Joe Frazier vs. George Foreman twice in dominating fashion. First he knocked out José Roman in the first round on September 1, 1973. He would follow this by knocking out another future hall-of-famer in the second round in Ken Norton. Foreman would lose the titles in his third defense against Muhammad Ali in one of the most famous fights in boxing history dubbed "The Rumble in the Jungle" Frazier would fight seven more times after his first fight with Foreman. He would gain one more chance to recapture the WBA and WBC titles by challenging his rival Ali for a third fight dubbed the "Thrilla
The Rumble in the Jungle by Larry Holmes in 1980 and Trevor Berbick in 1981. Despite repeatedly calling Ali out, Foreman was unable to secure a rematch with the champion before Foreman abruptly decided to retire after a loss to Jimmy Young in 1977. Ali did not hurry to set up a rematch, making title defenses against unheralded opponents such as Jean Pierre Coopman and Richard Dunn. However, he would repeatedly state that his rematch with Foreman was one of the major fights he wanted to get to before retiring. Foreman later made an unlikely comeback, culminating in his regaining the world heavyweight championship at