‘Blood Money’

In his latest contribution to Business Recorder titled “Blood Money”, Farooq Hassan has recalled the epic boxing fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in a highly fascinating manner. According to him, “Ali and Joe Frazier squared off against one another. The score so far was 1:1. This was the decider. It was a grudge match... . The bookies in Las Vegas kept changing the odds after every round. In the 14th round, the referee stopped the fight, in Ali’s favour. Frazier’s face had been pounded to jelly. Ali’s midriff had taken a barrage. After the fight, Ali was not prancing around, spouting poetry, as he usually did. He was slumped on a stool in his corner. A press reporter pushed his way through the crowd and asked Ali “How was it?”. Ali managed to whisper into the mic: “It was worse than death”.”

Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier was rightly billed as the ‘Fight of the Century’. According to a commentator, the thrust of this fight in the public consciousness is incalculable.

Karachi Rashid Qidwai