Thrilla’s lost treasures

As the sports world celebrated the 50th year of the Thrilla in Manila, let me share with you a true story, something boxing fans are going to be left dumbfounded and crying in disbelief.

You see, many years ago during a visit to the then office of Games and Amusements Board (GAB) boxing division chief Noli Flores, our topic revolved around the 1975 classic clash between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

I was a regular at the GAB (Paseo de Roxas headquarters) at that time, especially during the tenure of the late Dominador Cepeda, since my former office was located in Makati.

So as we were discussing the Thrilla, Noli told me something that broke my heart.

“You know what, Nick?”

“Yes, Sir Noli…what’s up?”

Some years ago, as we were doing a massive cleaning of the GAB, we had to throw away lots of stuff. Lots of paper, documents and other things that we saw as clutter, trash and things that we thought were just taking up so much space because new things were being brought in.”

“We had to clean up our offices and that was the order to all of us. All offices had to declutter.”

“Okay,” I told Noli.

I thought Noli was just talking about something trivial, things that were of no importance.

“We had to throw away piles of magazines stacked in one corner of this office,” Noli said.

Okay, magazines. Being thrown away.

I thought they were old issues of The Ring or KO magazine, items that I also have in my possession.

“What were they, Sir Noli?”

Noli paused for a second or two, and then smiled at me.

“Souvenir programs.”

That made me squint.

“Souvenir programs of the Thrilla in Manila,” Noli said.

My heart sank.

Then silence.

I turned away and I thought I was gonna cry.

For chrissakes, I told Noli.

“Why?”

“Because we had to clean up and those took up so much space.”

Well, I could understand why it had to be done.

Perhaps, that took place during the late 1970s or even in the 1980s or the 1990s even when the Thrilla was not yet considered a novelty.

And, you know, a lot of us tend to throw away things that we don’t know are really, really valuable.

Old records, for example.

Nowadays, I can’t help but bang my head on the wall in disgust whenever I am reminded of the LPs of New Wave bands that I bought in Hong Kong for chomp change.

I feel sad whenever I think about the diecast cars (Matchbox that were made in England and Tomica cars that were imported from Japan) and heavy metal robots (Voltes V, UFO Grendizer, Gaiking, Mazinger Z and Daimos) that littered our house when I was a kid.

Now, they’re all gone.

But going back to the Thrilla fight programs that were thrown away… my gosh!