The Main Event

Did you know that Larry Holmes fought in the classic Thrilla in Manila in 1975 at the Araneta Coliseum?

Yes, the Easton Assassin was an unbeaten prospect with a 16-0 win-loss card with 11 knockouts when he fought and stopped Rodney Bobick in the sixth round at the Big Dome as part of the undercard.

Also fighting underneath the Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier showdown was Rolando Navarrete, who would later become the world junior-lightweight champion in 1981.

Anyway, while the focus is on the Ali-Frazier clash, Holmes was a vital part of the Thrilla and the career of The Greatest, who was his former sparring partner.

Later on, Holmes would meet Ali in a title fight and beat him so badly the public would never forgive him for what he did.

Holmes’ name came up on Thursday when preparations for the celebration of the Thrilla’s golden anniversary started following a key meeting involving eight-division legend Manny Pacquiao and President Bongbong Marcos at Malacañang.

American fight figure Sean Gibbons, who was in the Palace meeting and chatted with the Chief Executive, told DAILY TRIBUNE that he would reach out to Holmes to check if he could attend the event set 29 October.

Holmes retired from the sport in 2002 after logging a 69-6 record with 44 knockouts and was not as loved by the people due to the loss he dealt Ali at Caesar’s Palace in 1980.

But many people knew that it was all work and Holmes didn’t mean to batter Ali.

Gibbons feels Holmes should have a place during the event because he was in Manila.

Besides, Holmes gained popularity among Filipino fight fans because he reigned for so long as the vast majority of his fights beamed live “via satellite” in the country.

The most celebrated was the one against Gerry Cooney in the encounter dubbed ‘The Pride and the Glory’ in 1982.

It was one of the many fights from around the world that was shown mostly on government television and I could remember how it was received by Filipino boxing fans alongside the other marquee matchups of that era.

The Holmes-Cooney ranks among the finest fights that I saw as a young boy and well into my mid-teens.

The others include Salvador Sanchez vs Wilfredo Gomez, Alexis Arguello vs Andy Ganigan, Navarrete vs Bazooka Limon, Navarrete vs Cornelius Boza-Edwards, Frank Cedeno vs Koji Kobayashi, Gomez vs Lupe Pintor, Arguello vs Aaron Pryor, Sugar Ray Leonard vs Thomas Hearns, Leonard vs Wilfredo Benitez, Hearns vs Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler vs Hearns.

The list goes on and on and on.

Anyway, that’s a different story.

Based on what took place during the meeting at Malacañang, the Thrilla looks headed to a rousing success.

Viva!