Statue of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier Unveiled to Celebrate 50th Anniversary of ‘Fight of the Century’

Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier battled 50 years ago in the “Fight of the Century,” and now, the two are preserved in bronze as the statue of the two was unveiled in Philadelphia this week. The statue will be displayed at a planned sports museum in Pennsylvania and was designed by artist Ernel Martinez. The Associated Press shared a video of the unveiling of the statue, which stands nine feet and weighs over 1,600 pounds.

“In 50 years, it’s still the biggest event that has ever happened in the history of sports,” Frazier’s son Joe Frazier Jr. said in a speech, as reported by PEOPLE. “It transcends all generations.” I have two 7-year-olds, an 18-year-old, I’ve watched the fight with them. They love it [and] they don’t know anything about boxing. “But they just know what’s happening. They can see the passion.”

There was also a plaque presented alongside the statue which describes the fight that took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 8, 1971. The plaque reads, “two undefeated boxing Heavyweight Champions fought before the entire world for 15 rounds of gruesome combat” before Frazier won. There has not been a comparable sports contest since this event.” It went on to say that Frazier knocked Ali down in the 15th round. The end of the plaque read, “In a time of civil unrest, these two gladiators united the country with their differing, but righteous, principles.”

When Frazier won the fight, he handed Ali the first loss of his pro boxing career. The two would meet again on January 28, 1974, and Ali would come out on top with a 12-round win via unanimous decision. Ali and Frazier would battle one more time on Oct. 1, 1975, and Ali would win again via referee technical decision. Ali died in 2016 at the age of 74 due to respiratory complications. Frazier died in 2011 at the age of 67 after a battle with cancer.