Thrilla in Manila
It was 10am in Manila on the first day of October 1975. The sun was unforgiving. Despite the intense heat, the aluminium-roofed Araneta Coliseum (then referred to as the Philippine Coliseum) was exploding with cheer, jampacked with more than 36,000 people waiting to witness what would be a historic match between two boxing legends. “We were fortunate to host Thrilla in Manila at the Araneta Coliseum on October 1, 1975. Consistently ranked by USA sportswriters as probably ‘the world’s best boxing match in sports history’, the fight was the culmination of a three-bout contest between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for the heavyweight championship of the world,” says Jorge L Araneta, chairman and CEO of the Araneta Group.
“It would be a killa and a thrilla and a chilla, when I get that gorilla in Manila,” (Ali) sarcastically chanted while punching a gorilla doll that symbolised the opponent
The bout started on a high note, with Frazier,
