THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 2 - FIRST ALI-FRAZIER FIGHT, THE FIGHT OF THE CENTURY
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 21 May 2025
The "Thrilla in Manila" is almost widely regarded as one of the best and most barbaric fights in the history of boxing, and was the climax of a three-bout rivalry between the two legends Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. It was estimated that the fight was watched by 1 billion viewers, including 100 million fans watching the match on closed-circuit theatre television, and 500,000 pay-per-view buys on HBO home cable television.
The first fight between Frazier and Ali was billed as the "Fight of the Century". The encounter took place on March 8, 1971, in New York's Madison Square Garden. Frazier was the undefeated heavyweight champion and Ali was the previously undefeated former heavyweight champion, who had been stripped of his titles for declining the draft for the Vietnam War.
The Fight of the Century was an undisputed heavyweight championship boxing match between WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight champion Joe Frazier and lineal heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali.
Their first fight is widely regarded as the biggest boxing match in history and that time was considered as the single most anticipated and publicized sporting event ever. A global audience witnessed the boxing extravaganza. It was the first time that two undefeated boxers who held or had held the world heavyweight title fought each other for the same undisputed title.
The bout was highly publicized and attracted several spectators, including non-boxing and non-sport fans. Ali, who had been stripped of his titles by boxing authorities for refusing to submit himself to the draft for the Vietnam War, had become a symbol of the anti-establishment public during his government-imposed exile from the ring. On the contrary, Frazier supported the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war, and he had been adopted by elements of the public with alternate views. In addition, both fighters had severe personal grudges against each other.
Frazier won the bout in fifteen rounds by unanimous decision (8–6–1, 9–6, 11–4). Ali suffered his first professional defeat. It became the first of a trilogy of legendary fights. Their clash was a speedy, 15-round bout, with Frazier scoring the fight's only knockdown at the onset of the final round.
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