Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Oct. 1, 2024. A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives. On Oct. 1, 1975, Muhammad Ali took on Joe Frazier in ...

Muhammad Ali was just barely into his 40s and still pretty freshly retired for good. He was having dinner one evening with a writer who couldn’t help but notice the way the chicken leg trembled in his ...

The “Thrilla in Manila” is not just about Muhammad Ali’s victory in his third and final fight with Joe Frazier, 50 years ago. In the months before the fight, Ali set a cruel agenda and, on the night, ...

As he taunted Joe Frazier, former heavyweight champion of the world, Muhammad Ali, current champ, pointed at the custom black T-shirts he and his entourage sported as they crashed the Aug. 26, 1975, ...

It was oven-hot inside the arena, and that was before the fight began. The building’s air-conditioning had already lost the undercard against the tropical sun, and the air was thick with humidity.

Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fought in the third and final installment of their storied rivalry 50 years ago in the Philippines. The fight was nicknamed the "Thrilla in Manila." In 2005, the Muhammad ...

This is a two part article in which I chronicle the start of the Ali/Frazier rivalry, culminating with their final bout, "The Thrilla In Manila." In it I reveal a few things you may not know or ever ...