The Thrilla in Manila Explained - Ali vs Frazier 3 Breakdown

Mohammed Ali had done the impossible recapturing the heavyweight title from George Foreman but he was not satisfied there was one man who given him too much trouble one man who could be pointed to as evidence that perhaps Ali was not the greatest of all time that man was smokin Joe Frazier the two had met twice previously their first encounter the fight of the century had already become ingrained in American psyche as one of the greatest matches in history the insane action had been fueled in part by the intense personal dislike the two champions felt for

each other Ali had so enraged Joe that in his locker room before the fight Frazier had prayed to God to help him kill Ali when the fight first began Ali had seemed capable of handling Frazier easily proving himself the first opponent with the talent to read Frazier's erratic rhythm the reflexes to spot small openings and the speed to take advantage of them but then Frazier had begun to penetrate all these defenses his erratic Bob's and weaves getting past Ali's renowned rapid-fire lead hand Frazier was soon dumping shots into his rivals body doubling him over and

enticing him to lower his guard the result was a back-and-forth battle for the ages but the way Frazier leaped into his lead hook let him rapidly cover an incredible amount of distance and it was Ali who had tasted the canvas cementing Frazier's triumph and destroying any and all doubt about who was a real heavyweight champion of the world the two would meet again only a few years later circumstances have changed and both were now top contenders fighting for a chance to take their title back from George Foreman the two men's intense dislike for each other

was again showcased on national television a few days before the bout when a real fight broke out between them on the set of a talk show for their second fight Ali had planned numerous ways to negate Frazier's aggressive style he stopped short to lead him into flurries kept his elbows and tight when clinching so Frazier could not pummel his hands through and use Frazier's head movement against him using one punch to lead Frazier into another but Frazier begin to time encounter Ali's uppercuts a punch that had been a major boon to him just a few

rounds prior Ali had been forced to push Frazier back and fight him toe-to-toe in the center of the Ring moving towards Frazier's hook to cut angles and stay center Ali's stole the later rounds turning the fight around and avenging his loss leading up to the fight Ali continued his old shenanigans holding up a gorilla meant to represent Frazier and proclaiming it'll be a Killa a chilla a Thrilla when I get the gorilla in Manila as always Frazier was not amused to quote the man himself I still despised him for trying to misrepresent me to the

public no one gave his heart and soul to the sport as I did this was a nasty envious mean-spirited egomaniac who still couldn't stand the fact that in the biggest fight of his life I'd put him on his ass no one could have suspected that this fight would surpassed the other two becoming the only one of their dream counters where one fighter did not make it to the final round the night came and both men stood squared up in the center of the ring for the third time Ali yelled threats at his rival wide eyed

Joe simply retorted I'm gonna kill you clay you're dead Ali's corner was managed by the legendary coach Angelo Dundee his opposite for this fight was Eddie Futch considered by many to be the greatest coach who ever lived the bell rang Ali planted himself in the center of the Ring squared up flat-footed hands high true to his word he let his fists fly early looking to knock Frazier out in the first round despite all of his talk no one had predicted that Ali would actually come out too aggressively it was like the two had picked up

where they left off in their first fight almost as if this were simply the next round although Ali was being reckless opening up so quickly against Joe Frazier there was a method to his madness Frazier was known to be a bad starter his style required time to read his upon his tempo and get into a groove only then could he slip and weave his way inside to crowd encounter Ali looked to take advantage of Frazier before he had time to figure him out so we set a furious pace and threw his hardest shots from the

opening bell Frazier's plan was to rush Ali and hurry him into making a mistake he bobbed down low and presented himself as an easy target looking to draw and counter his hands fluidly switching from high guard to cross guard much his plan for Frazier was to have him once again counter Ali's unorthodox open uppercuts he waited into Ellie's punches crouching low before splitting into his blows but unfortunately for Frazier Ali was not throwing uppercuts a punch known for being the most defensive strike in a boxers toolkit Ali was all offense eventually Frazier tempted fate one

too many times it was not an uppercut but a tight hope that slammed into Frazier as he charged in stunning him when Ali saw his unshakable unstoppable rival wobbled in the first round he went ballistic unloading everything he had but Frazier was made of tougher stuff and got in Tally's rhythm just in time weaving in between his attacks and pressing forward put al ly on his back foot Frazier walked to his corner having lost the first round but with far better chances of winning the fight for having gotten past it the second quickly arrived only

