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Muhammad Ali vs. Jerry Quarry

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The Return of the Champion
DateOctober 26, 1970
VenueMunicipal Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia
Title(s) on the lineLineal heavyweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer United States Muhammad Ali United States Jerry Quarry
Nickname "The Greatest" "Irish"
Hometown Louisville, Kentucky Bakersfield, California
Purse $200,000 $150,000
Pre-fight record 29–0 (23 KO) 37–4–4 (24 KO)
Age 28 years, 9 months 25 years, 5 months
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 213+1⁄2 lb (97 kg) 197+1⁄2 lb (90 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition Lineal
Heavyweight Champion		 WBA
No. 3 Ranked Heavyweight
The Ring
No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight
Result
Ali won via 3rd round RTD

Muhammad Ali vs. Jerry Quarry, billed as The Return of the Champion, was a professional boxing match contested on October 26, 1970, for the Lineal heavyweight championship.[1] This was Ali's first fight since his suspension from boxing in 1967.

Background[edit]

Muhammad Ali was stripped of his heavyweight titles in 1967 when he faced charges for refusing to be drafted into the Vietnam War. For nearly four years, Ali was banned from the sport, missing out on what could have been the prime of his career, until Georgia granted Ali a boxing license in 1970. Meanwhile, Jerry Quarry had risen through the ranks in the late 1960s, but lost title fights against Joe Frazier and Jimmy Ellis.

The fight[edit]

Both fighters were hoping that the victory would be a launchpad to a championship match with Frazier. Ali had accumulated a bit of rust and lost a bit of speed from the years off, but was sharp throughout the match, using his jab to keep Quarry off balance and landing power shots consistently. Quarry grew bolder as the fight went on, and managed to land several shots on the former champion, but suffered a cut over the left eye in the third round, and began to bleed profusely. The fight was stopped by the fight doctor following the end of the third round.

Aftermath[edit]

Rematch[edit]

Main article: Muhammad Ali vs. Jerry Quarry II

The two fighters rematched less than two years later. The fight would be for the NABF heavyweight title, which Ali now held. Quarry did better this time, lasting much longer, but once again struggled to close the distance with, and hurt Ali, who once again dominated most of the fight from the outside. Quarry was hurt going into the seventh round, and after landing several unanswered shots, Ali signaled to the referee to stop the fight, which he did shortly afterwards.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Undercard[edit]

Confirmed bouts:[9]

Broadcasting[edit]

Country Broadcaster
 United Kingdom BBC

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Muhammad Ali vs. Jerry Quarry (1st meeting)". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Muhammad Ali's ring record". ESPN. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  3. ^ Thomas Hauser (1991). Muhammad Ali:His Life and Times. Simon & Schuster. pp. 210–12.
  4. ^ Felix Dennis; Don Atyeo (2003). Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years. miramax books. pp. 166–70, 192.
  5. ^ Joe Ryan (2003). Heavyweight Boxing in the 1970s:The Great Fighters and Rivalries. McFarland & Company. pp. 50–3.
  6. ^ "The night when Muhammad Ali and Atlanta shined". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 24 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  7. ^ "The night Muhammad Ali's legend was reborn – and the party that followed". The Guardian. 26 October 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Obituary: Jerry Quarry". The Independent. 4 January 1999. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  9. ^ "BoxRec - event".
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