Boxing Memorabilia > Boxing Autographs >
Joe Frazier Custom Boxing
Robe
A supercustom everlast boxingrobe just like
the one that Joe Frazier wore when he defeated Muhammad
Ali in the Fight of The Century at Madison Square Garden
in 1971. What makes this boxing robe extra special is the
super large signature in silver sharpie. This great boxing
robe comes with a photograph from the actual signing.
Joe Frazier
£175.00
The showdown between Ali and Frazier was the
only fight that mattered and the participants were each
compensated with a guaranteed purse of $2.5 million, a record
at the time. The Garden was sold out a full month before
the fight and ringside tickets were going for a record $150.
The promotion of the fight took an ugly turn
when Ali chided the champion as an Uncle Tom and said that
most white Americans would be rooting for Frazier. Ali later
claimed he was trying to hype the fight, but at the time
Frazier was under constant guard by police because he received
death threats before the fight.
Mercante recalled being in awe of the atmosphere,
which included Hollywood stars and national politicians
as well as former champions Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey.
The night was simply electric. Once the fighting started,
it got even better.
IF STYLES make fights, then there has never
been a pair of fighters who complemented each other more.
Ali was the boxer and Frazier the puncher. The key to Ali's
success was his speed. He possessed lightning-fast hands
and had a left jab that could dictate a fight. He also had
enough agility and footwork to escape danger. Frazier's
best punch was a devastating left hook but his greatest
asset might have been his indomitable will. A fight with
Joe Frazier was a war of attrition. It was a war he was
used to winning.
Ali weighed 215 pounds. Frazier weighed 205½.
From the opening bell it appeared that inactivity caused
Ali to lose a touch of his hand and footspeed. He chose
to stand flatfooted and go to war on the champion's terms.
It might not have been the best strategy, but it made for
marvelous action. For 15 furious rounds, Frazier stalked
Ali with his sweeping left hook while Ali countered by flashing
his jab and stiff left-right combinations. They fought at
a pace that seemed more accustomed to lightweights.
Ali predicted a sixth-round knockout but it
was Frazier who carried Round 6. He pinned Ali to the ropes
and battered the former champion to the head and body. Ali
remained on the ropes and absorbed punishment, offering
only token resistance. He launched three pitter-patter punchers
as if he were playing "Patty Cake" with the champion.
Later, Mercante would remark that Ali gave away rounds,
such as the sixth. At one point in the eighth round, Mercante
instructed him to fight.
The momentum changed in the ninth round when
Ali backed Frazier up under a barrage of left-right combinations.
They traded blows until the bell and the round was a clear
statement from Ali -- it's not over yet. However, it would
nearly end in the 11th. With 49 seconds left in that round,
Ali was trapped in a corner and then rocked by a Frazier
hook. Another hook buckled Ali's knees as he fell into the
ropes. Ali stumbled across the ring with Frazier in pursuit.
He was talking to Frazier and taunting him, never letting
on how hurt he really was. Amazingly, Ali would survive
the round.
Frazier put an exclamation mark on the night
at 2:34 of the 15th round. As Ali prepared to launch a right
uppercut, Frazier unloaded a left hook and dropped Ali.
Again, Ali would survive the round, but the fight was already
lost. The scoring by rounds was as follows: Judge Artie
Aidala, 9-6 for Frazier. Judge Bill Recht, 11-4 for Frazier.
Mercante had it 8-6, with one even round, for Frazier.
THE FIGHT was witnessed by 20,455 at the Garden
and it has been estimated that 300 million more watched
it across the world on closed-circuit television. The live
gate generated $1.3 million.
Ali and Frazier set the standard that night
at the Garden.
