Editing Thrilla in Manila (section)

==Fight details==
{{See also|Fight of the Century|Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II}}
[[File:Araneta Coliseum 1960s.jpg|thumb|left|[[Smart Araneta Coliseum|Araneta Coliseum]]]]
In order to accommodate an international viewing audience, the fight took place at 10:00{{nbsp}}a.m. local time. Though it served the business interests of the fight, it was detrimental to the fighters. Ali's ring physician, Ferdie Pacheco, said "At 10:00{{nbsp}}a.m. the stickiness of the night was still there, but cooked by the sun. So what you got is boiling water for atmosphere."<ref name=BBCFilms /> Denise Menz, who was part of Frazier's contingent, said of the conditions inside the aluminum-roofed Philippine Coliseum: "It was so intensely hot, I've never before felt heat like that in my life. Not a breath of air—nothing. And that was sitting there. Can you imagine being in the ring? I don't know how they did it." Frazier estimated the ring temperature at more than {{convert|120|F|0}}, including heat from TV lights.<ref>{{cite web|last=Dower|first=John|title=Thriller in Manila|date=March 6, 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUQNKb_1xlc|publisher=[[HBO Documentary Films]]|access-date=March 13, 2016}}</ref> Ali said that he lost {{convert|5|lb}} during the fight due to dehydration.<ref>{{cite web|title=ABC's Wide World of Sports|url=https://www.youtube.com/#/watch?v=32EI8Rn1yts&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D32EI8Rn1yts|publisher=[[ABC Sports]]}}</ref>

When the fighters and their cornermen met at the center of the ring for the referee's instructions, Ali continued his verbal assault on Joe Frazier, finishing with the taunt: "You don't have it, Joe, you don't have it! I'm going to put you away!" In response, Frazier smiled and said "We'll see."<ref name=NBCSports>{{cite web|title=The Thrilla in Manila| date=November 18, 2012 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcTGfG6uk-o |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/DcTGfG6uk-o| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|publisher=[[NBC Sports Ventures]]|access-date=July 4, 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Ali was sharp early, as the slow-starting Frazier could not bob and weave his way inside of Ali's jab. Ali won the first two rounds. He kept Frazier in the center of the ring, and landed several straight right hands immediately after his left jab. Frazier was wobbled by solid punches twice in the early rounds. Commenting for the U.S. television audience, [[Don Dunphy]] said, "Ali with his fast hands and sharp shooting keeps it his way." Viewing the fight for the first time some 31 years later, Frazier said, "Too far away, needed to get closer."<ref name=BBCFilms />

Ali also continued to attack his opponent verbally, most noticeably in the 3rd round when he was performing well and had plenty of energy. Referee Carlos Padilla said, "During the fight [Ali] would say 'Ah one ah two and a three ... Jack be nimble and Jack be quick, Jack jump over the candlestick. Is that all you can give? Come on, you ugly gorilla—hit me!'" Several times, Ali made circular hand gestures at Frazier to encourage him closer.<ref name=BBCFilms />

During round 3, Ali began using the "rope-a-dope", a strategy in which he used the ropes for support and rest while allowing his opponent to expend energy throwing punches. When it was effective, Ali would eventually spin off the ropes and unleash a volley of punches in rapid succession against an arm-weary opponent. In Manila, it did not always work out that way. Frazier landed his first good body punches of the fight in the 3rd round with Ali pinned in the corner. Due to his general lack of reach and arthritic right elbow, Frazier needed to be close to Ali to hit him with frequency, and the rope-a-dope enabled him to do that. About two minutes into the round, Ali threw a succession of hard punches, many of which missed. Commenting for the BBC, Harry Carpenter said, "I don't know when I've seen Ali in as aggressive a mood as this. He really looks as if he wants to nail Frazier to the canvas for once and all."<ref name=BBCFilms />

During the fifth round, Frazier's timing and the rhythm of his bobbing and weaving improved. He was able to avoid the oncoming fists of the champion and, for the first time in the fight, land solid left hooks to Ali's head. Ali spent much of the round along the ropes. According to his trainer, Angelo Dundee, this "was the worst thing he could do because he's making Joe pick up momentum where he could drive those shots to the body."<ref name=NBCSports /> Ali's method of self-defense also worsened noticeably in the fifth. Boxing journalist [[Jerry Izenberg]], who was ringside, said, "Somewhere about the 4th or 5th round Joe hit him with a right hand. I didn't think Joe could tie his shoes with his right hand and Ali pulls back and says, 'You don't have no right hand, you can't do that.' and bing! he hits him with another right hand. Suddenly Ali had to think 'Well there are two hands in this fight on the other side'. That was very important."<ref name=BBCFilms /> His guard also visibly lowered in this round as a result of the vicious body attack he was absorbing. The net effect was that Ali became much more exposed to Frazier's most lethal {{nobreak|punch{{hsp}}{{mdash}}}}{{hsp}}his left hook.<ref name=NBCSports />

Shortly after the bell rang to start the 6th round Frazier landed a thunderous left hook which thudded against the right side of Ali's face. Ali was knocked back by the force of the blow, and landed in the ropes behind him. He did not appear dazed or groggy, but was visibly stiff in his body movements while backing away from the oncoming Frazier, and continuing to throw punches of his own. Seconds later, Frazier landed a tremendous, whipping left hook to Ali's head. Again Ali landed in the ropes behind him, but he only gave the appearance of being slightly dazed and stiff-legged. Ali remained standing and was able to finish the round without being knocked down. Years later, watching the event on video, Frazier shook his head at the sight of Ali withstanding the powerful blows. Jerry Izenberg observed, "They were tremendous hooks, and you have to understand, normal fighters would not have continued. It would have been over."<ref name=BBCFilms /> According to Ed Schuyler of [[Associated Press]], who was present at ringside, Ali reacted to Frazier's sixth-round barrage by saying (at the start of the next round), "They told me Joe Frazier was washed up," to which Frazier retorted: "They lied."<ref name=Guardian/><ref>{{cite news|title=Joe Frazier|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/sport-obituaries/8875960/Joe-Frazier.html|access-date=June 27, 2013|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=November 8, 2011}}</ref>

