After defeating Ron Lyle on May 16, 1975 in Las Vegas, Muhammad Ali traveled to Malaysia for a rematch with Joe Bugner. The June 30th bout in Kuala Lumpur went the distance, with Ali winning a unanimous decision. It set up the third fight with Joe Frazier in the fall, signed for September 30 in Manila, the Philippines. The third fight in their epic trilogy, is one boxing fans still talk about 50 years later.
Ali caused a lot of bad blood in the pre-fight buildup by calling Frazier a gorilla, and carrying a little toy of an ape everywhere he went. Joe seethed in silence, but trained outside of Manilla with fury, determined to shut Ali’s mouth. The champion repeatedly talked of Frazier being a ‘shot fighter’ and promised a knockout. Dubbed “The Thrilla in Manilla” by promoter Don King, a worldwide audience of hundreds of millions waited with anticipation to see Ali and Frazer in the ring together, one last time.
I was 15 years old in September of 1975, and more interested in the Baltimore Orioles than boxing, but have seen a copy of the tape on VHS countless times since. Fighting in an arena with a corrugated roof and no air conditioning, both men endured horrific conditions in an epic battle. Frazier proved he had lots of smoke left by the fifth round, landing punches as well as he took them. The sweat flew off of the waterlogged gloves both men wore, and it is almost painful and unbearable at times to watch. As the bout reached the final five rounds, you had to admire the courage and guts they both displayed. After the 10th round, Ali said “It was the closest thing to death I ever felt.”, and wanted to quit. Angelo Dundee urged him to keep going, and when the 13th round began, it was obvious Frazier was out of steam, and his eyes were closing. His trainer Eddie Futch mercifully ended the punishment, stopping the fight after the 14th round.
It will always be known for it’s brutality and viciousness, but both men paid a heavy price. Ali was never the same after this war, and Frazier only fought twice more as well. Many view it as the greatest fight of all time, and although I don’t agree on that moniker, it’s definitely one of the top three in my book.
Ali took four months off to recuperate, before returning to action on February 20, 1976 vs. Jean Pierre Coopman. The bout from San Juan, Puerto Rico was shown live on CBS television, and was a relatively easy fight for the champ. Ali stopped Coopman in the fifth with little effort, a far cry from the nightmare in the Philippines.
Ali turned 34 in January of 1976, and was visibly slower in his speech and reflexes. The years of wars in the ring, and the pounding he took daily in sparring was starting to show, and even though he called himself “The Greatest”, he wasn’t Superman. His own fight doctor Ferdie Pacheco urged him to quit, but it would have been easier said than done for a fighter of Ali’s stature.
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