The Thrilla in Manila: 50 Years After the Final Bell
Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier after their final fight, taken from the October 13, 1975 issue of Sports Illustrated.
Magazine donated by Robert Suhr in 2016.
The Aftermath
After the conclusion of the fight, Muhammad Ali admitted to reporters that Joe Frazier quit only moments before he was going to and that he did not have any fight left in him for the final round. Both fighters' faces were swollen and they were obviously exhausted, but Frazier's looked the worst of the two. His eyes were swollen nearly shut to the point where he could not see. Mark Kram described the activities of Frazier's hotel room after the fight:
Only his heavy breathing disturbed the quiet as an old friend walked to within two feet. "Who is it? asked Joe Frazier, lifting himself to look around. "Who is it? I can't see! Turn the lights on!" Another light was turned on, but Frazier still could not see...His eyes were only slits, his face looked as if it had been painted by Goya. "Man, I hit him with punches that'd bring down the walls of a city," said Frazier. "Lawdy, Lawdy, he's a great champion."
In spite of his swollen face, Ali attended a reception in his honor hosted by Ferdinand Marcos, the President of the Philippines. Other attendees in the room described the champ's movements as stiff and uncomfortable, and his face as darkened with bruises and bumps. Ali later called the fight the closest to death he had ever felt.
