THE DAY ALI AND FRAZIER CAME CALLING ON FERDINAND AND IMELDA

BY TED LERNER

(Manila, Philippines)–Go anywhere in the world today and blurt out that you’re from Manila, and you are likely to find someone within earshot who instantly says with a big smile, “Yeh, I remember the ‘Thrilla in Manila!’” Then he’ll give you a high five and will want to sit down over a cold one and reminisce for an hour or two. Yes, the “Thrilla” is easily one of the most enduring positive events to ever come out of this country.

And why not? You had two of the greats of a generation, two names that seemed to transcend sport, clashing for what at the time, was the greatest prize in sports—the Heavyweight Championship of the World. Muhammad Ali beat Joe Frazier when Smokin Joe couldn’t answer the bell for the 15th and final round. But it had been a war the likes of which boxing had never seen before. Indeed, both fighters left a piece of themselves right here in this sultry and teeming metropolis.

Several years back I was asked by my editor at the Ring Magazine, Nigel Collins, to write a story for the magazine celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Thrilla. As part of the story, I interviewed many of the Filipinos who were involved in helping bring the event to the country, and who worked intimately with both Frazier and Ali during their stay here.

Veteran Filipino sports writer Eddie Alinea was one of the people I interviewed for the story. Alinea worked intimately with the ‘Thrilla,’ getting the assignment as the press liason officer for Joe Frazier. His job was to follow Frazier everywhere he went and record every quote and happening from the time of Frazier’s arrival in mid September of 1975.

Alinea was kind enough to leave with me a folder which contained valuable, one of a kind press clippings and photos from the events leading up to the fight. Inside the folder were withered copies of press releases put out by the official press center set up for the fight and a daily newsletter called “Manila Punchline,” which was put out specifically for the media covering the Thrilla.

From the color of the furniture in Frazier’s hotel room, to the name of the western movie Ali watched before going to sleep, to the hype and controversy that surrounded every movement of Ali and Frazier, the local media didn’t miss a thing.

One of the most fascinating pieces I discovered in Alinea’s folder was a verbatim transcript of the conversation that took place the day when Ali and Frazier paid a courtesy call on President Ferdinand Marcos and the First Lady Imelda. Marcos was ruling as a dictator at the time, and he personally brought the Thrilla to Manila to show the world that the Philippines was safe and prosperous under his iron fisted rule.

For many years, I have kept this transcript in the folder sitting at the bottom of an old box. I don’t know what got into me, but a few months back I actually found time to dig through some of the piles that I regularly manage, or don’t manage, in another fairly fruitless attempt to lighten my load of stuff. And I unearthed the folder.

The transcript is printed in its entirety below. Pay attention to several key points. First is the incredible daring of Ali. The woman with Ali, Veronica Porsche, is actually Ali’s girlfriend. Marcos, and everyone else in the room, thinks that Veronica is Ali’s wife. Ali’s real wife, Belinda, was back in the States. Ali, though, doesn’t bother correcting the president.

The second thing to notice is the somewhat delayed grand entrance of the First Lady, Imelda. This woman knows how to enter a room!

I haven’t yet seen the recent HBO Documentary on the “Thrilla,” but hopefully this little nugget will add to the ever growing legend and history of one of the greatest heavyweight fights of all time.

No doubt, you’ll agree; those were indeed different times.

PRESIDENT: Is this the first time you’re seeing each other here in Manila?

FRAZIER: This is the first time.

ALI: This wouldn’t be the last though.

PRESIDENT: I gather though that you sent your son to welcome him.

FRAZIER: Yes, this young man can handle him so pretty good.

PRESIDENT: He looks husky for a 15 year old.

ALI: Mr. President I would like to say one thing. Whenever we meet, there’s violence—whether it is on the street, the police has to keep us apart, whenever we fight, the referee keeps us apart. This is the first time we ever met on peaceful terms and that is because you’re in the middle. It takes the President of a nation to stop…

PRESIDENT: Well, I can tell you it is both an honor and a pleasure for me to play referee to two champions. I gather that you have been training quite well. Do you find the facilities to your liking?

FRAZIER: Very good, no problem at all.

ALI: We also saw that the people are loving. The people are peaceful and kind and he’s got many friends, just as many as I have. This of course is good, and this should be a real good, interesting….

PRESIDENT: I gather that you are followed by all those joggers in the morning.

ALI: Yes, every morning. But Joe here is awfully smart. He gets up at three o’clock before they (the crowds) get up. So I’ll start running at three and I just hope I won’t run into him.

FRAZIER: But not because I don’t want to see people. I have been training like that for a long time. That’s gonna make me good. Every time I run alone, I get the rules working. That’s the most important thing. But meanwhile, I am here, in your beautiful country, I get the chance to run early so that I could get up later on and look around and see some of the sights.

