In March 1971 Perenchio promoted the Fight of the Century at Madison Square Garden that brought together two unbeaten world heavyweight boxing champions, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Each fighter was guaranteed $2.5 million for the fight. The event blended sports with spectacle and glamorized boxing, in part because the sold-out crowd at the Garden included celebrities and politicians. Perenchio enlisted concert promoters to help sell 1.5 million closed-circuit tickets throughout the United States, and sold the rights in over 100 countries. Two years later, in September 1973, he promoted the Battle of the Sexes tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs that took place at the Houston Astrodome. It was the largest live audience (30,472) for any tennis match ever, and was the highest rated broadcast for that year when it was televised during prime-time on ABC.