The third and final fight between Joe Frazier and Ali was signed for September 30, 1975 in Manila, the Philippines, and was billed Ali as “The Thrilla in Manila”. The pre-fight banter by Ali was cruel, calling Frazier “The Gorilla”, in an attempt to get under Joe’s skin. Frazier smiled, but seethed underneath, and planned to shut his arch enemy’s mouth on fight night.
I was in tenth grade at the time, and not a huge boxing fan. I’ve learned about this historic bout over the years, with countless hours of reading magazines, books, and watching documentaries detailing the events surrounding it. The fight itself was brutal in nature, and found it difficult to watch at times, almost feeling the punches in a sense, as both men fought with every ounce of courage and strength.
The live event was broadcast on closed-circuit, and around the world to nearly a billion viewers. Muhammad’s purse was $9 million dollars, and Joe’s was $5 million, in what was the biggest purse of either’s lifetime. While Joe trained in isolation outside of Manila, Ali talked and entertained the press, often saying “Joe is shot, and I’m gonna knock him out.” Nothing could be further from the truth, and he found it out the hard way when he got in the ring that night.
What made it more difficult on both fighters was the arena it was fought in. The aluminum-roofed Philippine Coliseum had no air-conditioning, and temperatures were estimated at 120 degrees, with the ring lights baking both men. To accommodate the worldwide audience, it took place at 10 a.m. local time, in almost cruel conditions to have a boxing match.
Ali came out looking for a knockout, and was verbally reviling Joe as he threw punches. Unfortunately for Muhammad, by round five, Frazier was landing hard body punches, and hooks to Ali’s head. It was obvious to me as I watched the tape years later, that Ali was shocked that Frazier had so much “Smoke” left after all.
Both men landed hard shots as the bout progressed, and reached the tenth round. The gloves were waterlogged, and perspiration flew off of each man every time a blow landed. It was hard for me to watch the vicious pace, and as it reached the final three rounds, someone was going to either take over, or lose.
Ali showed his greatness in the championship rounds, landing hard blows to Joe’s head, and closing his eyes. After the fourteenth round, with hopes gone, Joe’s trainer Eddie Futch stopped the bout, and ending any further punishment to his fighter.
Muhammad said after the win that he wanted to quit in the 11th, and said it “Was the closest to death I ever felt.” Ring magazine called it the “Fight of the Year’, and it is still to me the most brutal heavyweight championship bout in history.
Both men left a lot in the ring that day, and Joe Frazier was completely shot as a result. He would fight only one more time for all intensive purposes, and got knocked out by George Foreman in five rounds on June 15, 1976 in Uniondale, New York. Frazier announced his retirement from boxing at 32 after the defeat, and stayed dormant from the ring until December of 1981.
Frazier made a foolish comeback attempt on December 3rd of that year to fight an ex-con named Floyd “Jumbo” Cummings in Chicago. The fight was ruled a draw, and thankfully, Joe never stepped through the ropes again.
He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990, and sadly passed away on November 7, 2011 of liver cancer, In the annals of heavyweight boxing, no list is complete without the great “Smokin” Joe Frazier on it.
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