Philippines, 17 Sep 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


THRILLA IN MANILA: POST MORTEM


PhilBoxing.com




The Thrilla in Manila was over and as Muhammad Ali himself said, ?We went to Manila as champions, Joe and me, and we came back as old men.?

It was a good thing Joe Frazier?s trainer Eddie Futch kept his ward from coming out for the 15th and final round or ?Smokin? Joe might have died in the ring.

Or Muhammad Ali, who had successfully defended his world heavyweight title as a consequence, would have had to go out there again, too, and he might not have lasted long himself. He was near the end of his rope.

Ali, summing it up best, said right in his dugout while reclining, exhausted on the table, said: ?I always bring out the best in the men I fight, but Joe Frazier, I?ll tell the whole world right now, bring out the best in me. That?s one helluva man, and God bless him.?

A wilted Ali told sportswriters: ?I?m happy there are no more Joe Frazier to fight. I will never call him a gorilla again,? he vowed then summoned Frazier?s son Marvis and told him: ?Tell your dad the things I said I really didn?t mean.?

Told of what Ali said, the fallen challenger told Marvis: ?Tell him to tell that to me personally himself.?

Frazier then turned to everybody who cared to listen saying, ?Man, I hit him with punches that?d bring the walls of a city. Lawdy ? lawdy? he?s a great champion!?

The former slaughterhouse hand fulfilled the promise he made to media men to host a victory party for them at his hotel where he danced and sang all night long with friends, including Games and Amusements Board chair and fight co-promoter Louie Tabuena and agriculture secretary Arturo ?Bong? Tangco.

Ali was rushed to the hospital right after the encounter for emergency treatment before attending a victory party hosted in his honor by First Lady Imelda Marcos at Malacanan Palace.
The next morning in his Hilton Hotel suite, he confessed he had been urinating blood since fight night. ?Everything in me is on flame.? His right hand was in pain and swollen. He tried to make a fit but couldn?t.

?What this man do to me?? he asked. ?Why do I do this? He asked looking at the scenic Manila Bay. ?Couple of times like I was leaving my body. The animal could have killed me. That man weren?t human in there. I must be crazy for what? This is it for me. It?s over.?

Back at Frazier?s hotel, Futch was talking by way of explaining why he had thrown in the towel. ?Joe?s puffed up. By the thirteenth, he could rarely see. His face was a mess, and I wanted to stop it right there. But he wanted one more round.?

Joe confessed to this writer once that he? been fighting half blind all his pro-career caused by injury while still an amateur and only people close to him knew this.

?When I saw him barely walked to his corner with the help of referee (Carlos) Padilla, I knew he? had enough,? he recalled.

?I said, it ain?t worth getting his brain scrambled. Joe?s got a fine family and a great future. I stopped it. I ain?t sorry.?

?Joe just couldn?t take one more round. I told him, son, If you couldn?t see him the last few rounds, how can you be sure you can see him in the 15th,? Futch said.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • Canelo-Crawford: The Consolidation of Boxing’s New Commercial Empire
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • A New Era for Boxing: Canelo vs. Crawford Shatters Global Viewership Records on Netflix
    By Dong Secuya, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • Crawford Not the First Lightweight to Distinguish Himself at Super Middleweight
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • Kurt Scoby and Josh Popper Headline Boxing Insider Card September 19 in Times Square
    , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • Green and Gold 2025: Amateur Boxing’s International Gathering in Bolivia
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • Pakistan's Sameer Khan Set to Battle for UBO Youth World Title in Brico Santig’s Sep 27 Show in Thailand
    By Carlos Costa, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • SAMBO Pilipinas is Southern NSA of the Year 2025
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • Kingsley “The Black Lion” Ibeh To headline historic “Legacy Nights” Inaugural Pro Boxing event in El Salvador
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • Smarts over power
    By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • HALL OF FAME FLIES FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF FOR TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION RICKY HATTON
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • Kazakhstan tops the medal table at the inaugural World Boxing Championships 2025 thanks to victory in the final bout of the competition
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER
    By Maloney L. Samaco, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
    By Dong Secuya, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • 21-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
    By Carlos Costa, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
    , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Battle of Undefeated: Callum Walsh Vanquishes Fernando Vargas Jr.
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Undercard Inferno: Mbilli and Martinez Deliver a Super Middleweight War Ending in a Thrilling Draw
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Crawford to defy odds?
    By Joaquin Henson, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.