Oct. 1, 1975 – Muhammad Ali TKOs Joe Frazier in ‘The Thrilla in Manila’

Muhammad Ali scored a technical knockout of Joe Frazier after the 14th round of their fight in Manila, Philippines to retain the world heavyweight championship. The bout was known ever-after as ‘The Thrilla in Manila.’

The bout is often ranked as one of the greatest fights of 20th century boxing, and is the climax to the bitter rivalry between Ali and Frazier. When Ali was stripped of the title in 1967 over his refusal to join the armed forces when drafted during the Vietnam War, Frazier had petitioned President Nixon to restore Ali’s right to box and even lent Ali money. When Ali finally got his license back, they met in the so-called Fight of the Century, the first time that two undisputed heavyweight champions had met in the ring. The mutual enmity emerged in the build up to the fight, when Ali turned on Frazier, describing him as an “Uncle Tom”, a “white man’s champion” and later, a “gorilla”. Frazier in turn riled Ali by referring to him by his birth name, Clay.

Afterwards the pair continued to trade insults, but by the time they met in a rematch, neither was a champion; Frazier had lost his title to George Foreman and Ali had recently been beaten by Ken Norton. In the build-up to the fight, the two had an infamous brawl in a TV studio while being interviewed by Howard Cosell. The fight itself was largely uneventful and Ali won on points. By 1975, Ali was champion again having unexpectedly regained the title by beating Foreman, whereas Frazier was thought to be washed up. Ali’s camp decided to give Frazier a title shot as a final payday for Joe before he retired. However, the fight proved to be a brutal, give and take affair, with each man taking a lot of punishment. The fight finally ended when Frazier’s trainer Eddie Futch refused to let Frazier come out for the 15th round, meaning Ali won by TKO.

DID YOU KNOW: The Philippines’ first multi-level commercial shopping mall was named after Muhammad Ali as a tribute to his victory. The mall is named “Ali Mall” and is located in Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City right beside the Araneta Coliseum in which the “Thrilla in Manila” took place.

Mar. 8, 1971 – Joe Frazier defeats Muhammad Ali, retains championship

Mar. 8, 1971 – Joe Frazier retained his world heavyweight championship by defeating Muhammad Ali in a 15-round decision. It was Ali’s first loss in 32 professional fights.

Ali and Frazier’s first fight, held at the Garden on March 8, 1971, was nicknamed the “Fight of the Century”, due to the hyped antics in their pre-fight. After being knocked down during the 15th round, Ali eventually suffered his first professional boxing loss afterwards from the fight. The boxer then returned with bouts against Quarry, a second bout with Floyd Patterson and Bob Foster in 1972, winning a total of six fights that year. In 1973, Ali suffered another loss at the hands of Ken Norton, who broke Ali’s jaw during the fight, though it’s contested which round he broke it, with Angelo Dundee later claiming Ali broke it in the second round, while others, including Norton, stated Ali broke it much later in the fight. After initially seeking retirement, Ali won against Norton in their second bout, leading to his second fight with Frazier, with Ali this time winning on points in their January 12, 1974 rematch.