The Thrilla in Manila: 50 Years After the Final Bell
Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali II Fight Advertisement, January 28, 1974
Donated by George Kalinsky in 2015.
Frazier vs. Ali II
After suffering his first loss as a professional boxer, Muhammad Ali vowed to redeem his reputation in a rematch with Joe Frazier as soon as possible. The rematch, however, would not come for nearly three years, a time in which Ali fought an impressive 13 times to build his confidence up before facing Frazier again. One of those matches earned him his second loss and a broken jaw, both courtesy of Ken Norton; Ali, six months later with a healed jaw, fought him again and won.
Joe Frazier, on the other hand, fought only four times between his first two matches against Ali. On January 22, 1973, almost a perfect year before he would face Ali again, Frazier fought young George Foreman and lost his titles to him after only two rounds of boxing. Despite Frazier's dethroning, the Louisville Lip still wanted his rematch against Smokin' Joe.
Billed as "Super Fight II", Ali and Frazier faced off once again in the same venue of Madison Square Garden on January 28, 1974. In the weeks leading up to the fight, tensions were high and it was apparent that neither boxer cared that this was not a title fight; to them, it was personal. Ali continued to reuse his original insults against his opponent, calling him "ugly", "ignorant", and an "Uncle Tom." Frazier took these insults to heart and was eager to meet Ali in the ring again. He stated:
"Clay and I; we want each other bad. I still call him Clay; his mother named him Clay. If you've been around this guy long enough, you can have a lot of hate in your heart when the bell rings, but otherwise you kind of look at him and you laugh. There's something wrong with the guy. I'm aware now that the guy's got a couple of loose screws someplace."
While each fighter exhibited a measurable amount of distaste for one another, Muhammad Ali ultimately became the victor by unanimous decision in the highly anticipated rematch. The score was even with one victory a piece.
Super Fight II: Joe Frazier versus Muhammad Ali Advertisement, January 28, 1974
