In this week’s episode of ‘The Way We See Sport, The Way See Life’ we continue our deep dive into the sport of boxing assessing whether its historical standing as ‘Sport of Kings’ rings true in modern society.

In the first part of our two-episode special, we focused on how during the sport’s growth in the early to mid-twentieth century, boxing had offered shady characters from the mob and criminal underworld an opportunity to muscle in via promotional and management opportunities.  The apex of the underworld’s influence perhaps came with the coronation of Sonny Liston as Heavyweight Champion of The World in 1962.  Liston was very much seen as ‘The Mob’s Champion’ and was felt to be unbeatable.  This was until he met Cassius Marcellus Clay, better known as Muhammad Ali, whose two victories over Liston in 1964 and 1965 catapulted him to international stardom and heralded a new era in heavyweight boxing.

In this episode, Chris and Nathan chart the journey of heavyweight boxing from Ali’s first reign, which ended abruptly when his stance as a conscientious objector who refused to serve in the US Army during the period of the Vietnam War put him at odds with the American establishment and saw him stripped of his title.  Ali was subsequently exiled from the ring for three years, at a point when he would have been considered to have been at the peak of his powers.

The vacuum created by Ali’s enforced absence led to a scramble amongst heavyweight contenders to claim Ali’s title.  Ultimately, ‘Smokin’ Joe Frazier, a tough and uncompromising heavyweight who had settled in Philadelphia - the city later to become synonymous with the story of ‘Rocky’ - stepped into this breach.   Having defeated former amateur rival, Buster Mathis to claim the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) title, Frazier then defeated Jimmy Ellis to claim the WBA and WBC titles.  The stage was now set for ‘The Fight of The Century’ between Ali and Frazier, a fight that represented the start of a new series of ‘Superfights of the 70s’ that represented a golden era for heavyweight boxing. 

Frazier’s victory over Ali set in motion a chain of contests that have taken their place in history as some of boxing’s most storied contests.  In an increasingly globalised era, heavyweight boxing was perhaps the first sport to truly embrace the commercial prospects this offered and the ‘Superfights’ series beginning with ‘The Sunshine Sundown’ between Frazier and George Foreman and culminating with ‘The Thrilla in Manilla’ in which the rivalry between Ali and Frazier was crystalised in a contest for the ages is seen to represent a golden era for the sport.  In spite of this, boxing at this point was continuing its dubious reputation as despite these exotic locations, many of the nations chosen as host venues were ruled by ruthless dictators.

We conclude our story by reflecting on the current situation in which boxing is increasingly a plaything for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a regime whose human rights record is dubious at best.  Promoters herald the increased investment in the sport and highlight how it has enabled boxing to safeguard its standing as the world’s premier combat sport and has heralded a new era of ‘Superfights’.  Whereas critics point to the fact that once again boxing appears to being underpinned by ‘Blood Money’.