George Foreman vs. Ken Norton hard-hitting champion and given little chance of obtaining a victory. A week before the fight had happened, promoter Don King, banking on a victory by Foreman, had already inked a deal that would see Foreman make his next defense against Ali in the "Rumble in the Jungle." A 3 to 1 underdog, Norton was back in a familiar position, promised less money than Foreman ($200,000 to the $500,000 George was guaranteed), and deemed a solid underdog to the hard-slugging Texan. If Caracas seems like a strange destination to hold a heavyweight boxing event, there was a practical reason it was
Muhammad Ali This led to a rematch with Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 1974; Frazier had recently lost his title to George Foreman. Ali was strong in the early rounds of the fight, and staggered Frazier in the second round. Referee Tony Perez mistakenly thought he heard the bell ending the round and stepped between the two fighters as Ali was pressing his attack, giving Frazier time to recover. However, Frazier came on in the middle rounds, snapping Ali's head in round seven and driving him to the ropes at the end of round eight. The last four