"Thrilla in Manila" third match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier

Muhammad Ali's third fight against his archrival Joe Frazier was a spectacular ending to the long lasting struggle of the two Heavyweights who faced each other for a total of 132 minutes in the ring. The "Thrilla in Manila" is considered one of the most brutal and bitter bouts in the history of boxing; it was the only time an Ali - Frazier bout did not last for the scheduled time.

After having regained the title against George Foreman in Zaire one year earlier, Ali had successfully defended the belt three times within three months against mostly mediocre opponents. Now he was to face Joe Frazier for the third time to change the record to his favor (Frazier had won the first bout in 1971, Ali prevailed in the rematch three years later).

The bout was important for Ali not only in terms of prestige. He was guaranteed a purse of six million dollars which was twice as much as Joe's and more than Ali had received for the first two fights altogether.

As usual, Ali didn't miss a chance to verbally attack his foe in the days leading to the bout. This time it was worse than ever: He gave Frazier the nickname "Gorilla", called him ignorant and mocked him because of his ghetto slang. Frazier reciprocated with untypically bellicose statements: "I want to hurt him. I don't want to knock him out. I want to take his heart out."

Finally, the day of the fight was there. On the morning of October 1 (the fight took place at 10:45 a.m. to suit US viewers) 25,000 people crowded the Philippines Coliseum in Quezon City, six miles outside Manila, hoping for a great fight between stylist and slugger.

As expected, Ali puts pressure on Frazier in the beginning, stinging him with jabs and combinations to the head, winning the first rounds. Frazier does not lose hope - he knows his time is still to come. He keeps smiling as he takes Ali's punches and retaliates with punches to Ali's arms and body, once in a while a hook gets through to Ali's head.

With about a third of the f...

1975-10-01 : Muhammad Ali 224½lbs beat Joe Frazier 215½lbs by RTD in round 14 of 15
Location: Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Referee: Carlos Padilla 66-60
Judge: Larry Nadayag 66-62
Judge: Alfredo Quiazon 67-62
World Boxing Council Heavyweight Title (Ali defending)
World Boxing Association Heavyweight Title (Ali defending)

The Thrilla in Manila was the third and final famous boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for the Heavyweight Boxing Championship of the World, fought at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines on October 1, 1975.
The bout is often ranked as one of the greatest fights of 20th century boxing, and is the climax to the bitter rivalry between Ali and Frazier over who was the legitimate Heavyweight Champion. That situation came about after Ali was stripped of the title over his refusal to join the armed forces when drafted during the Vietnam war. Some years later after repeated weekly prodding from Ali, Frazier petitioned President Nixon to restore Ali's right to box thereby bringing about the so called Fight of the Century between two undisputed heavyweight champions in 1971.
During the whole period between their first and their last face-off in Manila, including the years which preceded the restoration of Ali's right to fight, Ali had used his wit, sharp tongue, and position with the press to take characteristic verbal pot shots at Frazier (as was his practice with all opponents—and which made good copy and controversy) but these became controversial and at times ugly, after his loss in the Fight of the Century, and this verbal battery heated the rivalry into new territory.
Both boxers battled each other into near incapacity, and Frazier's trainer determined he should stop the bout after the fourteenth round, so the decision went to Ali as a technical knockout (TKO). The early and middle parts of the fight were close, with spectacular ebb and flow, and in the later rounds things gradually swung Ali's way in the scoring for any likely decision. The final match up between Ali and Frazier was ultimately detrimental to the health of both fighters. The first fight in 1971 between these two pugilists went fifteen rounds and the second fight going 12 rounds, which were both similarly hard on the participants.
At 10:45 AM, with a morn...