Muhammad Ali vs. Karl Mildenberger

Boxing competition

Date

September 10, 1966

Venue

Waldstadion, Frankfurt, West Germany

Title(s) on the line

WBC, NYSAC, and The Ring heavyweight titles

Tale of the tape

Boxer	Muhammad Ali	Karl Mildenberger
Hometown	Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.	Kaiserslautern, Germany
Pre-fight record	25–0	49–2–3
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)	6 ft 1+1⁄2 in (187 cm)
Weight	204 lb (93 kg)	195 lb (88 kg)
Style	Orthodox	Southpaw
Recognition	WBC, NYSAC, and The Ring heavyweight champion	European Heavyweight Champion

Result

Ali won via 12th round TKO

Muhammad Ali and Karl Mildenberger fought for the world's heavyweight championship on September 10, 1966. The champion's sixth title defense since winning the world title in 1964, Ali stopped Mildenberger in the 12th round.^[1]

Fight

The fight held several historic firsts, this included the location. Being held in Frankfurt, this was Germany's first time hosting a world heavyweight title fight in the country. Mildenberger would also be the first southpaw to get a heavyweight title shot. The fight would serve as the first ever sports event that was broadcast live via satellite through a color telecast.^[2]

Ali was given 10-1 odds of defeating the European Champion, and a crowd of over 40,000 spectators attended the fight, along with millions of television viewers around the world.

At first, Mildenberger's unorthodox southpaw style caused Ali some surprising discomfort in the early rounds of the bout, a sight rarely seen by the champion. Despite the early difficulties, Ali quickly adjusted, and by the mid rounds had taken full control of the fight. Mildenberger's left eye was cut in the sixth round, and by the end of round eight it had completely swollen shut. Ali also scored three knockdowns over the course of the fight (in the fifth, eighth and tenth rounds), although Mildenberger managed to beat the count each time. The fight finally came to an end when the referee stopped the fight halfway through the 12th round. The technical knockout would be Ali's 21st knockout victory in just 26 fights.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

References

^ "ESPN Classic - Muhammad Ali's ring record". www.espn.com. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
^ "A MUSLIM MINISTERS TO A SOUTHPAW". Sports Illustrated. 19 September 1966. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
^ "From the S&S archives: Clay stops Mildenberger in 12th on TKO". Stars and Stripes. 12 September 1966. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
^ Thomas Hauser (1991). Muhammad Ali:His Life and Times. Simon & Schuster. pp. 153–4.
^ Stephen Brunt (2002). Facing Ali. The Lyons Press. pp. 88–94.
^ Felix Dennis; Don Atyeo (2003). Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years. miramax books. p. 150.

Muhammad Ali

Fights

Media

Docu films and series	Whicker's World (1967 episode) a.k.a. Cassius Clay (1970) Facing Ali (2009) When Ali Came to Ireland (2012) The Trials of Muhammad Ali (2013) I Am Ali (2014) Icons: The Greatest Person of the 20th Century (2019 episode) What's My Name: Muhammad Ali (2019) Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali (2021) Muhammad Ali (2021 series)