A mini-'Thrilla'

Believe it or not, I had my own mini-"Thrilla in Manila" moment in the middle of the “fight of the century” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier 50 years and eight days ago, on Oct. 1, 1975.

- JULLIE Y. DAZA

As a member of the free (‘walang bayad') press whose seat happened to be at the end of the first row directly under the ring, I had a great unimpeded view of every blow, every connect, every exchange between the two fighters, Ali in white shorts and Frazier in blue. My chair, I thought, was kind of a reward for attending the press conference and keeping clear of Ali, unlike the scores of women who had reportedly tried to tear down his door at the hotel the night before the bout. (In those days, Manila had only three big hotels, the Hilton, Savoy, and Intercontinental.)