LA CALIDAD DE VIDA LABORAL DE LOS PROFESORES UNIVERSITARIOS

As if any more promotional shenanigans were necessary to hype an Ali–Frazier battle, Bob Arum moved the official weigh-in from the morning of the fight, which was on a Monday, to the preceding Sunday afternoon. His strategy was to have the weigh-in televised so that the few remaining fence sitters could be swayed into buying a closed-circuit ticket.

However, the show operated under a bit of a handicap. To avoid a repeat of the disaster at ABC, the fighters were weighed separately. Consequently, the atmosphere made for rather serene television. “It is doubtful,” wrote Red Smith, “that the network weigh-in sent

cus-tomers off buckety-buckety to the theater outlets. Captain Kangaroo delivers better enter-tainment five days a week.”²⁰

Despite the blandness of the circumstances, the condition of the two finely-tuned ath-letes spoke louder than words. Even the critics who believed both fighters’ better days were behind them couldn’t deny the effects hard training had produced.

Ali scaled a lean 212 pounds, and Angelo Dundee was positively giddy over the shape Muhammad was in. “It’s 1964 all over again,” Dundee crowed. “The champ’s at his old weight....”²¹

As he had for the second Norton fight, Ali had secluded himself in his “Fighter’s Heaven” training quarters at Deer Lake, Pennsylvania. There, he lived a Spartan life devoid of the frills readily available to those of his economic means. He chopped down trees, ate fresh food, and ran up and down the mountains, breathing clean country air as he went.

Even his water came fresh out of a pump. “I’ve been drinking well water,” Ali stated.

“Frazier’s been drinking chlorine.”²²

Frazier had indeed remained in the city. But he made his own sacrifices as well. In his Philadelphia gym, Smokin’ Joe trained as never before in an effort to excise a tick called Ali once and for all. The results of his labors were revealed when he shed his robe and displayed a physique that matched the 209 pounds of muscle he carried into the ring on March 8, 1971. At the weigh-in, he was solemn yet sincere in his desire to knock Ali out.

Ali wanted a knockout, too. He wasn’t predicting a round, but he did declare it was his patriotic duty to stop Frazier early. Facetiously, he said: “We have an energy crisis. I got a call from Washington to cut this fight short to kind of help things out.”²³

Bettors wagering on Superfight II had several factors to consider. Almost everyone agreed that both fighters were past their prime, with neither further “gone” than the other.

In Ali’s favor was the matter of activity. In the three years since their initial meeting, Frazier had gone to the post only four times, while Ali had seen action on 13 occasions. Frazier doubted that Ali’s busy schedule would be of benefit, though it was generally acknowledged that a busy fighter was a sharp fighter.

The downside was that Ali’s high volume of fighting and training were having a detri-mental effect on the fighter’s hands. Rumors concerning the fragility of Ali’s right hand had been running rampant for quite some time, and had intensified following Ali’s sparing use of the right against Rudi Lubbers.

As well, his nominal use of the hand during his preparation for Superfight II had caught the media’s attention. Another detail that hadn’t escaped the watchful eyes of the press was the Theraffin Ali smeared on his hands before wrapping them each day in the gym. Theraffin is a waxy substance commonly used to relieve inflammation.

Dundee tried to dispel the concerns about Ali’s use of the right in training: “Oh, the champ’s the worst gym fighter in the world. What’s he got to use his right for? He’s been doing this 20 years. He knows what he can do.”²⁴

Dr. Edwin Campbell, a physician with the New York State Athletic Commission, seemed surprised when he caught wind of Ali’s Theraffin treatments. He characterized Theraffin as

“an astringent. It’s supposed to be used to stop inflammation. I know that Ali’s had problems before with the cartilage around his right knuckle, but I hadn’t heard of anything lately.”²⁵ Campbell vowed to X-ray Ali’s right hand at the pre-fight physical. The rumor mill’s theory was that Ali had injured his right hand during the second Norton fight. In reality, however, Ali had been experiencing pain in both hands since the period leading up to the first Frazier fight.

Ali insisted he could handle Frazier with one hand, his left. Now a new element of intrigue piqued observers’ interest. If Ali’s right hand was indeed as delicate as reports indi-cated, it was doubtful he could hold off Frazier one-handed. Good as Ali was, history had yet to produce a heavyweight capable of a one-handed victory over Smokin’ Joe. Even Fore-man needed both hands to club Frazier into submission.

Were Ali’s hand problems fact or fiction? Muhammad wasn’t about to reveal the answer to that riddle. He believed the questions concerning his hand added an interesting twist to the fight.

“The mystery hand,” he intoned. “Can it hold up? Is it really injured? That’s the sur-prise. A big, colorful production.”²⁶

As for Campbell’s promised X-ray, it showed nothing, although it was suspected Ali was suffering from bursitis.

