Ali at 70: Pacquiao reminds daughter of legend’s generosity
Thursday, 23 February 2012 00:00
OF the less than a month that Muhammad Ali stayed in the Philippines for his historic trilogy with "Smokin" Joe Frazier on October 1, 1975, the then reigning world heavyweight champion had earned the respect and love of the entire nation. Not only because his antics hyped the fight but because of the sincerity in his words and his generosity, particularly to the poor and downtrodden. Days after he set foot here for the "Thrilla In Manila" showdown, Ali told newsmen in a press conference held at the Manila Hilton (now Manila Pavilion) where he was staying, about how many people discouraged him to come to the Philippines. "They told me there were shooting on the streets and fighting and people getting killed," he said. "They said the people were no good, and that people hate me because I am Muslim. That your people are killing Muslims, it's just like Hitler." Or something to that effect. "Lying dogs, lying people," Ali said in reference to the foreign press which was conceived to have been spreading the bad news about the country. "Filipinos are the sweetest people in the world. I see Muslims and Christians hugging and kissing each other."
Ali said foreign news reports pictured the Philippines in a bad light, adding though that he was determined to get the truth. "I told myself I will believe it when I see for myself." He said what he saw was the exact opposite and he vowed to "spread the news about how great the Filipinos are." Ali turned 70 last month and as part of the celebration, a benefit "Power of Love" bash was held last weekend at the MGM Grand with sports celebrities, including Filipino World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, their counterparts in the entertainment world, politics, business and media in attendance.
Rasheda Ali, the daughter of the boxing legend, compares Pacquiao with Ali, saying the Filipino pound-for-pound king reminds her of her father. "Manny reminds me of my dad. He is a very generous person, a very loving person. He takes the celebrity status and gives it back to the community. That's what my dad has done. You know, he is one of the few boxers that give back to the community," Rasheda said as quoted by media. Ali, acknowledged as the "Greatest Boxer of All-Time," disclosed that there are deliberate attempts to turn against the Filipinos over the Muslim problems in Southern Philippines, but he stood firm, saying "I am sure the Philippine government is doing what it can do to solve it." Referring to the Filipinos as "my brothers," Ali said "no little black boxer can take his money and solve these problems." He said he was merely trying to do what he could by "being an example so others would join him and help the less fortunate."
He even assured his listeners that in Manila, he felt "more at home" than in his hometown in Louisville in Kentucky, adding that from the moment he arrived in Manila he realized he was among friendly people. Commenting about then President Ferdinand Marcos, Ali said "he is a great and humble man who is trying to do what is best for his people. It was a great honor to meet a man of his stature and courage." Ali vowed to come back to the Philippines and that after retiring, he planned to visit Manila at least once a year to fight exhibition bouts and to use the earnings from such to helping the needy in the Philippines.
Of course, Ali came back a year later during the inauguration of the Ali Mall, a shopping center named after him inside the sprawling Araneta Center, owner of he Araneta Coliseum, venue of their fight re-Christened then as Philippine Coliseum for the "Thrilla In Manila" purpose. But Ali failed to meet his second promise of going back to Manila yearly because of his Parkinson's disease that does not allow him to travel that long from the US to the Philippines. PNA
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