Fifth Column

[Herbert Stahlke]

Rather than doggerel, this sounds much more like rap, a form Ali was skilled
at.

Herb Stahlke


> > 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
>