Clash of two titans
When Smokin’ Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali first squared off, in 1971, they were fast friends and undefeated fighters. By the time of their third fight, in the Philippines in 1975, they’d been humbled and hardened, and had turned into bitter enemies.
Ali warmed up for the bout by calling Frazier “gorilla” and “Uncle Tom.” Frazier bit his tongue and fumed. The fight was brutal; the aftermath, ugly: Today, Ali is a shadow of his former self, and just last year, Frazier was living in the back of a Philadelphia gym. The documentary Thrilla in Manila is fiercely partisan on Frazier’s behalf. It’s also disturbing (Frazier claims responsibility for, and revels in, Ali’s physical decline), surprising (Imelda Marcos pops up as one of the interviewees), and riveting. Don’t miss the HBO premiere, on April 11.
By Brian Hayes, Producer
I was just 6 months old when Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier met for the third time at the Araneta Coliseum in the Philippines on October 1, 1975. As I became enamored with boxing many, many years ago and began purchasing classic fight tapes and DVDs, I purchased an Ali VHS box-set that included, “The Thrilla In Manila”. I have seen several great fights over the years, but Ali-Frazier III will always stand out for me because of the punishment both men exacted upon each other, their tumultuous relationship outside the ropes, the way Ali slumped back on his stool after briefly celebrating the stoppage and, most importantly, the look in Joe Frazier’s eyes when Eddie Futch stopped the fight.
The first time I watched this fight, it was just another chapter in the legend of Muhammad Ali. When your experience starts with the ring walk and ends with Frazier’s corner throwing in the towel, all you are left with is one of the most brutal back and forth heavyweight contests in history. It’s when you start to learn about the men involved that this fight takes on special meaning. Ali is undoubtedly one of the greatest in boxing history and over the years has become a symbol for sportsmanship. It’s very interesting because unquestionably, on that day, the “bad guy” won. Prior to the fight, Ali belittled and insulted Joe Frazier repeatedly. The same Joe Frazier who financially supported him during his exile and publicly lobbied for the reinstatement of his boxing license. You would be hard-pressed to find a bigger villain or a more venomous heel in today’s professional wrestling than Muhammad Ali before his third fight with Joe Frazier. I’m sorry, but it’s true.
The first time I watched this fight, Ali was just the aging, but flashy champion who survived a mid-round onslaught by the rough-and-tumble challenger. It was another historic victory for the Greatest Of All Time. The last time I watched this fight, a small part of me wishes Futch would let Frazier go out for the 15th and (maybe) let Ali be the one to quit on his stool. Or maybe, just maybe Joe would get lucky and drop Ali with one last left hook. It’s a very small part of me, because the remainder is always happy that the fight was stopped before either man suffered any more permanent damage.
This fight was not supposed to go 14 rounds. People thought Frazier was washed-up, having already lost to Ali in their 2nd fight and having been shockingly stopped by a young George Foreman (“Down Goes Frazier!”) years before. Ali was resurgent, having defeated the same young Foreman only one year earlier.
It begins with Ali disdainfully firing fast combinations at the bobbing and ducking Frazier in the early rounds, buzzing him more than a few times. But Frazier never stops moving forward. In the 5th and 6th, Ali begins to tire in the heat of the Philippines and Frazier keeps coming forward, raking his body with power punches. Ali tries to rope-a-dope Frazier, to lure him into punching himself out like Foreman did in Zaire, but Joe doesn’t fall for it. He maintains steady pressure. In the 6th rounds he corners Ali and practically folds him in half with a left hook to the body. In the later rounds, Frazier begins to tire himself and Ali begins to find him with punishing combinations that bounce repeatedly of his head. Frazier continues to press forward. In the 13th round, Ali sends Frazier’s mouthguard flying somewhere into downtown Metro Manila. In the 14th round, Frazier is absorbing 5 punches for each one he even throws. After the fight, we will learn that Frazier had a cataract in one eye and with his other eye swelling shut, he was essentially fighting blind.
After the 14th round, trainer Eddie Futch had seen enough and signaled that he was throwing in the towel. Frazier protested, shouting, “I want him boss.” Meanwhile, in Ali’s corner, Muhammad pleads with trainer Angelo Dundee to cut off his gloves and stop the fight. It’s hard to imagine a more heart-wrenching set of circumstances for Frazier. Spitting blood, blind, battered and broken, but bent on beating his rival; his trainer stopping the fight while the opponent is seconds away from quitting himself. It’s not a happy ending, which is why it had to be altered to serve (in part) as the inspiration for the first meeting between Apollo Creed and Rocky Balboa. That’s how big this was.
After the fight, Ali sits on a stool, wincing in pain and talking with reporters from around the world. He says it’s the closest to death he’s ever been. Gone is the trash-talk and bravado. It’s been pounded and sweated out in the heat of the Araneta Coliseum. Well, almost, “Joe Frazier is the greatest fighter of all time… next to me.”