Mon, Sep 30, 2013
For 42 grueling minutes, in 120-degree heat, the two warriors left their hearts in the ring, with Ali often employing his now familiar rope-a-dope strategy and Frazier coming in low to land his thunderous hooks to the body and head of the aging champion. The fight wore on at a frantic pace, with neither man significantly ahead on the judges' scorecards. In between rounds 14 and 15, Frazier's trainer Eddie Futch had deemed his fighter had enough and threw in the towel, ending the battle and awarding Ali the victory. The fight took its toll physically on both Ali and Frazier and neither were ever as great again as they were that morning in Manila.