PRESIDENT: So, you always run early, very early. Have you accommodated yourselves to the new sleeping hours?

ALI: Yes sir.

PRESIDENT: How long do you sleep at night?

ALI: Six hours.

PRESIDENT: How about you, how long do you sleep at night?

FRAZIER: I sleep from eight to nine because I get the bell at eight thirty at night. Nothing else for me to do but go to sleep.

ALI: He likes to go to sleep. (laughter) But he and I really are good friends. We made each other very rich.

PRESIDENT: I can see that.

ALI: The whole world is waiting to see two colored boys fight.

PRESIDENT: Ah, but you have done for boxing what nobody else has been able to do.

ALI: With the help of people. If I didn’t have a good opponent, I would not be a champion. He’s out to get his title back and there a possibility he can do it. I lost and I got it back and he might get it back. This is what makes it such a good fight. We are two great fighters.

PRESIDENT: That’s quite true.

FRAZIER: I feel very good.

PRESIDENT: I can see that.

FRAZIER: I am all ready to go.

ALI: (mock-menacingly to Frazier) You wanna go now?

FRAZIER: We got time, plenty of time.

PRESIDENT: You’ll have enough time. So you(Frazier) are staying at the Hyatt and he’s staying at the Hilton.

FRAZIER: Good distance.

ALI: Safe distance.

ALI: I want to say that I am very surprised. I was told that Joe Frazier will be here at 10:10 and I’ll begin at 10:30. I was shocked to see that we are in the same room together.

FRAZIER: Well, I thought you’d come about an hour later.
(at this juncture, the First Lady Imelda Marcos enters the room.)

PRESIDENT: Darling, meet the champion, this is Muhammad Ali and the wife, the lovely wife, and the mother and the father. And of course, this is Joe Frazier, that’s the son. Ali was teasing Joe Frazier that he’s got to guard his wife with him around.

ALI: Mr. President, you better guard your wife too. I know Joe Frazier.

PRESIDENT: (to Joe Frazier) I am told that you dream of Muhammad Ali when you go to sleep and he said, No, I dream about something else.

ALI: I respect you now more so than I did at first. Looking at your wife, I can say you are not a dumb man. You know how to pick ‘em.

PRESIDENT: I can say that you are not far behind. Although I am told that actually it’s the ladies who make the choice, not the men.

ALI: Who make the choice?

PRESIDENT: The ladies make the choice, not the men.

ALI: They pick us. We’re kinda nice-looking ourselves. We have a lot to do with them. I am sure we are not the first men who said a few nice things. They choose us and we have to choose them….a woman is what her husband makes her, but a man is what he makes himself. So, she (referring to Mrs. Marcos) is the wife of the ruler of the nation and she’s(Veronica) the wife of the champion of the world. If we should get our divorces, you will still be the ruler and I will still be the champ.

PRESIDENT: There’s no divorce in this country.

ALI: There’s no divorce here?

FRAZIER: (to Veronica) Well, you’ve got about two more weeks to be the wife of the champion.

ALI: Le me tell you why he (Frazier) don’t stand the chance. (Referring to Marvis Frazier, Joe’s 15 year old son.) This is his boy. His boy is bigger than him. He’s too old to fight. My boy is three years old.

FRAZIER: We grow big in the family.

PRESIDENT: I can see you like each other. But your wife does help you a lot, though.

ALI: Yes, sir.

PRESIDENT: Keeps you on playing and all that but she can’t help you in the ring. But my wife can help me in my ring.

ALI: She helps me sometimes by sitting close to the ring…She smiles and then I hit…You have to see how honored we are. We are two fellas in America who never thought that we would be champions and now we meet with the leader of this nation. We accept this as a big honor, (the President) being such a real loved man. We are sure the President of the United States will be….We hope that you’ll be watching the fight.

PRESIDENT: I will, I will. Oh yes, definitely, I hope to be able to see you personally. We are still working at it.

ALI: Well, I want you to be there early so you won’t miss it.

FRAZIER: I agree with that too. Get there early so you won’t miss us.

PRESIDENT: The coliseum is going to be jam-packed. We are very happy that you chose Manila. Thank you in behalf of the Filipino people as well as for myself….For having agreed to fight here in Manila.

ALI: I know you are a busy man and we won’t take anymore of your time.

The next day, pictures of Ali and “his wife” visiting with the President of the Philippines went around the world. Ali’s real wife, Belinda, was back in the States and saw those pictures in the newspaper. She immediately jumped on a plane and headed to Manila to confront Ali. But that, of course, is another story all together.

Email Ted at ted@tedlerner.com