Muhammad Ali v Joe Frazier III (AKA The Thrilla In Manila)
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One of the great things about boxing is that our greatest fights are immortalised in media in one way or another. The legendary fights simply aren't forgotten. One such fight being the amazing "Thrilla In Manila" a fight that has been dubbed by many as the greatest Heavyweight fight in history and one of the greatest fights that there has ever been.
The Heavyweight division and Asia are of course not what you tend to link together. When you think of big fights in Asia you tend to think of the smaller fighters, typically the Super Featherweights and below. This bout however proved that Asia has the ability to host "the big ones", even if it turned out to be a much memorable contest than some had expected.
What made this bout so great was the complete story to it, not just the action in the ring on October 1st 1975. As boxing fans all know the fight was between Muhammad Ali (entering 48-2, 35), the then reigning Heavyweight world champion, and fierce rival Joe Frazier (32-2, 27). This was the third meeting between the two men who has shared the previous two fights with a decision each.
Their first bout, fought in 1971, saw Fraizer knocking Ali down and taking a decision to claim unify the actual titles of the WBA and WBC with the "Lineal" title held by Ali. This first contest was the first loss of Ali's storied career and just his third contest after having had his license revoked for refusing the US Military draft. For Frazier however it was the moment in which he was completely accepted as the world champion.
In their second meeting, in 1974, Ali avenged his loss by taking a decision over Frazier, who had lost the world title to George Foreman a year earlier. Not only had Frazier lost to Foreman and Ali but sadly for the Philadelphia native had then seen Ali defeat Foreman to become a 2-time Heavyweight champion.
Heading in to bout #3 many had thought Frazier to be washed up. They thought Ali was picking an "easy" option in facing Frazier for a third time and thought that this was going to be a case of embarrassing Frazier. It was this key point that made the fight so remarkable at the end.
Whilst the the story of the fighters is well known what is less well talked about is why was it in the Philippines? Well this happened because the then Filipino leader Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. put forward the backing for the fight. Marcos, who was later found to have embezzled billions of dollars, did this as a diversionary tactic to the massive civil war that was ripping the country apart under Marcos presidency.
The Heavyweight division and Asia are of course not what you tend to link together. When you think of big fights in Asia you tend to think of the smaller fighters, typically the Super Featherweights and below. This bout however proved that Asia has the ability to host "the big ones", even if it turned out to be a much memorable contest than some had expected.
What made this bout so great was the complete story to it, not just the action in the ring on October 1st 1975. As boxing fans all know the fight was between Muhammad Ali (entering 48-2, 35), the then reigning Heavyweight world champion, and fierce rival Joe Frazier (32-2, 27). This was the third meeting between the two men who has shared the previous two fights with a decision each.
Their first bout, fought in 1971, saw Fraizer knocking Ali down and taking a decision to claim unify the actual titles of the WBA and WBC with the "Lineal" title held by Ali. This first contest was the first loss of Ali's storied career and just his third contest after having had his license revoked for refusing the US Military draft. For Frazier however it was the moment in which he was completely accepted as the world champion.
In their second meeting, in 1974, Ali avenged his loss by taking a decision over Frazier, who had lost the world title to George Foreman a year earlier. Not only had Frazier lost to Foreman and Ali but sadly for the Philadelphia native had then seen Ali defeat Foreman to become a 2-time Heavyweight champion.
Heading in to bout #3 many had thought Frazier to be washed up. They thought Ali was picking an "easy" option in facing Frazier for a third time and thought that this was going to be a case of embarrassing Frazier. It was this key point that made the fight so remarkable at the end.
Whilst the the story of the fighters is well known what is less well talked about is why was it in the Philippines? Well this happened because the then Filipino leader Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. put forward the backing for the fight. Marcos, who was later found to have embezzled billions of dollars, did this as a diversionary tactic to the massive civil war that was ripping the country apart under Marcos presidency.
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The fight, which began at 10am local time to accommodate for the television audience in the US, didn't really help the fighters. The air was hot and sticky and made worse by the conditions inside the Araneta Coliseum which had had extra lighting for the camera and of course the crowd which had included both President Marcos and his wife Imeld.
