After his knockout of Zora Folley in the seventh round on March 22, 1967, Muhammad Ali could do nothing but wait for his induction into the United States Army on April 28 in Houston, Texas. His intention was to refuse induction based on his religious beliefs, and face whatever legal ramifications followed. He had a legal team behind him, and those that loved him on his side, as the fateful date approached.
When Ali refused induction as he had said he would, he was stripped of his heavyweight title, convicted of draft evasion, and could no longer box for a living. In June he was sentenced to five years in prison, and received a $10,000 fine by the Appellate Court. He remained free until his case was heard by the Supreme Court, but he couldn’t obtain a license to box anywhere in the country.
To earn a living, Ali would go to different college campuses, make speeches, and field questions from students. It made him a few bucks, but hardly enough to live lavishly. With his gift of gab, it made him very popular, and it kept him in the public eye.
Finally, of all places, the state of Georgia issued Ali a license in 1970, and a return bout with the number three contender Jerry Quarry, was set for October 26 at the Municipal Auditorium in Atlanta. Ali went into serious training, lost excess weight, and arrived on fight night fit and strong at 213 1/2 lbs. Quarry tipped the scales at 197 1/2 bs., and the world watched as the Heavyweight Champion of the World made his first appearance in the ring in 3 and 1/2 years.
The bout was anti-climatic simply because Quarry suffered a bad cut in the third round, forcing the referee to halt the action. Ali had looked fairly sharp however, shed some of the rust off his skills, and landed enough jabs and combinations to show he was still Ali.
Two months later, it was off to Madison Square Garden in New York to take on the rugged Oscar Bonavena. Oscar had been combative to Ali, refused to call him his legal name, instead using Clay when he talked to the ex-champ. Ali promised he would shut the Argentinian’s mouth when December 7 arrived, and never wanted to hurt anyone so bad.
I’ve seen the bout a few times on tape, and what I remember most is how annoying Howard Cosell was. He was critical of everything Ali did, said he was slow, couldn’t moved like the ‘Old Ali’, and questioned whether he should be fighting at all. Cosell was a buffoon to me the more I hear him, and I wonder how he became famous in the first place. As far as the fight itself, Ali struggled at times, but finally knocked Bonavena out in the fifteenth round, which set up a shot at Joe Frazier in March for the title. Whether he was ready with just two warm up bouts, only time would tell, and most of the civilized world got the answer just three months later.
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