'Like death' - how 'Thrilla in Manila' changed Ali, Frazier forever

When Muhammad Ali survived 14 brutal rounds with Joe Frazier in the 'Thrilla in Manila' 45 years ago, it wrote a page in boxing folklore but left both men forever diminished.

Fought in the Philippines' stifling daytime heat, with barely functioning air conditioning, Frazier was beaten nearly blind and Ali was on the verge of surrender.

In the end, it was Frazier's trainer who threw in the towel to hand Ali victory on October 1, 1975, settling their head-to-head 2-1. But the fight came at a cost to both men.

"Ali and Frazier would never be the same again, after pouring and spending practically all their power and durability in Manila," said Recah Trinidad, a Philippine boxing columnist.

Ali, who had beaten George Foreman in the 'Rumble in the Jungle' in Zaire a year earlier, came into the fight at 33, his best years well behind him.

They battled inside the 25,000-seat Araneta Coliseum with such ferocity that spectators including Imelda Marcos, wife of then-Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, were spattered with blood.

"It was like death. Closest thing to dyin' that I know of," Ali later said of the bout.

Ali set an acrimonious tone in the weeks leading to the fight, enraging Frazier, 31, by likening him to a giant ape.

"It's gonna be a thrilla, and a chilla, and a killa, when I get the gorilla in Manila," Ali boasted, coining the nickname that still resonates today.

On fight day the momentum swung back and forth between the men, who were in their third and final match-up.

One Frazier punch sent Ali's mouthpiece flying into the fifth row, but neither fighter fell.

- 'Brutal beatdown' - =====================