Two of boxing’s greatest fighters met in the ring for the first time on this day in 1971 at the iconic Madison Square Garden, in what was labelled as the Fight of the Century.
With the undisputed world heavyweight title on the line, the clash was much anticipated and hyped, with each man guaranteed $2.5 million dollars – the largest single payday at the time.
Muhammad Ali had a flawless 31-0 record, while Joe Frazier was also perfect at 26-0. Living up to the billing, the bout went the full 15 rounds, with Ali landing blows early before tiring out.
Frazier took over and won the fight with a unanimous decision to retain the title and hand Ali his first defeat.
1936: The first stock car race takes place in Daytona Beach, Florida.
1971: Led by future Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Milwaukee Bucks win a franchise record 20th straight game with a 104-99 victory against the Seattle SuperSonics.
1989: Roger Kingdom sets a world record of 12.92 seconds in the 110 metre hurdles in Zurich, Switzerland, – a mark that lasted until 1993.
1999: Australia’s bowling attack of Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie hold West Indies to their lowest ever Test score of 51.
