35 years ago, Muhammad Ali was looking for an opponent that was going to be both an easy night, but a decent payday in addition to that, so his handlers decided on a third fight with Joe Fraizer, who many thought was a spent force and would be easy pickings for the declining Ali. What instead happened on that scorching night in Manila was a war beyond words. Frazier’s relentless assault, which had toppled Ali once before, took him to hell and back for 14 rounds of sustained carnage before Fraizer’s corner was forced to halt the fight. Nobody thought Fraizer had it in him, but he always had a style that troubled Ali and was always a danger.As we come to current day, we see the same potential in a third fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, two fighters who’s legacies are defined by their two epic battles.
Though casual fans are easily roped into what will be their final clash, the general overture is that Marquez has finally got his chance at vindication due to a lack of financial options for Pacquiao and recent showings that he may be on the downside of his career. The argument is that Marquez, who is jumping two weight classes for the fight, is Frazier to Pacquiao’s Ali, a stylistic nightmare that will push him to the brink each time out, and even though the deck is highly stacked against him, Marquez has a shot. Pacquiao is a big favorite to close out their rivalry in definitive fashion, but are we on the eve of another barbaric clash of the ages?
