Second is the promoters. When they made the "Thrilla in Manila", it involved several promoters, Don King, Bob Arum (believed it or not) and some others. Staging a fight of that magnitude especially in the Philippines requires the help of the government or in other word, the government is one of the promoter which is the case when they made the Thrilla.
Third is the selling of the venue or justification why the fight is in that place. Fans is not easy to convince that other than the fight, the place have more to offer to justify the spending. Philippines is a very exotic place and whoever decides to go there will be entertained not just by the scenery of the urban places and the beaches but also the hospitality of the locals. The country is an easy sell because of what I mentioned but problems still exist especially hidden one.
Fourth is the fighters involved. When they made the Thrilla, Ali and Frazier both agreed because they were sure of the elimination of hometown decision or favoritism whatsoever. On the case of Pacquiao vs. Floyd Jr. somebody might cry foul because one of the protagonist not just live but a member of the congress. Just think of the scenario. This problem carries the most weight considering Floyd care so much on his record.
These being said, I doubt if there is a match up that is of the same magnitude as the Thrilla. Remember too that this is a drain to the dollar reserved of the place especially they were getting paid in that currency. I see this idea as very unlikely and I am very thankful to Shane for considering and hope it happens.
To put up a fight in a non-gambling city like Manila, you need some rich businessman or a benefactor who's willing to shell out an enormous amount of money to cover the fighters' purses. For instance, if you want to stage the Pac-Floyd fight in Manila, you'd need at least $100 million for both fighters. Remember that the 1975 "Thrilla" happened because then Pres. Marcos generously offered to shoulder the purses of Ali and Frazier. This was also the case in the previous year's "Rumble in the Jungle" in Zaire, where Pres. Mobutu Sese Seko also took care of Ali and Foreman's purses. Now, the state of Philippine economy is not so good at this time so no one in his right mind would invest in a boxing event of that magnitude and hope to recoup.
Great question! I for one has been advocating for the restoration of Manila as Asia's boxing capital as it was in the golden era of the sport in the region in the pre and post-war years. But Pacquiao since becoming an elite fighter in the mid 2000s rarely fought in his home country and has even willingly cooperated with Bob Arum in the latter's attempt to establish Macau as top boxing capital in Asia and getting inroads into the huge market of China, a country which has ironically never embraced western pro boxing for the love of its own martial arts. With China recently losing its lone world pro boxing championship, that venture is bound to hit the wall. In view of that, it is incumbent upon Pacquiao to try to convince Arum to try Manila or the Philippines as viable site for his remaining fights, seeing how boxing is well loved by the Filipinos and the long tradition and history of the fight sport in the country. Manila also has many gambling casinos frequented by foreigners including from China and HongKong, one HongKongite was even arrested for trying to smuggle HK $30 million to gamble away in Philippine casinos!
what you should know is that...
thrilla in manila was made possible by the then president ferdinand marcos... as a strongman, he made manila the center of asia, singapore cannot be compared to it, it is 2nd to japan economy, its military might cannot be bullied, mao tse tung respects manila, malaysia fears manila and does nothin when marcos was about to reclaim sabah...
you need to regain those things 1st before you can make manila the boxing thrilla in asia...
sad, manilas economy was left far behind because of her corrupt politicians and amateur leaders
My question is;Manny Pacquiao is from the Philippines ,how come he has never tried to bring back the Thrilla In Manila considering all the money it would bring to his native country through vending ,taxis ect....?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oII_9X1jRDU
Ive been to Manila and i know first hand they can use every penny ,still a city with very nice and friendly people that deserve better treatment than what the filipino government is giving them.
