The greatest heavyweight fight ever, likely the greatest fight, period, and certainly the most brutal was slugged out 50 years ago today in the Philippines. As it came to be known, The Thrilla in Manila between Muhammad Ali, age 33, and Joe Frazier, age 31, was their third, and final; the rubber match: Frazier took the first, Ali the second, and this was for the belt. The scheduled 15-round contest was held at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City, with the temperatures reaching a roasting, exhausting, debilitating 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).

Ali won by corner retirement (RTD), also known as a corner stoppage, after Frazier’s chief second, Eddie Futch, asked the referee to stop the fight between the 14^th and 15^th rounds. This bout is almost universally regarded as one of the greatest and most punishing in boxing history.

With the series tied, the third encounter in the sweltering Philippine heat drove both men to the brink of collapse. They exchanged unremitting punishment, refusing to yield, superhuman fury and drive overriding physical endurance.

Ali dazzled early and late with his patented “rope-a-dope” strategy, occasional dancing, but mostly flat-footed, measuring with the left, and delivering crunching right leads in an insolent rhythm. Frazier’s aggressive left hooks, and especially his punishing body blows, found their mark in the middle rounds, battering Ali with relentless force. By the 14^th, Frazier’s eyes were nearly swollen shut, and Ali was exhausted, yet still able to summon his signature dance: bobbing, weaving, taunting with energy he no longer possessed.

After that round, Ali slumped in his corner, exhaustion permeating his entire being. He asked his trainer Angelo Dundee to cut off his gloves: a submission to body over mind. But before Dundee could act, Eddie Futch stepped in and stopped the fight. Mercifully recognizing the unprecedented brutality of the contest, Futch told Frazier, “No one will ever forget what you did here today.”  Ali later admitted, “Frazier quit just before I did. I didn’t think I could fight any more.”

Howard Cosell, ABC sportscaster for the fight commented, “A brutal, unrelenting war between two men who gave everything they had—and then some.”

The official scorecards at the end of the 14^th round:

Referee Carlos Padilla: 66-60 for Ali

Judge Larry Nadayag: 66-62 for Ali

Judge Alfredo Quiazon: 67-62 for Ali

Ali summed up the fight with poignant clarity: “It was the closest thing to dying that I know of.”

The final bell rang. The two fighters have gone down in history as Titans of the ring: survivors of the most brutal fight ever fought.

(Postscript: Ali and Frazier in 1975 earned about $9 and $5 million respectively for the fight: a pittance by today’s standards.)

Source: Thrilla in Manila-ABC TV fight with Howard Cosell. Watch here–  https://youtu.be/MaRNsNzqsJk  Graphic: Ali-Frazer Fight, PLN Media.