The first Ali-Frazier fight was bigger than sports. I was a kid growing up in white working-class Philly and can’t remember a single adult in that little world ever calling Ali by any other name than Cassius Clay. More here.
Frazier dies. Fight of the century continues.
No.
Your description of the two sides is pretty close, but I remember very well what Ali said about being drafted to go fight in Nam and why he gave up his Title. He said, “Those Vietnamese people ain’t never called me “N—-g-r!”
Ali gained a tremendous amount of worldwide respect for taking a stand against the war, giving up his Title, and fighting to get it back three years later. What a man he was!