Fifth Column

[Jonathon Green]

> Does anyone know whether "thriller in Manila" was coined by Ali himself or
> was a slogan cooked up by promoters?
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
As written up in F. Dennis & D Atyeo _Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years_ (2002)
p. 242, the line seems to have come from Ali's pre-fight doggerel, first
delivered at a press conference in Malaysia:

It will be a killer
And a chiller
And a thrilla
When I get the gorilla
In Manila.

That the fight poster featured "A Thrilla in Manila" (quotes as printed on
the poster) may be taken to back this up.

Jonathon Green