{"id":15623,"date":"2025-10-05T19:28:39","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T19:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ugandaupdatenews.com\/?p=15623"},"modified":"2025-10-05T19:28:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T19:28:50","slug":"the-thrill-before-the-thrilla-my-two-hours-with-ali-50-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/the-thrill-before-the-thrilla-my-two-hours-with-ali-50-years-ago\/","title":{"rendered":"The thrill before the \u2018Thrilla\u2019: My two hours with Ali, 50 years ago"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Muhammad<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muhammad Ali with the author Atty. Romulo B. Macalintal days before the historic \u201cThrilla in Manila\u201d bout held in the Philippines. \u2013CONTRIBUTED PHOTO<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On October 1, 2025, the Philippines marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most iconic events in boxing history: the \u201cThrilla in Manila\u201d heavyweight match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier held in 1975 at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.,<\/a> has even directed government agencies to support a nationwide celebration from October 26 to 31, highlighting a sporting milestone that put the Philippines on the global stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While many can only speak about Ali through historical accounts, mine is based on a personal one-on-one encounter with \u201cThe Greatest\u201d for two solid hours. This happened on September 22, 1975, just before the legendary fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


In 1975, I was a second-year law student at the University of the East in Manila and working as a Veterans Counselor at the United States Veterans Administration. I didn\u2019t know anyone in Ali\u2019s entourage or any of the fight sponsors. Yet, I was armed with a secret weapon: a very old scrapbook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My collection contained photos and articles about Ali dating back to the 1960s when he was still known as Cassius Clay. I knew that even a brief glimpse of the man who was arguably the most popular and recognizable person in the world at the time would be exhilarating. I was determined to get his autograph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around three o\u2019clock in the afternoon on that memorable September day, I went to the Manila Hilton Hotel where Ali was billeted. Security was relaxed enough that a simple request led me to Atty. Albert Grifin, Ali\u2019s lawyer. I politely requested a meeting for an autograph. Grifin was apologetic, saying it was Ali\u2019s rest day and no one was allowed in his room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Muhammad Ali with the author Atty. Romulo B. Macalintal days before the historic \u201cThrilla in Manila\u201d bout held in the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ali1b.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9754,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/president-yoweri-museveni-and-wife-janet-celebrate-golden-jubilee-marriage-anniversary\/","url_meta":{"origin":15623,"position":0},"title":"President Yoweri Museveni and wife Janet celebrate golden jubilee marriage anniversary","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"August 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Our Reporters in Ntungamo President Yoweri Museveni and First Lady Janet Kataha Museveni have celebrated 50 years of marriage in Ntungamo District where they first met more than five decades ago as teenagers . 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