Muhammad Ali wins technical knockout victory over Joe Frazier

On October 1, 1975, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier met inside the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City for the third and final installment of their historic heavyweight boxing trilogy, an encounter later described by The Ring as the best boxing match of the 20th century. Sport1 reported that temperatures inside the venue reached approximately 40 degrees Celsius with stifling humidity, creating brutal conditions for the 25,000 spectators and the two fighters alike.

The Brutal Conditions of the Araneta Coliseum

Even before the opening bell at 10 a.m., the atmospheric heat inside the arena caused spectators to sweat simply by sitting still. The fight itself was arranged by promoter Don King, who secured the location through a deal with Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, whose presidential loge hosted both him and Imelda Marcos.

At 33 years old, champion Muhammad Ali lacked his former ring elegance, but he relied on immediate power. In the opening round, he caught the 31-year-old Frazier with a sharp left uppercut that drove his rival into the ropes. Frazier quickly countered, targeting Ali’s body and landing heavy punches to his kidneys, prompting Ali’s trainer, Angelo Dundee, to shout instructions from the corner during the fifth round.

Verbal Sparring and Rising Intensity in the Ring

The hostility between the two fighters stretched back to the pre-fight buildup, during which Ali mocked Frazier by calling him a gorilla, while Frazier vowed to tear his opponent’s heart out. That animosity carried directly into the later rounds of the bout.

As documented by journalist Hartmut Scherzer for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the seventh round opened with an explicit verbal exchange between the competitors. Ali addressed his rival by asking why he had thought Frazier was washed up, to which Frazier replied that Ali had been misinformed. By the 13th round, Ali landed severe combinations that left Frazier’s right eye swollen shut and severely restricted his vision.

Trainer Eddie Futch Stops the Fight Before the Final Round

Following the 14th round, Frazier sat on his stool protesting as his trainer, Eddie Futch, decided to halt the contest rather than allow his fighter to answer the bell for the 15th and final round. Ali won the bout via technical knockout, though he collapsed in his corner from exhaustion shortly afterward.

Ring doctor Ferdie Pacheco noted that both athletes were at times in genuine danger of losing their lives due to extreme fluid loss and the severe physical toll of the environment. The victory capped a trilogy that began with Frazier’s 1971 unanimous decision win at Madison Square Garden during the Fight of the Century, followed by Ali’s victory in their 1974 rematch, which earned Ali the right to face George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle.