Editing Thrilla in Manila (section)

==Fight strategy and referee selection==
Frazier cornerman Eddie Futch was concerned about preventing Ali from repeating the illegal tactic of holding Frazier behind the neck to create extended clinches. Ali used this tactic to keep Frazier from getting inside and enable himself to get needed rest during his victory in their second meeting. Futch claimed that Ali had done this 133 times in that fight without being penalized. He also had done so in their first meeting, and did it while facing the taller Foreman in his win over him in Zaire, leaving little doubt as to his intentions for the upcoming bout in Manila. Sensing trouble, Futch moved to block (Ali-Foreman ref) Zach Clayton as referee by enlisting the aid of Philadelphia mayor [[Frank Rizzo]]. The mayor refused to let Clayton out of his duties as a Philadelphia civil service employee to go referee the fight. Futch also warned Filipino authorities that Ali was going to mar what was to be a great event for their nation by constantly tying up Frazier illegally. He advised them to assign one of their countrymen to referee the bout, stating that this would reflect well on the Philippines, and be a source of pride for its people. Futch and Filipino officials (who bought in heavily to the idea) brushed aside complaints from [[Don King]] that a Filipino referee would be too small to handle a heavyweight fight. This resulted in the appointment of Filipino [[Carlos Padilla, Jr.]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Dave|title=In the Corner|year=1991|publisher=Wm. Morrow & Co.|isbn=0688094465|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780688094461/page/288 288]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780688094461/page/288}}</ref>

Futch and his assistant, George Benton, believed that the key to winning the fight would be for Frazier to persistently attack Ali's body, including when Ali attempted to cover up his torso along the ropes. Benton said, "My expression to Joe was what you've got to do is stay on top of him, and hit the son of a bitch anywhere, hit him on the hips, hit him on the legs. You hit him anywhere!"<ref name=BBCFilms />

Frazier's strategy followed the boxing axiom "if you kill the body, the head will die." As he described it, "Once I've stopped your organs—when those kidneys and liver stop functioning, he can't move so fast ... The organs in his body have to be functioning. If you slow them down, he cannot do what he wants to do."<ref name=BBCFilms />

Hitting below the waist, according to the rules of all sanctioning bodies, is equally as illegal as holding behind the head.

The Ali camp used the championship as leverage in negotiations and won out on two key points. The ring size of {{convert|21|ft}} square allowed him the ability to move and circle the ring if he so chose, which would enable him to use his superior boxing skills to his advantage. He also got his preference for {{convert|8|oz|adj=on}} gloves, which were smaller and less padded than those used in most heavyweight bouts. According to Ali's ring doctor, Ferdie Pacheco, Ali planned to take advantage of Frazier's reputation as a slow starter, and use his superior reach and hand speed to attack Frazier exclusively with punches to the head in the early rounds in the hopes of scoring a knockout, or at least doing enough damage to Frazier to prevent him from fighting effectively as the bout wore on.<ref name=BBCFilms />