Muhammad Ali vs. Alfredo Evangelista

Muhammad Ali vs. Alfredo Evangelista was a professional boxing match contested on May 16, 1977, for the undisputed heavyweight championship. Ali won the bout through a unanimous decision on points (71–65, 72–64, 72–64). The fight was held in the Capital Centre before a crowd of over 12,000 at the Capital Centre, along with a prime time broadcast on ABC.

Background
This was Muhammad Ali's ninth title defense during his second title reign, and the first since his third bout with Ken Norton. This close and controversial fight happened over seven months ago, representing the longest break the champion had taken in between title fights.

Alfredo Evangelista was a young and relatively inexperienced fighter, he had scored eleven knockouts in just fourteen victories in just over a year, and suffered only one defeat. By 1977, Evangelista began entering the heavyweight top ten rankings, and before the fight was ranked eighth by the WBA and 10th by the WBC.

Despite the challenger's formidable left hook, Ali and his team expected an easy victory. Despite the confidence, Ali did make sure to properly train and slim down after having gained significant weight in the time off between fights.

The Fight
The fight proved to be another difficult defense for the champion. Evangelista was able to go the distance with Ali, and managed to land his powerful left hook on several occasions, but only stunned the champion twice (in the sixth and eighth round). Ali heavily used his rope-a-dope tactic, mixed in with his use of the shuffle and jab to outmaneuver the challenger. On several occasions Ali landed effective combinations and even came close to shutting out the challenger, but was unable to knock him out.

The longer the fight lasted, the bolder Evangelista got, but Ali ultimately won the fight by unanimous decision. Ali had effectively out landed Evangelista in punches, particularly in jabs, but the challenger landed more power punches and was seen as the aggressor by the crowd, who booed the decision.

Undercard
Confirmed bouts:
 * Alfredo Escalera KO 8 Carlos Becerril Escalera retains WBC world Junior Lightweight Title
 * Roberto Durán UD 10 Javier Muniz
 * Tyrone Everett TKO 4 Delfino Rodriguez

Quotes
"I'm sorry, we televised it" Howard Cosell doing the bout for ABC who later said that this was one of the worst bouts he's ever seen.

"I'm 35 and I danced for 15 rounds, it's a miracle". Ali after his bout with Evangelista.