A classic fight . I always dig this out to remind me how good the Heavyweight scene was in the 1970's.

The fight was a brutal affair with only flashes of great skill. It still surprises me that both Men were able to raise their game for 14 rounds and had it gone one more round either corner could have pulled their Man out.

Both Men put their fierce rivalry out in the open for all to see and it was a fitting end to the Trilogy.

no doubt about it. thrilla in manila was the best!

I was always of the opinion that barring their first fight in '71 where Ali had to shake off 3 and a half years of ring rust and STILL almost won the fight, that he could beat Frazier everyday of the week, and twice on Sunday. The "Thrilla" was a fight where two of the greatest fighters of all time, both with an intense grudge against each other, met in one of the most brutal battles ever...a 14 round slugfest in overpowering heat. Although Ali won this fight, speculation had it, even among Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee, that if Frazier would have answered the bell in the 15th round, he just may have taken a worn out Ali. After the fight, Ali said that that was the closest he felt he had ever come to death. What held these two fighters up for 14 rounds is stuff that I don't feel boxers today have. It's sad that Frazier still carries hurt from Ali's antics leading up to the event. But these two gave boxing fans three of the best fights in boxing history.

I used to own quite a collection of boxing matches on VHS as teenager -what happened to that collection, I have no idea.  The 'Thrilla In Manila' is one that I used to own and one that I've watched a handful of times.  This is the third and final meeting between the famed rivals "Smokin" Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali.  They were both at that time, I believe, at least in their mid-30s and both were considered to be in their prime or only slightly past their prime.  The video footage that I had showed lots of pre-fight interviews.  The pre-fight antics of Ali -calling Frazier a gorilla and punching a miniature toy gorilla (pretending that it was Joe Frazier) are absolutely hilarious.  At one point Ali shouts (while looking at his toy miniature gorilla): "It will be a killa...and a chilla...and a thrilla...when I get the gorilla in Manila!"  Absolutely hilarious, timeless and classic Ali.  "Smokin" Joe obviously took offense to this and you could sense and see the anger and determination on his face when they both stepped into the rings in their robes.  The fight was in Manila and it was extremely hot and humid.  The Philippine crowd was extremely loud and excited throughout the fight.  The first few rounds Ali did quite a bit of dancing and landed some good shots to the head (setting up Frazier's head by keeping it at bay with an extended left arm, then smashing the right-straight into his face in the hilarious tactic  that Ali sometimes used).  Throughout the middle rounds (a good six rounds or more) Ali resorts to the "rope-a-dope" tactic being completely unaggressive and allowing Frazier to wail away at will (the same tactic used in the "Rumble In The Jungle" fight against George Foreman in Zaire, which had the effect of punching himself out and then Ali taking advantage of to win).  It was kind of amusing at times, but marred the fight, in my opinion, making it quite monotonous and boring at times.  The last several rounds (Ali's tactic having worked effectively), Ali re-assumes the offensive and begins scoring all kinds of head shots which nearly sends a dizzying Frazier to the canvas on numerous occasions.  How Frazier didn't go down is amazing and shows what a tough fighter he was.  He took a lot of direct shots to the face in the final rounds (and threw some counter-punches as well, which landed) making for a very exciting finale.  By the end of the match (ruled as a T.K.O. as Frazier couldn't finish the fight because of a swollen, closed eye) the crowd was going crazy, both fighters were completely drained of strength, and it took Ali awhile to recuperate long enough to even answer a few questions on camera.  With the exception of a little too much "rope-a-doping," a great fight that lived up to its hype between two great rivals that left everything out in the ring.

Top heavyweight fight ever! The number of crushing punches thrown and absorbed by both men was phenominal. Each round was packed with action. No modern day fighter could sustain that level of intensity for more than three rounds in a 70 degree arena, throw that many heavy punches or take that level of punishment.

to ali you are very good at boxing

GREAT FIGHT , GREAT FIGHTERS

Neither man was in his prime, but neither man would let the other know it. This was the beginning of the end for both Ali and Frazier as neither man was the same after this absolute brawl. Smokin' Joe will be Smokin' Joe, meaning: he is going to put his head down, come straight at you, and take several punches in order to get off just one of those vicious hooks. Ali makes Frazier his personal bobble head for the first part of the fight, using his long, sharp jab to set Joe up for his hard rights. Joe begins to land in the middle of the battle, pounding Ali with his trademark left hook. But, Ali picks it up in the championship rounds turning Joe's face into an elevation map of the Himalayas. Before the commencement of the 15th and final round, Frazier's corner threw in the towel, giving Ali, who immediately collapsed due to exhaustion, the 2 to 1 edge over Frazier in their incredible rivalry. Ali admited that the "Thrilla in Manilla" was the closest to death he had ever been.

