I remember it like it was yesterday, watching in the kitchen in the back of our shop in Clones then going upstairs with my brother to work on the pads.
Niall Horan reacts to remarkable day at Ryder Cup
It is hard to convey the impact Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier had on a young boxing-mad kid in Ireland in the 1970s, and The Thrilla in Manila, which turned 50 on October 1, rightly passed into legend.
I was 14 years old, training relentlessly and getting ready for the Ulster championships. These guys were our idols, like gods.
I loved the way Frazier attacked. I was still trying to find my feet. I got beaten that year in the Ulster final which made me more determined.
In my head I was Frazier. I loved Ali but I wasn’t built that way. It was the third and final meeting between two heavyweights who defined the era along with George Foreman and Kenny Norton.It came a year after the Rumble in the Jungle, where Ali defied belief in overcoming the mighty Foreman, who in 1973 had devastated Frazier in two rounds. The trilogy bout was brutal. Ali had the most remarkable chin. He was in tremendous condition. It was ding dong from the word go.
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Ali was 6ft 3ins, Frazier about 6ft tall with a long sweeping left hook that decked Ali in their first fight. Ali, hands low, bouncing in and out, Frazier squat, rolling shoulders, head moving, lunging forward.
All three of fights followed the same pattern, absolute wars. But with an expert eye you could see the subtle decline of both in that final bout.
Frazier’s style took the greater toll. Though he was two years younger at 31, there is no longevity in the way he fought.
I loved Smokin’ Joe. That’s how I wanted to fight, on the front foot, all aggression and excitement. But Ali just had that incredible ability to pull it out of the bag. He had done it throughout his career.
From half way Ali started to take over, hitting Frazier with those lovely combinations off a snappy jab then drifting out of punching range.
Frazier would just shake his head, then go again. It was a classic encounter that came to be one of the signature fights of the age, cementing both their reputations.
At the end of the 14th round Frazier’s trainer Eddie Futch called it off. Frazier knew he was done. Futch was doing his job, protecting his man. “Sit down, son, it’s all over,” he told him. “No-one will ever forget what you did here today.”
Ali said it was the nearest thing to death he had ever experienced in the ring. An unforgettable fight, an unforgettable period.
The Pittsburgh Penguins had their final practice on Thursday before playing the Nashville Predators in the NHL’s Global Series in Sweden on Friday.
This will be the first of two meetings against the Predators in Sweden before the teams play again for the second and final time on Sunday.
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Heinen appears to be the odd-man out at forward, meaning that Philip Tomasino would get the spot on the fourth line. It’s put up or shut up time for him since he has really struggled to open the season.
Brunicke has been scratched for three games in a row, but if he returns on Friday, his entry-level contract would kick in since it would be his 10th NHL game.
All three goaltenders (Arturs Silovs, Sergei Murashov, and Filip Larsson) got work during practice, but if head coach Dan Muse keeps up the rotation, Silovs would start on Friday. Larsson is up as a third goaltender for this trip after Murashov made his NHL debut last Sunday.
A win would get the Penguins to 10-5-3 and snap a two-game losing streak.