a few seconds in something happened that would drastically changed the course of the fight Ali grabbed the back of Frazier's neck looking to reserve his energy early so he could later explode into action but the referee who had received a talking from Frazier's coach about this exact scenario pulled Ali's hand away when Ali tried the tactic again a moment later referee once more warned Ali astonishing him by putting his own hand over Li's neck to make sure he got the point Ali was quickly forced to change tactics he now looked at slow Frazier's pursuit by

employing an extended guard holding his lead hand in front of Frazier's eyes Ellie tracked his head movement steering him off course and blocking his vision if Ali could not smother Frazier's attacks at close range than it was best to not let him get close at all Ali a master boxer expertly led Frazier into his punches he used slower offered them faints to entice Frazier into slipping into vulnerable positions and then up the cadence of his next punches to exploit the new opening but despite that Frazier only up the pace undeterred as always Frazier managed to

close the distance Allie's extended guard left his stomach and ribs wide open and this was a major vulnerability against Joe Frazier unable to clinch when Frazier did get through his defenses Ali was forced to simply cover up taking the brunt of Frazier's lethal hooks on his guard before pushing him back to the center of the Ring the bell sounded the end of the round annoyed at Frazier's relentless aggression even after having taken several high-impact blows Ali yelled you dumb chump use Frazier walked away Frazier waved him off dismissively Ali still believing an early knockout to

be a certainty blue kisses to the crowd in between rounds at the start of the third he made the few punches Frazier had landed in the second appear to be pure luck he now paired his tight guard with his extended lead hand mixing in his off beat jab to set up harder shots but Frazier who Angelo Dundee referred to as an energizer bunny in boxing trunks shrugged off Ellie's punches as if they were nothing and marched forward closer and closer Ali was catching Frazier with the same tight hooks that had rocked him in the first

but Frazier didn't seem to notice he was getting hit Ali's faints were still setting up several solid shots but Frazier was now just simply taking them and returning one of his own it was becoming more and more dangerous broadly as Frazier got into his groove all out of room Ali shelled up in the corner he invited Frazier to unload on his guard pushed him away and then just as he had against George Foreman called him back according to the referee Ali was reciting derogatory poetry for Frazier as he weld on him as if you were

trying to win a boxing match and a rap battle all at the same time Ali's hope was that he can incite Frazier into throwing wide unfocused sloppy punches that he could then deflect smother and throw off course just as he had done with George Foreman butthis Frazier put it was no dope he was gonna rope this time sit on the ropes and he was gonna pay I hit the chump whenever and wherever the way Rocky Marciano used to do to guys arms ribs whatever was exposed I beat on it while it may have looked as

though Ali was simply brushing aside Frazier's blows to the spectators in the crowd each punch Ali absorbed required pinpoint accuracy and timing to deflect the impact and keep his guard intact Frazier knew that Ali was bluffing and would be incapable of such a feat in just a few short rounds after a minute on the ropes Ali's suddenly opened up throwing a flurry of six punches in under a second Frazier blocked or weaved around each one of them then countered Ali's next attempt Ali tried again this time missing five in a row but now was Ali's

chance to show his resilience throwing a fourth blinding fast flurry again Ali missed and again Frazier countered now I'll lead through for a fit time Joe returned fire but Ali rode the hook back sidestepped off angle and finally caught Frazier with two thudding rear hands Fraser charged forward looking to pay Ali back and then some but unlike Frazier Ali could fight just as well moving backwards as forwards he rebounded off his back foot catching Frazier with the chopping right and landing flush with a long lead hook not to be outdone Frazier gave chase catching Elie

with the best punch he'd landed so far Ali tried to play it off wobbling his legs dramatically but the reality was he'd been shook it was only the third round the Thrilla in Manilla was beginning to surpass the two epic fights that came before it now going into the fourth each man had already been badly shook by the other with any other pair of fighters this may have made them more cautious more calculating the round began with the same fire in fury as the last had ended Frazier crowded Ali weaved under his attacks and landed

a solid shot of his own but Ali gave it less thought than a mosquito continuing to throw and ducking underneath Frazier's returned fire to escape the ropes he knocked Frazier off-balance as he pivoted away and then caught him from the side with the sneaky jarring right the punch seemed to set the tone of the round which proved overwhelmingly favorable for Ali he led with crosses pounding them into Frazier skulls he ducked outside of Frazier's hooks and controlled distance with both hands using one to lead Frazier's head into the other but Frazier's coach was not concerned

