11. Vs. Frazier (The Thrilla in Manila): October 1st, 1975
You aren’t going to be able to finish a list about Ali and not include the Thrilla in Manila. It was the third match-up between Ali and Joe Frazier and fittingly enough, it was for the Heavyweight Championship of the World. Prior to the fight, Ali showed off his clever tongue, stating “killa and a thrilla and a chilla, when I get that gorilla in Manilla.”
Ali won the bout in the 15th round after one of Frazier’s trainers stopped the fight. When writing about the turning point of the bout, British sports writer Frank McGhee wrote,
“The main turning point of the fight came very late. It came midway through the thirteenth round when one of two tremendous right-hand smashes sent the gum shield sailing out of Frazier’s mouth. The sight of this man actually moving backwards seemed to inspire Ali. I swear he hit Frazier with thirty tremendous punches—each one as hard as those which knocked out George Foreman in Zaire—during the fourteenth round. He was dredging up all his own last reserves of power to make sure there wouldn’t have to be a fifteenth round.”
The fight was clearly exhausting, and when talking about it, Ali admitted that it was the closest he had ever felt to dying.
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