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Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 38

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Detroit, Michigan
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38
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2-D March. 10, '71 DETROIT FREE PRESS The Promoters Loved the Fight But Some Fans Call It 'a Bore Taxes Hurt Ali More Than Losing landing and Italy's Soccer Cup final match in Mexico City last summer. In South Korea, an estimated twu million Koreans watched via TV. They had to settle for black and white since color TV Is still unavailable. The only closed-circuit location in Europe was in London where a record 90,000 Englishmen paid $720,000 to watch the proceedings in the middle of the night.

In all, an estimated 300 million watched the bout. A CROWD OF 17,500 jammed the Spectrum in Philadelphia to root for hometown favorite Frazier, while another 40,000 paid $25 a head at closed-circuit sites in Philadelphia and south Jer sey. An estimated 6,000 braved 17-degree tempera- NEW YORK (UPI) A very subdued Muhammad Ali lay on his bed at the Hotel New Yorker this morning and said, "I'm not going to cry." "I made a lot of people unhappy when I beat them so it's my time now. I'm not going to cry. A lot of great fighters get whipped." However, the uncommonly subdued Ali was angered but not at Frazier.

He was angry he said because "I make 2V2 million dollars on this fight but of that $1,500,000 goes on taxes, $348,000 goes to the State of New York, and then there's another $255,000 for training expenses. How much does that leave me?" (Just about $397,000.) "I'm not too anxious to keep fighting if they take all my money. I'd just as soon fieht $100,000 fights." tures to watch in the open at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium. Another 3,000 showed up In Birmingham, while some 24 locations in the New England area were expected to gross nearly $1 million. The frigid surroundings at the Pittsburgh ball park didn't dampen fans' enthusiasm.

"Worth twice the money," said one teeth-chattering fan who paid $15 for the privilege of sitting amidst gusty winds up to 30 mph and a few snow flurries. All was not well everywhere. EQUIPMENT FAILURE at Duluth, Minn. left 2,200 people huddled around the audio speaker merely listening to announcer Don Dunphy's voice as in the good old days of radio. Jackson, likewise had picture shortcomings.

Spectators at New York's Hunter College saw seven rounds before the picture became blurry and finally died. Scalpers, in true Texas style, were big in Houston where they asked up to $60 for a TV ticket. Marquee changers at a theater in Seattle were slow getting their billing changed from the Monday spectacular to the regular Tuesday movie. At one point, the marquee read: "Paul Newman and Robert Redford Fight of the Champions." The satellite bounced the fight's image across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Orient and Russia. Perhaps the most succinct report of all came from Tass, the official Soviet news agency, which noted that the match "between Negro sportsmen Cassius Clay, known as Muhammad Ali, and Diana Ross Diana Ross Consoles Ali Mod-clad Diana Ross, the famous Detroit singing ex-Supreme, brightened Muhammad Ali's day after his loss to Joe Frazier with a dressing room visit, a smile, a kiss, and a kind word: "Hi, champ." All responded: "I ain't no champ." Free Press Wirt Service) World wide reaction was mixed Tuesday in the wake of Joe Frazier's successful heavyweight title defense against Muhammad Ali, but ona thing wes certain it was a financial blockbuster.

Early returns indicated that the box office draw might even surpass the stratospheric million gross receipts predicted by the fight's promoters. "We did very well," Jerry Perenchio understated as he waited In his New York hotel suite for more attendance and financial figures that have' been pouring in from the United States and Europe. "It's like election returns," Perenchio said. "There are some states still to be heard from, but everything is holding true to what we expected. We've done something over $10 million already." It was Perenchio, along with millionaire Los Angeles sportsman Jack Kent Cooke who brought the two heavyweights together with an offer of $2.5 million each.

NOT ALL OF the world's comment was as happy as Perenchio's. In Argentina, for example, TV viewers said it was the worst performance of Ali's career. In Australia, a barmaid said it was one of the worst days for the cash register. In London and Paris, where the fight was watched in pre-dawn hours, commentators called it "a bore, a parody and a disappointment." Australians crowded into pubs to watch the fight in early afternoon, but were forsaking the food and drink in favor of TV. "Worst Tuesday's take this year," grumbled one barmaid.

THE FIGHT WAS A popular one in Italy, where millions of fans shivered all night in unheated parlors to hear running reports via satellite on the state-run radio and TV networks. Italian TV paid a reported $100,000 for transmission rights for the fight. Only twice before have the 1 1 a 1 i a run middle-of-the-night transmissions the first moon Area Gate: $650,000 Nearly 60,000 fight fans shelled out more than $650,000 Monday night to watch the closed-circuit telecast of the heavyweight title bout at 10 sites in Michigan and Windsor. A crowd of 13,852 saw Joe Frazier's victory over Muhammad Ali at Olympia while there were turnouts of 8,200 and 5,045 at U-D Memorial and the Fox Theater, respectively. Other attendance figures included Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor Windsor Flint Saginaw Port Huron Lansing 4,600 and Grand Rapids 4,700.

