permit him to fight again came later (Hauser,29). Ali was to return to the ring to fight a tough and promising young fighter, the late Jerry Quarry. In 1970, Muhammad Ali was out to recapture the heavyweight crown that he and loyal fans believed that he rightfully owned. Ali did win the fight, but it was noticeable that the exile caused him to be slower than he was in the 1960s (Jet). He began taking more punches instead of dodging and dancing from them like he used to, but he was also stronger this time around. Plus, Ali began to gain a remarkable amount of earning power; the Quarry bout paid him more than any of his past championship fights (Ebony). With no time for rest, Ali jumped back into training camp to train for the first of three well-known bouts against the current World Heavyweight Champion, "Smokin" Joe Frazier. The Ali-Frazier bout was taking place on March 8, 1971, three months after Muhammad Ali's second fight after his return from his 3 1/2 year layoff (Ebony). This match pitted two champs against each other; "Smokin" Joe Frazier became champ after defeating Ali's former amateur teammate Jimmy Ellis to combine the WBA and New York Heavyweight titles. But since Ali didn't lose his title in the ring, many fans believed that he was still the champ. And, since two undefeated champions were going head to head in Madison Square Garden in New York City, the fight was going to be a big event, with each man earning the previously unheard-of sum of $2,500,000 (Tyers,31). Frazier was a tough opponent for Ali. The actual fight was even in the early rounds, but Ali was absorbing more punishment than he ever did before. In the fifteenth round, the unlikely happened: Frazier hit Ali on the jaw with a bone crushing left hook that knocked him to the canvas. Ali did bounce back up as fast as he went down, but when the fight ended, it was clear that Frazier was the winner (Jet). It was Ali's first professional loss, and although his enem...
