Thrilla in Manila | History

Two battle-scarred gladiators enter the arena, surrounded by tens of thousands of bloodthirsty spectators anticipating a gory battle.

They were both past their prime. But, they either had to choose to go to war. or to step back from battle and be vilified by the public, who were hungry for the spectacle.

They both chose to fight… to fight to the end – even if it meant their life. They were exhausted, not in their peak form, but they must wage a bitter battle. For their pride and honour, and how people will remember them. as these two warriors were about to step into the greatest sporting spectacles of all time.

Who are these Warriors? Why did the world stop to watch these two men in the arena?

The Ali vs. Frazier Trilogy

To set the stage, it was October 1, 1975.

It was a battle between two iconic professional boxers of the time. Muhammad Ali and Smokin’ Joe Frazier. The two icons were set to face off in the oven-hot boxing ring, at the Araneta Coliseum in Manila. It was held nearly a half-century ago, but is still heralded as the most legendary boxing match in history.

It remains a coffee shop issue to this day and it retains the distinction of being one of the most talked about fights of the last 100 years. Fans still talk of what might have been if Fraziers trainer didn’t throw in the towel late in the 14th round. If only they had known Ali was also moments from surrender, boxing history could have been very different.

Either way the result went, the fight was a monstrosity that legally sanctioned professional boxing had permitted to take place. It was a comfronting display of brutality broadcast to the public.

Marcos brings the fight to the Philippines

t was a pivotal chance of a lifetime that was given them both, and they both could not let it pass. The pair had faced off in two previous tournaments, with both Ali and Frazier achieving a win. It was now time for their trilogy match to see who was the greatest.

It was also an opportunity for the dictator President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos. He wanted to show the world how great the Philippines. That we are capable of staging a great fight that will be shown to the world live! Marcos had just declared Martial Law on the islands and he wanted to show the world that all is well.

The country was struck by poverty and corruption. There was a constant push back against his grip on power from workers unions and communict groups. There was also a growing Muslim insurgency in the south who were gaining influence. Despite the chaos surrounding his Presidency, Marcos still need a way to signify he was in control.

Marcos had a lot to gain from this event. Motivating him to cover the events expences, as well as the extravagent fight purses for the fighters. The fight promoter Don King, known for his preference for advertising his fights in the same manner of a cricus promotion, of course heeded the call of the dictator to have the fight staged in Manila.

On that day, the heat was searing hot outside the Araneta Coliseum before both fighters entered their assigned preparation rooms. It was even hotter inside the boxing ring, packed with 36,000 fight fans despite the Coliseums 25,000 seat capacity. The air-conditioning system simply can’t keep up with the heat emanating from the jam-packed arena which was beyond capacity. It was broadcasted to 68 countries worldwide. The event begun 10 am in order that the prime time audience in the US and elsewhere in the western world will be maximized.

But by that point there were very few things which could stop this fight. The show must go on. Both fighters wanted to prove something. Both fighters had an outstanding career by that point. It had come to a point where Ali and Frazier were both seen as equals, so it was time to settle the score. But still, both fighters took home a healthy purse. Ali earned $4.5 million or 43 percent of the gross and Frazier got $2 million against 22 percent of the gross, whichever is higher.

Finalising the trilogy

This was the last fight of the fighters trilogy.

The first bout, billed as The Fight of the Century, was held on March 8, 1971. It was a full and exhausting drama which consumed 15 complete rounds at the Madison Square Garden in New York City. This fight was surrounded by drama. coming from Ali’s refusal to take part in the Vietnam war, the fight for civil rights, and his relentless sledging directed at Frazier.

The controversy surrounding the fight meant that it caught people attention, and lots of it. By fight night, it became evident the event was going to live up to its name. There were more celebrities watching the battle in the Garden than your average Barbra Streisand concert.

Even Frank Sinatra obliged to take photographs for Life Magazine in order to have the privilege of watching the fight up close. Diana Ross, wanting a better view of the spectacle tried to insert herself in the press section. Security found out and had to return her to her original seat. Frazier won on unanimous decision from the judges, after he managed to take advantage of Ali’s fatigue and score a knockdown with a left hook to Ali’s jaw.

The saga continues: Super Fight II

The second bout, called Super Fight II, was waged nearly three years later. Held on January 28,1974, again at Madison Square Garden. There was no boxing title to gain, just pure pride and honor. During this round, Ali did what he did best, clinch. As during the bout Frazier found himself in the clinch of Ali an incredible 133 times. This annoying habit made Ali irritating to look at, but it paid off numerous times, giving him victory due maybe to his opponents’ annoyance or from pure exhaustion from the clinching.