Joe Frazier, ended in the latter's victory on points." STOCKHOLM -(UPI) Former world heavyweight champion Ingemar Johansson predicted Tuesday that Muhammad Ali would win a return fight against Joe Frazier "if he gets five months of training and returns to his old style." Johansson, 38, who ruled the heavywieght division In 1959 and 1960, said he had expected Frazier to win Monday night's fight because of All's long lay off. "Clay was lucky that Frazier tired in the end. Otherwise he could have been knocked out," Johansson wrote in the Stockholm afternoon newspaper Aftonbladet. Lincoln Pk. Gal To Run for U.S Pam Bagian of Lincoln Park will be one of six girls to represent the United States in the Women's World Cross Country Championships in San Sabas-tian, Spain, March 20.

Miss Bagian, who runs for the Lincoln Park Wolverines, qualified by finishing sixth in the United States cross country championships last fall in St. Louis. The 19-year-old runner leaves for Spain Thursday. Fight Films iii 700 Theaters NEW YORK (UPI Cinerama Releasing announced Tuesday that the motion pictures of the Joe Frazier-Muhammad Ali heavyweight title bout will be shown in some 700 theaters in the United States and Canada beginning Friday. A spokesman for Cinerama Releasing said that 700 prints of the bout are being made, compared to an average order of 300, and that there is a possibility that 300 more prints will be made.

He said that the original order of prints is the largest ever made. Win TAMPA, Fla. (UPI) Light heavyweight champion Bob Foster, himself a knockout victim at the hands of heavyweight title holder Joe Frazier, said Tuesday his only regret over the Frazier-Cassius Clay fight was that Clay wasn't knocked out. "I wish Joe had knocked his brains out," Foster said. Foster was among the crowd watching the fight here on closed circuit television.

When Frazier dropped Clay in the 15th round Foster leaped out of his seat in jubilation. Tigers Finally America! larges selling Continued from First Sports though. Both came off the bat of Reds' first baseman Lee May and both cleared the left-field fence. "Joe just got careless on a couple i explained Martin in the wake of his first win as the Tiger manager. 'He was throwing a good sinking ball but he tried to waste a fast ball and got it up.

"THE REASON I didn't au-tomatically include him among my starters was because I was looking for a good long middle relief man who could also be a spot starter," Billy continued. "And because straight jL VATICAN CITY (AP) A Vatican newspaper called the Joe Frazier-Muhammad Ali boxing match Tuesday "a primitive fight" because it took place before "a tense and delirious crowd." In a comment published by the Vatican daily newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, the Rt. Rev. Gino Concetti, a Vatican theologian, warned that "many voices have denounced boxing as immoral." "It is true," the theologian said that in boxing, "the offensive and defensive weapons are not so deadly as modern firearms. But this does not mean that the blows exchanged between two boxers could not cause physical harm.

Not a few times the ring has caused deaths." son's stopper Tom Timmer-man who was making his first appearance of the spring. TIMMERMAN tossed two scoreless innings, which made Martin more than a little bit happy because he had not been throwing well at all during batting practice or on the sidelines. Other highlights of Tuesday's victory included the Tigers' first home run of the spring a two-run job by cen-terfielder Mickey Stanley and third baseman Aurelio Rodriguiz' first hit since leaving Washington a long triple. Rightfielder Jim Northrup was also charged with a couple of errors, i 1 i a costly three-baser that turned a routine single by Jimmy Stewart into an inside-the-park home run. the kind of guy who could do both of those things and do them very well.

There aren't many guys who can." However, Cain is still a question mark because of the persistent soreness in his shoulder, Hannan hasn't been able to get anybody out and Scherman looks like the left-handed mainstay in the bullpen, so Niekro has been promoted to "most likely fourth starter." Martin employed a total of 26 Tigers in the ballgame but it was left for Al Kaline, in the contest as a substitute first baseman to provide the inning punch. With the score tied, 7-7, the Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth. Pinch hitter Russ a 1 whose chances of making the ball-club are improving every day, singled. Gates Brown did the same, and Jim Northrup who already had his first three PALL MALL RED of his good control, Niekro The finest quality money can buy. sj v.

per cigarette. FTC Report NOV. 70 2D3S Frazier Told to Retire But Lure Is Strong 28 nicotine CINCINNATI AB DETROIT AB Bl Brinkmn ss 4 0 0 0 Timrman 0 0 0 Naonltn oh 1 1 0 Stewart cf 4 2 10 2 Continued from First Sports Duffy ss McRae If Mav IB Revaua 3b Sltkwci pr 0 1 0 0 DELUXE CHAMPION It 1 Jones 2b 2 110 Adms oh lb 2 0 0 0 Horton If 10 0 0 Swanson rf I I Lf I 1 I I lllll II I UUlll. tllAl All Sim I Sink Hit v' Th npnnlp wore me out. I Spencer cf Corrales 6 Brown If 4 1 2 4 12 Ferguson Northrp rt Cash lb HCTiHT Urm WW 3 cnaney to 0 In Rorhon Tubal Kaline phlb Roririaz 3b "He's strong, he's good at whitH mm mi E.

