Apart from the cavernous building located a few meters away where he described his experience there as ?the closest thing to dying that I know of?, Muhammad Ali?s name will forever be associated with a shopping center in Quezon City that bears his name.
The Ali Mall, which opened in 1976, a year after Ali put on a masterpiece against Joe Frazier at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, remains a landmark even to this day.
Billed as the Philippines? first shopping mall, the Ali Mall was built by Jorge Araneta without shelling out a single centavo to pay using Ali?s name.
?No money was involved in that deal because it was during the post-fight party at Mr. Jorge Araneta?s house when Ali agreed that his name will be used,? said broadcaster Ronnie Nathanielsz, who served as Ali?s local publicist during the epic Thrilla in Manila that took place in the morning of Oct. 1.
?Mr. Araneta just told Ali if he can use his name because he was building a mall and Ali just said yes. That was all it took for Ali to agree,? added Nathanielsz.
Ali would come back for the mall?s inauguration, the one and only time the Greatest visited the country aside from his fight with Frazier.
But it was during his first visit when he slugged with Frazier that left an indelible mark on those who were at the ringside.
One of them was former First Lady Imelda Marcos, who sat beside her husband, the late President Ferdinand Marcos.
?It was literally very bloody,? Marcos told the Bulletin?s Sol Vanzi yesterday. ?Their punches were so powerful that blood splattered far and wide, staining spectators? clothes, including mine.?
Still, Marcos has fond memories of Ali.
?(He was) playful and intelligent. Today we lost a great human being.?
?He was more than just a boxer; he was a thinker, a trait which was overlooked by who were distracted by his antics,? she added.
Lito Mondejar, a boxing old-timer, sat at ringside, near one of two neutral corners during the fight, in the company of writers.
?It was so hot in the coliseum and I felt that Ali was almost ready to quit at the end of the 14th round but Frazier beat him to it,? said Mondejar, who was a part of the original team that brought Manny Pacquiao to the US in 2001.
Pacquiao, who watched videos of old fights, starring Ali and the heroes of yesteryears when he was starting to box, was also saddened by his passing.
?We lost a giant today. Boxing benefitted from Muhammad Ali?s talents but not nearly as much as mankind benefitted from his humanity. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Ali family. May God bless them,? said the 37-year-old Pacquiao in a statement released shortly after Ali?s death in Arizona.