This time, Ali won in 12 rounds by unanimous decision. It was a controversial one, but his frequent clinching and grabbing definitely did the trick.

Both Ali and Frazier could not walk away from their rivalry. The previously undefeated pair were now tied in a draw after their two fights. The boxers now wanted to determine who was the greatest. They were more driven than ever to crush each other in the third and final battle. And that Manila opportunity came crashing in to their front doors.

Ali himself was more boastful than ever because just one year before the Manila fight, he demolished George Foreman in Zaire, Africa. It was an achievement for Ali that made him emerge again in the eyes of the boxing community. But for Smokin’ Joe, all he wanted was to push Ali back into his cave and roll a boulder tover the entrance.

But Ali has a mocking answer to Frazier’s primal and primitive man fantasies. Before the Manila gig, he rhymed and chimed like a hip hop star: A killa and a thrilla and a chills, when I get that gorilla in Manila!

The sensational news loving public and Don King, the promoter were so amused by this insulting chant that King made it the advertising title of the third fight of the Ali-Frazier Trilogy – Thrilla in Manila. For all we know, Don King was reincarnated from a performing carnival gorilla.

Joe Frazier was bitter going into the fight. He resented that Ali never acknowledged him and appreciated his support when Ali was publicly ridiculed when he vehemently objected to the involvement of the US in the Vietnam War. At that time, the world regarded Ali as an outcast, a religious extremist who was both politically and morally poisonous, and a boxer who was not worth his salt anymore. Frazier was one of the few people who publicly supported Ali, and Ali never came out in the open or even called Frazier to show his gratitude.

Then came fight day. Ali showed up one hour early at the coliseum one hour early with his brother Rahaman. It was 9 in the morning and he wanted to show the world that he was up and ready to defend his title. Ali was not his smiling self because it was searing hot outside. But it was nothing compared to the oven toaster inside the boxing ring later.

And the fight was on. Momentum was never on one side for a long time. It swung back and forth. It was so violent and hard fought that at one point, even their blood spattered on Imelda Marcos, the wife of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. One brutal Smokin’ Joe punch threw Ali’s mouthpiece out spiraling into the fifth row, but Ali still stood upright.

Frazier was also able to deliver an effective right hook into Ali in the second round even though Ali was covering his face with his gloves. But by the fourth round, both stood shoulder to shoulder in the judges’ scorecards.

In the middle rounds, Ali was slowly catching up, his stamina did not seem to be waining. Ali is one of the few boxers known to endure a tirade of brutal blows in the ring, then still emerge victorious in the end.

Photographers surrounded the ring capturing every moment, as the drama played out. Sweat can be seen flying from Frazier as Ali connects with a flying right.

Ali again makes brutal contact with Frazier with an effective right punch to the top of his head in the 13th round. This time, Ali is gaining momentum. But on the insides both men know they are nearing their limits.

The critical 14th round finally begun. Ali’s doctor Ferdie Pacheco commented on how it was the closest he had seen two people near to death. Though the duo continued to fight each other for survival.

Then came the pause for the 15th round. In his corner, Frazier was having issues with blurry vision in his left eye. It had swollen shut and his face was drenched in blood. Frazier wanted to continue with the fight and was on his feet for the 15th round, but his trainer Eddie Futch could not let him go on. Futch shouted at the Filipino referee, Carlos Padilla, to stop the fight.

The third fight of the trilogywas handed to Ali. This was shrouded with controversy up to this day.

Not everyone believed that it was only Futch’s call to stop the fight that arrived at the ears of Padilla, the referee, and the judges. Ali himself wanted to quit the fight. An Ali cornerman alleges that he overheard Ali telling Angelo Dundee, his trainer, to “cut them gloves off!” But it was never authenticated.

But the truth is, sports photographers caught on camera Ali sprawled on the ground in his corner,. visibly unconscious, after the 14th round, after he fell off his chair.

But shortly after that, photographers also took shots of Ali in the middle of the ring. He was surrounded by his trainers, handlers and doctors after he was proclaimed the winner of the third and final fight of The Trilogy.

After this real-life drama, both Ali and Frazier were never their old formidable self in the ring. They both retired within a week of each other in 1981.

Ali was coming off two straight losses inflicted by Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick. Frazier only fought twice after the Manila stint, stopped by George Foreman in 1976 and drew with the unknown Floyd Cummings over 10 rounds.

The Thrilla in Manila manslaughter did earn both legendary fighters the respect that they yearned for, but it made their health deteriorate and it eventually ended their ring careers.

And The Thrilla in Manila mystique lives on.