Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

vs. Karl Mildenberger was a professional boxing match contested on 10 September 1966, for the

WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...

, NYSAC, and ''The Ring'' heavyweight championship. This was the champion's sixth title defense since winning the world title in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

. Ali stopped Mildenberger in the 12th round.

Background

The fight held several historic firsts, this included the location. Being held in Frankfurt, this was Germany's first time hosting a world heavyweight title fight in the country. Mildenberger would also be the first southpaw to get a heavyweight title shot. The fight would serve as the first ever sports event that was broadcast live via satellite through a color telecast. Ali was given 10-1 on odds of defeating the European Champion, and a crowd of over 40,000 spectators attended the fight, along with millions of television viewers around the world.

The fight

At first, Mildenberger's unorthodox

southpaw Southpaw is another name for a left-handed individual, particularly in sports. Southpaw may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''The Southpaw'', a 1952 novel by Mark Harris * Southpaw (comics), a fictional character in the Marvel comic ''Sh ...

style caused Ali some surprising discomfort in the early rounds of the bout, a sight rarely seen by the champion. Despite the early difficulties, Ali quickly adjusted, and by the mid rounds had taken full control of the fight. Mildenberger's left eye was cut in the sixth round, and by the end of round eight it had completely swollen shut. Ali also scored three knockdowns over the course of the fight (in the fifth, eighth and tenth rounds), although Mildenberger managed to beat the count each time. The fight finally came to an end when the referee stopped the fight halfway through the 12th round. The technical knockout would be Ali's 21st knockout victory in just 26 fights.

Aftermath

Years later,

Angelo Dundee Angelo is an Italian masculine given name and surname meaning "angel", or "messenger". People People with the given name *Angelo Accattino (born 1966), Italian prelate of the Catholic Church *Angelo Acciaioli (bishop) (1298–1357), Italian Rom ...

said a tenth round punch to the liver area hurt Ali, whose ability to withstand body blows was legendary.

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:

Broadcasting

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Mildenberger 1966 in boxing 1966 in West German sport September 1966 sports events in Europe Boxing matches in Germany Mildenberger Boxing on ABC World Boxing Council heavyweight championship matches Sports competitions in Frankfurt