As the bout wore on it became clear that despite his belief in the utility of the rope-a-dope, when Ali had his back against the ropes, Frazier had the advantage. Smokin' Joe was able to wear down his opponent with body punches, left hooks to the head, and occasionally, short, chopping right hands. Meanwhile, the long-armed champion had a difficult time getting much power into his punches while fighting on the inside. Dundee, who detested the rope-a-dope (never more so than in Manila) constantly beseeched his fighter to "get off the goddamn ropes!" Beginning at the start of round 7, Ali managed to do so effectively for about a round and a half, and was able to best Frazier in exhausting toe-to-toe exchanges during the opening minute of round 8—described on the telecast as "a big rally by Ali."<ref name=NBCSports/><ref>{{cite news|last=Kram|first=Mark|title=Lawdy, Lawdy, He's Great|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/centurys_best/news/1999/05/05/thrilla_manila/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010503222040/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/centurys_best/news/1999/05/05/thrilla_manila/|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 3, 2001|access-date=July 2, 2013|newspaper=Sports Illustrated (magazine)|date=October 1975}}</ref> Later in that round, an arm-weary Ali began to be beaten to the punch by the challenger. During the final minute of round 8, Ali sagged against the ropes in a neutral corner as Frazier landed a series of punches to his body and head. On the broadcast, Dunphy excitedly told his audience near the end of the round: "Frazier may have evened up the round!" <ref name=NBCSports />

At the close of a very trying ninth round, a visibly tired Ali went back to his corner, and told his trainer: "Man, this is the closest I've ever been to dying."<ref name=NBCSports /> In the opposite corner, Frazier was suffering from pronounced swelling about the face—the result of an accumulation of scores of punches exclusively aimed at his head, increasingly hampering his vision. After an 11th round, in which Ali landed frequently, Eddie Futch confronted his charge, asking him: "What's with this right-hand business?"<ref name=InTheCorner /> In response, Frazier indicated that he could not see some of the punches he was being hit with. At this point, Futch gave him what turned out to be poor advice—he told his fighter to stand more upright when approaching Ali rather than continuing his usual bobbing and weaving style. Ali seized upon this immediately in Round 12. With his back to the ropes, he threw many punches with both hands that landed accurately and did still more damage to Frazier's limited eyesight. Adding to Frazier's problems was his corner's inability to maintain a functional icebag to apply to his eye past the middle rounds because of the oppressive heat inside the Philippine Coliseum. As Frazier rose from his stool to contest Round 13 he was a combatant who could barely see.<ref name=InTheCorner /><ref name=BBCFilms /><ref>{{cite news|title=Joe Frazier (obituary)|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/boxing/15618173|work=BBC Sport|access-date=December 24, 2013}}</ref>

British sportswriter Frank McGhee ringside for the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' describes the final rounds:

<blockquote>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.<ref>[https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/how-mirror-reported-thrilla-manila-173000 "How The Mirror reported the Thrilla In Manila – Muhammad Ali v Joe Frazier – 38 years ago"]. ''[[Daily Mirror]]''. October 1, 2013.</ref></blockquote>

Seeing the results of round 14, [[Eddie Futch]] decided to stop the fight between rounds rather than risk a similar or worse fate for Frazier in the 15th. Frazier protested stopping the fight, shouting "I want him, boss," and trying to get Futch to change his mind. Futch replied, "It's all over. No one will forget what you did here today", and signaled to referee [[Carlos Padilla, Jr.]], to end the bout. Ali would later claim that this was the closest to dying he had ever been.<ref>McGhee, Frank (October 2, 1975) [http://videos.icnetwork.co.uk/m4/ThrillaInManila-Part1.pdf "It Was Next to Death" Part 1] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220175458/http://videos.icnetwork.co.uk/m4/ThrillaInManila-Part1.pdf |date=December 20, 2013 }}. ''The Mirror''. (PDF file)</ref><ref>McGhee, Frank (October 2, 1975) [http://videos.icnetwork.co.uk/m4/ThrillaInManila-Part2.pdf "It Was Next to Death" Part 2] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222013156/http://videos.icnetwork.co.uk/m4/ThrillaInManila-Part2.pdf |date=December 22, 2013 }}. ''The Mirror''. (PDF file)</ref> Unbeknownst to Frazier's corner, at the end of the 14th round Ali instructed his cornermen to cut his gloves off, but Dundee ignored him. Ali later told his biographer [[Thomas Hauser]], "Frazier quit just before I did. I didn't think I could fight anymore."<ref>{{cite news|title=The unforgiven|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2005/sep/04/features.sport16|access-date=November 25, 2015|newspaper=[[The Observer]]|date=September 4, 2005}}</ref>

When the fight ended, Ali was ahead on the scorecards of all three officials. Using the 5-point must scoring system, referee Carlos Padilla Jr. had the champion ahead, 66-60, Judge Alfredo Quiazon had it 67-62 and Judge Larry Nadayag had it 66-62.