Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier were two of boxing’s greatest rivals, although the animosity between the two spilled outside of the ring on one heated occasion.
The two undefeated fighters faced off in the “Fight of the Century” in one of the biggest boxing matches of all time.
Muhammad Ali was extremely arrogant going into the fight and used the media to throw constant jabs at Joe Frazier, labeling him an “Uncle Tom” and “Ugly” in the build-up to the bout.
Frazier had the last laugh when he won the fight via unanimous decision over 15 rounds, becoming the first man to beat Ali in one of the all-time great boxing upsets.
There would be a rematch three years later, and the tension spilled out on a TV show in the days leading up to the second Ali/Frazier fight.
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Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali got into a fight while reviewing their ‘Fight of the Century’
In the build-up to the long-awaited rematch between Frazier and Ali, the pair sat down together to review their first fight.
The pair appeared on ABC’s Wide World of Sports with Howard Cosell, who sat Ali and Frazier side by side to review the footage and give their take on their performances in Frazier’s win over “The Greatest”.
As they narrated the fight, Ali threw constant taunts at Frazier, antagonising him and getting him more and more frustrated as the fight went on.
Eventually, Frazier went back at Ali, taunting him about going to the hospital after the “Fight of the Century”, before Ali called him ignorant, causing tensions to flare.
Frazier stood up and removed his microphone in anger before Ali’s bodyguard entered the fray to try to calm things down.
However, after telling him to sit down, Ali got to his feet, shouted “quick Joe!” and grabbed Frazier in a headlock, as the men tumbled to the floor as they angrily grappled on the ground.
A gaggle of bodyguards rushed in to separate the two, who were just days away from their big-money fight in Madison Square Garden.
The hatred between the two was real and had spilled out onto this TV show almost a week before the first bell would ring.
Ali kept shouting at Frazier as he was dragged out of the studio, as everyone got even more excited for their eventual clash.
Muhammad Ali won the rematch before the ‘Thrilla in Manila’ bout ended the trilogy
With tensions at a boiling point, the rematch between Frazier and Ali was set up to be one of the most exciting of all time.
Both men were fined for their outbursts on TV, but they eventually fought in what was a dominant win for Ali.
His constant clinching, while unspectacular, kept him in control of the fight and stopped Smokin’ Joe from throwing the killer punches that damaged Ali in the first bout.
Ali won the bout via unanimous decision, but the rubber match would be the pair’s best bout of the trilogy.
The “Thrilla in Manila” proved to be one of the most violent and gruesome fights of all time, with Ali stopping Frazier in the 14th round to prove he really was “The Greatest”.