MUHAMMAD ALI AND Joe Frazier fought three times over their respective careers, with Ali winning two of those. It was their final bout however on 1 October, 1975 that will go down in the history books as one of the greatest of all time.
This contest in particular in the Philippine capital garnered its name from the rhyming boast Ali used in the buildup to the bout, announcing to the world that the fight would be a “killa and a thrilla and a chilla, when I get that gorilla in Manila.”
Ali (6’3″) had a significant height advantage over his rival from Philadelphia (Frazier was just over 5’11″) but the duo had already had two bruising encounters at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The pre-fight buildup was as entertaining as one can imagine with Ali involved, and the Kentucky-based fighter told one reporter he enjoyed getting inside an opponent’s head before a fight.
“I like to get a man mad, because when a man’s mad, he wants ya so bad, he can’t think, so I like to get a man mad.”
Both Ali and Frazier had only ever lost two fights professionally before the bout in Manila, and preparation for this one was key. While Ali focused on the mind games, Frazier was taken to the outskirts of the city by his trainer Eddie Futch so he could properly relax, allegedly using the time to sit for hours in a contemplative state.
The conditions for the fight itself were extreme. It took place at 10am local time, with Frazier estimating the ring temperature at over 49 degrees Celsius (120 Fahrenheit) including the ringside television lights. Ali announced afterwards that he lost 5 pounds during the fight due to dehydration.
The fight itself went on for 14 rounds, with Frazier’s trainer finally signalling an end with his fighter well and truly battered. Ali too was struggling, and announced after the ninth round to his trainer in the corner that the fight was the closest he had been to death in his life.
Frank McGhee, a British sports journalist, famously described the final rounds at the time:
“The main turning point of the fight came very late. It came midway through the 13th round when one of two tremendous right-hand smashes sent the gum shield sailing out of Frazier’s mouth. The sight of this man actually moving backwards seemed to inspire Ali. I swear he hit Frazier with thirty tremendous punches — each one as hard as those which knocked out George Foreman in Zaire — during the 14th round. He was dredging up all his own last reserves of power to make sure there wouldn’t have to be a 15th round.”
The fight has gone down in sporting lore, and rightly so. Rumours persist to this day that Ali himself was planning to quit the fight just as Frazier’s trainer pulled him out after the 14th round, but we’ll never know for sure.
So sit back and enjoy the fight that is still being discussed 40 years later…
