Muhammad Ali victory in federal court forced the New York State Boxing Commission to reinstate Ali's license. He fought Oscar Bonavena at Madison Square Garden in December, an uninspired performance that ended in a dramatic technical knockout of Bonavena in the 15th round. The win left Ali as a top contender against heavyweight champion Joe Frazier. Ali and Frazier's first fight, held at the Garden on March 8, 1971, was nicknamed the "Fight of the Century", due to the tremendous excitement surrounding a bout between two undefeated fighters, each with a legitimate claim as heavyweight champions. Veteran boxing writer John Condon called
Aziz Ansari: Live at Madison Square Garden was originally going to shoot the special in Toronto, but Rock convinced him to do so at Madison Square Garden, which Rock felt was more appropriate. The film was released March 6, 2015, exclusively on Netflix. It was dedicated to the memory of Harris Wittels, Ansari's close friend and a writer on "Parks and Recreation", who died February 19. Reviewing the original performance, Jason Zinoman of "The New York Times" called it Ansari's most ambitious but least funny work. Zinoman wrote, "And while he's a thoughtful observer, Mr. Ansari's ideas can too often seem derivative." Robert Lloyd of the "Los