he figured that Frazier's frenzied pace was rushing out Lee not allowing him time to set himself and get the full weight of his body into his punches only time would tell if you were right Frazier meanwhile started to pick away at any opening he could find he received a warning from the referee on a low blow but continued to target Ali's hips destroying his mobility Frazier had done the same during their first encounter and Ali had been in pain each time he took a step for a week afterwards but despite Frazier's best attempts the fourth

had clearly belonged Ali the fifth would not be so kind to the champion within the first minute of the fifth it became apparent the cracks had started to appear in Ali's defense Frazier was becoming better and better at getting around Ali's long lead hand which he referred to derisively as his feather duster he discovered he could knock Ali's arms side and come up underneath exploiting his exposed ribs now he began to dismantle Ali's high guard as well jabbing high to provoke Ali to raise his hands and then sinking in a deep shot that torn to

his ribs inch by inch Frazier moved in closer with each exchange as Frazier himself put it I began to rev the engine and taking on clay you have to crowd him and accelerate the tempo lot let him work at the pace he wants hurry him and he'll begin to huff and puff it became a battle of survival now that's my kind of fight Frazier soon had Ali pressed up against the ropes his arms weary his legs tired he no longer had the strength to shell up and hold firm as he had done in the second

he tried to fight from across guard his body turned away shielding himself from the Brawn to Frazier's attacks the great irony which Ali probably would not have appreciated at the time was that years ago the legendary Archie Moore had tried to teach Elli how to use the cross guard so that he didn't always have to rely on his speed and mobility but Ali had retorted that he didn't need it as he planned to retire young there is no doubt that Frasier had started to smoke he dodged almost every punch Ali threw pushed him back into

the corner when he tried to escape and pummeled his hands through to break Ali's guard and set up short jarring punches Frazier at last had the chance to follow through on fucha strategy he lept out of his Crouch to avoid Ali's uppercut slamming a tremendous hook into the champions jaw all said and done Ali was trapped against the ropes for nearly two minutes if the 5th could be called challenging for Ali the 6th was nothing but a complete disaster Frazier was now timing the tight lead hooks that Ali had used to rock him in the

first a leaping gazelle punch whipped Ali's head back near the start of the round and another connected knot soon after he chased le from corner to corner short body shots tenderizing his ribs and hips but while Ali may not have had the best guard his head movement was still otherworldly a well-timed turn of his head was often all that saved him from fighting punches although was bad Ali wasn't out of the fight yet halfway through the round he caught Frazier with another tight lead hook that sent his mouthpiece flying across the ring the announcers mistakenly

thought the mouthpiece had been Ali's and Frazier all too happy to go along with the story letter bragged about knocking Ali's mouthpiece across the ring in his autobiography but all said and done he may as well have as Ali walked back to his corner all thoughts of an easy fight an early knockout had vanished from his mind now it was about survival in the corner Dundee berated Ali telling him we blew those rounds you don't rest on the ropes against Joe Frazier Ali knew he was right he was in this for the long haul and

if he wanted to win he needed to even up the rounds he decided it was time to pay Frazier back Ali danced and kept dancing skipping cross stepping and pivoting across the ring his legendary jab whipping out like a snake it pestered Frazier targeting either eye lashing out from three different directions occasionally accompanied by a sort of rear hand jab as Ali skewed his hips to work different angles most importantly is set up Ali's stronger punches but Elly could not dance forever for all the punches Frazier had taken punches that had knocked out far bigger

stronger men he was somehow coming faster than ever Ali was forced to rest on the ropes more and more often the last minute of the round unable to clinch he took a multitude of tremendous blows as he walked back to the corner he knew that he did not have enough left to dance the next time the Bell called him out to fight for the last round Ali had flown across the ring but now Frazier had clipped the butterfly's wings but if Ali could no longer float like a butterfly he could still sting like a bee

in the 8th unable to dance unable to clinch ally instead stood his ground and went toe to toe with smoke and Joe Frazier the result was one of the most brutal rounds in the history of combat sports allele ended early and often barely bothering to set up his shots this was not intelligent boxing this was target practice Frazier was taking two or three shots to land one big one a strategy that had served him well before but these were not the light stinging shots that Frazier had become accustomed to taking from Ali Ali's set himself

low rounded his center and loaded his punches with the full force of his body becoming frustrated Frazier through a tremendous hook but Ali pulled back and now Frazier had thrown his body out of position Ali took full advantage of the situation but then midway through the round it became apparent that Ali had given all he had to give he had punched himself out and now his arms were just as tired as his legs Frazier spent the remainder of the round destroying Ali's body persuading Ali to lower his guard so he could target his head at

