{Look, there are no sports right now and it really sucks. ESPN and other channels have begun showing old games and to be honest, with the massive backlog of events recorded for posterity, I find their lack of imagination a little frustrating. So, for the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting events from different sports and different eras that are unlikely to come up on your TV guide. Hopefully, these posts will make this bizarro timeline a little less dumb. Thanks, YouTube!}
Ken Norton. George Foreman. Sonny Liston. Joe Frazier.
These are the names normally associated with the career of Muhammad Ali. More than 40 different opponents’ fought Ali between 1960 and 1981 and quite a few of them carved out impressive careers fighting among the titans of the sport listed above. One of those fighters whose name sadly doesn’t get enough airtime these days was the Bellflower Bomber, Jerry Quarry.
An undersized fighter from California, Quarry was one of the nation’s most popular fighters during the three-year period when Ail was legally barred from fighting. Quarry fights were always action-packed and it wasn’t uncommon for the man to hit the canvass in a fight but walk away with a victory by the final bell. Blessed with a killer left hook, Quarry was a puncher who could strike at any moment. Unfortunately, his career was hindered due to his bone structure. His browline was prone to cuts and Quarry would lose multiple fights via TKO due to the damage sustained during bouts.
Jerry Quarry & Muhammad Ali fought twice. Their initial bout was in 1970 and was Ali’s first after having his boxing license reinstated. It ended in a third-round TKO victory for Ali, due to a massive cut opened on Quarry’s snake-bitten brow. Because of how the fight ended, Ali promised a rematch and in 1972, he delivered.
I hope you enjoy the fight and especially enjoy not only the beauty of Ali’s performance but the guts and determination shown by Quarry as well. Both men would pay for their professional successes later in life.
