Boxing in the 1970s was world champion when Ali returned. Former world champions Jimmy Ellis and Floyd Patterson as well as George Foreman, Oscar Bonavena, Jerry Quarry, Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks, Ken Norton, as well as Larry Holmes, Ron Stander, Chuck Wepner, Jose King Roman, Light Heavyweight champ Foster, John Tate, Jimmy Young, Ron Lyle, Joe Bugner, Scott LeDoux and many others added intrigue to the division. Don King surged as a leading boxing promoter, and champions Duran, Monzon and Ali had historic rivalries with Esteban De Jesús, Rodrigo Valdez and Frazier, respectively. Boxing in the 1970s During the 1970s, boxing was characterized by
HBO World Championship Boxing Ali and Joe Frazier; Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney, for the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship; The Battle of the Champions, when Aaron Pryor beat Alexis Argüello in their first fight; Carnival of Champions, in which Wilfredo Gómez beat Lupe Pintor, and Thomas Hearns beat Wilfred Benítez; Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns fight, billed as The War; Thunder Meets Lightning, in which Julio César Chávez beat Meldrick Taylor with two seconds remaining in the twelfth round; Michael Moorer vs. George Foreman, in which Foreman KO'd Michael Moorer to become the oldest heavyweight champion of the world at age 45; James Douglas's stunning