HR 440 — A Resolution designating March 8, 2026, as "Fight of the Century Day" in Pennsylvania.

PRINTER'S NO.    3014

                  THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



           HOUSE RESOLUTION
              No. 440
                                              Session of
                                                2026

     INTRODUCED BY BELLMON, BARTON, SANCHEZ, DOUGHERTY, STAMBAUGH,
        HARKINS, KENYATTA, HILL-EVANS, MAYES, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ AND
        HOHENSTEIN, MARCH 17, 2026

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM, RECREATION AND ECONOMIC
        DEVELOPMENT, MARCH 18, 2026


                               A RESOLUTION
 1   Designating March 8, 2026, as "Fight of the Century Day" in
 2      Pennsylvania.
 3      WHEREAS, In what has been deemed the "Fight of the Century,"
 4   Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, two undefeated fighters and former
 5   Olympic gold medalists, faced off in a legendary 15-round boxing
 6   match at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971; and
 7      WHEREAS, Ali and Frazier were both offered $1.5 million and a
 8   percentage of the total gate for the fight but chose to take the
 9   guaranteed $2.5 million, record earnings for a single prizefight
10   at the time; and
11      WHEREAS, Had the fighters taken the $1.5 million and the
12   percentage, they each would have grossed more than $6 million
13   from the fight, which itself grossed more than $30 million in
14   total; and
15      WHEREAS, Ticket sales for the fight grossed $45 million at
16   closed-circuit venues in the United States alone, and it was
17   viewed by more than 300 million people worldwide, with an
 1   estimated half the population of the United Kingdom watching the
 2   replay on BBC after the results were already widely known; and
 3      WHEREAS, Frazier won the fight by unanimous decision, a
 4   victory secured by a massive left hook to Ali's jaw, making the
 5   "Fight of the Century" Ali's first professional loss; and
 6      WHEREAS, The two men fought again in a 14-round match in
 7   Manila on October 1, 1975, known as the "Thrilla in Manila,"
 8   which saw Ali defeat Frazier; and
 9      WHEREAS, In 1972, Muhammad Ali built a training camp named
10   "Fighter's Heaven" in Deer Lake, where he prepared for numerous
11   fights; and
12      WHEREAS, Joe Frazier, nicknamed "Smokin' Joe," moved to
13   Philadelphia as a teenager and later in his retirement operated
14   a gym on North Broad Street in Philadelphia where he shared his
15   experience with and helped train young people; and
16      WHEREAS, Muhammad Ali suffered through several health
17   ailments in the final years of his life, including Parkinson's
18   disease, spinal stenosis and pneumonia, before passing away in
19   2016, remembered now for his legacy as a boxer, philanthropist
20   and social activist; and
21      WHEREAS, Joe Frazier passed away from a battle against liver
22   cancer in 2011, leaving behind a significant legacy, including
23   impacting the lives of youths throughout Philadelphia and
24   helping to shape a generation of boxers; therefore be it
25      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate March
26   8, 2026, as "Fight of the Century Day" in Pennsylvania.




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