The third and final fight of the trilogy between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier took place on October 1, 1975 in Manila, the Philippines. This time the fight took place with Ali as the champ after his upset of George Foreman a year earlier. In the pre-fight talk, Ali was mean and vicious, referring to Joe as an ugly gorilla. Joe smiled and acted like it didn’t bother him, but underneath he seethed with ange,r and used it as fuel to train for his last shot at the crown.
Muhammad said he would knock out Frazier early, but by the 3rd or 4th round, it was obvious that would not happen. Joe continuously chugged forward, and was landing effective hooks as he did. The action was brisk, and coupled with the fact that it was well over 100 degrees in the ring, made the rounds almost torturous.
Ali admitted after the fight that he in fact wanted to quit after the tenth round, but Angelo Dundee talked him back into his senses. Fighting off fatigue, the champ returned to battle, and Frazier himself started to wilt under the pressure. By the 14th round, Joe’s eye was closed, and trainer Eddie Futch called it a night for his man. Ali said “It was the closest to death he ever felt” afterwards, and their epic battle still is remembered as one of the greatest fights of all time.
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