Some great fights, they never fade. Or see fan interest dwindle. Or get old in the mind. Or lose significance.

Frank Sinatra was working ringside, moonlighting as a photographer for Life magazine. Burt Lancaster, the Oscar-winning actor, was recast in the role of a color commentator. “I looked down from the ...

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, ...

“We’re just two colored boys from the ghetto and we have the whole world watching us in the greatest event of all time!” Thus did Muhammad Ali describe himself and Joe Frazier hours before they faced ...

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.

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, ...

Heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali punches Joe Frazier during their iconic fight in in Quezon City, Manila, Philippines, on Oct. 1, 1975. (Bettmann/Getty Images) Once all the papers were signed and the ...

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 ...