The October 26, 1970, fight between Muhammad Ali and Jerry Quarry was more than a prizefight. It was the first mixed-race fight of major consequence in the Deep South (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Georgia) since George Dixon knocked out Jack Skelly at the Olympic Club in New Orleans in 1892. It marked Ali’s return to boxing after an exile of more than three years. And it symbolized the rise of Atlanta as the center of black political power in America.