Fight of The Century - Importance and Predictions

Importance and Predictions

The fight itself became something of a symbol of the country. Leading up to the fight, Ali (who had denounced the Vietnam War) had refused induction into the U.S. Army in 1967, leading to his being stripped of his title and at age 25 banned from fighting for three-and-a-half of his peak years as a fighter.

Ali became a symbol of the anti-establishment movement, while Frazier became a symbol of the conservative, pro-war movement. (In his autobiography, Frazier said that he didn't fight in the war because he was a father but that he would have fought if drafted because his country had been so good to him.)

Prior to his layoff Ali had displayed better speed and ability than Frazier, but Frazier had stronger punching power and at 27 was at his lifetime peak physically, while Ali was coming back from a long absence. On the night of the fight, there were riots in many United States cities, including Chicago, where a whole theater was torn apart by angry attendees who had just learned they would not be able to watch the fight on closed-circuit television.

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