Despite the conditions the fight got off to a great start for Ali who looked sharp and accurate from the off. It was the sharp shooting skills of Ali which clearly won the first couple of rounds with Frazier forced to take straight shots and struggling to cut the distance with his bob and weave technique not quite having the timing from the off. Known as a slow starter Frazier was never given any chance to take the opening rounds and him losing them were far from a shock. Although Frazier would also lose the third round of the first it was one that he did have success in, especially with body shots as Ali attempted to use the "Rope-a-Dope" tactic that had worked on George Foreman. Whilst the tactic had worked against Foreman it wasn't as effective against Frazier who got inside and wailed away at the body of the champion with some success. The success from the third round seemed to help build Frazier's momentum and soon afterwards he would tag Ali with a hard right hand, something that forced Ali to change his plan somewhat. In the two previous contests between the two men Frazier's right hand had rarely been used and he was known to be a somewhat 1-handed fighter. This time however he was out to make a point and was going to use both hands to try and defeat his nemesis. As well as the right hand being used Frazier's body shots were also taking an effect on Ali who was forced to protect his midsection from Frazier's assault. Things went from good to great for Frazier in the sixth round as he connected with a series of hard hooks. Ali, who was knocked back from one of them, was forced to show his incredible toughness as he refused to go down. Ali's legs had stiffened for a moment and he did appear to be hurt though managed to see out the storm. Although Frazier managed to have some success in the first part of the seventh round it was this round that acted as a turning point some what with Frazier beginning to show signs of tiring. He was still taking advantage of Ali's "Rope-a-Dope" though Ali himself was managing to find another gear and in the start of the eighth round Ali managed to launch a major attack that seemed to deflate Frazier. The challenger, who had all the heart in the world, kept coming forward though by the end of the tenth round he was becoming less and less effective with Ali managing to pick his spots easier and unload straight shots. The slowing of Frazier played in to the hands of Ali who let loose with a major assault in the eleventh round which lead to swelling around Frazier's face. The swelling, which was covering the right eye of Frazier, left Frazier struggling to see and made him an almost blind target for Ali who continued to pick his spots in a dominant twelfth an thirteenth round. Ali continued to dominate through round fourteen though was beginning to look spent himself. At the end of round fourteen Eddie Futch, the trainer of Joe Frazier, decided to pull his man out of the fight. Apparently Ali himself was wanting to be pulled out of the fight, though before he could be, the fight was already over and he had won via the corner retirement of Frazier who was pleading to continue. |
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Fact Box-
Venue- Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines Date- October 1st 1975 Muhammad Ali (48-2, 35) 4th defense of the Heavyweight title v Joe Frazier (32-2, 27) Referee- Carlos Padilla (66-60) Judges- Larry Nadayag (66-62) Alfredo Quiazon (67-62) Outcome- Ali TKO 14 Awards-Ring Magazine Fight of the year 1975 Named the #1 Fight of All-Time by The Ring in 1996 Fifth greatest sporting event of all time The video below, thanks to genhis711 shows the whole fight. |
Following this contest Frazier's career never recovered. He would fight once the following year, being stopped by George Foreman in the fifth round before retiring. He would later make a 1 fight come-back fighting a draw with Floyd Cummings before retiring with a record of 32-4-1 (27). Although he won 86.46% of all his fights he won just 3 of his final 8 bouts.
Sadly Joe Frazier died in 2011 after a battle with Liver Cancer. He was 67. Ali himself continued to fight on, he was after all the Heavyweight champion of the world. As the champion Ali would defend the belt 8 more times before losing it, in 1978, to Leon Spinks. Although Ali would be Spinks in a rematch, to become the first ever 3-time Heavyweight champion, he was no longer the fighter he had been and knew it was time to walk away from the sport. Unfortunately Ali, like Frazier, made an ill fated comeback and suffered his sole stoppage defeat at the hands of Larry Holmes in a tragic and saddening fight that was little more than a public passing of the torch. An out of shape Ali would then fight once more in 1981 losing a decision to Trevor Berbick, just 8 days after Frazier had drawn with Cummings. Retiring with a record of 56-5 (37) Ali may not have the best record ever but he is remembered as a man who wasn't just a boxer but was a genuine global icon. He was bigger than boxing, bigger than sport and it's probably fair to say the most important sportsman of the 20th century. With out his rivalry with Frazier however Ali wouldn't have had the foil to show just what a great fighter he was, nor would he have been able to show how tough he was. Aged 71 Ali is still alive though is suffering the ill effects of Parkinson's Syndrome. There is fear of him passing in the near future, but for now he is certainly the greatest living sportsperson, if not person full stop. |
