Unforgettable

The spirits of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier wandered around the fabled arena that hosted their 1975 brawl that almost left them for dead early on the eve of Halloween.

This time, the reincarnation of the two heavyweight greats came in the form of a pair of middleweights whose display of courage, strength and stamina produced a candidate for Fight of the Year.

Filipino Eumir Marcial and Venezuelan Edd Colmenares fought like Ali and Frazier during the Thrilla in Manila’s grand 50th anniversary celebration that spanned almost two days at the Araneta Coliseum.

They both reenacted the original Thrilla slugfest that took place on 1 October 1975 and succeeded in living up to the original’s glowing reputation as a classic.

The 2025 version, which started in the early afternoon of Wednesday and lasted before sunrise of Thursday, had the same amount of violence and drama.

It was a see-saw battle with both having their respective moments until the very end.

Colmenares wasn’t exactly Ali, didn’t float like a butterfly and stung like a bee, although in physical appearance, he certainly was.

The native of the city of El Tigre towered over Marcial at 6-foot-1 and had long arms that allowed him to keep the hometown bet at bay.

The much shorter Marcial looked and fought like Frazier; he had the more powerful punches.

The Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist connected his best blows to the head and body, punches that could have felled even the most durable guy in the 160-pound category.

But Colmenares’ chin was like no other.

It was evident that Marcial had the edge in the power department as his punches sounded more macho upon impact.

Colmenares was the busier guy like Ali was when he faced Frazier 50 years ago and had the better percentage of punch-thrown-and-punch-landed rate.

In the end, Marcial, who went 10 rounds for the first time, showed incredible spirit in rising from two knockdowns en route to a 10-round majority decision of their hellish encounter.

“The crowd made me fight stronger. The cheers made a big difference,” Marcial, who celebrated his 30th birthday, said after raising his win-loss record to 7-0 with four knockouts.

Apparently, Marcial answered the opening bell still reeling from a bout with a stomach virus.

“It’s not an excuse because my opponent was really tough.”

Colmenares had told Marcial during the weighin that he should brace himself for a war.

“That’s exactly what happened,” added Marcial, who is being backed by Manny Pacquiao and Sean Gibbons.

Gibbons swears the experience will prove pivotal in toughening up Marcial for the future.

“It was like a jump from high school to college,” Gibbons told a handful of scribes, his shirt and jacket splattered with blood that came not only from the two fighters but from himself.

“I bit my lip and my tongue as I was giving instruction,” said the well-connected Las Vegas resident while staring at the bloody mess that he just made.

Owing to the fight’s savagery, there are those within the circle of Marcial who are longing to see a rematch.

Gibbons is one guy who is not too keen.

“Styles make fights and this guy is just too tall and rangy for Eumir,” Gibbons said

So, is there going to be a rematch?

We’ll see.