Shortly after Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in the Houston Astrodome Battle of the Sexes match in 1973, Muhammad Ali appeared on the Mike Douglas Show as a guest and he was asked about the famous clash because King was also a guest on the same live telecast.
Ali said, “I don’t know anything about ice hockey, concerts, opera, tennis. I don’t follow it. But I liked this fella (Riggs) talking about his game. He was… I just liked the way he talked. I watched it in my room… where was I?… Cleveland… I watched that thing. I wanted to see what he would do if he got beat. Because we talk like that, it puts us on a big spot. But he shook her hand and everything and it was all right.”
King, seated to Ali’s left, was wide-eyed in the presence of the then former World Heavyweight Champion who had recently avenged a decision loss to Ken Norton and was in training to avenge a 1971 loss to Joe Frazier, the rematch was going to be held at Madison Square Garden.
King, practically on the edge of her seat, submissively asked Ali about his preparation for the forthcoming Frazier rematch, “Preparation is really the most important aspect, how much time are you putting in? How many hours a day of training,” asked King.
Ali answered: “About five weeks for the Frazier. This time about thirteen weeks. I trained in the city, I didn’t run like I should have, I played, I was clowning, took it lightly. I was off for four years. He’s taken a lot of punches, he’s getting older.”
Ali won the rematch with Frazier by unanimous decision and then beat George Foreman in 1974 is Kinshasa, Zaire to regain the heavyweight title. In 1975 Ali again beat Frazier by 14th round TKO in Manila, Philippines.
Ali and King on Douglas Show link here
Ali artwork by Scoop Malinowski
Billie Jean King · Bobby Riggs · Joe Frazier · Muhammad Ali
