Muhammad Ali vs. Jimmy Ellis

The Inevitable Fight
Date	July 26, 1971
Venue	Astrodome, Houston, Texas
Title(s) on the line	NABF heavyweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer
Boxer	Muhammad Ali
Nickname	"The Greatest"
Hometown	Louisville, Kentucky
Purse	$450,000
Pre-fight record	31–1 (25 KO)
Age	29 years, 6 months
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	220+1⁄2 lb (100 kg)
Style	Orthodox
Recognition	Former undisputed heavyweight champion
Result
	Ali won via 12th round TKO (2:10)

Muhammad Ali vs. Jimmy Ellis, billed as The Inevitable Fight, was a professional boxing match contested on July 26, 1971, for the NABF heavyweight championship.^[1]

Background

This was Ali's first boxing match after Fight of the Century,^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] and had originally been scheduled as a bout between Wilt Chamberlain, who had challenged him, then trained for the bout with Cus D'Amato, but later withdrew from the fight.^[7]

The fight

Ali won the bout through a technical knockout when the referee stopped the fight in the twelfth round.

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:^[8]

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
Philippines	ABS-CBN
United Kingdom	BBC

References

^ "Muhammad Ali vs. Jimmy Ellis". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
^ Thomas Hauser (1991). Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times. Simon & Schuster. pp. 240–1.
^ Felix Dennis; Don Atyeo (2003). Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years. miramax books. pp. 190–2.
^ "He Has Heavy Things On His Mind". Sports Illustrated. 26 July 1971. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
^ "END OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP". Sports Illustrated. 2 August 1971. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
^ "Victor, at 220½, in Command of Houston Bout". The New York Times. 27 July 1971. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
^ O'Reilly, Terry (August 30, 2018). "Achilles Heel Advertising: Repositioning the Competition". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
^ "BoxRec - event".

Preceded by vs. Joe Frazier	Muhammad Ali's bouts 26 July 1971	Succeeded by vs. Buster Mathis
Preceded by vs. George Chuvalo	Jimmy Ellis's bouts 26 July 1971	Succeeded by vs. Dick Gosha

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[1] "Muhammad Ali vs. Jimmy Ellis". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 11 July 2024.

[Hauser_240-1-2] Thomas Hauser (1991). Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times. Simon & Schuster. pp. 240–1.

[Glory_Years-3] Felix Dennis; Don Atyeo (2003). Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years. miramax books. pp. 190–2.

[SI_preview-4] "He Has Heavy Things On His Mind". Sports Illustrated. 26 July 1971. Retrieved 6 October 2016.

[SI_fight-5] "END OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP". Sports Illustrated. 2 August 1971. Retrieved 6 October 2016.

[NYT-6] "Victor, at 220½, in Command of Houston Bout". The New York Times. 27 July 1971. Retrieved 6 October 2016.

[7] O'Reilly, Terry (August 30, 2018). "Achilles Heel Advertising: Repositioning the Competition". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved March 27, 2016.

[8] "BoxRec - event".

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