Boxing · 1975 · Quezon City, Philippines
The Thrilla in Manila
In stifling heat, two ageing rivals fight a third and final time, until one corner stops it before the last round rather than let its man take any more.
Ali def. Frazier, TKO after 14 rounds
Result
3rd of 3 (Ali leads 2-1)
Fight number
~100°F+
Ringside temperature
Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier had fought twice already and split the results. Their third meeting, in Quezon City on 1 October 1975, was the one both men afterwards described as something nearer a war than a boxing match. It was staged at midday local time to suit American television schedules, and the temperature at ringside reportedly climbed past 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
It swung violently across its length. Ali took the early rounds, Frazier came back through the middle with the relentless body attack he had built a career on, and Ali took control again late, working on eyes that were closing round by round. By the end of the 14th, Frazier could barely see. His trainer Eddie Futch stopped it there, before the 15th and final round, overruling Frazier's own wish to continue.
Ali, exhausted and battered himself, said afterwards that it was the closest thing to dying he had known. What that afternoon took out of both men has been cited ever since among the causes of the serious health problems each of them lived with later.
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