Despite the speculation the Ali’s hand stimulated, odds makers installed Ali as a 7-to-5 favorite in Superfight II. In the first fight, Frazier had been the favorite. As expected, the rematch generated enough interest to have long since sold out the Garden: 20,748 fans paid

$1,053,688, a record gate for an indoor, non-title bout.²⁷

As the moment of truth approached, pride dictated something of a standoff as to which fighter would be first to enter the ring. Generally, the champion enters the ring last, thus allowing the honor of a grand, regal arrival. Also, the last man in the ring generally enjoys a psychological advantage, forcing his opponent to sweat it out until he deigns to emerge from the dressing room.

It is doubtful, however, that professionals of the caliber of Ali and Frazier would be affected by such a ploy. For the rematch, both were ex–world champs, so the protocol of ring entrance shouldn’t have applied. However, Ali did hold the North American Boxing Federation title, which he had won after stopping Jimmy Ellis in 1971. He lost and regained that title in his two 1973 battles against Norton, and it was at stake in the second Frazier fight.

Still, each fighter’s prestige was so immense that the NABF belt was reduced to insignifi-cance. Because Frazier won their first fight and had held the world title more recently, he was given the honor of entering the ring last.

The slight, such as it was, had little apparent effect on Ali as he climbed between the ropes. Through Frazier’s entrance, the introductions of celebrities, and the instructions of Referee Tony Perez, “The Greatest” focused completely on the task at hand. His serious demeanor contrasted markedly with his 1971 antics.

When the first bell rang, both fighters moved directly toward each other. The blueprint of the fight was established in its first few moments. Ali fulfilled his promise to stay on the move, and Frazier quickly jumped into his role as the aggressor. This time, though, he found his foe to be much more elusive. Ali danced from side to side, circling the ring and firing rapid combinations at the ever-pursuing Frazier.

On the rare occasions that Frazier worked his way inside, Ali grabbed Joe behind the neck and pulled him in closer, thus nullifying the shorter man’s offense. The tactic wasn’t pretty, but it worked.

In the second round, Frazier tagged Ali with a left hook. Muhammad came back with a chopping right hand to the head, and Frazier stumbled backward. In a flash, Ali unleashed a flurry of blows that drove Frazier against the ropes. Joe was more hurt at that moment than he’d been during the entire fifteen rounds of Superfight I. Then Perez stepped between the fighters to signal the end of the round.

Although no bell had sounded, Perez believed he had heard someone at ringside shout

“Time.” The fighters were on their way back to their corners before Perez realized the round wasn’t really over. He then waved Ali and Frazier back into a few more seconds of action;

then the bell rang.

Perez’s miscue had gotten Joe off the hook. Given Frazier’s proven ability to absorb anything Ali could dish out, it was doubtful that he was in any serious danger.

Still, if Ali could have landed a few more punches, ...

Over the next two stanzas, Ali continued to stick and move. Frazier dutifully absorbed Ali’s long-range sniping and continued to move forward, never allowing the bigger man a chance to rest. Although Joe did manage to connect occasionally, Ali was clearly outscoring him. Undaunted, Frazier maintained the pressure, hoping it would pay off in later rounds.

By the end of the fourth, both men had proven the critics wrong. Superfight II was far from an “Old-Timer’s Night.” So far, the level of action and intensity was on a par with that of their first encounter, keeping everyone in the Madison Square Garden crowd at the edge of their seats.

Well, almost everyone. During the interval between the fourth and fifth rounds, a massive, well-dressed spectator rose from his ringside seat and departed the building. When asked why he was leaving, the spectator, whose name was George Foreman, responded,

“Because I was bored.”²⁸

George should have stuck around; he might have learned something.

In the fifth round, Frazier switched tactics. Unable to reach Ali’s head, he began digging to the body. Ali continued to hold. Both Frazier and Futch complained to Perez about Ali’s clutching and grabbing, but to no avail. Still, Frazier was slowing Ali down and smothering the quicker man’s offense.

By the seventh, Frazier had closed the gap in points. He opened the round with a thudding hook to Ali’s jaw. Joe seemed the fresher of the two at this stage, and he decided to steal a page from Ali’s book. Dropping his hands, he taunted Ali, daring him to take a swing. Ali obliged. Frazier, however, came back with harder shots of his own.

The eighth was also a good round for Frazier. Ali was now a much more stationary target. But he had learned his lesson from the first fight. Instead of clowning or throwing pitty-pat punches, Muhammad held on whenever he could. His clinching saved him from the kind of damage that left him vulnerable back in 1971.

Before the end of the eighth, the action heated up when Ali bombarded Frazier with a combination in center ring. Joe lashed back with a rare overhand right that landed flush on Ali’s jaw. The unexpected blow sent Ali spinning into the ropes as the bell ended the round. With only four frames remaining, it was anybody’s fight. But the momentum appeared to be all Frazier’s.

Joe was now supremely confident, grinning and bouncing in his corner as he awaited the bell for round nine. He should have remembered that the ninth was Ali’s best round in their first fight. A series of rapid-fire combinations from Ali quickly wiped the sneer from Frazier’s face. The sheer volume of Ali’s punches prevented Frazier from getting inside.