Whoa, did I read that last one right? Joe Frazier was a blown up cruiserweight? The Joe Frazier I remember was the toughest s.o.b. that ever stepped into the ring. The guy led with his chin, was a relentless pursuer, and never took a step backward. An absolute fighting machine who would have killed the overweight, undertrained stiffs who were peeing in their shorts everytime they stepped into the ring with Mike Tyson. (Who himself was destroyed twice by a blown up cruiserweight named Evander Holyfield.) For this fight, Frazier entered the ring supposedly finished after suffering a pair of brutal beating at the hands of George Foreman and attempting to fight with a detached retina and an arthritic shoulder. Ali had pounded Foreman to regain the title and was still a pretty fair imitation of his former self as he peppered Joe at will for the first six rounds. As has been documented, this was the fight that made up the blueprint for the "Rocky" films as Joe was able to summon the will to give the champ a viscious pounding for the next four rounds before Ali, who had the greatest chin of all heavyweights, somehow willed himself from death's door to close Joe's good eye and force Eddie Futch to throw the towel in after the 14th round. One of the classic fights of all time and a testament to the will and greatness of thses two gladiators.

Aside from the brutality, the fight itself is overrated;Joe Frazier, at best was a small heavyweight, probably a blown up cruiserweight.Ali,simply had an edge in size that fighters in lower divisions don't have.

A great fight no doubt, though both fighters were shells of their former selves. What made this fight great was that Ali and Frazier always brought out the best in each other, and as always they were fighting for their place in boxing history. They can rest easy, they both made it, although Ali earned his place above Frazier. That fight took whatever they had left in them and neither man was ever the same again. Ali said that was the closest he ever came to death, and Frazier's corner certainly saved their fighter by not allowing him to come out for the last round.

Probably the greatest heavyweight fight Ive ever scene. Ali came out winning the early rounds by pounding away on Frazier the constant aggressor. Frazier just like in the first fight comes back and starts to heat up during the middle rounds by pounding Ali with the hook and to the body. Both greatly fatigued Ali starts to regroup again in the later rounds. Frazier's corner throws in the towel when Joe can't answer normal questions like what's your name? Over the three fights that one round separated the two fighters who were never the same again.

it was a tremendous battle!

when i saw the fury of this fight, i wus scared to death. the arena wus 110 degrees and two men were throwing punches with each punch intended for a knockout. how can a human being endure such damage and still live? it wus amazing! first, ali wus in the lead. after 5 rounds, frazier took charge. the next 4 rounds belonged to ali, but frazier didnt stop coming. probably the greatest fight in history by the two greatest fighters in history.

The greatest fight of all time. Both fighters deserved to win... In a country where both fighters weren't only battling each other but the heat. It was a ferocious fight, a fight to the death, like the gladiators of Rome.

JackBlack 35 already has paraphrased my first & immediate reaction when I think of this fight. It was THE MOST BRUTAL FIGHT OF ALL TIME, both Ali & Frazier (who hated each other) knew this fight would be the definitve fight that History would use as a barometer and to define their rivalry for all time. And as always an Ali twist Ali had intro'd Veronica as Mrs. Ali to the Marcos', only for the real Mrs. Ali to fly across the Pacific to curse him out. He must have focused all that negative energy on Joe, some would not have been able to function in the midst of such drama. Critics agree Ali should have retired after this fight. Thank God Eddie Futch (R.I.P.) stopped this fight.

the fight of the century in my book!! way to go blackjacj35, its nice to see intelligence...

the greatest and the brutalist boxing match you have ever witnessed!

Hands down the Greatest and most brutal heavyweight fight of all time..the rubber match between 2 great champions who absolutely disliked each other. The background to this is that even though it was for the world's championship..they both knew that they were fighting for the champioship of each other..whoever won this fight would be able to say he was the better of the 2 after each had won one apiece. A totally brutal fight with ring temperatures over 100 degrees. Ali did no playing in this fight. Joe was as hard as a rock typically. After the fight, Ali who fought everybody there was to fight..the toughest guys around said, this was the closest thing to dying he's ever experienced. Frazier said..I hit him with punches that would tear down a wall..lordy, lordy, hes a great champion!..what a fight!

The greatest fight of all time; absolute, irrefragable truth that Joe Frazier had a head filled with concrete.