Ali's defining moment

Most boxing fans consider the “Thrilla In Manila” as Muhammad Ali’s greatest fight. It was a brutal battle between two gallant gladiators from start to finish. Both Ali and his opponent Joe Frazier gave it all they had in that 1975 duel at the Araneta Coliseum.

In the end, Ali was declared the winner as Frazier failed to answer the bell for the 15th round. To this day, it’s not certain if Frazier’s trainer Eddie Futch called off the match or Smokin’ Joe just quit. Some fans claim that when Futch asked Frazier if he wanted to go on, the fighter didn’t answer, meaning he’d had enough. Others insist Frazier begged to continue but Futch wouldn’t hear of it and told referee Sonny Padilla his fighter was through.

Ali later said the experience was the closest thing to dying. For 14 rounds, he and Frazier banged away at each other. Frazier’s right eye was swollen shut and with a cataract clouding his vision in the left eye, he was virtually blind going into the last round.

Ali was exhausted and clearly relieved when it was all over. But he was never the same again after that third encounter with Frazier. Ali went on to see action in 10 more fights, finally retiring a month before turning 40 in 1981. He lost three of his last four fights – to Trevor Berbick, Larry Holmes and Leon Spinks, all on points – in what was considered a sad ending to a storybook career. Ali didn’t know when to stop fighting and paid dearly for it as he now suffers from a severe case of Parkinson’s disease.

But while the consensus is the “Thrilla In Manila” was Ali’s most memorable fight, there are those who call his 1971 loss to Frazier his defining moment. It was Ali’s third fight since ending a three-year layoff due to his refusal to accept a draft into the US Army on religious grounds. He was coming off knockout wins over Oscar Bonavena and Jerry Quarry but Frazier was his acid test.

In ESPN’s “Mighty Book of Sports Knowledge,” the background of the fight was dramatically described:

“The setup itself promised remembrance: boxer versus puncher, brash versus taciturn, counterculture versus establishment, undefeated versus undefeated. As usual, Ali heralded the fight with a poem: ‘Joe’s gonna come out smokin’/But I ain’t gonna be jokin’/I’ll be pickin’ and pokin’/Pouring water on his smokin’/This might shock and amaze ya/But I’m gonna destroy Joe Frazier.”

As it turned out, Frazier floored Ali in the 15th round and won via a unanimous 15-round decision at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Despite the loss, Ali was hailed for his courage. “The winner was Frazier on all three cards,” said ESPN. “But Ali emerged as a more heroic fighter. Said his ringside doctor Ferdie Pacheco: ‘That night he was the most courageous fighter I’d ever seen. He was going to get up if he was dead.’ Somehow that night, the Greatest became even greater.”

Ali met Frazier in a rematch at Madison Square Garden in 1974 and gained sweet revenge by taking a unanimous 12-round decision. That led to the rubber match in Manila a year later.

It’s not often that a loss is considered an athlete’s defining moment but in Ali’s case, the setback to Frazier made him a more determined and dedicated fighter. The defeat made the Louisville Lip tougher mentally and prepared him for the epic wars ahead, particularly the “Thrilla In Manila.”

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The five national fighters who failed to make it to the third round at the recent AIBA World Championships in Milan are making their defeat a rallying point for a strong comeback.

“Without sacrifice, it’s hard to achieve,” said lightweight Joegin Ladon. “Boxing is our livelihood, it’s what we do best so we have to show our best. So many want to be in the national team. We have to be ready to defend our spots.”

Bantamweight Joan Tipon said he’ll learn from his mistakes in Milan. National coach Pat Gaspi blasted Tipon for failing to show more aggressiveness in losing a winning situation against second-seeded Abdelhalim Ouradi of Algeria in the second round. The score was 0-0 entering the third round and the flat-footed, slow-moving Ouradi eventually won, 2-0.

“I was too pressured,” said Tipon. “My body was tight. I felt I could’ve won but I just didn’t push hard enough. I’m hoping to get a second chance.”

Featherweight Charly Suarez was sensational in his first fight, dominating Romania’s Julian Stan, 18-8, but lacked steam in bowing to lanky South Korean Joo Min Jae, 11-5, in his next assignment.

Gaspi said of the Philippines’ five losses, Tipon and Suarez had the best chances of converting.

“My target is the Olympics,” said the 21-year-old Suarez, the youngest in the squad. “That’s my focus. I have a girlfriend but we have no plans of getting married yet. In the gym, I’ll work on my movement. Kaya natin ‘to.”

Lightwelterweight Genebert Basadre said he might go down to lightweight after the Southeast Asian Games.

“I think my opponents are too big in the lightwelterweight division,” said Basadre. “I’ve won medals as a lightweight so maybe, I’ll drop back down for the Olympic qualifiers. It will mean sacrificing and reducing my weight but I’ll do it for our country and my family. I’ll continue training as hard as I can. We won’t stop.”

Lightflyweight Harry Tanamor said he’s not giving up on his dream to fight in the London Olympics even if it means moving up to flyweight.