Thrilla in Manila

Thirty five years ago on this date Ali and Frazier engaged in perhaps the greatest HW fight of all-time.They don't make fights like that anymore.

WinstonSmith wrote:

Thirty five years ago on this date Ali and Frazier engaged in perhaps the greatest HW fight of all-time.They don't make fights like that anymore.

I'm not sure they EVER made fights like that.
It was what. 110 degrees with 90% humidity at like eleven in the morning. Two of the bravest fighters in history.
The announcement at the end of Rocky was written about this fight

"The greatest display of guts and stamina in the history of the ring."

I've always thought "The Thriller" was the greatest fight ever. Number two on my list is their first fight.

If I had the power to change one thing about boxing's past I would have Ali retire after he won the Thrilla.

Tobe06 wrote:

If I had the power to change one thing about boxing's past I would have Ali retire after he won the Thrilla.

Good luck, Tobe. Everyone was begging him to retire after that. There's no reasoning with Muhammad Ali. He fought until the sport handed him his death certificate. In my opinion, though he may not know it, if Ali had to do it over again, he would've got caught up in the excitement and never changed a thing.

4445Frank wrote:

Tobe06 wrote:

If I had the power to change one thing about boxing's past I would have Ali retire after he won the Thrilla.

Good luck, Tobe. Everyone was begging him to retire after that. There's no reasoning with Muhammad Ali. He fought until the sport handed him his death certificate. In my opinion, though he may not know it, if Ali had to do it over again, he would've got caught up in the excitement and never changed a thing.

You may well be right Frank. Still, makes you wonder what Ali could have done with the rest of life if he'd be healthy.

sorry i feel strongly the thrilla was a excellent fight but a overhyped romantized event over the years.hardly the greatest fight ever nor a top ten fight..its a case this fight of ali everything he touches turns to gold..its not..the first fight was a top ten fight.it lived up to the hype n excitement and then some..frazier that night was a one armed fighter with courage..ill take dempsey-firpo for shear brutalty over this.hagler-hearns for vicious determination the 3 zale grazianos for both reasons the marciano-moore for shear non stop slam bang action the 2 basilio-demarco fights that defined a world war..all exceed the thrilla.the norton -holmes for skill and back and forth turning points id rate over this also..these are just a few examples..there are more..arguello-pryor great fights on par with this one..etc etc..grratest fight ever.nope..

dmar5143 wrote:

sorry i feel strongly the thrilla was a excellent fight but a overhyped romantized event over the years.hardly the greatest fight ever nor a top ten fight..its a case this fight of ali everything he touches turns to gold..its not..the first fight was a top ten fight.it lived up to the hype n excitement and then some..frazier that night was a one armed fighter with courage..ill take dempsey-firpo for shear brutalty over this.hagler-hearns for vicious determination the 3 zale grazianos for both reasons the marciano-moore for shear non stop slam bang action the 2 basilio-demarco fights that defined a world war..all exceed the thrilla.the norton -holmes for skill and back and forth turning points id rate over this also..these are just a few examples..there are more..arguello-pryor great fights on par with this one..etc etc..grratest fight ever.nope..

Wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Jeez.

no hardcore just stating a non romantizing fact..the other fights were greater..its not a knell down in homage to ali post..its reality.sorry .this fight a excellent one is nooo where the greatest ever..

Tobe06 wrote:

4445Frank wrote:

Tobe06 wrote:

If I had the power to change one thing about boxing's past I would have Ali retire after he won the Thrilla.

Good luck, Tobe. Everyone was begging him to retire after that. There's no reasoning with Muhammad Ali. He fought until the sport handed him his death certificate. In my opinion, though he may not know it, if Ali had to do it over again, he would've got caught up in the excitement and never changed a thing.

You may well be right Frank. Still, makes you wonder what Ali could have done with the rest of life if he'd be healthy.

I think the question is, "What couldn't he have done?"

dmar5143 wrote:

no hardcore just stating a non romantizing fact..the other fights were greater..its not a knell down in homage to ali post..its reality.sorry .this fight a excellent one is nooo where the greatest ever..

Ha ha lol ok buddy. Was just seeing if someone pissed in your cheerios. I'll let you guys hash this one out.

Other than the Holmes-Norton classic,I can't think of a HEAVYWEIGHT fight that comes close to this one.

whether"they don't make fights like that anymore"can be debated by some,i guess,but there hasn't been a rivalry like that since.almost polar opposites in all aspects,except heart,desire & determination.on those counts they were equals & both undisputed ATGs

shakefree wrote:

whether"they don't make fights like that anymore"can be debated by some,i guess,but there hasn't been a rivalry like that since.almost polar opposites in all aspects,except heart,desire & determination.on those counts they were equals & both undisputed ATGs

Well said.

4445Frank wrote:

I've always thought "The Thriller" was the greatest fight ever. Number two on my list is their first fight.

This...

The first one was the first fight I ever watched and this fight had me locked in as a loyal and "nearly" lifelong fan.

LikesToFightGuy wrote:

4445Frank wrote:

I've always thought "The Thriller" was the greatest fight ever. Number two on my list is their first fight.

This...

The first one was the first fight I ever watched and this fight had me locked in as a loyal and "nearly" lifelong fan.

Although first following this sport since the late 60's,this was the first fight that indelibly sticks in my mind.

Yeah, I knew who names and faces were and followed it with other sports via newspaper (Remember those?), but dad didn't buy into the passing fad that was television until 1970... lol.

LikesToFightGuy wrote:

Yeah, I knew who names and faces were and followed it with other sports via newspaper (Remember those?), but dad didn't buy into the passing fad that was television until 1970... lol.

Aaahh...newspapers,and who remembers when Ring magazine was 75 cents?

dmar5143 wrote:

sorry i feel strongly the thrilla was a excellent fight but a overhyped romantized event over the years.hardly the greatest fight ever nor a top ten fight..its a case this fight of ali everything he touches turns to gold..its not..the first fight was a top ten fight.it lived up to the hype n excitement and then some..frazier that night was a one armed fighter with courage..ill take dempsey-firpo for shear brutalty over this.hagler-hearns for vicious determination the 3 zale grazianos for both reasons the marciano-moore for shear non stop slam bang action the 2 basilio-demarco fights that defined a world war..all exceed the thrilla.the norton -holmes for skill and back and forth turning points id rate over this also..these are just a few examples..there are more..arguello-pryor great fights on par with this one..etc etc..grratest fight ever.nope..

Horsehockey! Nothing romaticized about it in the least. A long, grueling fight, under difficult conditions with at least three major changes in momentum along with countless minor ones and a courageous and ultimately heart-wrenching ending for what was a rivalry that went on for five years. In my view the only fight you listed that is in this league is Arguello-Pryor.

Short fights just don't move me in the least. Straight slugging matches like Basilio-DeMarco are certainly brutal but didn't have the history these two had. Unless you want to count the Syracuse crowd giving DeMarco a standing O.

I agree with dmar. This is a great fight but nowhere near the greatest imo. I prefer their first fight (greatest heavyweight fight I've seen) and Holmes-Norton over it.

Still amazes me today to think Frazier took Ali life and death with one eye.

thrilla in manilla was awesome. it becomes better because of the fact of who the fighters were and their rivalry and the conditions of the fight as marb already explained. if we are talking about straight up fights then no, its not top 10 ever, but if we are rating it on not just the fight but everything surrounding it then it becomes easily a top 10 fight. there are other fights that ive seen that were more brutal such as the recently trilogies of gatti-ward, MAB-morales, marquez-vasquez, corrales-castillo, etc. the fights themselves might have been better but the history and other factors surrounding it were not better than the thrilla in manilla.

Ali_1748 wrote:

Still amazes me today to think Frazier took Ali life and death with one eye.

And pretty close to one hand

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Ali_1748 wrote:

Still amazes me today to think Frazier took Ali life and death with one eye.

And pretty close to one hand

His hand was broken too ? Frazier is a terminator.

ali no broken hand as i recall..he just threw one punch.a left hook..his right when the few times he tossed it was awkward and not effective dispite ali being vulnerable that night to it..