Tim mm tltM Stanley cf 4 12 3 Price 2 0 0 0 4 3 2 0 0 0 Ml SPfFO BAtANnNG SI 90 Cline ph Osburn Bravo ph Pless Osborne Hoslev re 10 0 0 ph I 0 0 0 MM 10 0 McAiitte He Lamoni Niokro I nt Hannon 0 Seelbach 0 Jata nh 0 ills ai.yic. tic vuiuiiii boy," he said with a sigh. "But a man with his style won't be In boxing long. One i. thing I'm happy about, every- body got their money's worth.

t- The crowd was pleased, that's the main thing. And if it Robrfson BOO 0 6 0 Freehan pn 1 0 Martinqs ss 0 0 Molinro ph 1 0 Cutierez ss 0 0 nits of the spring in this ball-game has intentionally walked. THAT BROUGHT up Kaline, who calmly lifted a Dan Osborne curve ball into center-field, scoring pinch runner Ken Szotkiewicz easily with the sacrifice fly. Hannan, acquired from Washington as part of the Denny McLain deal, had his hands full for the second straight outing, allowing four runs on five hits in just one-third of an inning to send his earned run average soaring to 27.00. As a reward, Hannan will pitch 20 minutes of batting practice Wednesday to try to straighten himself out.

Tuesday's win went to Niek-ro's roommate, and last sea JTjtjJCARGAR. tit, coot luUU wasn i iur mis jaw, i iuv onnri. Rut mv hlns hurt a lot. 31 712 4 Totals 35 1 10 7 010 140 100-7 12 000 301 021-1 10 2 Totals Cincinnati DETROIT two years, Cooke has first refusal." THE POSSIBILITY of a rematch, however, hinges on whether Ali loses his Supreme Court bid to overturn his draft evasion conviction. Ali has not been willing to talk about his difficulties with the even though he is willing to talk about practically any other subject.

"We'd be naive not to say we'd like a rematch," Perenchio said. "It was a great fight." It was one of the few "Fights or the Century" that actually lived up to its advance publicity. Aside from the total gross of $18-mlIlion, including a record indoor gate of $1,352,961 from the Madison Square Garden crowd of the fight provided few disappointments for the fans. "I'm ready for that rematch a i Frazier said. "First, I've got to live a little.

I've got to spend some time with my family, ride my motorcycle and sing with my band. I've been working too hard the last 10 years." They can't rank me with Jimmy Ellis or Bob Foster, I went through 15 rounds with him." Ellis did not answer the bell for the fifth round and Foster was flattened in the second round by Frazier. "When a man gets me going," Ali continued, "when I'm wobbly, that's a punch, and when a man drops me, that was a helluva punch. I didn't give the fight to him, he earned it." ALI WHO had Xrays of his jaw to determine it was not broken, said he will be ready for another try "in six or seven months." A rematch would probably be held in the forum, the showplace of Jack Kent Cooke in Ingelwood, Calif. Cooke backed the fight this time, putting up most of the money for each i 's guarantee.

The contract for a night's fight had an option for the return. The contract stipulated that each man will get an identical amount as a guarantee, i 2B Jones, Swanson, Chaney, Duffy. 3B -Rodriauei. HR May 2, Stanley. SF Cash, Kaline.

Northrup 2, Bevacaua, Duffy. DP Cincinnati 1. LOB-Cincinnati "Joe Frazier don't hit you in the body, he hits you here," he said, pointing to his left hip. ''He shouldn't do that, that's t- not decent. He does it to you mm Detroit 7.

KITCHENS BATHS PORCHES ADDITIONS ER BB SO I 8 REC. ROOMS DORMERS IP 4 3 1 4 2 Vt 5 Borbon Osburn Pless Osborne (L) Niekro Hannan aeTTPP'gl'i JTT.IJJ yUll I i i i 4KQ Robertson 2 3 Timmerman (W) 2 2 HBP Adams (by Osburn). 2:09. talked about his body punches, but my stomach's not sore. No trouble there.

It's my hips, "2 that's where it hurts me the most, my hips." ASKED HOW long he would rest before his next bout. rm mm a Ka nendine the Supreme Court de- fir cision on his appealed draft-refusal conviction, Ali smiled. "I'll need at least five months." he said. "I fought DEAlElt TIA Jerry Quarry right away, then 1 iiimnpri rioht on Oscar Bnn- avena, then I jumped right on joe rrazier ana dcuuic were "The contract will still have to be negotiated," Durham said at Frazier's hideaway hotel Tuesday, "but if the bout takes place within the next AH3W iiimMmrl a hnw txnnA I mac but I want Joe Frazier again. THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ALL NEW 1971 Presented in association with the Ontario Harness Horsemen's Association.

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