“Thrilla” guest list
By Joaquin Henson
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 28 Sep 2025
Events are now being finalized before the “Thrilla In Manila” Golden Anniversary celebration featuring at least 11 fights at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Oct. 29. The pre-celebration consists of a 10-bout card at the San Andres Sports Complex on Oct. 26 and a gala dinner where the 1975 Ali-Frazier match will be shown on a big screen at a watch party in Novotel Hotel on Oct. 28. Manny Pacquiao is the prime mover of the “Thrilla” festivities.
Liza Elorde is organizing the gala night and among the VIP guests coming from abroad are WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, WBC vice president and head of the International championship administration Mauro Betti, “Thrilla” referee Carlos (Sonny) Padilla and his eldest daughter Suzy Tuano, Ali’s fourth and last wife Lonnie (Yolanda Williams), retired referee Kenny Bayless and wife Lynora, Ali’s daughter Rasheda and husband Bob Walsh, Ali’s former business manager Gene Kilroy who was a pall bearer at the legendary champion’s funeral in 2016 and Canadian boxing enthusiast Eric Schmidt.
Padilla, 91, confirmed he’s coming from his Las Vegas home. Lonnie, 85, took over management of Ali’s business affairs when they wed in 1986. She is involved in several charitable projects, advocating children’s rights and Parkinson’s disease research. Rasheda’s mother is Belinda Boyd, also known as Khalilah Ali. Boyd was Ali’s wife during the “Thrilla” but the Louisville Lip brought his girlfriend Veronica Porche, whom he later married, to Manila instead. When Boyd found out about Porche, she flew from Chicago to Manila, confronted Ali in his hotel suite, caused a commotion then took the first flight back home. Porche was 18 when Ali started their affair in 1974.
Rasheda’s son Nico, 25, is slated to take on Thailand’s Patumpong Saengarun in an eight-round middleweight match on the Oct. 29 undercard. Bayless, 75, is considered one of the best referees ever and worked over 10 Pacquiao fights. Kilroy, 84, was at ringside in 1975 and paid a boy $100 to deliver a bucket of ice cubes before the fight. Kilroy slid the ice cubes into Ali’s trunks in between rounds to cool him from the high humidity.
Lawyer Romy Macalintal, 78, will be invited to attend the gala night. He sat down with Ali for two hours before the “Thrilla” and showed a scrapbook containing articles and photos of the-then Cassius Clay from the 1960s. “If it’s possible, I could make a seven-minute power point presentation of my meeting with Ali,” said Macalintal. “I’m sure no one had that same experience of a lifetime. This would be my only way of thanking Ali for his kindness. Ali accommodated an unknown fan without a prior appointment and only an old scrapbook to show. If that’s not kindness then what is? Others can tell stories about Ali based on what they read. I based mine on my personal encounter with him.” (From The Philippine Star)
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