Ali-Frazier II
| Date | January 28, 1974 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue |
Madison Square Garden New York City |
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| Title(s) on the line | none | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Ali won in 12 rounds via unanimous decision |
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| Boxer |
 Joe Frazier
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Muhammad Ali
|
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|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Smokin' Joe |
The Greatest The Champ |
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| Hometown | Beaufort, South Carolina | Louisville, Kentucky | |
| Height | 5 ft 11.5 in (1.82 m) | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | |
| Weight | 209 lb (95 kg) | 212 lb (96 kg) |
Super Fight II was a non-title boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. The second of the three Ali–Frazier bouts, it took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on January 28, 1974. Ali was a slight favorite to win, and did by a unanimous decision.
Held in between their two title bouts, The Fight of the Century in 1971 and The Thrilla in Manila in 1975, this second fight was scheduled for twelve rounds. Promoted as Super Fight II, it was considered by many fans and experts to be the least significant and interesting fight of their rivalry. One columnist described it as a contest between two "former champions, both beaten, both past their best". Nonetheless, Ali wanted to avenge his loss to Frazier in their first fight, and a world title try at Heavyweight champion George Foreman, who had dethroned Frazier, was at stake. Their first and third fights became part of boxing's lore, but some viewers considered the second fight to be entertaining as well.
On January 23rd, 1974 (5 Days Before Their Rematch), Ali and Frazier visited the ABC studios in New York City to review their first fight for ABC's Wide World of Sports. While both fighters were reviewing round 11, Ali began trash talking and calling Frazier "ignorant" for mentioning the hospital as Frazier spent a month in the hospital after the first fight. This enraged Frazier who stood up from his seat and squared up to a seated Ali, repeating, "Why you call me ignorant? How am I ignorant?" While Frazier was not looking at Ali as the studio crew and his entourage tried to calm him down, Ali held Frazier by the neck forcing him to sit down which broke out into a fight on the studio floor. Both fighters were subsequently fined for this and the stage was set for their rematch in the ring.
Mere days prior to the match at Madison Square Garden, both Ali and Frazier appeared together (along with British Journalist Michael Parkinson) on The Dick Cavett Show (ABC - 1974) where there was both humor and obvious tension which included the removing of jackets and mock blows between Ali and Frazier.
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