The Champion Who Was Twenty-Five
On March 22, 1967, Muhammad Ali walked into Madison Square Garden as a 25-year-old heavyweight champion who had almost completely separated himself from the division chasing him. Zora Folley was experienced, patient and respected. He had been fighting professionally since the early 1950s, had worked his way back into contention and entered the night as one of the highest-rated heavyweights in the world. Ali treated him seriously, then handled him much the way he had handled nearly everyone else. The champion controlled the distance with his jab, moved before Folley could establish his feet and finished him in the seventh round with a right hand. It was Ali's ninth successful defense of the heavyweight championship, and his professional record stood at 29-0. There was nothing inside the ring suggesting that his career was about to stop. Ali had fought five times in 1966 and had already fought twice during the first three months of 1967. At an age when many heavyweights were still developing, he had already defeated Sonny Liston twice, Floyd Patterson, George Chuvalo, Henry Cooper, Brian London, Karl Mildenberger, Cleveland Williams, Ernie Terrell and Folley. Ali had also become accustomed to fighting regularly. His timing stayed sharp because there was always another camp, another opponent and another set of problems waiting for him. Then boxing stopped. On April 28, 1967, Ali refused induction into the United States Army on religious grounds. New York withdrew his boxing license, other jurisdictions followed, and the heavyweight championship was taken from him. He was convicted of draft evasion in June and sentenced to five years in prison, although he remained free while appealing the conviction. Ali would not fight professionally again for 43 months. His conviction was eventually overturned by the United States Supreme Court in 1971. Those larger events remain intact in this timeline. Ali still refuses induction, still refuses to abandon his religious convictions and still takes his case through the courts. The difference is what boxing does while that case is being decided. The commissions allow Ali's appeals process to continue without immediately removing his license. The heavyweight championship stays around his waist, and Ali continues fighting while his legal battle moves through federal court. After defeating Zora Folley, Muhammad Ali does not unknowingly walk away from boxing for three and a half years, he begins preparing for another opponent.
The Division Does Not Get an Empty Throne
The heavyweight division developing beneath Ali was anything but weak. Joe Frazier was coming. Jimmy Ellis was becoming a serious heavyweight. Oscar Bonavena could make nearly anyone uncomfortable, while Jerry Quarry was young, skilled and dangerous. Floyd Patterson remained good enough to trouble contenders years after losing the championship. Thad Spencer was rising too, and by the end of 1967 he had positioned himself among the leading heavyweights in the world. In reality, Ali's removal from boxing opened the championship and forced those fighters into competing routes toward the title. The WBA organized a tournament. Jimmy Ellis eventually emerged from it with one version of the championship, while Joe Frazier followed another path. None of that is necessary here. There is one heavyweight champion, and everyone beneath him knows that the road ends in the ring with Muhammad Ali.
1967: Thad Spencer Gets the OpportunityPREMIUM
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View MembershipJoe Frazier Is ComingPREMIUM
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September 1968: Ali vs. Frazier IPREMIUM
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1969: Jimmy Ellis Gets His ChancePREMIUM
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1970: Jerry Quarry Gets His OpportunityPREMIUM
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Bob Foster Moves UpPREMIUM
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March 1971: Ali and Frazier Meet AgainPREMIUM
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Ali Becomes a Challenger AgainPREMIUM
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George Foreman Takes the ChampionshipPREMIUM
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Ken Norton Gives Ali a Different ProblemPREMIUM
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1974: Ali and Foreman Go to ZairePREMIUM
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Frazier Works His Way BackPREMIUM
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ManilaPREMIUM
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Ali Keeps DefendingPREMIUM
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Ken Norton Returns AgainPREMIUM
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The Cost of an Uninterrupted CareerPREMIUM
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1978: Leon Spinks Gets His OpportunityPREMIUM
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Ali Walks Away as ChampionPREMIUM
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THE DISCUSSION
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