Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 35

SECTION SPORTS business 5 Chicago Srikne TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 1971 CALL 222-1234 FOR SPORTS RESULTS BETWEEN 8:30 A. M. AND MIDNIGHT 0 p-'' 0 Uijllll ,11 II.J i -T -j i in hiiii.t mi WW IIIIIIMIMIUIIMMJII L'JJJl jfor. t--5 I I. Ali Staggered by Hook in llth, Downed in 15th ttmJt jummilt.

i TRIBUNE Staff Photo 6 Bill Kellir THE FIGHT in New York left Chicago's Coliseum floor in shambles after closed circuit telecast failed and patrons rioted. sorders at 2 T.V. Site BY COOPER ROLLOW, Sports Editor Chicago Tribune Press Service NEW YORK, March 8 Smokin' Joe Frazier, his face puffy, his nose bleeding, and his breath coming in short gasps, pummeled his way to a 15-round decision over Muhammad Ali tonight to win the undisputed heavyweight, championship of the world. Graziano-Zale? y-Tunney? Louis-Schmeling? Forget all of those classic battles. When Frazier raised his hand in victory before a record crowd of 20,455 in Madison Square Garden and a nation-wide closed circuit TV audience, the gesture climaxed one of the greatest fistic battles in history.

This was a match billed as the battle of the century, a confrontation of champions. And the fight lived up to its advance publicity as the two competitors hammered away at each other thru 15 gruelling rounds before Frazier finally put Ali on the canvas in the final stanza and won a unanimous decision. Frazier, the aggressor all the way, was the winner on Referee Arthur Mercante's card, 8-6-1. Judge Artie Aidala scored it 9 rounds to 6, and the other judge, Bill Recht, had it 114. But it was a good fight, a great fight, and even at the extravagant prices exacted by the promoters, the fans and viewers got their money's worth.

Frazier was the superior puncher, the more skilled combatant. He had Ali on the verge of a knockout late in the llth round. In the 15th, he sent Muhammad down for a count of four and to the hospital with a possible fractured jaw. Ali, who had been stripped of his title in 1967 after refusing to report to the Army, came into the ring prancing, snorting, and casting aspersions upon Frazier's boxing ability, physical stature, and ancestry. But as the fight wore on and Frazier pursued his relentless attack, Frazier.

became the conversationalist and Ali the listener. There was obvious consternation in Ali's corner in the middle and late rounds of the fight when it became obvious that Frazier was winning, on points. Muhammad, trying to stay out of range of Joe's deadly hooks, found himself back pedaling and clinching repeatedly. Meanwhile, Frazier, boring in with daredevil abandon, hooked to the jaw, jabbed to the midsection, and threw his right just for good measure. Most of Frazier's attack was concentrated on Ali's head rather than the body, and this was a "game plan" Muhammad obviously had not expected.

When Ali came back to his corner after the early rounds, he gestured defiantly toward Frazier's corner and pointed with his thumb to the floor in the traditional gesture of disdain. But in the later rounds, Ali had no energy or stamina for such comic antics. Frazier, hammering him again and again and again, moved inexorably into the role of victor. Many among the unprecedented crowd in the Garden had expected Ali to attempt to take Frazier out early. But Muhammad showed ho killer instinct in the early rounds.

Rather, he seemed contented to allow Frazier to be the aggressor. Joe would move in and Muhammad would jab, taking advantage of his superior reach, then dance back. As a result, Frazier connected repeatedly to the midsection. In both the first and second rounds, Frazier had Ali on the ropes, and this became a pattern for the entire fight. Frazier would pursue, Ali would retreat and jab, and finally would clinch after being backed up to the ropes.

A hook to the chin appeared to stagger Muhammad late in the second round, but Ali winked at ringsiders after Trainer Angelo Dundee had splashed water in his face. In the third, Frazier pushed Ali into the ropes and belted him repeatedly with combinations. Ali again appeared shaken at the bell but, once again after receiving Dundee's ministrations, waved and smiled at the crowd. Frazier won the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds with his swarming, hooking and jabbing tactics, but in the seventh, Ali scored with frequent combinations, including a left-right flurry to the midsection which temporarily halted Joe's assault. When Ali came out for the eighth round, his fans in the Garden began shouting for a knockout.

But Frazier backed Muhammad up on the ropes and delivered one combination after another while Ali stood like a statue and made a pretense of covering up. After the eighth, it was 'obvious Ali's corner was beginning to take Frazier seriously. Muhammad came out for th ninth shaking his head like a St. Bernard and bloodied Fra-zier's nose with a left jab. Ali won the round on most cardi and the consensus at ringside was that this might be a turnmg point.

Muhammad also scored repeatedly in the 10th, which was enlivened by an exchange between Frazier and the referee after the latter accidentally stuck his finger in Joe's eye while trying to break a clinch. Ali slipped to the canvas in the llth, and the count reached two before Mercante ruled it no knockdown and Continued on page 5, col. 3 iiBiMi ''4V ii II 1 Fans at Coliseum, Amphitheater Riot BY NEIL MILBERT Disorders erupted last night among angry boxing fans trying to watch the Ali-Frazier fight on closed circuit television at the Chicago Coliseum and International Amphitheater. Police reinforcements rushed to the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker to avert more trouble when fans from the Coliseum went there at the last minute to catch the fight.

