A QUICK-THINKING $200 idea helped inspire Muhammad Ali’s iconic Thrilla in Manila victory.
Ali fought Joe Frazier for a third time in 1975 with with no air conditioning or wind inside the arena.
Muhammad Ali beat Joe Frazier in the 1975 Thrilla in ManilaCredit: Getty
The boxing icon’s manager Gene Kilroy sensed that the heat could cause a huge problem for Ali in the bout.
So he paid an employee in the arena $200 to fetch two buckets of ice to cool Ali down – with the genius idea proving pivotal to the win.
Kilroy told SunSport in Manila: “Angelo Dundee forgot the ice. I gave a guy a couple hundred dollars to go get ice. Angelo said, ‘He won’t be back.’
“The guy comes back with the ice. I say, ‘Thank you God. You saved the day.’ Jerry Eisenberg – the great writer in America – said. ‘ That’s unbelievable. That was the strike of genius.’
“I said, ‘No. The strike of genius was him bringing back with the ice.’ So it wasn’t me, it was him brought back the ice and that helped Ali be victorious.
“We had more ice on Ali between the rounds. Frasier didn’t have that.”
In the years following the fight, Ali revealed he thought he was going to DIE while slugging it out in the sweltering heat.
But Kilroy revealed Ali – who won the bout in the 14th round – almost froze after being doused with the emergency ice.
He said: “It was so hot with the lights on. You see Joe sweating and Ali with the ice on, that took a lot out of them.
“Ali almost froze! He wanted a heavy blanket to keep warm in between rounds.”
The rivals had a bitter build up over their three fights – with Ali winning two of them – before making amends and becoming friends in retirement.
Kilroy said: “I took Muhammad Ali to Joe Frazier’s funeral. They became friends, they made up.”
Frazier passed away in 2011 aged 67 while Ali passed in 2016 at 74.
Kilroy – Ali’s business manager from the start of his professional career – reflects fondly on their time working together.
He said: “I was asked one time, ‘Do you have any fears?’ I said, ‘Yeah, the only fear I have is one day my mum is going to wake me up and say, come on it’s time to go to school.’
“My life has been a dream. Being loved by his mum, his dad, his brothers and his cousins.
“I was a pallbearer for both his mum and dad and aunt Coretta as the only outsider.”
Ali’s legacy in the ring lives on through grandson Nico Ali Walsh – who returns tonight to fight in IBA’s Thrilla in Manila 2 –
Nico, 25, said: “It’s a huge, humbling experience.
“It’s a blessing that it’s been 50 years, half a century and I just passed the arena just now, people are still cheering and taking pictures of my grandfather and Frazier.
“It’s crazy that I can be part of this. I think it will feel special. These fights, people don’t understand they’re like family events for me.
“I’ve got my parents here but for my mum especially, she saw her dad fight and now she gets to see me fight in the same arena.
“She wasn’t there for that fight in particular but now she’ll get to see me.”
Ali beat Joe Frazier in the 1975 Thrilla in ManilaCredit: Getty
Now Nico will also fight in ManilaCredit: AP
Ali’s former business manager Gene KilroyCredit: Arete Productions 
