Ali defeats Frazier as Thrilla in Manila ends after 14th round

On Oct. 1, 1975, in Manila, Muhammad Ali defeated Joe Frazier when Frazier's corner stopped their heavyweight title rematch after the 14th round, ending one of the most brutal and celebrated fights in boxing history. The bout, billed the Thrilla in Manila, was the third and deciding chapter of a bitter trilogy between two of the era's dominant heavyweights and was staged in the morning local time to accommodate an estimated global television audience of about 1 billion viewers.

The fight unfolded as a grinding endurance test. Frazier opened with the stronger, more aggressive work, landing heavy hooks and pressuring Ali through the early rounds. As the fight progressed, Ali shifted tactics, using a quicker jab and combinations to seize moments of control in the middle rounds. By the tenth round both men were visibly exhausted; by the later rounds fatigue, swelling and damage had severely limited their mobility and vision. Frazier's eyes were badly swollen, a condition his trainer Eddie Futch judged unsafe to continue. After the 14th round Futch entered the ring and told his fighter, "Sit down, son, it's all over," signaling the corner stoppage that awarded Ali the victory and...