1975 fight posterPremium cotton2 colourwaysS to 4XL
The essentials: the one fight after which Ali said he had come close to dying in a ring — the third and last meeting with Joe Frazier, stopped after the fourteenth round. This tee carries its four-colour posterised poster, with the venue and the date. Premium cotton 180 gsm, crew neck, heat transfer print. White or heather grey, 7 sizes S to 4XL, €29, free shipping.
Ali had many great nights. Only one made him say he had been close to dying in a ring.
This tee reproduces the poster for that one: the third and final fight with Joe Frazier, in Manila, in 1975.
The Thrilla in Manila
Ali and Frazier met three times. Frazier won the first in 1971 — Ali's first professional defeat. Ali took the second in 1974. Everything therefore rested on Manila.
The fight was stopped at the end of the fourteenth round: Frazier's corner pulled him out, their fighter no longer seeing well enough to continue. Ali collapsed in his own corner as the result was announced.
It is the night that sealed their rivalry as the hardest in heavyweight history.
What it looks like on
The artwork is a complete poster, not a portrait, and it reads top to bottom like a fight bill.
At the top, THRILLA IN MANILA in small capitals, underlined by a row of stars. Below it, ALI in very large blue capitals with a drop shadow. At the centre, the two fighters at close quarters, posterised into flat blocks. Then FRAZIER in wider capitals still. Finally the date, SEPT 30 1975, framed by stars, and the venue line: ARANETA COLISEUM · QUEZON CITY · METRO MANILA · PHILIPPINES.
There are four colours — blue, red, orange and green — in a very seventies screen-print treatment, with a faded texture running across the blocks and the lettering.
It is the most colourful tee in the Ali family, and the only one showing two fighters. It works like a gig poster: you read it, you date it, you place it.
Premium cotton, crew neck, short sleeves, straight cut. Plain back.
One for the anoraks: the poster reads SEPT 30 1975, the US broadcast date. In Manila, on the other side of the international date line, the fight took place on the morning of 1 October.
Two colourways
The detail that matters: the faded texture running across the blocks and the lettering is part of the printed file. That is what gives the artwork its age: a 1975 poster that has lived, rather than a fresh run. The t-shirt itself is new.
Your size
European cut — take your usual size, with no adjustment. Seven sizes per colourway, S to 4XL, all at the same price. Chest runs from about 96 cm / 38 in on a S to 132 cm / 52 in on a 4XL.
Technical specification
Technical specifications
Also worth a look
Frequently asked questions
What was the Thrilla in Manila?
The third and final fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, the Philippines, in 1975. It was stopped at the end of the fourteenth round when Frazier's corner pulled him out.
Why does the poster say 30 September?
That is the US broadcast date. In Manila the fight took place on the morning of 1 October 1975 — the gap comes from the international date line.
How does it differ from the Ali vs Liston tee?
In what the artwork is. This one is a fight poster, posterised into four colours on a light ground, with venue and date. The Ali vs Liston tee is a photograph of one instant, on a dark ground. One announces the fight; the other shows it.
Is the worn look intentional?
Yes. The faded texture across the blocks and lettering is part of the printed file: it is what gives the artwork the age of a 1975 poster that has lived. The t-shirt is new.
Which colourway should I choose?
White brings the four colours out at full strength. Heather grey softens them and reads older, closer to a vintage find.
Which size should I take?
Standard European cut: take your usual size. Seven sizes, S to 4XL, with the chest running from about 96 cm / 38 in to 132 cm / 52 in.
