Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier engaged in a horrifying brawl when a TV interview took a turn for the worse.
The pair of heavyweight stars share quite possibly the greatest rivalry in boxing history.
While Ali beat George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle, in a truly fantastic feud, the level of dislike he felt towards ‘Smokin Joe’ was unparalleled.
And the same can be said for his opponent, who despised him just as much.
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Muhammad Ali wrestled Joe Frazier to the floor in huge brawl
In a piece of television gold, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier joined Howard Cosell on ABC Sports, to watch back their first epic encounter.
For the first six rounds, Ali enjoyed taunting his adversary, slowly wearing him down.
Sick and tired of the comments being fired in his direction, Frazier bit back, saying: “That’s when he went to the hospital.”
The remark made the trash-talker lose his composure, with the combination puncher, raging: “Don’t talk about the hospital. I went to the hospital for ten minutes, you went for a month. Now, be quiet.”
This set the wheels in motion for the violence that was about to unfold. Determined to hit his opponent where it hurt, Ali then branded Frazier ‘ignorant’.
Furious, the recipient of the insult ripped off his microphone and got in his fellow fighter’s face, repeatedly asking him ‘Why do you think I’m ignorant?”
Frazier then looked over to the security who were trying to intervene, and Ali capitalized, grabbing hold of his arch-nemesis, putting him in a headlock and dragging him to the ground, where they started wrestling on the floor.
Mike Tyson avenged Muhammad Ali by brutally knocking a boxing legend out cold
Ali had three epic bouts with Frazier, coming out on top in the second and third.
In the following years, he had a few losses, with the legend going head-to-head with a fellow icon in one of the last contests of his career.
Following the bout, he ended up having a chat with a future great, who told him he’d avenge the result.
Years later, Mike Tyson defeated the man who beat Ali.