‘Thrilla in Manila’ revisited

Prominent election lawyer Romy Macalintal’s monumental two-hour encounter with Muhammad Ali is a story that will be told and retold for decades. And with the 40th anniversary of the “Thrilla In Manila” coming next year, Romy sent a timely reminder of that historic meeting in Ali’s suite at the Hilton Hotel, now the Waterfront Hotel and Casino, along United Nations Avenue.

In the same way that Romy likes to tell and retell the story, you never tire of listening to his recollection, hoping to pick up a few new details in the recounting. Ali is a legend in his own time and that’s an honor not too many athletes can claim. For Romy to have spent two hours conversing with Ali was like living a dream.

Last Oct. 1 marked the 39th anniversary of the “Thrilla” which ranks as one of the greatest fights of all time. Writer Ryan Dixon described it as a “legacy” fight that ended when Joe Frazier’s trainer Eddie Futch stopped it after the 14th round, moments before an exhausted Ali collapsed on the canvas. The fact that it was held at the Araneta Coliseum put the Philippines on the global sports map as a destination for hosting major sporting events.

Here’s how Dixon saw it in a nutshell: “The champ came out dancing, absorbed devastating blows from Frazier in the middle rounds then went back on the offensive late, knocking out Frazier’s mouthguard in the 13th. Ali’s swift jabs caused Frazier’s left eye to close, prompting Frazier’s trainer Eddie Futch to stop the fight after the 14th round. Ali, meanwhile, was said to have asked his corner to ‘cut ‘em off’ before round 15, signifying he couldn’t go on and was ready to have his gloves removed. But by that point, he’d inflicted enough damage that Frazier’s corner legitimately feared for his life and the final chapter in one of the greatest grudge matches in sports history came to a close.”

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 Jerry Izenberg, former sports columnist, said the battle was too emotional. “When they came out for the 13th, I said, ‘Jesus, I hope they stop this thing, end it now,’” he said. “That fight was absolutely the most brutal I’ve ever seen. I remember Ali coming out of the ring and he leaned over and said, ‘Fellas, that’s the closest thing you’ll ever see to death.’ It really summed it up pretty well.”

Writer Gare Joyce said “no part of Ali’s body was moving fast after the all-time pounding the two men laid on each other for 14 rounds in the Philippine capital … believing his fighter’s very life was on the line, Frazier’s cornerman Eddie Futch stopped what was, by all accounts, a dead-even and devastatingly brutal fight before the 15th round … Frazier pleaded for the mayhem to continue while Ali made one of his less-audible statements asking his trainer Angelo Dundee to ‘cut ‘em off’ – he wanted his gloves removed and the rage-fueled punishment to end…it did but only because Futch protected Frazier against his fighter’s will.”

Romy quoted Ali’s poetry to characterize the chapter of boxing that Ali introduced in the 1960s when he was known as Cassius Clay: “To whom it may concern, for all the world will learn, the greatest fighter of them all, is Cassius Clay who makes them fall.”

“Clay would compose a poem where he predicted the round he would knock out his opponents,” said Romy. “And the Filipino people were indeed very fortunate to experience the thrill and excitement Ali brought to the boxing world when on Oct. 1, 1975, his third fight against Joe Frazier was held at the historic Araneta Coliseum.

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“I vividly remember that historic match. It was all because of an equally historic and memorable moment when I had two hours with Ali in his suite. And my only passport to seeing him was an old scrapbook containing news clippings of his fights dating back to the ‘60s when he was still Cassius Clay.

“’Your album is authentic,’ Ali said when he saw my clippings. ‘In other countries, my fans do the collection when they know I’m comin’ but yours is the only one of its kind,’ Ali told me. Ali autographed seven pages of my scrapbook, mostly those news clippings with his photograph. But that dramatic episode did not end there. We even watched an 8mm film of the Lee Marvin TV series ‘The Lawbreaker’ and I stayed with him for two hours, matching juice and biscuits which he personally served to me. At that time, there was no Betamax, VHS nor DVD player.  

“I never get tired of repeating this one-on-one encounter with the world’s greatest heavyweight champion. And every Oct. 1 is an opportune time to recall that treasured meeting with ‘The Greatest.’ Many boxing enthusiasts remember Ali as a boastful and feared warrior in the ring. But I can say, without fear of contradiction, that deep inside his armor, this warrior is a child. Ali’s wife Lonnie perfectly described him as ‘gentle and caring with a heart purer than any I’ve ever known.’

“In 1996, despite his Parkinson’s syndrome, Ali once again showed his ‘caring and gentle heart’ to his millions of fans when he lit the Olympic urn with his right hand while his left hand shook. I could only say a prayer for him. But I still look forward to seeing him again, to shake even his shaking hand.”