Boxing HOF in Canastota Celebrates Ali-Frazier Every Day
Published: March 8, 2021
March 1971: In a title fight at Madison Square Gardens, New York, Muhammad Ali goes down in the 15th round to a left hook from world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier who kept the title with an unanimous points win. Cameramen are crowded round the ring. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
CANASTOTA, N.Y. (AP) The boxing ring in New York City’s Madison Square Garden where the Fight of the Century was staged 50 years ago Monday is the centerpiece of the Boxing Hall of Fame in upstate New York, and it s on permanent display. Executive director Ed Brophy says it’s been a treasured piece enjoyed each year by returning Hall of Famers. On March 8, 1971, the first Ali-Frazier fight proved one for the ages, with Frazier scoring a unanimous 15-round decision. Brophy says the ring was initially installed in the first Madison Square Garden in 1922 and was transported north to the Hall of Fame in 2007.