No serious injuries or arrests were reported by police at either the Coliseum or Amphitheater. Disorders broke out in the Coliseum, 1513 Wabash after projection equipment broke down and the management asked an audience of 7,000 to leave just before the fight began. Officials of the Coliseum said trouble started when a group of youths, angered by the announcement began tearing up ticket counters near the door and throwing them thru the front windows. Others, who paid $10 a head to see the fight, began hurling folding chairs and bottles from the balcony onto the main floor. An estimated 80 police were rushed to the Coliseum to restore order.

The trouble at the Amphitheater, 43d and Halsted streets, broke out among 1,000 persons who had been turned away at the door when the auditorium reached its capacity of 13,000 persons. Police said some of the people threw bottles and rocks, smashing about 40 windows on the Halsted Street side of the building. They later charged the building and smashed thru seven doors. Police reinforcements and Amphitheater maintenance crews, who turned fire hoses on the crowd, finally brought the crowd under control. Amphitheater officials estimated damage at $2,000.

No major disorders were reported at the 13 other locations in the Chicago area that telecast the classic heavyweight battle to some 50,000 people. The largest at the Chicago Stadium, site 12 years ago to the day where Ali, then called Cassius Clay, won a Golden Gloves championship. Arlington Park, which showed the fight at the race track, hotel ballroom and in hotel rooms, had the next biggest attendance. The hotel packed in about 8,500 and the parking lot overflowed two hours before the match. The race track turnstile count was 1,235.

At other sites, 3,540 showed up at the famed Aragon Ballroom, 4,545 at Washington Park, 3,800 at the Civic Center, 2,100 at Notre Dame High School in Niles, and 1,995 at Willow-brook Theater. Few viewers at Arlington yelled "he was robbed," tho some did think Ali had won enough of the early rounds to compensate for Frazicr's devastating barrages, especially in the llth and 13th. Jack Drees, one of the nation's foremost fight broadcasters, watching at Arlington, scored it 6 to 5, four even in favor of Ah. The closed-circuit fans got a little extra, a prc-fight trip into AH's dressing room, where he opened an envelope with his prediction. All predicted he would stop Frazier In Round 6.

"No contest," he boasted. "They're going to be amazed at how easy it's going to be. He is going to look like an amateur." Burt Lancaster, the colorman by way of Hollywood movie fame, was the only guy who wound up looking like an amateur. "This is a spectacular night," he said solemnly at the outset. Then, when the gladiators were glaring one another down during the referee's pre-fight instructions, he contributed this bit of expertise.

"Let's hope 'they don't begin to mix it up already." Lancaster kept his mouth shut during most of the fight. Maybe today Ali wishes he had also kept his trap clamped. UP I Telephofol Muhammad Ali starting toward canvas after only knockdown of fight, Ali being down for left hook by Joe Frazier in 15th round. It was count of four. Big Ten Closes Byche oil JL to Bears: Allows Official Scorecards REFEREE ARTHUR MERCANTE 8-6-1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 11 15 AAFFFAAFAAFE FFF JUDGE ARTHUR AIDALA 19-61 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 It 15 AA.FFFFFFAAFFAAF JUDGE BILL RECHT 11-4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 A A A A UNOFFICIAL UNITED TRESS INTERNATIONAL 7-7-1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 IS A A A A A A A ASSOCIATED PRESS 1 9-3-1 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 II 12 13 14 15 A A A A A athletic directors and representatives.

He issued the following statement on the Northwestern-Bears business: "The request of Northwestern University for waiver of regulation III concerning athletic facilities so as to permit Northwestern to enter into a five-year lease of Dyche Stadium to the Chicago Bears' football club was presented to the joint group this afternoon. The request was not granted. "There was a thoro discussion of tho matter. The discussion lasted for more than two hours. It did not center on the details of the proposed arrangements.

It revolved around the fundamental questions of athletic policy that were presented and the implications that favorable action might have for the intercollegiate) athletic progrard Contlnurd on page fi, col. 11 after the Big Ten waived its traditional ban on professionals for one game. In talking about a new home last year, the Bears expressed desire to play In Dyche, but also mentioned the possibility of turning part of Arlington Park Race Track into a football stadium. In another significant development, final approval was given for an unlimited number of Big Ten basketball teams to participate in the National Invitation tourney. The agreement is that the N.

I. T. will first select the league run-ncrup and then any others it wants. The champion automatically goes to the N. C.

A. A. meet. Marcus riant, University of Michigan faculty representative, acted as spokesman for the joint group which includes becomes null and void," said a disconsolate Tippy Dye, Wildcat athletic director. "I don't know what our alternatives will be.

I'm disappointed but I wouldn't put the blame on anyone." Asked whether there was any chance tho Bears would play their league schedule in Dyche Stadium in 1971, Dye answered: "not now." George Halas owner of the Bears, and George Halas club president, are in Phoenix, where they could not be reached last night for comment. The Bears had sought to leave Wrigley Field, their home for 50 years, because of baseball schedule conflicts and the desire for a bigger stadium. They played their home opener in Dycho Stadium last year BY ROY DAMER It's back to the drawing board, or Wrigley Field, for the Chicago Bears. The Big Ten yesterday denied permission for Northwestern to lease Dyche Stadium to the Bears. Northwestern and the Chicago National Football League club had signed an agreement Feb.

24 whereby the Bears would have played in Dyche Stadium for five, years and the university's athletic department would reap more than $2 million in benefits. But the Big Ten, superseding the city council and neighborhood resident, took Northwestern out of the box on this one. No reason was given for the action which came on the first day of tho Big Ten's March meetings. "Our contract with the Bears.