one point he pounded a thudding shovel hook until all these stomach that knocked his hips back into the ringpost drawing gasps from the crowd Ali was happy to leave the eighth behind him it was unclear to many how either man had remained standing in the corner Ali's ring doctor was wondering the same thing Ali thought he was dying he would later recall he was at the ends of exhaustion who was having trouble staying awake between rounds this time Ali would not be so quick to recover he spent the majority of the next two rounds and

sluggish retreat most of his punches selling harmlessly over Frazier's head although he landed well occasionally Ali mostly spent his time dancing from corner to corner before languishing on the ropes throwing little clinching when he had the chance and covering up the best he could a small respite for Ali was that Frazier had now started to let his emotions get the best of him and was wasting shots hunting Ali's head while he still had an upright posture had Frazier stuck to fudge his plan and battered his arms the champion may have lost his ability to punch

as well as dance still while it could have been worse for Ali the situation was far from ideal by the end of the tenth Frazier had evened up the fight Ali decided it was time to test his legs he came out dancing Frazier quickly caught his prey driving a hard hook into Ali's chest and shoving him into the ropes but Ali turned Frazier and now it was Joe against the ropes for the first time in the fight Frazier stopped moving forward he stood there bobbing and weaving to stay safe Frazier broke the still mate with

a leaping left hand but his pursuit now came in increments Frazier would later explain for me this night was a towering one given how damn hot it was in the arena 110 degrees they said when I'd suck an air it was like walking into an oven Frazier swatted a lazy right-handed LD near the corner and now he repaid him with the left hook off a tight cross jerking Frazier's head around the punch seemed to finally wake Frasier Frasier up the pace and now was Ali who dramatically slowed taking a shearing uppercut as he tried to

clinch and then three solid blows to the body just a few seconds later Ali stayed in the corner for a full minute Frazier beating on him with either hand doubling up on hooks to the body and head it seemed that Ali's rally had been short-lived the last gasp of a dying man but according to Ali his time on the ropes in the 11th was painful but necessary he would later explain his behavior in the round a man who rides a horse and starts off too fast is gonna have his horse tired before the race is

over you gotta know when to speed up when to coast and when to rest while Ali was able to pull away from many head shots he was allowing his body to be used as a punching bag it was a completely reckless strategy but it paid off with under a minute left Ali his strength returned grabbed onto Frazier and pulled him to the center of the rein startled Frazier tried to grab on to the ropes but the ref helped to rip his hand away the two men now stood in the center and threw Ali paying back

the beating he'd received on the ropes tenfold it was now Frazier who ended the round with his back against the ropes Dundee watching from the corner noticed how easy had been for Ali to move Frazier around he wondered just how much strength he had left to make matters worse for Frazier his eyes were beginning to swell from all the punishment he'd taken throughout the fight in the 12th he looked to pay Ali back gritting his teeth against three hard blows he managed to press the champion up against the ropes and unload on him almost immediately

but Frazier had finally slowed enough for Ali to get in his rhythm Landing eight out of nine blazing fast punches before deflecting Frazier's returned fire Frazier had kept up a breakneck pace for the last 12 rounds he was like a marathon runner maintaining a steady pace for miles but gradually weakening Ali was more like a sprinter taking long breaks between activity and then unleashing all the power he had saved up in short powerful bursts there were upsides and downsides to both strategies Ali was under constant pressure and taking consistent punishment but unlike Frazier who was

able to store up strength and pick his spots and so Frazier had softened enough by the 12th for Ali to push him away if only momentarily he only had a moment before Frazier reclosed the distance and filled the gap but a moment was enough while Ali's long arms did not allow for much power at close range his punches still torn to Frazier's face exacerbating the swelling and his already damaged eyes Ali danced away near the end of the round trying to make Frazier believe that he was still fresh but the truth was while it was

