It was at the very top, the tip top of a slow murder. Do you think after the beating he took that day in Manila he went home happy and had chocolate ice cream? He goddamn near died. It's the reason he's a shambling, neurological wreck.

Their brains are like overripe tomatoes.

The heat in Manila is an 'I'm about to drown you in a monsoon' type of heat. Oppressive. I had a hard time breathing. Not only were all the seats filled, all the aisles were filled and there people crammed in the rafters. I don't know if you could squeeze in one more person. It was body to body.

He thought he was dying. He was at the ends of exhaustion. He was having trouble staying awake between rounds.

The heat was as intense as any fight I've ever been in,

We had been told Joe Frazier was not only hurt, but broke,