As close to death as he’d ever been. And that’s how the winner described it. Little wonder that the “Thrilla in Manila” (aka Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III), tops TIME’s list of greatest ever fights. The pair entered the decisive third heavyweight fight at 1-1 and the searing Philippine heat made conditions as close to hell as was possible. From the start there was nothing humane about the way the pair went at each other. You feel that had it not been for the 15-round limit and, ultimately, Frazier’s trainer Eddie Futch throwing in the towel at the end of the 14th, they would still be boxing today. “I want him, boss,” screamed Frazier. Futch simply replied, “It’s all over. No one will forget what you did here today.” As for Ali, in typically modest fashion, he described his opponent as, “the greatest fighter of all time, next to me.”
Top 10 Boxing Matches of All Time
On the morning of 17 April 1860, boxing's inaugural "world title" match took place. Though illegal, sporting historians accept that John C. Heenan vs Tom Sayers (U.S. vs England, in a Hampshire field) was the first of many thousands of "fights of the century." Here's TIME's selection of the greatest bouts of all time
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III, Oct. 1, 1975
Full List
The Sweet Science
- Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III, Oct. 1, 1975
- Jack Dempsey vs. Luis Angel Firpo, Sept. 14, 1923
- Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns, Sept. 16, 1981
- Micky Ward vs Arturo Gatti I, May 18, 2002
- Joe Louis vs. Billy Conn, June 18, 1941
- Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo, May 7, 2005
- Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns, April 15, 1985
- Erik Morales vs Marco Antonio Barrera I, February 19, 2000
- Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Meldrick Taylor, March 17, 1990
- Chris Eubank v Nigel Benn I, November 18, 1990