Thrilla in Manila
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier lll, billed as the "Thrilla in Manila", was the third and final boxing match between WBA and WBC heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, and Joe Frazier, for the heavyweight championship of the world. The bout was conceded after fourteen rounds on October 1, 1975, at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines, located in Metro Manila. The venue was temporarily renamed the "Philippine Coliseum" for this match. Ali won by corner retirement (RTD) after Frazier's chief second, Eddie Futch, asked the referee to stop the fight after the 14th round. The contest's name is derived from Ali's rhyming boast that the fight would be "a killa and a thrilla and a chilla, when I get that gorilla in Manila."
| Date | October 1, 1975 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Araneta Coliseum, Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ali wins via 14th-round RTD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
The bout is almost universally regarded as one of the best and most brutal fights in boxing history, and was the culmination of a three-bout rivalry between the two fighters that Ali won, 2–1. Some sources estimate the fight was watched by 1 billion viewers, including 100 million viewers watching the fight on closed-circuit theatre television, and 500,000 pay-per-view buys on HBO home cable television.