A half-century since the “Thrilla in Manila” was beamed around the world from the Philippines—the country of birth of boxing great Manny Pacquiao—the nation is preparing for anniversary celebrations to mark the legendary heavyweight showdown between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Their third encounter on October 1, 1975, turned into an epic that inspired a generation of boxers and boxing fans like me.
The upcoming boxing event at the 25,000-seat Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City—the very same venue of the Thrilla in Manila—has been belittled by a sports scribe who said that, because it features “lightweights” instead of big names in boxing, it insults the memory of the two late legends. While no event can ever surpass the original, it is still worth remembering. For me, who was only 13 years old when it happened, the Ali-Frazier III fever remains alive in my memory and continues to fuel my passion for the sweet science. I was unable to watch the fight, but based on the accounts I read five years later, the bout was held around 10:30 in the morning, and Ali entered the ring as a two-to-one favorite.
Aside from the boxing matches, I’ve learned that the upcoming event on October 29 will also include a gala night to honor those behind the historic bout—such as promoter Bob Arum and referee Sonny Padilla, to name just two. In fact, Ali’s grandson, Nico Ali Walsh—a middleweight with a 12-2 record, including five KOs—is on the card, along with Filipino fighters led by Melvin “El Gringo” Jerusalem, who will headline the main event.
As an avid boxing fan from the province, this affair is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see, in the flesh, the likes of Marlon Tapales, my province mate Arvin Magramo, Carl Jammes Martin, Emman Bacosa, Weljon Mindoro, Eumir Marcial, among others. It’s also a great opportunity to mingle with personalities from the Philippine boxing circle—names you will probably never see together again on a single boxing card. Just from that alone, the commemoration of the fight that happened half a century ago already means a lot to me.
Also, how could we forget the mutual admiration that Ali and Frazier gave each other? On page 326 of the book Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times by Thomas Hauser (Robson Books, 2004), after the Manila encounter, Frazier said of Ali:
“In Manila, I hit him punches—those punches, those punches—they’d’ve knocked a building down. And he took ’em. He took ’em and he came back, and I got to respect that part of a man. He is a fighter. He shook me in Manila; he won.”
On the other hand, Ali had these touching words for his opponent:
“Joe Frazier is a good man. I couldn’t have done what I did without him, and he couldn’t have done what he did without me. And if God ever calls me to a holy war, I want Joe Frazier fighting beside me.”
So how could Ali and Frazier’s memory be insulted by our effort to celebrate an event that will reach the masses—an event offered free of charge—in the very sport that the two giants, and Manny Pacquiao himself, loved most?
I don’t care about the view that Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. supposedly used the occasion for politics, or that it even sparked commercialization back then. What matters to me is that, in the spirit of Ali and Frazier’s Thrilla in Manila, I can watch boxing for free and take advantage of Manny Pacquiao’s generosity.
Forgive me for being a simpleton and a casual boxing fan.
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(The Fight City)
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