ry caused many of his past critics to give up the respect that was owed to him, and President Ford even invited him to the White House for a visit (Tyers,40). Ali went on to successfully defend his title against Ron Lyle in Las Vegas and Joe Bugner in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Jet). Next up was Ali-Frazier III: THE THRILLA IN MANILA. Muhammad Ali was ready to fight Joe Frazier for the third time. In the first fight in New York City, Frazier was champ; in the second one, neither man was champ, but this time, Ali was defending the heavyweight title. The tensions between the two came to a boil when the champ referred to the challenger as a "gorilla" in a joint press conference before the bout (Ebony).After the vicious battle in Manila against Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali stated that the fight was the closest thing to death he knew of. But the worst fight that Ali fought was not against another boxer but against Japanese professional wrestler Antonio Inoki (Jet). Despite heavy criticism, Ali was determined to prove that a boxer can defeat a pro wrestler in the ring and give the people their money's worth. The actual hybrid match was a boring event, with Ali throwing only six punches in fifteen-rounds against a crab-walking Inoki. Three months later, Ali faced Ken Norton for the third time, winning by decision. As Ali's boxing skills began to decline, so did his marriage. In the late 1970s, with his health deteriorating, Ali and his camp were searching for "easy" opponents. Someone who was a good choice was the 1976 Olympic gold medal winner Leon Spinks. Spinks' promoter Butch Lewis suggested to the champ that if he chose not to retire, he should fight his man. Ali wasn't about it at first, but after seeing Spinks fight to a draw against a mediocre heavyweight (Scott LeDoux), Ali decided that he wanted Lewis's "easy" fighter (Hauser,39). Since Ali was now facing an "easy" opponent, he took it "easy" in training. The hard work ethic that Ali was k...
