed to fall
apart as soon as you entered the ring. Instead, he said, you
had to rely on your instincts but here the challenger’s
instincts seemed to be all about survival.
The fight meandered to its inevitable conclusion with the
result never in doubt. Bugner had nonetheless fought 27 rounds
with Ali and had rarely been in any particular trouble.
Watch Muhammad Ali video from the second Bugner fight:
