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| “Thrilla in Manila” Frazier’s damaged eye allowed Ali to score with rights |
I had the opportunity in my lifetime to witness many great sporting events in a variety of athletic endeavors. While all will be forever treasured, two that still conjure up the same strong emotional responses as when first experienced.
Number one was the USA Olympic hockey team capturing the Gold Medal in the 1980 Olympics. Only one other event comes even close to the magic of that 1980 moment. They both are extremely moving in that they acted as testaments to exemplary courage and character.
It occurred on Wednesday, October 1, 1975 at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon
City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It
was a fight for the World Heavyweight
Boxing Championship. Its combatants
were Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
Ali, under the name of Cassius Clay, won the 1960 boxing Olympic Gold Medal and Frazier had achieved the same accomplishment in 1964. Throughout their boxing careers they became fierce competitors.
The fight began in typical fashion with Ali dominating the early rounds.
During the fifth round Frazier began to make his appearance felt. At one-point Joe hit Ali with a right that appeared to shake the champ. Ali’s attempts to counteract that right, left him exposed to the far more lethal blows from solid left hooks that began finding their way to Ali’s head.
At the start of the sixth round Frazier connected with a tremendous left hook. Ali was noticeably dazed. Seconds later, yet another painful left staggered Ali. Sports writer Jerry Izenberg wrote; "They were tremendous hooks…, normal fighters would not have continued—it would have been over.” The 33-year-old Ali could still take a punch. Two years earlier, on March 1, 1973, Ken Norton broke Ali’s jaw in the first round of a 12 round bout that went the distance. Ali fought eleven rounds with a broken jaw.
After the eleventh round Frazier’s face was swollen almost to disfiguration. His trainer, Eddie Futch, asked Frazier why he wasn’t doing more to stop Ali from landing all the rights to his face. A training accident in 1965 had left Frazier almost blind in his left eye. He told Futch he couldn’t see the right handed punches coming. This ugliness was multiplied by the excessive heat in the arena which prevented the use of ice bags between rounds. The ice kept melting.
In the twelfth round Ali had his way with Frazier. He landed both lefts and rights, one right after the other. This further damaged Frazier’s eyesight. By the thirteenth round Frazier’s vision was minimal making it extremely difficult for him to protect himself. He took an awful beating; as did Ali when Frazier, amid the pummeling forced an exhausted Ali into the middle of the ring where Frazier could inflict his own kind of punishment. By the end of the fourteenth round both men were totally exhausted.
It became obvious that only a miracle would allow either fighter to even rise from his stool, let alone fight the fifteenth and final round. Ali told his manager Angelo Dundee to cut off his gloves. He was done. Dundee refused to do so. Futch told Frazier he was stopping the fight fearful that even one more round would prove disastrous to his fighter’s physical well-being. Frazier vehemently objected. Ali, with the aid of his corner men and the ropes, rose to his feet. Without the ropes for support there was little doubt Ali would have collapsed. Although angry and determined, Frazier could not get up from his stool and Futch threw in the towel. One couldn’t help but think those in attendance received a very brief glimpse of the bravery – the heart, courage and character – of those who stormed the beaches of Normandy, France and Iowa Jima.
Great leaders lead by example – by actions - by behavior - and not by words. They bring out the very best in us as demonstrated in Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Ali publicly humiliated and abused Frazier by his constantly calling him "The Gorilla." Ali obviously underestimated Frazier’s strong will, his confidence, and above all his toughness and stamina. Ali paid the price. He had to withstand the very best of what the very best had to offer. In doing so he was forced to validate his never-ending cry of; “I am the greatest” through his remarkable stamina and incredible will to never give-up. “I’m gonna do it because I want to be the heavy weight champ for the third time - because I can do it. And you can do it too. No matter what you are in life - no Matter what color, no matter what religion – it’s never too late to start all over again – NEVER FORGET THAT!!!!” ~ Muhammad Ali
From one American sports fan’s perspective, to clearly understand the greatness that was Muhammad Ali is to remember the “Thrilla in Manila” – the astonishing, courageous performance of an American hero who ALWAYS walked the talk.
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