Ali vs Frazier II: The Studio Brawl, the Phantom Bell and the 1974 Garden Rematch

Between the Fight of the Century and the Thrilla in Manila sits a rematch that is often skipped over. On 28 January 1974 at Madison Square Garden, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier met again with no world title at stake, both of them freshly beaten by other men. A wrestling match on a television studio floor came first, then a referee's mistaken call in round two, then a unanimous decision that people still argue about.

Two Former Champions, Both Recently Beaten

When the first fight took place in 1971, it was Frazier's crown that Ali was trying to take. By the time they signed for a second meeting, neither man held it. On 22 January 1973 in Kingston, Jamaica, George Foreman put Frazier on the canvas six times in two rounds and stopped him. Frazier had been favored, and he left Kingston without the championship and without the unbeaten record of 29 wins he had carried into the ring. Foreman had the advantage in both height and reach, and he used it from the first bell.

Ali had his own setback that year. Ken Norton beat him and broke his jaw, a loss that dented his claim to be the natural challenger for Foreman. The rematch with Frazier settled the matter. Whoever won would be next in line for the heavyweight champion.

The promotion called it "Super Fight II." Wikipedia's account of the bout puts each man's purse at $850,000. The world title was not involved, but the North American Boxing Federation heavyweight belt was on the line, a detail that explains why some records call it a non-title fight and others list it as a title bout. The bout was scheduled for twelve rounds.

The Wrestling Match at ABC

Five days before the fight, on 23 January 1974, the two men sat down in an ABC studio in New York with Howard Cosell. The plan was to go back over the 1971 fight for a "Wide World of Sports" segment that would air shortly before the rematch. The atmosphere did not last long. Ali kept up his needling, and when he called Frazier "ignorant," Frazier got to his feet and confronted him. According to Wikipedia's reconstruction of the exchange, Frazier demanded, "How am I ignorant?"

What followed was not a fistfight so much as a scramble. Ali took hold of Frazier around the neck, and within seconds both heavyweights were grappling on the studio floor. People from both camps pulled them apart. The Los Angeles Times, revisiting the episode in 2016, quoted the television producer Don Ohlmeyer, who was there: "If either one of them wanted to throw a punch at one another, Howard wasn't going to stop it." Both fighters were fined afterward. The sources consulted for this article do not agree on, or do not state, the amount.

A Sold-Out Garden and a Different Ali

The Garden was full on the night of 28 January. The Ali who showed up was not the fighter who had planted his feet and traded with Frazier three years earlier. He moved, threw short flurries, and above all smothered Frazier whenever the shorter man tried to work on the inside. His method was to hook his left hand behind Frazier's neck and pin Frazier's left arm with his right, leaving Frazier little room to set his feet and punch.

Wikipedia's article on the fight cites a count of roughly 133 clinches initiated by Ali over the twelve rounds. The same account records that the total punch output was low for a fight between these two men. Michael Carbert of The Fight City, writing about the bout years later, scored the first four rounds for Ali and argued that the outcome was never in serious doubt.

The Bell That Was Not There

The moment that still defines the night came in round two. Ali landed a right hand that hurt Frazier, and for a few seconds Frazier was in genuine trouble. Then referee Tony Perez stepped between them, believing he had heard the bell. He had not. By the time the mistake was noticed and the fighters were waved back together, Frazier had collected himself, and he finished the round on his feet.

Accounts give slightly different pictures of the timing. Wikipedia's entry on Perez says Ali had Frazier hurt with about 20 seconds remaining in the round. Other summaries simply place the incident near the end of round two. All of them agree on the effect: a few seconds of free recovery handed to a hurt fighter at the most dangerous point of the night.

Frazier, who was known for starting slowly, came on in the middle and late rounds. He was the one throwing more power punches, while Ali relied on the jab, movement and the clinch. Frazier's trainer, Eddie Futch, and Frazier himself complained that Perez never punished Ali for the constant holding. Perez's position, as quoted in Frazier's Wikipedia biography, was that holding only became a foul when "you hold and hit at the same time," and Ali, in his view, held without hitting.

Three Cards for Ali, One Dissent in the Press

The decision went to Ali on all three cards. Perez, who scored the fight as well as refereeing it, had it 6-5-1. Judge Tony Castellano scored it 7-4-1, and judge Jack Gordon 8-4-0. It was a clear win on paper, but not everyone at ringside saw it that way. Accounts of the fight record that Red Smith of The New York Times had Frazier ahead 6-5-1, the reverse of the referee's card.

The close official score from Perez, combined with the round-two episode and the holding complaints, left both camps unhappy with the referee. Neither man had been knocked down, and Frazier could argue he had done the more damaging work in the second half. Ali could argue he had won the early rounds cleanly and controlled the rest.

A Referee in Court

Strangely, the loudest criticism of Perez came from the winner. In later television appearances Ali said Perez had let too many low blows go, and he made remarks about the referee's ethnicity and race that Perez's Wikipedia biography quotes at length. Perez answered with a lawsuit seeking $20 million from Ali and from ABC's "Wide World of Sports," which had broadcast the comments. A federal court ruled in Ali's favor.

What the Rematch Settled, and What It Left Open

For Ali, the win in New York led directly to Kinshasa. In October 1974 he faced Foreman for the title and won it back in the Rumble in the Jungle, an upset that made the Garden rematch look like a stepping stone. For Frazier, the defeat was harder to process. He had now lost to both men who stood ahead of him in the division, and the second loss came on a night when he felt the referee had helped his opponent.

The series stood at one win each. The 1971 and 1975 fights have their own stories. The 1974 bout, with no world title on the line, was smaller than either and in some ways more personal. It started with a fight on a studio floor and ended with a decision that one of the most respected sportswriters in America scored the other way. It also left the two men with every reason to meet a third time.

Sources

• Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
• Joe Frazier, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
• Tony Perez (referee), Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
• Jan. 28, 1974: Ali vs Frazier II, Michael Carbert, The Fight City, accessed October 2026
• Cosell, Ali were an ideal match for TV, Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times (via The Bulletin), 8 June 2016
• Ali, Muhammad-Joe Frazier II On Site Poster (1974), JO Sports Inc. archive description, accessed October 2026