Fairfax, VA (April 8, 2009) — Time Life will release the critically-acclaimed documentary THRILLA IN MANILA on DVD on June 2nd, a powerful film that reveals a previously unknown side to the final fight between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali in the Philippines through the eyes of the oft-overlooked Frazier. Variety describes the film as “unavoidably fascinating,” while Salon.com declares it “riveting,” the Boston Herald called it “a knockout” and GQ.com says “this film is worth its weight in gold.” The DVD comes with 30 minutes of bonus material not seen in the original film, including archival interviews with Frazier, Larry Holmes, and Frazier’s own son.
An Official Selection at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, THRILLA IN MANILA chronicles one of the most bitter face-offs the sports world has ever seen, recounting a tale of personal betrayal that was stoked by the racial politics of 1970s America. Featuring archival footage and exclusive interviews with boxing insiders, including Ferdie Pacheco, Butch Lewis and Dave Wolf, as well as Imelda Marcos (former First Lady of the Philippines), the documentary tells the story of two great fighters forever linked by three epic bouts, and looks at their final fight, considered the most brutal, from Frazier’s perspective for the very first time. The match was a near-death experience for both of them - highlighting the contrasting styles with which they fought, and the vitriol they hurled at each other for so long. It has come to represent an extraordinary personal battle and captured a particular moment in US social history.
Directed by John Dower (”Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of The New York Cosmos”), THRILLA IN MANILA tracks an extraordinary personal battle between two friends, and captures the poignant moment in the socio-cultural history of the country when they became American sports icons and legends. While Ali was a symbol of the civil rights struggle and anti-Vietnam War movement, Frazier was cast as the symbol of the pro-war, conservative segment of American society, some would say unfairly.
In 1967, Ali was stripped of his heavyweight crown after refusing induction into the armed forces. The film reveals how Frazier subsequently befriended Ali and supported the renewal of his boxing license and status, showing the intense feelings of betrayal he felt after Ali returned to the ring in 1970 and subjected him to race-baiting attacks.
In the ring, Joe Frazier was a fighter who refused to be defeated. It was that relentlessness that defined Frazier’s boxing career, carrying him to an Olympic gold medal and to the heavyweight championship of the world. And it was that relentlessness that made him the perfect foil for his rival, Muhammad Ali.
Using incredible archival footage and music of the time THRILLER AND MANILA is the definitive account of this iconic event, which remains controversial to this day.
TKO was created to solidify mixed martial arts as the combat sport of the new century. In this video we get to speak with the strong, tough and buff men of the TKO. For more information click Here
What the hell is this about?
See this:
Yeah… I think Mickey had one too many… whatever it is that he’s been having over the years.
Is this even possible? Man he is huge:
Why to reduce the swelling in his hands of course! What else would you use your infant son’s wet diapers for? Read more about this insanity from ESPN.com:
BERLIN — Vitali Klitschko used his son’s wet, used diapers to keep his fists from swelling up after winning his WBC heavyweight title bout against Nigeria’s Samuel Peter, the Ukrainian told a German newspaper on Tuesday.
Klitschko said he wrapped them around his hands and they helped him recover.
“Baby wee is good because it’s pure, doesn’t contain toxins and doesn’t smell,” the 37-year old boxer told Bild after he won back the WBC title with a technical knockout on Saturday.
“I wrap nappies filled with my 3-year-old son Max’s wee around my fists,” Klitschko said, adding that he got the idea from his grandmother. “The nappies hold the liquid and the swelling stays down.”
Klitschko said Peter should try the nappy trick as well.
Peter chose not to come back out after eight rounds that saw him weaving and occasionally wobbling as Klitschko landed a persistent stream of heavy left jabs to Peter’s head in front of more than 12,000 people at the new O2 World Arena.
The 37-year-old Ukranian fighter (36-2, 35 KOs) used his height — he’s 6-foot-7 — and reach to keep Peter crouched and defensive.
Klitschko has been WBC “champion emeritus” since a knee injury forced him to withdraw from a fight and retire from boxing in 2005.
The honorary status gave him the right to fight Peter (30-2), who won the interim belt in a fight against Jameel McCline last September, whenever Klitschko chose to come out of retirement.
“I knew if I lost the fight I wouldn’t get a second chance,” Klitschko told reporters after the fight. “It was a one-way ticket, and I used my chance.”
Promoter Don King said after the fight that a logical next step for Klitschko might be to seek a rematch with the retired Lennox Lewis, whom Klitschko lost to in 2003 when a fight doctor called the bout because Klitschko had a badly cut eye.
“What a triumph that would be for us old guys,” King said.
Klitschko was more reticent.
“I need to think about it,” he said of plans for his newly revived fighting career. “I need to take care of my hand, because it is swollen.”
That would be where Max’s wet diapers come in handy.
Time Warner takes a page from the book of “give people what they want”
Enter SI Vault. If you are wondering what SI Vault is, as the name would imply, it’s 54 years of Sports Illustraded’s covers, images, stories and much more. If an image is worth a thousand words, what would 54 years’ worth of images be worth?
Here’s a story dating back to 1992, for example, on Christian Laettner and Duke. Hmm… Laettner? Duke? Pardon the shameless plug, but enjoy WatchMojo.com’s classic college programming:
Duke in Top College Programs:
And Laettner in Top College Careers:
All right, enough shameless promotion, now go and enjoy 54 years of SI at SI Vault.
This is crazy:
I missed this last year… some how:
Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson pleaded guilty Monday to charges of drug possession and driving under the influence stemming from a traffic stop last year as he was leaving a nightclub.
Tyson spoke in hushed tones as he acknowledged to a judge that he had cocaine and was impaired when he was stopped for driving erratically in Scottsdale on Dec. 29.
He pleaded guilty to a single felony count of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor DUI count. A felony charge of possession of drug paraphernalia and a second misdemeanor DUI charge were dropped, according to the terms of a plea agreement.
Tyson faces a maximum of four years and three months in prison when he is sentenced Nov. 19
Read more.
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom (PRWEB) June 13, 2007 — Northern Ireland has long been seen as one of the key places for the growth of kickboxing in Europe, now it’s set to come up with another incredible landmark in the sport.
This Friday, June 15, Prokick will broadcast an entire Kickboxing event live on the Internet. It’s not just any event. The Italian Job II will see world champion Gary Hamilton top the bill on an eight bout card featuring some of the very best kickboxers from across Europe, with three European titles up for grabs.
The online event is priced at £5.99, which costs an online user, on average 65p per bout, good value for 3 hours of high quality viewing. Users will also be able to download the entire show from Prokick.tv at the end of the night, and download additional ‘Greatest Hits’ content free of charge as part of the pay-per-view special.
Billy Murray, event promoter, said “This is something I have been working on for a long time, but we’ve really just been waiting on technology catching up with us.”
“We’ve been working on this project in conjunction with local web hosting company Aventure Host (http://www.aventurehost.com) - who also host our Prokick websites (http://www.prokick.com). We’ve been working to make sure that when fight fans buy the show, they feel they are not just watching another fight, but they’re right there in the ring alongside the fighters going through every punch and kick. If I wasn’t going to be at the show, I can tell you I’d be in front of my computer screen loving every second of it.”
For details of how to purchase the Italian Job II, get along to www.prokick.tv
Additional information can be obtained from http://www.prokick.com
PLAY
