Muhammad Ali vs Joe Bugner in a 12 round non-title fight

Date: February 14, 1973

Venue: Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas

Ali stance: orthodox

Bugner stance: orthodox

Muhammad Ali got his first chance to regain his undisputed heavyweight crown when he challenged Joe Frazier. Ali suffered the first loss of his pro career that night, with Frazier getting a points win. Ali then won his next nine bouts, all of them against contenders. His most recent bout had been against the light heavyweight champion, Bob Foster.

Joe Bugner had won the British, Commonwealth and European heavyweight titles just a couple of days after his 21st birthday, when he outpointed Henry Cooper - a decision that's still argued about today. That win was the 35th fight of Buner's career. AFter a couple of unexpected losses, Bugner had also put together nine consecutive wins, and had regained his European title. Eight of those nine wins had come inside the distance, leading many to believe Bugner was starting to realise his potential as a genuine world title contender.

For an in depth look at their respective records, visit:

Muhammad Ali - https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/000180

Joe Bugner - https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/000924