One of the most infamous Muhammad Ali fights occurred against Joe Frazier in 1975. The fight took place at Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City of the Philippines. It served as the third fight between the fighters.
Frazier won the first fight in 1971 at Madison Square Garden after knocking out Ali. Ali would go on to win the rematch in 1974 with no title on the line. The “Thrilla in Manilla” was the final fight to break the tie.
The fight had gone an intense 14 rounds. Frazier’s eye was swollen shut, and he could barely see out of it. According to The Guardian, Frazier’s trainer, Eddie Futch, refused to let Frazier go back out for the 15th round despite his disagreement and Ali won the match.
The fight was unique in that it took place at 10:45 a.m. local time in intense heat. By the end of the fight, both boxers had exerted an incredible amount of energy. After the match was over, Ali laid down on the mat out of exhaustion. There are varying stories about whether Ali was going to quit the fight after the 14th round as well.
Ali was critical of Frazier in the weeks leading up to the fight. Frazier took offense to Ali’s comments and remained hurt by the comments years after the fight was over.
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