In a rare matchup of top ten rated heavyweights, Jerry Quarry won a close decision over Jimmy Ellis last night in Memphis, Tennessee. This was an important contest for both fighters, as they were both in danger of slipping out of title contention. This was Quarry's first bout since his heartbreaking 10th round KO loss to Floyd Patterson two months ago. Ellis had only entered the ring once since his unsuccessful bid for the vacant World Heavyweight Title against Joe Frazier last year. Both men wanted this win badly and it was a hard fought battle all the way. As expected, Quarry was the aggressor and this seemed to be the deciding point for the ringside judges, who scored the contest 97-94, 98-95 and 96-95, all in favor of "Irish" Jerry Quarry. With the victory, Quarry puts himself right back into the title hunt, while Jimmy Ellis now finds himself in the position of getting a big win over a top rated opponent soon or else fading out of the picture altogether.
Canadian Heavyweight Champion George Chuvalo finally re-entered the ring for the first time in 6 months, taking on tough Argentinian Gregorio Peralta. These two fighters have entered the ring a combined 177 times, and they put on a show worthy of the veterans they are. It was a classic boxer verses slugger matchup and was close all the way to the end. In a surprise moment in the very first round, Peralta knocked the granite-chinned Chuvalo down in the first minute of the round with a perfectly timed right cross. George arose at the count of 3 and was able to survive the round. It was impossible to know who was going to get the decision when the 10th and final round came to a close. Two of the ringside judges scored the bout for Chuvalo 96-93 and 96-95, while the 3rd judge had Peralta winning 95-94. This one is certainly a candidate for Fight of the Year and begs for a rematch.
Meanwhile, we are now less than a month away from what is now commonly being referred to as "The Fight of the Century" when undefeated World Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier will defend his title against former undefeated World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali. Right now, bookmakers have Frazier a 2-1 favorite to retain his title. Naturally, Ali uses every opportunity possible to tell them they're wrong.
Rudiger Schmidtke KO7 Wilhelm von Homburg (Schmidtke wins European Title)
Joe Bugner W10 Bob Foster
Ken Norton TKO5 Tony Doyle
Buster Mathis W10 Amos Lincoln
Cleveland Williams W10 Levi "Superfly" Forte
Earnie Shavers W10 Charley Polite
Mario Baruzzi W10 Jurgin Blin
Ron Lyle KO1 Sylvester Dullaire
Larry Holmes TKO3 Frank Niblett (Professional Debut)
World Championship Fights
Winner
Record
Result
Loser
Record
Location
Date
Joe Frazier (US)
26-0
KO 2
Henry Cooper (UK)
40-13-1
London, UK
February 3rd, 1971
About This Site
This is the recreation of heavyweight boxing history starting on January 1st, 1971. "Smokin'" Joe Frazier is Heavyweight Champion of the World. Muhammad Ali has returned from his 3 year forced hiatus after being vindicated by the U.S. Supreme Court for being unjustly stripped of his World Title and having his license to fight suspended. He's clamouring for a World Title fight with Frazier. Both men are undefeated and both claim to be the "true" World Champion. Meanwhile, a powerful force by the name of George Foreman is tearing through the ranks. And a future great, 21 year old Larry Holmes, is about to make his professional debut.
That's how things were in the world of heavyweight boxing on January 1st, 1971. However, some things will be different in this "alternate" boxing universe. For example, former heavyweight champion Sonny Liston did not die on December 30th, 1970. At age 38, he is still a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division.
A great software program called "Title Fight 2001" will be used to simulate all the fights in this "alternate" heavyweight division. I have carefully and exhaustively researched over 150 heavyweights who were active on January 1st, 1971 to provide the highest level of accuracy as possible in their ratings for the head-to-head matchups in the ring. I have also "tweaked" some of the ratings for fighters who were already included in the simulation to better reflect their abilities at this stage in their careers. Every fighter will be starting off with his actual professional record as of January 1st, 1971. As the "sim" years go by, old fighters will retire and new prospects will enter the scene. 1971 represented the beginning of a "Golden Age" in heavyweight boxing. It was a time when being the Heavyweight Champion of the World was to possess the greatest title on earth. Fighters demanded a higher level of respect back then...it was a time When They Were Kings.