Although Frazier weathered the storm, Ali had regained control of the fight. And Joe’s face was beginning to display the effects of the myriad of blows Ali landed.

Ali fought flat-footed in the tenth, but still managed to stay out of danger. But Frazier took the round on two of the judges’ cards on the strength of a solid left hook and a late barrage of body blows.

Despite the intensity of the combat, both fighters found their second wind in the

eleventh. In the first fight, this was the round in which Ali was almost knocked out. This time, Muhammad absorbed Frazier’s body punches, then riveted his own shots to Joe’s face.

Going into the 12th and final round, Ali appeared to have edged ahead on points. Still, Dundee sent Ali into the fray saying that he needed a knockout.

Undoubtedly, Frazier was thinking the same thing. The rivals met in mid-ring like a pair of barbarians. Frazier trapped Ali on the ropes and went to work like a lumberjack cut-ting down an oak tree. Muhammad wasn’t about to take that kind of punishment, and he managed to move back to center ring.

Still pursuing, Frazier crashed a left hook off Ali’s chin, then resumed his body attack.

Moving away, Ali summoned up the energy to shoot stinging blows to Frazier’s swollen fea-tures. Finally, the bell ended their second confrontation.

When they separated, the rivals stared at each other for a moment. Then they turned and walked back to their corners. There was no embrace between them; no kind words; no gentlemanly slap on the back.

Their professional respect for one another had undoubtedly been enhanced by the twelve grueling rounds they had just endured. Yet neither was at a point where he could drop his guard and approach the other with a gesture of friendship.

As the fighters and the crowd awaited the decision, most were aware of the degree of subjectivity involved in judging a close contest between a boxer and a slugger. Those who favored aggression would vote for Frazier, who rarely took a backward step and appeared to have landed the harder punches. And Ali had the vote of those who were more impressed by sheer volume of punches landed. To make matters more difficult for the judges, Ali–

Frazier II featured several shifts in momentum, with no single dramatic moments like the knockdown that occurred in the fifteenth round of the first fight.

On this night, the scoring of Judges Tony Castellano and Jack Gordon, along with that of Referee Perez, was unanimous in favor of Ali. Perez, the man closest to the action, gave Ali his vote by a hair, scoring it 6–5–1.

Perez became the focus of a storm of post-fight criticism. Generally, the “phantom bell”

incident in the second round was written off as human error. Still, many critics, including Eddie Futch, weren’t so understanding when it came to Perez’s failure to prevent Ali from holding Frazier behind the head. In explanation of his handling of the fight, Perez said, “The only violation is if you hold and hit at the same time. Ali was holding, but he wasn’t hitting.”²⁹ For Ali, the taste of victory was doubly sweet because he had vindicated himself over his arch-rival. He could now boast that he had beaten every man that he’d ever faced.

Indeed, the career many had proclaimed finished when Ali lost to Norton 10 months earlier had undergone a remarkable rejuvenation. Regardless, the nay-sayers couldn’t be silenced.

Failing to appreciate the arduous pace the fighters had set throughout the twelve rounds, many in the media considered the fight competitive but stale. They claimed the rematch lacked the ferocity of the first fight, and cited the deterioration of the participants’ skills as the reason.

On the surface, that observation had some validity. The fight did lack the blood-and-thunder fervor of the initial meeting. But the reason for the change had little to do with any erosion of skills or talent. The rematch was tamer because Ali fought a more intelligent, defensive battle. Unlike the first fight, in which he needlessly soaked up punishment from Frazier, Ali avoided danger in the rematch by utilizing steady movement and clinching whenever Frazier pressed in.

Those tactics neutralized much of Frazier’s offense and resulted in a match that in many ways substituted strategy for excitement. Yet the constant changes in momentum cre-ated uncertainty once the judges added up their scorecards.

At ringside, Red Smith and Dave Anderson both believed Smokin’ Joe deserved the nod. The pro–Frazier observers felt that Joe’s aggression should have carried the day.

Naturally, Frazier felt he had won. But he refused to make any excuses.

Judging solely on the basis of the combatants’ appearance at the post-fight press con-ference, Frazier looked like a one-sided loser. Dark glasses couldn’t hide the huge lump that protruded from the right side of his face, stretching from forehead to hairline. His eye was virtually closed and his face seemed painfully sore.

Joe’s wife, Florence, was hoping her husband would retire, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. Frazier felt satisfied with his showing, if not the decision, and saw no reason to hang up his gloves just yet.

Frazier fought well against Ali, even though he didn’t win the fight. In fact, he had now lost two of his last three ring encounters. Now he was eager to avenge both those defeats. Not only did he continue to seek a rematch with Foreman; now he wanted a third crack at Ali.

“I want him again,” he said of his rival. “One more time.”³⁰

Some promotional interest was expressed in an immediate rubber match. But Fore-man–Ali was the fight Joe Public really wanted to see. As the wheels for that promotion began to turn, Joe Frazier’s career was left in a temporary state of limbo.