Trainers Futch and Dundee reflect on Thrilla in Manila
Thursday 1 October 2015 13:31, UK
On Thursday, it will be 40 years since the Thrilla in Manila.
Here we look back at some of what was said before, during and after the third and final heavyweight championship bout between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier - one of the greatest and bitterest sporting rivalries of all time.
"It will be a killer and a chiller and a thriller when I get the gorilla in Manila."
In the build-up Ali delivers one of his best put-downs and poetic predictions
"It's real hatred. I want to hurt him. I don't want to knock him out. I want to take his heart out."
Frazier responds with brutal honesty, as you'd expect
"Sit down son, it's all over. No one will ever forget what you did here today."
Frazier's cornerman Eddie Futch refuses to send him out for the final round
"He could have whupped any fighter in the world, except me. He is great - greater than I thought. He is one hell of a fighter and it was one hell of a fight."
Ali pays tribute to Frazier after the fantastic 14-round fight
He could have whupped any fighter in the world, except me.
"The Thrilla in Manila was the best fight I have ever seen. As it unfolded, everyone at ringside understood they were watching greatness."
Veteran fight reporter Ed Schuyler was not alone
"It was the toughest fight I've seen in my life."
Ali's cornerman Angelo Dundee summed it all up
They want me to love him, but I'll open up the graveyard and bury his ass.
"People ask me if I feel sorry for him. Nope. Fact is, I don't give a damn. They want me to love him, but I'll open up the graveyard and bury his ass when the Lord chooses to take him."
Frazier's bitterness is still strong in his autobiography decades later
"I'm sorry Joe Frazier is mad at me. Joe Frazier is a good man. If God ever calls me to a holy war, I want Joe Frazier fighting beside me."
Ali's respectful response
* Some quotes from Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times, by Thomas Hauser (Robson Books, 1991).
