‘Thrilla in Manila’ approaches 50th anniversary as big fight card floated

MANILA, Philippines, August 30 ------ Time has flown for Philippine sports as “Thrilla in Manila” — the boxing supercard that helped launch the country to global sporting renown — approaches its 50th anniversary on October 1, 2025, at the ever-enduring athletic cathedral, the Araneta Coliseum.

Top local and international boxing stakeholders are pulling all the stops to put the spotlight on the event, with the Philippine government and the sport’s only eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao also chipping in. The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement that the “Thrilla in Manila” golden anniversary will be a week-long celebration to honor the legacy of the original card’s top-billed protagonists, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. “We will do all we can to make this 50th anniversary of the Thrilla in Manila successful,” Pacquiao said in a statement in Filipino, while also noting that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed interest to attend the celebrations in person.

Though no fights in the card have been finalized, two of the Philippines’ best fighters today have hinted that they will be billed as top attractions to fly the flag in the ring: former featherweight world champion Mark Magsayo and Olympic bronze medalist and undefeated pro boxer Eumir Marcial. The PCO statement, however, did not mention a potential Pacquiao fight this October, and the boxing icon himself only hinted that he will next fight around December, following his anticlimactic yet promising draw with WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios. Though Ali and Frazier are long gone, their legacies remain immortalized in boxing lore as two of the best fighters to ever lace the gloves. Ali has been near unanimously honored as the greatest of all time.

Source: rappler.com