Overview

• On Oct. 1, 1975, Muhammad Ali was declared the winner when Joe Frazier’s trainer Eddie Futch halted the fight between rounds 14 and 15.
• The bout took place outdoors at Quezon City’s Araneta Stadium in extreme heat with a 10 a.m. local start time.
• Retrospectives rank the contest among the most brutal in boxing history, and Ali later said it felt like “the closest to dying” he had ever been.
• Coverage revisits Ali’s taunts and showmanship throughout the rivalry, including use of a rubber gorilla prop to needle Frazier.
• Reports recount significant backing from Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos to stage the event, with contemporaneous claims of over one billion viewers noted as estimates.