Column: Ali, Frazier and the cost of the Thrilla in Manilla (The Associated Press)

It was, Muhammad Ali would later say, the closest thing to death he had ever known. Neither fighter gave an inch as Frazier relentlessly pursued Ali, and Ali responded by unleashing the fury of his fists on the oncoming challenger’s head. ”They told me Joe Frazier was washed up,” Ali said to Frazier at one point.