FILIPINO boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao is keen on organizing not one but three world championship matches to commemorate the golden anniversary of the “Thrilla in Manila” in October – the epic and brutal fight between celebrated heavyweights Muhammad Ali and “Smokin’” Joe Frazier.
“I want not just one but three world championships, including a world heavyweight title clash,” Pacquiao said last week after the 2nd Pacquiao-Elorde Awards at the Okada Manila Hotel and Resort grand ballroom in Paranaque.
The night’s highlight was the recognition of World Boxing Council minimum weight champion Melvin Jerusalem and International Boxing Federation counterpart Pedro Taduran as Boxers of the Year.
If either Taduran or Jerusalem remains a world champion until October, Pacquiao said both could be considered for the undercard of the program marking the golden jubilee of the “Thrilla in Manila.”
With the support of the late President Marcos Sr. and held on the morning of Oct. 1, 1975, at the Araneta Coliseum, the remarkable third and last clash between the charismatic Ali and his arch-rival Frazier lasted 14 action-packed and bloody rounds when pro fights were still set for 15 rounds.
In an unforgettable tug-of-war, Ali, using his consummate ring craft and fast hands, emerged as a drained victor when Frazier’s cornerman, Eddie Futch, threw in the towel moments before the start of the 15th round, seeing his ward’s right eye shut and face battered from absorbing so much punishment.
The encounter was also notable due to the fact that respected Filipino referee and former actor Carlos “Sonny” Padilla was the third man in the ring and that “Louisville Lip” had a mall named after him a stroll away from the Big Dome formally opened in Quezon City that still stands to this day.
Pacquiao disclosed that celebrating the golden anniversary of the “Thrilla in Manila” could not be more timely since Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is now the President and could be supportive of the project that was one of his late father’s great sports legacies.
