Key points:
- On October 26, 1970, Muhammad Ali beat Jerry Quarry at the Municipal Auditorium in Atlanta, when Quarry’s corner stopped the fight before round four, in Ali’s first fight in 43 months
- Georgia had no boxing commission, so the City of Atlanta licensed Ali after State Senator Leroy Johnson found a loophole and won over Mayor Sam Massell and Governor Lester Maddox
- Ali (213lbs) cut Quarry (198lbs) over the left eye with a right hand in round three, and the cut needed stitches
- Ali earned $200,000 and Quarry $150,000, and Ali’s New York licence was restored soon afterwards
Fifty-six years ago today, Muhammad Ali was allowed to box again.
Exile
Ali had been out of the ring since 1967 and stripped of the heavyweight title, after refusing induction into the US Army. More than 60 attempts to find him a licence failed, until State Senator Leroy Johnson noticed that Georgia had no boxing commission. That meant the City of Atlanta could license him. Johnson won over Mayor Sam Massell and Governor Lester Maddox, and Ali boxed an exhibition at Morehouse College on September 2.
The fight
Quarry was the only heavyweight willing to take it. Ali, in front of a sell-out crowd of around 5,000, used his jab and opened a cut over Quarry’s left eye with a right hand in round three. Referee Tony Perez waved the fight off before the start of round four, and it went into the books as a third-round technical knockout.
What it unlocked
Atlanta’s licence reopened the door. Ali’s New York licence was reinstated, and soon afterwards he fought Joe Frazier for the heavyweight title.