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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ali at the height of his career, February 23, 2001
Only a year before his sensational comeback, it appeared as if Muhammad Ali were finished for good: Norton had smashed his jaw, a rematch against Frazier was nowhere in sight, and there was a new champion: George Foreman, who had humiliated Frazier by knocking him down six times during the first two rounds. By early 1974 however, Ali had secured two close decisions against Frazier and Norton two become the number one contender against Foreman who in the meantime had done away with Norton, too - again in two rounds. Flying off to Kinshasa, Ali was the 1:8 underdog, since Foreman had convincingly beaten precisely the two men ever to inflict a defeat on Ali. Considered the hardest puncher in the history of boxing (including Mike Tyson), he thought he was practically given the prize money for nothing ($5 mill. for both fighters, considered astronomical at the time), since Ali was eight years older than him and had never been considered a particularly hard hitter. Before the bout, Ali rode on a wave of unseen popularity in Zaire while Foreman didn't seem to be able to adjust. When the fight started, he adjusted even less. Ali duped him with right-hand leads in the first round, quick combinations in the second through fourth, a strong and unexpected finish in the fifth and sluggish slumping in the sixth through eighth. At the end of that eighth round, Ali threw himself into a rapid flurry, the last punch of which Foreman didn't see. Followed by a remarkable post-fight interview with Ali ("All you critics crawl! All you suckers who write the ring magazines ... all you suckers bow!"), the tape transpires the tension and excitement surrounding this memorable bout, from the pre-fight interview with Frazier through his in-between-rounds remarks to the hectic, almost frantic commentary by Bob Sheridan and David Frost who, upon realizing it's all over, yells at the top of his voice, "Muhammad Ali has done it! The great man has done it!" While it is frequently held that Ali completely outwitted Foreman that day, he actually had no concrete fight plan. Realizing that although he had clocked Foreman a couple of times in the first round, if he went on at this pace he would be tired by the fifth. He thus allowed Foreman to bang away at him from rounds two through five, at the end of which he countered with a number of strong blows himself. In the meantime, Foreman rained "some of the hardest punches I'd ever delivered on a man" on Ali who took a serious going over, especially to the body. On top of that, Ali got hit on the jaw with two excellent right hands during the fight yet managed to conceal his pain, conning Foreman into believing he would take even more. Foreman contended that he was counted out unjustly, and if you look at the film closely, you will see that he had merely been knocked down, not out - waiting for his corner to tell him to get up. Timing it a bit tightly, he was on his feet at nine. Graciously, he later admitted that on that day, Muhammad Ali would have probably won, anyway - maybe knocking him out later. In retrospect, both men seem to have gained in stature: Ali by pulling off a miracle, Foreman by overcoming the defeat and following his true calling. In 1994, Foreman recaptured the heavyweight crown, becoming the oldest champion in the division.
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DVD ~ Muhammad Ali
DVD ~ Muhammad Ali
![Thrilla in Manila - Ali vs. Frazier III 1975 [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41T0NGQM87L._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
VHS ~ Ali's Greatest Fights
