THE THRILLA IN MANILA AT 50
ROUND 11: PURSES/VIEWING AUDIENCE Ali received a guarantee of $4.5 million plus 43% of gross earnings, adding up to an estimated $9 million. Frazier signed on for $2 million and was promised 22% of the gross. The fight was shown on
ROUND 13: THE RING AWARD For the second year in a row, Ali scooped Fighter of the Year, Fight of the Year and Round of the Year (12) honors.
closed-circuit television in 380 locations in the United States alone. The total closed-circuit audience is estimated to have been around the 100 million mark. With 68 countries broadcasting the fight, some sources have estimated that approximately one billion people watched “The Thrilla in Manila.” ROUND 12: THE RING COVERAGE (FIVE COVERS) November 1975 December 1975 March 1976 HEAVYWEIGHT TOP 10 (RATINGS FROM SEPTEMBER 1975 ISSUE) Champion: Muhammad Ali 1. George Foreman August 1975 October 1975
2. Joe Frazier 3. Ken Norton 4. Bunny Johnson 5. Jimmy Young 6. Joe Bugner 7. Earnie Shavers 8. Oscar Bonavena 9. Ron Lyle 10. Chuck Wepner
ROUND 14: MEMORIES OF MANILA “The breakfast time fight of a lifetime!” – Harry Carpenter during commentary, BBC
“What we felt was awe at the spectacle of extraordinary men setting new limits for themselves, pushing back the boundaries of their courage, their physical and psychological capacity.” – Hugh McIIvanney from ringside, The Observer “Time may well erode that long morning drama in Manila, but for anyone who was there, those faces will return again and again to evoke what it was like when two of the greatest heavyweights of any era met for a third time and left millions limp around the world. Muhammad Ali caught the way it was: “It was like death. Closest thing to dyin’ that I know of.” – Mark Kram catches the post-fight aftermath, Sports Illustrated
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