George Foreman vs. Joe Frazier II Norton by knockout in the first and second rounds respectively. Foreman, however, lost his titles to Muhammad Ali in "The Rumble in the Jungle" in October 1974, by KO in the eighth round. The following year, Frazier finally got his first chance to regain the heavyweight titles, challenging Ali in a fight dubbed the "Thrilla in Manila", though he lost by technical knockout in the 14th round. After his defeat at the hands of Ali, Foreman was out of boxing for over a year, sitting out all of 1975. He returned in January 1976 to defeat Ron Lyle and capture
Joe Frazier vs. George Foreman defending that title four times before knocking out Jimmy Ellis to claim the vacant WBA and WBC titles in 1970 that had been stripped from Muhammad Ali. Frazier's most notable defense would come against Ali himself in what was billed as the "Fight of the Century." After defeating Ali by unanimous decision, Frazier captured "The Ring" heavyweight title and became recognized as the lineal champion. In between his first Ali fight and his bout with Foreman, Frazier successfully defended his title twice against fringe contenders Terry Daniels and Ron Stander. Following his knockout of Stander, Ali attempted to gain a