Ali-Frazier II - Definition and Overview

Ali-Frazier II was a boxing fight that took place at the Madison Square Garden in New York, on January 28 of 1974.

Sandwiched in between their two other bouts, The Fight of the Century and The Thrilla in Manila, the fight was considered by many fans and experts the most insignificant and boring fight of their rivalry. But this does not mean the fight was insignificant or boring; quite the contrary: 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 most viewers considered the second fight to be entertaining as well.

After hurting Frazier with an uppercut in round two, Ali settled into a pattern of jabbing and keeping distance for the rest of the fight, while Frazier pursued, landing some effective punches along the way.

After twelve rounds, Ali was declared the winner by unanimous decision, with the scores of 116-113, 116-112 and 115-114 all in favor of him.

In the fall of that year, Ali recovered the world Heavyweight title by knocking Foreman out in eight rounds.