Ali stunned by Frazier’s anger: He could have broken my jaw’

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33442, 25 January 1974, Page 34

Ali stunned by Frazier’s anger: He could have broken my jaw’

(By DAVE ANDERSON, of the New York Times News Service, through N.Z.P.A.) NEW YORK, In retrospect, it was all the fault of a television sports commentator, Howard Cosell. Instead of sitting in the middle chair, where he might have been a persuasive referee, he sat on the left.

At the right was Muhammad Ali, in a vested brown pin-striped suit, and when Joe Frazier appeared in a suede jump suit, he sat down in the empty chair between them, only inches away from the voice he hates to hear.

They were in an American Broadcasting Company studio in New York to tape the “Wide World of Sports” show that will appear on Saturday afternoon. The plot was for them to view’, for the first time together, the film of their ,SUS2Om extravaganza, now known as The Fight, in anticipation and promotion of The Fight II

at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. For nearly an hour, as the two gladiators watched and mildly insulted each other, the atmosphere was tense but somewhat playful. Suddenly, as they were watching the tenth round, the mood changed. They were discussing how the right side of Ali’s jaw had swollen. ‘1 WAS RESTING’ “That's what he went to the hospital for,” Frazier said. “I went to the hospital for 10 minutes,” Ali snapped, alluding to having had Xrays on his jaw that night. “You went for a month.” “Be quiet,” Frazier said. “I

was resting. I was in and out.” He had been in a Philadelphia hospital for a kidney disorder for about two weeks, but he was permitted to come and go. “That shows how dumb you are,” Ali retaliated. “People don’t go to a hospital to rest. See how ignorant you are." “Why you think I’m ignorant," Frazier growled. “I’m tired of you calling me ignorant all the time. Fm not ignorant.” His face flashing anger, Frazier threw his earplug to the floor and jumped to his feet. Through the years. Ali

lias otten described rrazier as "ignorant” and the word, along with other taunts about his looks, had pierced Frazier’s pride. Ali’s use of “ignorant” to his face, and in front of an eventual national television audience, ignited his temper. He was standing over Ali now, his fists clenched, glaring down. “Why you think I’m ignorant,” he demanded. "Stand up, man.” DEEP RESENTMENT The film on the television monitors had been forgotten. Behind the cameras, perhaps 50 people, many of them journalists invited to the tap-

■ ing, stared in astonishment. Many of the journalists . had witnessed playful confrontations of Ali and Frazier in the past. But this was not an act. Anyone who knows Frazier realised that. Ali had used a word that Frazier resents deeply. His resentment of Ali bad) surfaced. Now, as Frazier! glared, Ramanathan Ali) moved to his brother's side.! Frazier’s head turned. “You in this too?” Frazier; I snapped. In a flash, Ali stood up and grabbed Frazier’s shoulders, pinning his arms. They wrestled each other off the small carpeted platform on to the cement floor as several others tried to separate them. No punches were thrown. After several seconds, they were prized apart. Their clothes were ruffled, but neither was marked, Ali was smiling now but the fury had remained in Frazier’s face. He was holding the broken band of his wristwatch and, Eddie Futch, he strode out escorted by his maanger, of the television studio. “See you Monday night,” Ali shouted. “Be on time,’’ Frazier replied evenly. When the television taping resumed, Ali moved into the middle chair. Artistically, there had not been a winner or a loser. But theatrically, Ali was the victor. He had the stage all to himself now.

‘HE MEANT IT' Frazier, his conqueror in [ a unanimous decision three years ago, was smouldering as he sat in the back seat of his silver-grey Cadillac sedan on its return to Phila-' delphia. After the show, Ali acknowledged that he had been stunned by Frazier’s anger. “His eyes meant it,’’ Ali said seriously. “When he was standing over me, 1 didn’t know what he was going to do. If he landed a hard blow on me, he could’ve broken my jaw. I had to get up and hold him.” With a wink, Ali acknowledged something else — he expected increased attendance at closed-circuit television locations. "Every theatre,” he said, “that isn’t sold out is selling now. I can see two guys down in Waycross. Georgia: one of them is saying, ‘Ernie, (we got to see this fight now.’ Yes, sir, it’ll help.” I He was relaxed, almost I jovial now, knowing that he [had taunted Frazier into losling his poise. “Joe Frazier.can’t talk,” he (said. “Talking and trying to (match wits with me, he can’t ido that.” But on Monday night. Joe (Frazier will be matching fists (with him. Joe Frazier has I shown he can do that.