Muhammad Ali defended his undisputed world heavyweight title against Joe Frazier
Date: October 1, 1975
Venue: Philippine Coliseum, Quezon City, Philippines
Ali stance: orthodox
Frazier stance: orthodox
Muhammad Ali's first attempt to regain the undisputed world heavyweight crown had ended in defeat on points to defending champion Joe Frazier. Frazier lost his title to George Foreman, and Ali stopped Foreman in eight rounds to win The Rumble in the Jungle in 1974. Ali's first defence was against Chuck Wepner and his brave challenge was finally subdued in the 15th round. Up next was Ron Lyle, who lasted 11 rounds. Ali then had a rematch with Joe Bugner, and while Bugner showed he was good enough to challenge, he also demonstrated he wasn't quite good enough to beat the champion.
After Joe Frazier lost his second bout with Ali, he had rematches with Jerry Quarry and former WBA champion Jimmy Ellis. Frazier stopped Quarry in five rounds and Ellis in nine. Up next was arguably the most exciting heavyweight world title fight of all time: The Thrilla in Manilla.
For an in depth look at their respective records, visit:
Muhammad Ali - https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/000180
Joe Frazier - https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/147