Frazier who had appeared too slow it was Ali who was beyond exhaustion in his corner Frazier informed Futch that his eyes had gotten worse he's spent the last half of the round fighting in a kind of hates barely able to make out Ali's punches as they barreled towards his head thinking on his feet fudge came up with a plan in his own words so I told Frazier to stay back about eight inches and made him stand up a little straighter Futch figured that from further back Frazier would at least have time to see the punches

coming across the ring Ali's head drooped forward the champion now tired in a way he had never experienced before he felt as though any second he may bomb it or pass out but Dundee had sensed an opportunity and screamed at Ali look at him he ain't got no power left go get him Elliott sensed it too he dug deep and came into the 13th looking for a knockout the two met in the middle of the Ring Ali pestering his rivals eyes with stinging jabs and breaking his own rhythm to lead Frazier into hard crosses far

from helping him Frazier's new altered posture left him more open midway through the round Ali slammed a thunderous for a hook into Frazier's jaw once again sending his mouthpiece flying across the ring this time out into the audience sensing the time had finally come Ali threw everything he had left at Frazier landing hard right after hard right giving all he had to put down the man who had once knocked him to the canvas and denied him his victory in the biggest fight of his life never had Ally inflicted so much sustained damage to his rival

and Frazier nearly lost his legs from under him more than once I fought him best I could Frazier would later relate I could barely see I was fighting on instinct bobbing and weaving clay was timing me but Frazier refused to fall to quote Ali for the third time Joe Frazier surprised me with his stamina his relentlessness and the gunpowder in his blows I opened his lip and closed his eyes but he still kept coming forcing me onto the ropes making me deliver power when I didn't even know if it was still there although he had

nearly been knocked out twice in the round Frazier was still able to throw bombs somehow still standing still fighting Frazier punctuated the round with a thunderous left hook the bell in Frazier's corner coach Eddie Futch had a difficult decision to make Frazier could barely see and had taken a dangerous amount of damage on the other hand Frazier had still gotten tremendous punches through near the end of the round fudge one of the most perceptive coaches and combat sports suspected that Ali was close to done more than anything he knew how much defeating Ali meant to

Joe he decided to give Frazier one last round to get the job done in fact he was right Ali already passed his known limits in the 13th was an uncharted territory even he did not know how much he had left to get but in the 14th he gave it all the Bell called both out to face each other for the last time the two circled dead tired the look of a wounded animal in the eyes of both three fights 41 rounds two championships and five years had brought them here they had tested each other in

every way possible only to find that even now their skill physicality and willpower were nearly even their bodies failing their will driving them on the fight balanced on a Razors Edge but then just as it seemed as if both men have spent everything they had somehow Ally came to life he threw one last furious assault throwing punches as if he'd just come out for the first but Frazier endured and he was still looking for that one shot Frazier sunk low and hurled himself forward with the last of his strength but this time Ali pulled away

Frazier crashed into him and now both of them were far past spent Frazier walked forward his legs giving way hands drooping below his wings Ali's stumbled in between punches pausing and taking big gasping breaths before firing off his hardest shots over and over a look of complete disbelief on his face to quote Ali when someone asked a marathon runner what goes through their mind in the last mile or two he said that you ask yourself why am i doing this you get so tired and takes so much out of you mentally it makes you go

a little insane I was thinking that at the end why am I doing this what am i doing in here against this beast of a man it's so painful I must be crazy Frazier marched forward on sheer willpower taking everything that I'll lead through his way and then it was over the round ended and smoked and drove Frazier was still standing through all the rounds and all the fights Ali had never once put him down barely able to see the referee guided Frazier back to his corner as Ali sat down he had a terrifying realization

he was not sure how much longer he'd go on of course he didn't know about such his decision all he knew was that Frazier had taken him to his absolute limit to a place that he'd never been before a place he would later call the closest thing to death in Frazier's corner coach Eddie Futch could then witness the fighters die in the ring before had seen enough I'm going to stop it fudge told Frazier you're taking too much punishment Joe protested no don't I wanna boss blind battered beaten Frazier was in no condition to fight

it's all over son fudge told him no one will ever forget what you did here today and so the greatest fight in boxing history came to a close Ali could not believe it he stood and raised his hands and victory a moment later he fell to the floor to quote the man himself I was so relieved so tired and has so much pain that my knees buckled and I stretched right out where I was right there in the middle of the ring he had taken 440 hard solid punches from Joe Frazier many throughout the years

have romanticized so-called lost round wondering what would have happened if Frazier had been allowed to come out for the 15th but the truth is both men had already given what they had to give both had left a piece of themselves in that ring and for each it was a piece that they would never fully get back perhaps Ali said it best we went to Manila as champions jointly and we came back as old men thanks for watching I left a list of sources used for all three fights in the comments below along with links to

my books on footwork and power from the modern martial artists this has been David Christian wishing you happy