When Ali Refused To KO His Opponent | Controversial Fight JJ

How can you make money if nobody fights you? >> Still a heavy [music] sweat. Ali finally sweating it out. >> Seriously, do you really think you can beat me? >> See. Now he’s saying >> If he keeps talking jive, I’ll cut it to five. >> I wonder if Ali really wants to hit him at this point. Don Dea is screaming, “Muhammad, knock him out. Stop it.

” >> It was November 17th, [music] 1971, and Muhammad Ali walked into the Houston Astrodome carrying a wounded reputation. Eight months earlier, Joe Frazier had handed him the first defeat of his career. The road back ran through Buster Mathis, a 256-lb former Olympic hopeful who hadn’t fought in almost 2 years.

Ali needed this night for more than his record. A win kept the pressure on Frazier for a rematch, and the North American title gave the evening official stakes. Odds makers still made him a 7-1 favorite over a man outweighing him by nearly 30 lbs. >> The bell for round one. Ali, the white trunks. Mathis, the black trunks. Ali dancing and moving quickly.

We’ve begun to expect him that means to be seen. Ali flicking the left. The unofficial time are running down, the countdown on round one. A cautious round. Buster trying to go to the midsection. >> Mathis carried one of boxing’s strangest stories. Joe Frazier had lost to him as an amateur, yet a hand injury handed Frazier the 1964 Olympic spot [music] and the gold that came with it.

The title shot that Mathis finally earned in 1968 ended with Frazier stopping him in the 11th. >> White trunks Mathis, they black velvet trunks Math- Mathis trying to land with the left but missing both times. But not yet able to do it. An attempted combination by the former champion.

The left hit but the right did not. Round three is coming up. Mathis in a heavy sweat, Ali hardly sweating at all. Now Muhammad is getting into that with those little jabs. Buster trying to go to the belly. Nobody’s been able to do that on Muhammad effectively. Muhammad not moving as much this round giving Mathis a chance perhaps to connect with a few.

Seconds left in the third round. A right to Ali’s ear. A miss. But a round in which Ali has not shown the movement as I said of the first two rounds. >> The pattern set in early. Ali circled and scored while Mathis pressed forward behind his bulk taking far more than he gave. Everything the odds makers had predicted [music] was playing out in front of a Houston crowd of roughly 21,000.

> Buster still lunging but missing. Chris Jordan the third man in the ring. Veteran ring referee here in Houston, Texas. We’ve gone through 2 and 1/2 minutes of the fourth round. The rest against those ropes. He learned something about that against Joe Frazier. He 10 seconds to go in round four.

Ali the white trunks, Mathis the black trunks. That’s it. End of round five. Ali has a lot more respect for Buster Mathis than the press has. He saw Buster get Ali against the ropes and go at him with a right that did not connect. That right is now at least fighting a man who’s been away for 32 months and it was never considered to be a great 30 seconds to go in the fifth round.

>> The stage stretched far beyond Texas. Closed-circuit screens carried the fight to 106 locations across America and 27 more countries. And Ali’s guarantee ran to $300,000 against a share of the receipts. [music] An audience that size was watching a comeback being rebuilt round by round. >> Dancing now. Now he has reassumed the role of aggressive by dancing and confusing Mathis. Mathis trying to dance with him.

In the same way. A little bit of the Ali shuffle. >> [cheering] >> They Mathis has been watching for this fight in private for a long, long time. Round. How about that, huh? Even if he didn’t try it. With a punch. A little bit of the A round of new dancing by Buster Mathis. But left left jabs repeatedly by Muhammad Ali.

>> Nothing about the fight was close. Every scorecard would finish with a double-digit margin. And the real question quietly shifted from whether Ali would win to what he would do with a man who couldn’t hurt him. >> A lunge, but no damage, no connection. Have Ali ahead six rounds to none. Remember 10-point must scoring system.

It’s interesting that they’ve got a shutout going. This round is almost up. Man away so long. Buster lunging at But that’s it. Aha, he got a left in. He got a left in. Now it was a round or so ago. And Round nine. Crowd got excited about that left thrown by Mathis. But ah, that left got in. The other one did not. >> [cheering] >> This left has no knockout power.

Slip, slip, slip. >> [cheering] >> Off the horizon, it could have gotten on them from the canvas. >> [cheering] >> And Ali’s corner now, they’re saying, “Come on. Come on. Come on, Ali.” >> [cheering] >> He’s going to miss. Now, he’s got to get down there. Still listless. >> [crying] >> Then the 11th round changed [music] the

night. Mathis went down for the first time, and the Astrodome crowd rose, expecting the finish Ali had been promising [music] all week. >> 45 seconds left in the 11th round. Sluggish fighting. Arm weariness setting in. Fatigue has arrived. Look at Buster. The same kind of fatigue that struck him down. >> A second knockdown followed before the bell.

Each time Ali stepped away rather than moving in, letting a hurt opponent recover in full [music] view of the referee. >> His eyes are glazed. One must question the wisdom. He’s ready to go right now. His eyes are glazed. I wonder if Ali really wants to hit him at this point. I wonder about that. Muhammad, knock him out.

What’s the matter with you? Now, look at that. Dundee is screaming, “Muhammad, knock him out. Stop it.” “Hit him, Muhammad.” He’s screaming. Now, Ali isn’t saying anything now. 15 seconds left in the fight. Listen to Dundee. Not stopped screaming. Just screaming, “Knock him out. Knock him out.” >> The final round brought two more.

Four knockdowns now stood on the record, and the knockout sat there for the taking. Yet, Ali kept choosing to let it go. All three judges scored it wide, and the unanimous decision kept the comeback alive. Criticism found the winner anyway, almost before he had left the ring. Reporters wanted to know why a fighter who had promised a wipeout pulled his punches with the finish standing right there.

The explanation pointed to compassion for a beaten man, and much of the press refused to accept mercy as a champion’s answer. The fight sits oddly in Ali’s story even now. A man remembered for cruelty against Floyd Patterson and Ernie Terrell chose restraint here, and the same writers who had condemned his cruelty now criticized his kindness.

[music] Whatever the verdict, the footage leaves no doubt about who controlled every minute.