Muhammad Ali Was Once Challenged by Wilt Chamberlain Into a Boxing Match. And One of them Back Out.

Muhammad Ali and Wilt Chamberlain both Showing their Reach with one another. 

   A promotional bout was about to happen in July 26, 1971 when Muhammad Ali finally accepted the the challenge of Wilt Chamberlain in a boxing match. Two of the greatest Athletes in their generation are set to make a historical bout that everyone was excited about. But what the fans did not expect is the publicity took longer than the fight which did not happen at all. Let us take a look between the 2 Contenders.

Boxer #1 Muhammad Ali

Age: 29

Height: 6 ft 3 in

Reach: 78 in

   Muhammad Ali if the fight happened will come out of a recent loss from Joe Frazier which he end up losing both WBA and WBC Heavyweight Titles to him. This was suppose to be his comeback fight against a non-boxer, but it ended up being Jimmy Ellis which he defeated by TKO and won NABF Heavyweight Title. People even say his game will be rusty because he recently served his 3 year suspension from boxing. 

Boxer #2 Wilt Chamberlain

Age: 35

Height: 7 ft 2 in (+11 in)

Reach:  92 in (+14 in)

   Now obviously even if Wilt Chamberlain does not have the boxing skills he has the Physical Tools to have a chance of fighting Ali in the Ring. Also there are rumors that he have spent hundreds of thousand dollars in his boxing training regime to keep him prepared for the fight. 

So What Went Wrong and Who Won?

   During the day of the conference when the reporters ask Ali about how he will overcome the the height and reach of Chamberlain his answer was only the words "Timber" while maintaining eye contact with Wilt.  And when Wilt Chamberlain is the one who is now being interviewed by the reporters Muhammad Ali kept mentioning the words to Wilt Chamberlain making him nervous every time. After a while Wilt Chamberlain got annoyed with Ali and  asked him to elaborate more and Ali shortly answered " The Tree Will Fall". And that comment injected fear to Wilt and asked for a moment to speak with his managers and lawyers for the reason of backing out the fight. 

Muhammad Ali won by default because of Intimidation. 

   All of the publicity and contract signing come to a waste the moment Wilt Chamberlain decided to back off in the fight making the match impossible to happen. Muhammad Ali never backs down not only in the ring but in the interviews as well, before the day of the fight there was a recorded interview saying that Wilt must remove his cushion, which means shaving of his goatee. Well the intimidation paid off well as he won a match without fighting in it.