Better fight: FOTC or The Thrilla in Manila?

FOTC is one of the most important,best selling and popular fights of all time,but I think the Thrilla In Manila is better for the entire fight itself.

 

Pretty much the same base idea that most people had in the other thread. I think that most fighters who rematch end up having much more entertaining and close fights as they start to age out.

 

Duran and Leonard III:

 

Case in point: The greatest fight of all time.

 

In terms of the fight being tight right down to near the end,I would say the third one. By my reckoning it was just about level by the end of the twelfth. Then Muhammad pulled out the 13th & 14th. With the first and second bouts there was a bit more daylight between them - Joe having the edge in the former and Muhammad the latter. They were also close,just not as close as the third.

 

Thrilla no doubt

 

Equal in action and excitement more or less, but FOTC saw a better version of both and meant more since it was two undefeated champions, head and shoulders above the rest, who faced off.

 

Don't know if I agree. If Ali wins the 15th convincingly in the FOTC, he probably wins it on my card. Hard to see worse than a draw for him in that case. Thought Manilla was hard to score, but not closer than that. I'd say both were pretty evenly balanced going in to the 11th for me. Joe pulled away in FOTC and Ali in Manilla.

 

FOTC easily

 

Always preferred the Thrilla. I think the first fight in terms of anything other than the spectacle it was to be a bit overrated. The third fight had more in terms of momentum shifts and gut checks.

 

FOTC overall, Manila was a greater gut check.

 

And if I am not mistaken, wasn’t Ali up by 2, 3 and 4 points on the cards through 12 in Manila? Joe beat the s**t out of Ali that night … an ass whipping he earned with the way he acted … but it’s Dave Wolf level put Frazier on a pedestal revisionism to say that fight was razor close and Joe was on his way to winning.