 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | 1 July 1975 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBA, WBC and The Ring undisputed heavyweight championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ali defeated Bugner by 15th round Unanimous Decision | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Bugner II, billed as The Fight of a Lifetime, was a professional boxing match contested on 1 July 1975, for the undisputed heavyweight championship. [1]
The 1975 title fight with Bugner was Ali's third title defense since 1974, and was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and remains the only world heavyweight championship fight hosted in the nation's history. Being held in June, the location of the fight was very hot, creating difficulties for both men. [2] The two had fought two years earlier with Ali winning a competitive 12 round Unanimous Decision.
Despite the heat, Ali performed very well, fighting aggressively against the bigger challenger, forcing Joe against the ropes and clinching to prevent counters and also used his now famous rope-a-dope tactic minimally. Bugner lasted the 15 round distance, and once again neither man was knocked down, but Ali won the fight on points by a comfortable margin. [3]
This was Ali's last fight before the famous Thrilla in Manila, a third fight with Ali's arch-rival Joe Frazier. [4] [5]
Confirmed bouts: [6]
| Winner | Loser | Weight division/title belt(s) disputed | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
 Lionel Rose |  Bomber Uchida | Super Feather (10 rounds) | Unanimous decision. |
 Bjorn Rudi |  Levi Forte | Heavyweight (6 rounds) | 3rd round KO. |
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 Mexico | Televisa |
 Philippines | KBS 9 |
 United Kingdom | BBC [7] |
Jacqueline "Jacqui" Frazier-Lyde is an American lawyer and former professional boxer. She is the daughter of former world Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier. In January 2000, at the age of 38, Frazier announced that she would begin participating in the sport of women's boxing.
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Joe Frazier vs. George Foreman, billed as The Sunshine Showdown, was a professional boxing match in Kingston, Jamaica contested on January 22, 1973, for the WBA, WBC and The Ring heavyweight championships.
George Foreman vs. Joe Frazier II, billed as "Battle of the Gladiators", was a professional boxing match contested on June 15, 1976, for the NABF heavyweight championship.
Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton, billed as The Fight, was a professional boxing match contested on March 31, 1973, for the NABF heavyweight championship.
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Bugner was a professional boxing match contested on February 14, 1973.
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Muhammad Ali was a boxer who mastered the rope-a-dope fighting technique. He is widely regarded by many boxing commentators and historians as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. Boxing magazine The Ring named him number one in a 1998 ranking of greatest heavyweights from all eras. In 1999, The Associated Press voted Ali the number one heavyweight of the 20th century. Muhammad Ali's amateur record was 180-0. In 1999, Ali was named the second greatest boxer in the history of combat sports, pound for pound by ESPN. He was only behind the welterweight and middleweight legend Sugar Ray Robinson. In December 2007, ESPN placed Ali second in its choice of the greatest heavyweights of all time, behind Joe Louis. He was inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.
Anthony Perez was an American boxing referee and judge of Puerto Rican descent. During his career, he refereed many major boxing fights and participated in a number of boxing related documentaries.
