Collection
The Thrilla Archive preserves a rare color photographic record of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier’s third and final fight, contested at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines, on October 1, 1975. Photographed by Lowell K. Riley, the larger archive follows Ali–Frazier III from the tense moments before the opening bell through the tactical exchanges, punishing middle rounds, and extraordinary physical exhaustion that defined its conclusion.
The photographs presented here offer a glimpse into that larger visual record. The complete archive preserves a far more extensive photographic narrative of the “Thrilla in Manila.”
“The readiness is all.”
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act V, Scene II
Muhammad Ali bows his head and extends his gloved hands in prayer in his corner before the opening bell of the “Thrilla in Manila.” Photograph by Lowell K. Riley.
Joe Frazier ducks Muhammad Ali’s left while trying to land a left of his own to Ali’s lower body in the early stages of the bout. Promoter Don King and broadcaster Don Dunphy are visible at ringside. Photograph by Lowell K. Riley.
As the fight moves into its punishing middle rounds, Joe Frazier digs a left to Muhammad Ali’s body as Ali covers up against the ropes. This photo was among eight selections from the Thrilla Archive featured in the June 2026 issue of The Ring, in an article by Thomas Hauser. Photograph by Lowell K. Riley.
“Let me not then die ingloriously and without a struggle, but let me first do some great thing that shall be told among men hereafter.”
— Homer, The Iliad, Book XXII
An exhausted Muhammad Ali listens to trainer Angelo Dundee in his corner as the bout enters the brutal championship rounds. This moment was also featured in Thomas Hauser’s article on the Thrilla Archive in the June 2026 issue of The Ring. Photograph by Lowell K. Riley.
“I must first go down deeper than ever I descended—deeper into pain than ever I descended, down into its blackest flood.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Part III, “The Wanderer”
Muhammad Ali finds another gear, following through with a right hand as Joe Frazier, battered in body but unbroken in spirit, crouches near the ropes deep into the fight. This photo was selected for the cover of Thomas Hauser’s The Vulture Sport: A Journey Through Boxing (2026). Photograph by Lowell K. Riley.
Joe Frazier leans into Muhammad Ali at close range, their heads, shoulders, and gloves converging in a moment that distills the extraordinary attrition of the “Thrilla in Manila.” Photograph by Lowell K. Riley.
“No one will ever forget what you did here today.”
— Eddie Futch to Joe Frazier, after stopping the fight following the 14th round
About the Restorations
The photographs presented here were digitally restored from Lowell K. Riley's original 1975 35mm transparencies and negatives. Restoration included conventional photographic editing as well as AI-assisted tools, including Google Gemini accessed through Adobe Firefly, used to address age-related damage, dust, scratches, color degradation, and other imperfections in the surviving film. These tools were used to restore the historical photographs, not to create the people or moments depicted.