The Thrilla in Manila staged on October 1, 1975 is indeed more than just a colossal world boxing championship.
Nearly half a century after its staging, it has been unrivaled as the Fight of the Century.
Muhammad Ali, who won that unforgettable main event, has remained untouched as The Greatest. Truth is that the stone-hard and unshakable Joe Frazier cannot be properly called the loser in that monumental main event.
There were no knockdowns in the scheduled 15-round war at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City.
But after Ali saw Frazier being restrained from leaving his stool for the final round, the savagely punished Ali sank to the floor.
“It felt like death,” Ali groaned upon being helped back.
No fight has ever matched the sharpness, savagery, the incredible toughness and durability of the rival heavyweight gods, who pushed the startling contest to a stellar level that made it feel like a clash of heavenly bodies to the astonished ringside spectator.
The klieg lights above the fight ring turned blood red each time the warriors would exchange killer punches.
Death and destruction was the theme of the great fight.
It pains to surmise how much both Ali and Frazier gave and spent of themselves to create and complete the only man-made world boxing championship that soared to become a celestial gladiatorial feast.
