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
Boxing in the 1970s Durán, who won the title in 1972 and vacated it in 1979 to seek championships at other weights; the Jr. Welterweights had Antonio Cervantes, who reigned twice; the Middleweights had Carlos Monzón, sometimes referred to as "King Carlos" because of his seven-year reign as champion; the Light-Heavyweights had Bob Foster. The Heavyweights, of course, had Muhammad Ali, who ruled twice between 1974 and 1979. Another aspect of boxing in the 1970s is that the decade is considered by a few to be the best ever for the Heavyweight division: Ali returned in 1970 from his forced retirement, and Joe Frazier